sx'oj "'vffy' / THE COMPLETE WORKS REV. ANDREW FULLER, WITH A MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE. ANDREW GUNTON FULLER. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES AND NOTES— SERMONS AND SKETCHES— CIRCULAR LETTERS— LETTERS ON SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY— THOUGHTS ON PREACHING —LIFE OF PEARCE— APOLOGY FOR MISSIONS— TRACTS AND ESSAYS— RE VIEWS— ANSWERS TO QUERIES— FUGITIVE PIECES. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY LINCOLN, EDMANDS & CO. No. 59, Washington-street. 1833. CONTENTS Dedication - - - _ n Abstract of Prophecy - - 13 Disc. I. Introduction and preparatory vision (chap, i.) - . - - 17 Disc. II. III. Epistles to the churches (chap. ii. iii.) - - - 19, 21 Disc. IV. Vision of the throne of God (chap, iv.) - - 25 Disc. V. The Book with Seven Seals (chap. v.) - - - 26 Disc. VI. VII. The Seals opened (chap. vi.) - - - 27, 29. Disc. VIII. Sealing ofthe Servants of God (chap, vii.) 31 Disc. IX. Seventh Seal subdivided into Seven Trumpets (chap. viii. 1 — 12) 32 Appendix. — History ofthe First FourTrum- pets - - - - 33 Disc. X. First Woe-Trumpet ; or the Smoke and Locusts (chap. viii. 13; ix. 1 — 12) 36 Disc. XI. Second Woe-Trumpet; or the Army of Horsemen (chap. ix. 13 — 21) 38 Disc. XII. Introduction to the Western Papal Apostacy (chap, x.) 39' The First General Description of the Papal Apostacy. Disc. XIII. State of the Church under the Papal Apostacy (chap. xi. 1 — 6) 41 Appendix. — History of the Witnesses 43 Disc. XIV. Slaughter and Resurrection of the Witnesses, with the Falling of the Tenth Part of the City (chap. xi. 7—13) 46 Disc. XV. Sounding of the Seventh Angel (chap. xi. 14—19) - 49 The Second General Description. Disc. XVI. The Great Red Dragon, and the Woman fleeing into the Wilderness (chap. xii. 1 — 6) - - 50 Disc XVII. War between Michael and the Dragon (chap. xii. 7 — 17) - 52 The Third General Description. Disc. XVIII. The Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns (chap. xiii. 1 — 10) 54 Disc XIX. The Beast with Two Horns like a Lamb (chap. xiii. 11 — 18) - 56 Disc XX. The Lamb's Company (chap. xiv. 1—5) 58 Disc. XXI. Messages ofthe Three Angels, the Harvest, and the Vintage (chap. xiv. 6—20) .... 59 Disc. XXII. Introduction to the Vials (chap, xv.) 61 Disc XXIII. XXIV. On the Vials (chap. xvi.) - - - 62, 64 Disc. XXV. The Great Harlot and the Beast (chap, xvii.) 66 Disc XXVI. Fall of Babylon— Marriage of the Lamb (chap, xviii.; xix. 1 — 10) 69 Disc XXVII. Beast and False Prophet taken (chap. xix. 1,1 — 21) 72 Disc XXVIII. The Millennium (chap. xx. 1—6) - - * ' , - - 74 Disc. XXIX. The Falling Away— End of the World — Resurrection — Last Judg ment (chap. xx. 7, — 15) - -87 Disc. XXX. New Heaven — New Earth — New Jerusalem (chap. xxi. ; xxii. 1 — 5) 78 Disc XXXI. Attestations to the Truth of the Prophecy (chap. xxii. 6 — 21) - 79 Conclusion - - 81 Addition in 1814 - 85 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Section I. The Beatitudes (Matt. v. 1 — 12) - - - - 86 Section II. Character of Christians and Ministers (ver. 13 — 16) - 89 Section III. Perpetuity and Spirituality ofthe Moral Law (ver. 17— 32) - 90 Section IV. On Oaths (ver. 33—37) 92 Section V. On Resisting Evil (ver. 38 — 42) - - 93 Section VI. Love to Enemies (ver. 43 — 48) 94 Section VII. Almsgiving and Prayer (vi. 1— S) - - - 96 Section VIII. The Lord's Prayer (ver. 9 —15) 97 Section IX. Fasting and other Duties (ver. 16 — 34) ¦ - 101 Section X. Judging others — CastingPearls before Swine (vii. 1—6) - 103 Section XI. Prayer and Equity (ver. 7 to 12) 104 Section XII. Broad and Narrow Way; Criterion of Teachers (ver. 13 — 20) 105 Section XIII. Last Judgment; Test of Re ligion (ver. 21—29) - 106 EXPOSITION OF PASSAGES RELATING TO THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. Letter I. Ezekiel xxxvii. - 108 Letter II. Hosea i. ii. iii. - 110 Letter III. Hosea xi. xiii. xiv. ; Jer. xxxi. 15—21 - 111 Letter IV. Isa. xi. xii. - T 113 Letter V. Zech. xi. xii. xiii. 1 -*.. 115 EXPOSITION OF CERTAIN BROPHECLES RELATING TO THE MILLENNIUM. Isaiah xxvi. &c. - - Jr - 117 CONTENTS. EXPOSITION. OF THOSE SCRIPTURES WHICH REFER TO THE UNPARDON ABLE SIN. John ix. 41, xii. 42; Acts viii. 22; 1 Tim. i. 13; Heb. vi. 4, x. 26; 2 Pet. ii. 20; 1 John v. 16 - 120 EXPOSITORY NOTES ON VARIOUS PAS SAGES. Appearance to Elijah (1 Kings xix.) - 124 Lying Spirit persuading Ahab (1 Kings xxii. 21 to 23) - . 126 Mystery of Providence (Job xii. 6 to 25) ib. Wisdom proper to Man (Job xxviii.) 127 Inward Witness of the Spirit (Ps. lxxxv. 8, xxxv. 3) - - - 129 Prov. xii. 1, 3, 5; xiii. 11, 14, 19; xiv. 2, 6, 7, 23; xxx. 24 to 28 - 130 Mediocrity in Wisdom and Virtue Satirized (Eccl. vii. 15 to 19) - 131 Fulfilment of Prophecy (Isa. ix. 7) - 132 The Eurden of Dumah (Isa. xxi. 11, 12) 134 Application of Promises, as (Isa. xliii. 25) 135 Destruction of the Mystical Babylon (Isa. lxiii. 1 to 6) - - 136 Ezekiel's Visions (Ezek. i. and x.) - 137 Daniel's Conflict with the Persian Court (Dan. x. 13) - 138 The Royal Tribe (Zech. x. 4) - 139 On the Latter Days (Mai. iii. 18) - 140 Kingdom of Heaven forced (Matt. xi. 12, 13) 142 The Duty of Christian Forgiveness (Matt. xviii. 23, &c.) - it,. Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke xvi. 1 to 12) - ' - - . 143 Case ofthe Converted Thief (Luke xxiii. 39 to 43) - - 144 John's Testimony to Jesus (John iii. 22 to 26) 148 On the Trial of the Spirits (John iv. 1 ) 149 Christ's Washing the Disciples' Feet (John xiii.) ... - igo Final Restitution (Acts iii. 21) - 152 Weaker Disciples honored (1 Cor. xii. 24) 153 Vindication ofthe Apostle Paul (2 Cor. xii. 16) - - 155 Evangelical Truth the object of Angelical Research (1 Pet. i. 12) - - ib. Regeneration by the Word of God (1 Pet. i. 23) - 157 EXPOSITION OF PASSAGES APPARENT LY CONTRADICTORY. John v. 40 with vi. 44, 45, 65 158 Gen. vi. 9 with 1 Sam. xv. 29 160 1 Cor. x. 33 with Gal. i. 10 - 161 Gen. viii. 22 with xiv. 6 - ib. Prov. xxvi. 4 with xxvi. 5 - 162 Gal. ii. 16 with James ii. 21 ib. Exod. xx. 5 with Ezek. xviii. 20 i - ib. Gen. xiii. 17, xxiii. 17, 18, with Acts vii. 5 163 Gen. xxxii. 30 with Exod. xxxiii. 20 ib. 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, with 1 Chron. xxi. 1 ib. Matt. vii..7, 8, with Luke xiii. 24 - 164 Prov. xxvii. 2 with 1 Cor. xv. 10, 2 Cor. xii. 11 - ib. Matt. v. 16. wjth Malt. vi. 1 - 165 Matt. ix. 30 with Mark v. 19 ib. Matt. xi. 14 wjth John i. 21 - ib. Matt. xxi. 38 with 1 Cor. ii. 8 ib. Luke i.-33 with 1 Cor. xv. 24 - 166 Luke x. 23 with John xx. 29 - ib. John v. 31 with viii. 14 ib. Heb. xi. 33 with xi. 39 - ib. John xx. 17 with xx. 27 - 167 Rom. ii. 14 with Eph. ii. 3 - ib. Rom. xiv. 5 with Gal. iv. 10, 11 ib. Acts ix. 7 with xxii. 9 - - 168 1 Cor. x. 13 with 2 Cor. i. 8 - ib. Gal. vi. 2 with Gal. vi. 5 - - ib. Phil. iv. 5 with 2 Thes. ii. 2 - - ib. 1 John i. S with 1 John iii. 9 169 2 Tim. iii. 12 with Prov. xvi. 7 - ib. 1 Cor. viii. 8—13 with 1 Cor. x. 20, 21 ib. SERMONS AND SKETCHES. I. The Nature and Importance of Walking by Faith, (2 Cor. v. 7») II. The Qualifications and Encouragements of a Faithful Minister, illustrated by the Character and Success of Barnabas, (Acts xi. 24) - III. The Instances, the Evil Nature, and the Dangerous Tendency of Delay in the Con cerns of Religion, (Hag. i. 2) IV. The Blessedness ofthe Dead who die in the Lord, (Rev. xiv. 13) V. The Nature and Importance of a Deep and Intimate Knowledge of Divine Truth, (Heb. v. 12— 14) - VI. The Christian Doctrine of Rewards, (Gal. vi. 7, S) VII. God's Approbation of our Labors ne cessary to the Hope of Success, (Numb. xiv. 8) n - - - - VIII. The Obedience of Churches to then- Pastors explained and enforced, (Heb. xiii. 17) ----- - IX. Christian Patriotism: or the Duty of Religious People towards their Country, (Jer. xxix. 7) X. Jesus the True Messiah (Psa. xl. 6 — S) XI. Solitary Reflection: or the Sinner di rected to look into himself for Conviction (Psa. iv. 4) - - XII. Advice to the Dejected: or the" Soul directed to look out of itself for Consola tion (Psa. xiii. 2) - XIII. The Prayer of Faith; exemplified in the Woman of Canaan (Matt. xv. 21 to 28) XIV. The Future Perfection of the Church, contrasted with its Present Imperfections (Ephes. v. 25 to 27) XV. The Gospel the only Effectual Means of producing Universal Peace among Man kind [Mai. iv. 5,6] XVI. The Reception of Christ the Turning Point of Salvation [John i. 10 to 12] XVII. XVIII. XIX. On Justification [Rom iii. 24] . - 281, 286, 291 XX. The Believer's Review of his Past and Present State [Ephes. ii. 13] - 296 XXI. The Nature and Importance of Love to God [Joshua xxiii. 11] XXII. Conformity to the Death of Christ [Phil. iii. 10] - XXIII. The Life of Christ the Security and Felicity ofhis Church [Rev. i. 18] XXIV. Christianity the Antidote to Presump- 170 1S3 190 195 201 211 217 226 230 235 243 248 254 259 266, 275 301 305 309 CONTENTS. tion and Despair [1 John ii. 1) . 313 XXV. The Sorrow attending Wisdom and Knowledge [Eccles. i. 17, 18] - 318 XXVI. The Magnitude of the Heavenly In heritance [Rom. viii. 18 to 23] - 322 XXVII. The Principles and Prospects of a Servant of Christ (Jude 20, 21) - 328 XXVIII. Paul's Prayer for the Philippians [Phil. i. 9 to 11] - - 337 XXIX. The Peace of God [Phil. iv. 7] 341 XXX. Soul Prosperity [3 John 2] - 346 XXXI. The Common Salvation [Jude 3] 350 XXXII. The Good Man's Desire for the Success of God's Cause [Psa. xc. 16, 17] 352 XXXII I. Prayer of David in the Decline of Life [Psa. lxxi. 9] - 355 XXXIV. Advantages of Early Piety [Psa. xc. 14] - . . . 356 XXXV. TJie Choice of Moses [Heb. xi. 24 to 26] - . 359 XXXVI. Paul's Prayer for the Ephesians [Eph. iii. 14 to 16] - - 361 XXXVII. Individual and Social Religion [lPet. ii. 4,5] - - - 363 XXXVIII. On the Vanity ofthe Human Mind [Psa. xciv. 11] - 365 XXXIX. Equity of the Sentence recorded against those who love not the Lord Jesus Christ [1 Cor. xvi. 23] - - 367 XL. Fellowship of God's People in Evil Times [Mai. iii. 16, 17] - - 370 XLI. Public Worship [Psa. lxviii. 26 to 28] ib. XLII. Great Sinners encouraged to Return to God [Deut. iv. 29] - - 371 XLIII. Consolation to the Afflicted [John xiv. 2 to 4] - 372 XLIV. On Covetousness [Luke xii. 15] 374 XLV. Mysterious Nature of Man [Psa. cxxxix. 14] - 376 XLVJ. Life and Death: or the Broad and the Narrow Way [Matt. vii. 13, 14] 377 XLVII. Hope in the Last Extremity [Jo nah ii. 4] - 379 XLVII L Past Trials a Plea for Future Mer cies [Psa. xc. 15] - - 3S2 XLIX. The Changes of Time [1 Chron. xxix. 29, 30] - - 383 L. On True Wisdom [Prov. xiv. 8] 385 LI. Irremediable Evils [Eccl. i. 15] 386 LII. Importance of Union of Public and Private Interests in the Service of God [Neh. iii. 28 to 30] - 388 LIII. Christ our Substitute in Death and Judgment [Heb. ix. 27, 28] - 392 LIV. Pastors required to feed the flock of Christ [John xxi, 16] 392 LV. Spiritual Knowledge and Holy Love necessary for the Gospel Ministry [John v. 35] - - - 394 LVI. On an Intimate and Practical Ac quaintance with the Word of God [Ezra vii. 10] - - 397 LVI I . Ministers are appointed to root out Evil and to cultivate that which is Good [Jer. i. 10] - 399 LVII!. Ministers should be concerned not to be despised [Tit. ii. 15] 401 LIX. Ministers are Fellow-Laborers with God [1 Cor. iii. 9] - 403 LX. The Nature of the Gospel, and the Manner in which it ought to be Preached Col. iv. 3, 4] - - - 405 LX1. The Work and Encouragement of the Christian Minister [Matt. xxv. 21] 406 LXII. On Preaching Christ, &c. [2 Cor. iv. 5] - - - - 409 LXIII. The Influence of the Presence of Christ on the Mind and Work of a Min ister [2 Tim. iv. 22] - - 412 LXIV. Habitual Devotedness to the Work ofthe Ministry [1 Tim. iv. 15, 16] 413 LXV. Affectionate Concern of a Minister for the Salvation of his Hearers [1 Thess. ii. 7,8] • - - 414 LXV1. The Nature and Encouragements of the Missionary Work [John xx_. 21] 416 LXVII. The Christian Ministry a Great Work [Neh. vi. 3] - - 417 LXVIII. Faith in the Gospel a necessary Pre-requisite to Preaching it [2 Cor. iv. 13] - - - - 419 LXIX. The Young Minister exhorted to make full Proof of his Ministry [2 Tim. iv. 5, 6] - - - 421 LXX. Importance of Christian Ministers considered as theGift of Christ (Ps. lxviii. 18) - - 423 LXXI. Nature and Importance of Christian Love [John xiii. 34, 35] - - 424 LXXII. Christian Churches Fellow-helpers with their Pastors to the Truth [3 John 8] 425 LXXIII. On Christian Steadfastness [1 Thess. iii. 8] - ' 427 LXX1V. Churches Walking in the Truth the Joy of Ministers [3 John 4] 42S LXXV. Churches should exhibit the Light ofthe Gospel [Rev. ii. 1] - 430 LXXVI. On Cultivating a Peaceful Dispo sition [Rom. xiv. 19] - - 432 LXXV1I. Christian Churches are God's Building [1 Cor. iii. 9] - - 434 LXXVI11. The satisfaction derived from a consciousness that our Religious Exercises 1 have been characterized by Godly Sim plicity [2 Cor. i. 12]. - - 435 LXX1X. The Reward of a Faithful Min ister [1 Thess. ii. 19] - 437 LXXX. Ministers and Churches Exhorted to Serve One Another in Love [Gal- v. 13] 438 LXXXI. Ministerial and Christian Com munion [Rom. i. 12] - 439 LXXXII. Ministers and Christians Exhort ed to Hold Fast the Gospel [2 Tim. i. 13] 440 LXXXIII. Nature of True Conversion and Extent of it under the Reign of the Mes siah [Ps. xxii. 27] ¦ '442 LXXX1V. Effect of Things differ accord ing to the State ofthe Mind [Titus i. 15] 444 CIRCULAR LETTERS. The Excellence and Utility of Hope (A. D. 1782) Causes of Declension in Religion, and Me of Revival (1785) Why Christians in the Present Day less joy than the Primitive Disciples The Discipline of the Primitive Chun lustrated and Enforced (1799) 446 5) 458 es II- 462 VI CONTENTS. The Practical Uses of Christian Baptism (1802) - 468 The Pastor's Address to his Christian Hearers, entreating their assistance in Promoting the interest of Christ (1806) - 472 On Moral and Positive Obedience (1807) 477 The Promise of the Spirit the Grand Encour agement iu Promoting the Gospel (1810) 482 The Situation of the Widows and Orphans of Christian Ministers, &c. (1815) - 485 LETTERS ON SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. Letter I. Importance of Systematic Divinity 487 Letter II. Importance of a True System ib. Letter III. Plan Proposed to be Pursued , 491 LetterIV. On the Being of God - 493 Letter V. On the Necessity of a Divine Revelation . - - 495 Letter VI. On the Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures - 497 Letter VII. On the Uniform Bearing of the Scriptures on the Person and Work of Christ 500 Letter VIII. On the Perfections of God 501 Letter IX. On the Doctrine of the Trinity 503 THOUGHTS ON PREACHING. Letter I. On Expounding the Scriptures 507 Letter II. On Sermons, and the Subject- matter of them - - 508 Letter III. On the Composition of a Ser mon - - - 511 LetterIV. On the Composition of a Sermon 515 On the Abuse of Allegory in Preaching 516 MEMOIRS OF THE REV. SAMUEL PEARCE. Dedication - - 519 Introduction - - 520 Chap. I. His parentage, conversion, call to the ministry, and settlement at Birmingham 521 Chap. II. Laborious exertions in promoting missions to the heathen, and his offering himself as a missionary - - 527 Chap. III. Exercises and labors from the time of his giving up the idea of going abroad to the commencement of his last affliction 537 Chap. IV. Account of his last affliction, and the holy and happy exercises of his mind under it - - 548 Chap. V. General outlines ofhis character 562 Letters - - 568 Concluding reflections - - 572 Specimen of devotional poetry 574 AN APOLOGY FOR THE LATE CHRIS TIAN MISSIONS TO INDIA, IN THREE PARTS, WITH AN APPENDIX. Part I. Section I. Address to Edw. Parry, Esq., chairman of the East India Company 575 Section II. Strictures on the preface of a pamphlet entitled " Observations on the present State of the East India Company " 581 Part II. Introduction - . 591 Section I. Remarks on Major Scott War- ing's Letter to the Rev. Mr. Owen - 592 Section II. Remarks on " A Vindication ofthe Hindoos, by a Bengal officer " 595 Part III. Preface - 606 Section I. Strictures on Major Scott War- ing's third pamphlet , -. - 607 Section II. Remarks on "A Letter to the ¦ President of the Board of Control on the propagation of Christianity in India" 616 Section III. Remarks on the propriety of confining missionary undertakings to the established church - - 616 Appendix. Recent testimonies to the character of the,^nis- sionaries - 622 The principles of the petitioners to Parliament for religious toleration in India : a letter to John Weyland, Jun. Esq., occasioned by his letter to Sir Hugh Inglis, Bart., on the state of religion in India - - 623 Answer to an anonymous letter from " An Ob server," on his objections to Foreign Mis sions - - 625 ESSAYS, LETTERS, &c. ON ECCLESIAS TICAL POLITY. An inquiry into the right of private judgment in matters of religion f - ¦ 628 On creeds and subscriptions - 629 Thoughts on the principles on which the apos tles proceeded in forming and organizing Christian churches, &c. - - 630 A brief statement of the principles of dissent 637 Vindication of protestant dissent, in reply to the Rev. Thomas Robinson, M. A. - 639 On the presence of Judas at the Lord's supper 646 On dissent - 647 State of dissenting discipline - . 649 Discipline of the English and Scottish baptist churches - - 650 State of the baptist churches in Northampton shire - - 652 Decline of the dissenting interest - 653 Agreement in sentiment, the bond of Christian union - - 657 On Ordination: Re-ordination and imposition of hands 660 Validity of lay ordination - - 661 Administering the Lord's supper without ordi nation - - - 662 Administering the Lord's supper without » minister - - _ ib. Counsel to a young minister in prospect of or dination - - ib. On the apostolic office - 663 On Terms of Communion : Remarks on infant baptism and infant com munion - - - 664 Strictures on the Rev .John Carter's "Thoughts on Baptism and Mixed Communion " 665 Thoughts on open communion, in a letter to the Rev. W. Ward, missionary at Seram- pore - 667 Strict communion in the church at Serampore 669 The admission of unbaptized persons to the Lord's supper inconsistent with the New Testament ... 670 On instrumental music in Christian worship 675 Thoughts on singing - - 679 MISCELLANEOUS TRACTS, ESSAYS, LETTERS, &c. On truth - . 681 The great question answered - 693 The awakened sinner; or letters between Ar- chippus and Epaphras - 700 On Spiritual Pride, &c. Introduction .... 7H Section I. Occasions or objects of spiritual pride - - 712 CONTENTS. Vll Section II. Causes of spiritual pride 719 Remarks on two sermons by W. W. Home of Yarmouth - - 722 The moral law the rule of conduct to believers 727 Strictures on sentiments of the Rev. Robert Robinson ... 729 On spiritual declension and means of revival 750 The Backslider, &c. - - 764 General nature and different species of back sliding ... 765 Symptoms of a backsliding spirit - 770 Injurious and dangerous effects of sin lying upon the conscience unlamented - 773 Means of recovery - ' - - 777 Progressiveness of sin and of holiness - 783 Persuasives to a general union in prayer for the revival of religion 788791793794795 796802 Thoughts on Civil Polity. Attachment to government Reflections on the Epistle of Jude Influence of the conduct of religious people on the well-being of a country Political self-righteousness - ¦. The proper and improper use of terms The immaculate life of Christ On the Deity of Christ. The Deityof Christ essential to the atonement 807 The Deity of Christ essential to our calling on his name, and trusting in him for salvation 809 Defence of the Deity of Christ - 810 Remarks on the indwelling scheme - 811 On the sonship of Christ 815 On the Trinity - - 817 Justification. On the doctrine of imputed righteousness 818 On imputation and original sin (from a MS.) 826 To the afflicted " - - 827 The Heavenly Glory. Nature and Progressiveness of heavenly glory 830 Degrees in glory proportioned to works of piety consistent with salvation by grace alone 841 REVIEWS. The abuse of reviews - - 844 Scott's " Warrant and Nature of Faith " 847 Booth's "Glad Tidings," &c. - - 849 Booth's Sermon — the "Amen of Social Prayer" 851 Memoirs of the Rev. James Garie - ib. Bevan's defence of the doctrine of the Friends 852 Jerram's " Letters on the Atonement " 854 " The Voice of Years concerning the late W. Huntington, S. S." - - 855 ANSWERS TO QUERIES. The fall of Adam' 858 The accountability of man - - 859 Moral inability - - - 860 The love of God, and its extension to the non- elect ----- 861 The prayer of the wicked - 863 Aspect of gospel promises to the wicked ib. Power and influence of the gospel - 864 The nature of regeneration - 865 Faith not merely intellectual - 868 Faith required by the moral law - S69 Christian love - ib. Christian charity • - - 870 Character not determined by individual acts 871 Satan's temptations ib. Obedience and suffering of Christ - 872 Jesus growing in wisdom and knowledge 873 Reading the Scriptures - - ib. State of the mind in social and secret prayer 874 Nature of indwelling sin - - 875 Preservation against backsliding - 876 Ministerial call and qualifications - 877 FUGITIVE PIECES. Necessity of seeking important things first 878 On party spirit - 879 On evil thingswhichpassunder specious names ib. Scriptural treatment of rich and poor Christians 882 Dangerous tendency of the doctrine of univer sal salvation - - 883 Mystery of Providence, especially towards different parts of the world in different ages 885 Connections in which the doctrine of election is used in the Scriptures 886 Remarks on the English translation of the Bible - • - 888 On Commendation - - 889 Funeral oration for the Rev. Robert Hall, of Arnsby ... 890 Lines to the memory of Mr. Hall 892 Nature of true virtue - ib. Morality not founded in utility - 893 Sin its own punishment - 894 The vision of dry bones - - 898 The satisfaction of Christ - 900 Credulity and disingenuity of unbelief 902 On the establishment ofthe Glasgow Mission ary Society - - - - 903 Importance of a lively faith, especially in mis sionary undertakings - - 905 Infinite evil of sin - 906 The Leper ib. The Christian Sabbath - - <6. Picture of an antinomian - - 907 EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES ON THE APOCALYPSE. Vol. 2.— Sig. 2. k BAPTIST CHURCH OF CHRIST AT KETTERING. Dear Brethren, It is at your request that these Discourses appear in print. When in the course of exposition I first entered on them, it was not from an idea that I at that time sufficiently understood the prophecy, but from a hope that by this means I might understand it better. And, now that I have ventured to publish,. it is not because I am fully satisfied of having given the true meaning in every instance. There are parts in which I can only say, I have done the best I could. If, however, I had not been satisfied as to the general meaning of the prophecy, or had been conscious of having thrown no new light upon it, I should have felt it to be my duty to withhold my papers from the public eye. Observing the blessing pronounced on " him that readeth, and on them that hear, the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein,'' I had a desire to enter upon it, accompanied, I think, with some sense of my dependence upon the en lightening influences of the Holy Spirit. The reason also assigned why we should study this part of the Holy Scriptures in particular, —that " the time is at hand," seemed to have greater force after a lapse of above seventeen hundred years than it could have at the time of its being written. I conceived also that the events of the present times, though we should beware of illusive hypotheses founded upon them, yet called for a special attention to prophecy. They might also be expected to throw some light upon it. Some late writers upon the subject appear to understand many things which earlier ones did not ; and there is reason to expect that prophecy will be understood much better in years to come than it is at present. The method I pursued was, first to read it carefully over, and, as I went on, to note down what first struck me as the meaning. After reducing these notes into something like a scheme of the prophecy, I examined the best expositors I could procure, and, comparing my own first thoughts with theirs, was better able to judge of their justness. Some of them were confirmed, some corrected, and many added to them. I have dealt but little in quotations ; refusing nothing, however, from any writer, which appeared to me to be just. And, as to what appeared otherwise, I have generally passed it over without attempting to refute it, as being rather desirous of giving the true meaning than of proving that other men's opinions were founded in mistake. 12 ADDRESS. The exposition of a prophecy, delivered in symbolical language, must be liable to many mistakes. A style so highly figurative furnishes great scope for the imagination, which, unless it be accompanied with a sober and just judgment, will lead us into labyrinths of er ror. How far I have been enabled to avoid them, and to succeed in throwing light upon any part of the prophecy, it is not for me to decide. This I know, my object has been to obtain its true meaning, and to communicate it in a manner suited, not to the curious, but to the Christian reader. The manuscript has lain by me between four and" five years, during which I have fre quently re-examined its contents, and availed myself of any farther light which by reading or reflection has appeared on the subject. During this period several of our most highly- esteemed friends, who joined in the request, are gone the way of all the earth. We shall soon follow them. We have seen enough, amidst all the troubles of our times, to gladden our hearts ; and trust that our children will see greater things than these, I am your affectionate Pastor, ANDREW FULLER. Kettering, March 21, 1815. SCHEME OF THE PROPHECY. The addresses to the seven churches are applicable to all other churches in similar cir cumstances in all ages, but not prophetic. — The things which the apostle was commanded to write being those which he had seen ; those which were, and those which should be here after, prove that the prophecy commences, not from the time of the vision, but probably from the ascension of Christ, in like manner as the four monarchies of Daniel commenced from the rising up of the Babylonish empire, many years before the time of the vision. — Chap. i. — iii. The book of seven seals contains the whole of the prophecy, the trumpets being only a subdivision of the seventh seal, and the vials of the seventh trumpet. — Chapters iv. v. The opening of the jirst seal, — on which appeared " a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown was given unto him : and he went forth conquering and to conquer," — represents the great progress of the gospel in the apostolic age. — Chap. vi. 1, 2. The opening of the second seal, — on which there appeared " a red horse, and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another," — signifies the wars between the Jews and the Romans, who had united in persecuting Christ and his followers. — Chap. vi. 3, 4. The opening of the third seal,— on which there appeared a " black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand," &c, — denotes a famine, or scarcity ap proaching to famine, in which the necessaries of life would be required to be weighed out with the utmost care, and which was fulfilled during the reigns of the Antonines. — Chap. vi. 5, 6. The opening of the fourth seal, — on which there appeared " a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed," — signifies great mortality, owing to the in trigues and intestine wars in the empire, between the years 193 and 270, which produced famine and pestilence, and by diminishing the number of men gave ascendency to the beasts of prey. — Chap. vi. 7, 8. The fifth seal was opened, — on which were seen " under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held : and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ? And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest [or wait] yet for a lit tle season, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." This seal represents the state of the church about the year 270, when it had endured nine out of the ten heathen persecutions, and was about to endure the tenth, under Dioclesian and Maximian, after which God would avenge their cause, by an utter overthrow of their persecutors. — Chap. vi. 9 — 11. The opening of the sixth seal, — on which appeared " an earthquake," and as it were a day of judgment,— signified the Revolution of Constantine, when the pagan empire was overthrown, and the prayers of the souls under the altar were answered. — Chap. vi. 12 — 17. The " sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads" portends danger to the spiritual interests of the church from its outward prosperity, and distinguishes the faithful from the crowd of nominal Christians that would now be pressing into it— Chap. vii. 1 — 8. This chapter concludes with a vision of the martyrs who had overcome, serving to strengthen the servants of God to encounter new trials.— Chap. vii. 9—17. 14 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. The seventh seal is opened. — A solemn pause ensues. — It is then subdivided into seven trumpets, which are put into the hands of seven angels ; and tlie sounding of them is pre faced by "another angel's offering up the prayers of the saints with much incense, filling his censer with fire, and casting it into the earth," denoting that the judgments to be brought by the trumpets would be in answer to their prayers. — Chap. viii. 1 — 5. The sounding of the first four trumpets, which affect " the earth, the sea, the fountains of waters, and the sun, moon, and stars," denote the judgments on the continental, the mari time, and the mountainous parts of the empire, by the invasion of the northern nations, the issue of which was the eclipse of the government supreme and subordinate. As the seals overthrew the Pagan empire, these overthrow the Christian. — Chap. viii. 6 — 12. The sounding of the fifth, or first woe-trumpet, on which followed " smoke from the bot tomless pit, and locusts," represents Popery as filling the world with infernal darkness, and thus preparing the way for Mahomedan delusion and depredation. — Chap. ix. 1 — 12. The sixth, or second ivoe-trumpet, is complex, relating partly to the " loosing of the four angels in Euphrates," followed by " an army of horsemen," and partly to the -conduct of " the rest of the men, who were not killed by these plagues,"— the former denoting the rise and ravages of the Turks, by whom the eastern empire, and with it tlie Greek church, were overthrown ; and the latter, the idolatries and cruelties of the members of the west ern church, who, instead of taking warning from the fate of the eastern, repented not, but persisted in corrupting the religion of Jesus Christ, and in persecuting his witnesses. — Chap. ix. 13 — 21, to chap.'xi. 14. The vision of the angel with " a little book open," whose cry was followed by " seven thunders," refers to the western or papal church, which the prophecy now goes some ages back to take up, and which occupies the whole of what follows till the beast and the false prophet are taken, or down to the times of the Millennium. — The " thunders " may proba bly refer to the same things, in the form of a general threatening, which are afterwards particularly disclosed under the vials : for it appears to be of their execution that the angel swears by Him that liveth for ever and ever that there shall be no delay : but that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound (that is, in the times of the pouring out of the vials,) the mystery of God should be finished. This accounts for the command " not to write them," as they would be particularized under the vials. — Chap. x. The eleventh and three following chapters are considered as three general descriptions of the false church, chiefly under the 1260 years of antichristian usurpation, together with the state of the true church during the same period. These general descriptions of course are not confined to the times of this or that trumpet, but comprehend those of the great er part of the trumpets. The first general description, contained in the eleventh chapter, denominates the false church " gentiles," and the true church " witnesses," who bear testimony against them. It leaves out of " the temple of God" the place occupied by the former. It represents, by the " slaughter of the witnesses," the prevalence of the antichristian party ; by their "resurrection and ascension to heaven," the Protestant Reformation ; and by the " earth quake," in which a tenth part of the city fell (and which, by the way, marks the termina tion of the sixth, or second woe-trumpet,) the late revolution in France. By the sounding of the seventh angel, a signal is given of the progress of the gospel. And, by the song of the heavenly choir, are intimated the judgments which should be inflicted on the anti christian party, and the Millennial glory that should follow. — Chap. xi. The second general description, contained in the twelfth chapter, represents the true church, prior to the introduction of antichristian corruptions, as " clothed with the sun, hav ing the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." These corrup tions originate in a third part of the stars of heaven being drawn from their orbits by the tail of the dragon, and cast upon the earth ; or by the rulers of the church being seduced by the riches and honors of the Roman empire. The dragon, having thus prevailed over a part of the Christian church, aims to devour the other. The true church fleeth into the wilderness, where she exists without legal protection or toleration till the Reformation in the sixteenth century, when Michael fights her battles, and the dragon is cast down. Suc ceeding persecutions are the effect of his defeat.— Chap. xii. The third general description, contained in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters, repre sents " a beast rising out of the sea, with seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, &c," signifying that secular government by which the false church has been all along supported — namely, the Roman empire under its last head, after it had been divided into ten independent, kingdoms, each of which was a horn of the beast. When SCHEME OF THE PROPHECY. 15 paganism was overthrown, the beast in one of its heads was " as it were wounded to death ; " but, when Christianity became so corrupted as to be paganized, " the deadly wound was healed."— Chap. xiii. 1 — 10. Another beast " rose out of the earth, with two horns like a lamb, but who spake as a dragon," — denoting the hierarchy, or false church itself, which is contemporary, and all • along acts in concert with the first or secular beast. — Chap. xiii. 11 — 18. During the ravages of these beasts, and in opposition to them and their followers, ap pears " a Lamb standing upon Mount Sion and with him 144,000, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. Their victory over antichristian error and corruption at the re formation is signified by "the voice of many waters, like thunder, and of harpers harping with their harps." The spirit lately excited to carry the gospel to the heathen is thought to be denoted by the evangelical " angel." The diminution and approaching dissolution of the antichristian power is represented by " another angel following, and saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen ! " And the danger of symbolizing and tampering with antichristianism is suggested by the solemn warnings of a " third angel." Then follows that of which the signal only had been given in the cry of the second angel — namely, the overthrow of Babylon, which is denoted by a harvest and a vintage. — Chap. xiv. Three general descriptions having been given, each of which carried us to the end of the 1260 years, the series of the prophecy, from the time of the sounding of the seventh, or third woe-trumpet, is now resumed. This trumpet wears a two-fold aspect: it is partly a woe-trumpet, and partly what may be called a jubilee-trumpet. In the former view the seven viais are a subdivision of it — in the latter it comprehends the Millennium, and all that follows to the end of the prophecy. — Chap. xv. The sounding of the seventh angel is the signal for the commencement of the pouring out of the vials, and is supposed to have taken place within the last five-and-twenty years. The vials are interpreted on the principle of their resemblance to the trumpets : — namely, the first, poured out on the " earth," is supposed to denote the late wars on the conti nent, between France and the other continental powers: the second, poured upon the " sea," the wars carrying on in the maritime nations of Spain and Portugal : the third, poured upon the " rivers and fountains of water," the wars which, if the principle here adopted be just, will ere long befal Italy and Savoy, the countries where was shed in shock ing profusion the blood of the Waldenses : the fourth, poured upon the " sun," the oppres sion of the supreme government to which the antichristian church will be subjected at the time : the fifth, poured on the " seat of the beast," such judgments as will either drive him from his den, or render him very miserable in it : the sixth, poured on ' Euphrates,' and pro ducing the battle of " Armageddon," partly the overthrow of the Turkish empire, and partly the temporal ruin of the adherents of popery : the seventh, poured into the " air," the overthrow of the spiritual power of popery, and of every other species of false religion. — Chap. xvi. The "three following chapters are considered as Notes of Illustration, containing more particular accounts of several subjects which have been already introduced. In the first of them (chap, xvii.) the false church is described under the opprobrious name of " the great whore," and the powers which support her under that of " a beast with seven heads and ten horns." This beast, namely, the Roman empire, "was, and is not, and yet is." When it was Pagan, it existed with all its beastly properties ; when it became Christian, it was supposed to have lost them, and to be a beast no longer ; but by the corruptions in troduced into Christianity, and which were supported by it, the beast still continued. The " seven heads " of the beast have a two-fold application.— First, they are said to be " seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth ; " referring to the seven hills on which Rome, when in its full extent, is well known to have stood, and so pointing out the seat of the hierarchy.— They are also said to be " seven kings," that is, governments, under which the empire had subsisted, did subsist, or would subsist hereafter. The forms under which it had subsisted, but which were passed away at the time of the commencement of the prophecy, were kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and military tribunes ; the form under which it then subsisted was that of emperors ; and that which was "yet to come, and to continue a short space," was the government which succeeded the overthrow of the emperors, and continued under various changes for about 3Q0 years, till the days of Charlemao-ne ; when a government was established which combined all the nations of Eu rope in support of the antichristian hierarchy. This short-lived intermediate power might; on some accounts, be considered as the " seventh " head of the beast, and as such be dis tinguished from its last head, which, in this view, would be the " eighth : " but upon the whole it was rather to be considered as belonging to that in which it terminated, and which in this view would be " of the seven." 16 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. The " ten horns " are the kingdoms of Europe, which, till the Reformation, all united with the empire in supporting the harlot; but which have already begun and will go on to hate her, to eat her flesh, and to burn her with fire. — Chap. xvii. The second of these Notes of Illustration (contained in the 18th chapter and the first eight verses of the 19th) is a sacred ode, sent, as it were, from heaven, to be sung at the overthrow of the antichristian church, in which are celebrated not only the " fall of Baby lon," but "the marriage ofthe Lamb ; " that is, not only the termination of the reign ofthe beast, but the introduction of the Millennial reign of Christ, which shall follow upon it. — Chap, xviii. xix. 1 — 8. The third and last of these notes (which begins at the ninth verse of the 19th chapter) describes the actual accomplishment of the fall of Babylon, which the foregoing ode had anticipated. He whose name is the Word of God goes forth " riding upon a white horse," (The appropriate symbol for the success of the gospel,) joined by his faithful followers. This provokes the adherents of the beast 'and of the false prophet, who, gathering togeth er their forces to oppose them, perish in the attempt. — Chap. xix. 9 — 21. As the overthrow ofthe antichristian hierarchy was celebrated in the preceding ode, un der the symbol of " the fall of Babylon," prior to its actual accomplishment ; so was the Millennium under that of " the marriage supper of the Lamb." This glorious period is now introduced as actually taking place. The "beast and the false prophet," or the secu lar and ecclesiastical powers, being fallen, the dragon himself is next seized and thrust into a state of confinement. — " Thrones " may denote stations of importance both in the world and in the church, which will now be filled by righteous men : thus " the kingdom is given to the people of the saints of the Most High ;- and, as the public mind will favor it, righteousness will every where prevail; corruptions, oppressions, wars, tumults, and rebellions, will cease from the earth, and all nations feel towards each other as children of the same family. — Now "judgment" is given to the martyrs, inasmuch as the cause for which they were slain is vindicated, and their memory honored; while "the rest," or the remnant of the antichristian party, who escaped from the battle in which their leaders were "taken," will be as dead men till the thousand years are ended. To them this glorious period will be a burial, but to the other a " resurrection." After the Millennium, Satan is loosed for a little season, and makes one more desperate effort to corrupt the world, and to destroy the church. — This brings on ther general confla gration — the resurrection of the dead — and the last judgment — Chap. xx. After this appear " the new heavens and the new earth," spoken of by Peter, " wherein dwelleth righteousness."" The world, purified from sin and its effects, becomes the ever lasting abode of the righteous, who, having been raised from the dead, are immortal. — The whole animate and inanimate creation, in so far as it has been " made subject to the vani ty " of subserving the cause of evil, is emancipated, and possesses that for which it has "travailed in pain," from the fall of man until now. — No more shall the earth be polluted and desolated by a succession of beasts ; but lo, "the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God ! " Conclusion. — The present the period of the vials} or that space of time which begins with the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and ends in tbe Millennium. — The termination of the 1260 years probably uncertain. A time of persecution to be previously expected. — Great success will attend the preaching of the gospel before the Millennium. — Aspect of the present times. — The Millennial glory. — Concluding reflections on the recent changes in Europe. EXPOSITORY DISCOURSES. DISCOURSE I. THE INTRODUCTION AND PREPARATORY VISION. Revelation I have lately expressed a wish to enter upon this difficult part of the Holy Scrip tures ; not because I conceive myself at present equal to the undertaking, but be cause I think I understand something of it, and hope, by going through it in the way of exposition, to understand more. I enter on it with fear : but, as I shall not attempt to explain that which appears to me of doubt ful import, I hope it may not be presumptu ous, but a profitable undertaking. * Ver. 1—3. The book takes its title, it seems, from the first verse. All scripture is a revelation, in some sense, but this is a dis closure of things to come. Christ is the great prophet of the church. He it was, as we shall see, that was found worthy to open the sealed book. It is neces sary to distinguish between the knowledge of Christ as a divine person, and that which he possesses as the prophet of his church. As divine he knows all things ; all things are naked to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do ; but as a prophet he receives his messages from the Father, and makes them known to us. In this sense he knew not the day of judgment ; that is, it was no part of the revelation which God gave to him to make known to men. As Christ in the char acter of a prophet has these things revealed to him, so, in communicating them after his ascension, he made use of an angel. It might have been too much for a mortal man to be admitted directly to converse with him in his glorified state. The writer introduces himself to the churches in the character of a witness, de claring that the things which he was about to communicate were from above — they * These discourses were delivered in the years 1809 and 1810, drawn out in 1811, and have lain by from that time to the present (1815.) Vol. 2.— Sig. 3. were "the word of God," and therefore might be depended upon — "the testimony of Jesus Christ," on the fulfilment of which he rested the truth of the gospel, and which he himself in vision plainly " saw." To induce us to give the most serious attention to the subject, a blessing is pro nounced on those who " read, and hear, and keep," the words of this prophecy, especially as the time of its fulfilment was at hand. I recollect no other part of Scripture that is prefaced with such an inducement to read and understand and practically regard it. The prophecy must be of immediate concern to the church of Christ, and requires to be read and heard, not for the gratifying of curiosity, but for the obedience of faith. We must "keep" it, as one engaged in a voyage through dangerous seas keeps his chart, and consults it on all necessary occasions. It is that to the New Testament church which the pillar of the cloud was to the church in the wilderness, guiding it through the labyrinths of antichristian errors and cor ruptions. It must not be neglected under a notion of its being hard to be (understood. As well might the mariner amidst the rocks neglect his friendly chart, under an idea of its being difficult to understand and apply it It would seem, too, from this promise, that the successful study of the prophecy depends not merely on literary attainments, but on a practical regard to the things con tained in it. Whatever advantages attacn to the former, and these are many and great, they will not succeed nor obtain the blessing without the latter. Ver. 4 — 7. The proconsular Asia had probably been the chief seat of the writer's labors since the death of the apostle Paul. To the churches in this province, therefore, he was directed to address the prophecy. The benediction is affectionate and appro- 18 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. priate. The periphrasis used of God the Father, " Who is, and who was, and who is to coma,'' is singularly appropriate as an in troduction to a prophecy concerning the mu tability of creatures. The " seven spirits " are the abundant gifts and graces of the Ho ly Spirit, or the Holy Spirit in respect of his abundant gifts and graces. The number seven is not only a well-known symbol of perfection, but corresponds with the number of the churches ; and, as they represent the whole church, s'o these describe the Holy Spirit in his rich and abundant influences. To the blessing from the Father and the Holy Spirit he adds, " And from Jesus Christ, who i3 the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth." By the first of these appellations our Lord accredits the prophecy as being his testimony ; and by the last two cheers his suffering followers, by reminding them of his having emerged from death and obtained a complete ascendancy over all his and their enemies. And now, having mentioned the name of Jesus Christ, he cannot leave it without ad ding a sweet doxology on his dying love, and its interesting effects — " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." Nor has he yet taken .leave of this subject: Christ's suffering people must be directed to his second coming, when the persecuting Jews who pierced him in his person, and the persecuting Gentiles who were now piercing him in his members, will be called to account. To their just punish ment, dreadful as it will be, the servants of God will add their " Amen." Ver. 8. The apostle, after expatiating on the glory of Christ in his salutation, now in troduces him as speaking himself. That these are his words, and not those of the Father, will appear from comparing them with ch. i. 1, and xxii. 6" — 16. It was Jesus Christ, and not the Father, who communicat ed, through the angel, with his servant John. The Father is sometimes referred to in the prophecy ; but, if I mistake not, it is in the third person only : not as speaking, but as spoken of. Jesus Christ therefore is " the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the almighty ; " and consequent ly is able to preserve his church, and to ex ecute the punishments denounced in this prophecy against her enemies. Ver. 9 — 20. It was usual for the most -.eminent prophets to be introduced to their work by an extraordinary vision. Such was ihe introduction of Isaiah (ch. vi.) of Jere miah, and of Ezekiel ; and such is that of John. Having been banished to the Isle of Patmos by Domitian for preaching Christ, the spirit of prophecy came upon him on the Lord's-day, when he heard from behind him a great voice as of a trumpet, saying I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, and what thou seest write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia. Turning to see whence the voice proceed ed, he saw " seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of them one like unto the Son of man." It was from him therefore that the great voice proceeded. In short, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ, who as to his human nature had lived and died on earth, but who as to his divine person was " the first and the last," standing, as the great High Priest over the house of God, in the midst of his churches, clothed with ineffable glory. The effect of such a vision was more than a frail mortal. could sustain. He who when his Lord was upon earth leaned familiarly on his bosom no"w " fell at his feet as dead." But, laying his right hand upon him, he said, " Fear not, I am the first and the last ; I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death." This impres sive vision would not only excite in his mind a deep interest in the kingdom of Christ, and so prepare him for what he was to see, and hear, and write ; but must have tended greatly to relieve him from his anxieties for his brethren and companions in tribulation from whom he had been separated. All the apostles were dead : he only was left, and the heathen rulers had banished him. Hell and death threatened to swallow up the church. In this situation he is told not to fear, for that his Lord lived, and had the control of both the invisible and visible world. Being commanded to write " the things which he had seen, the things that were, and the things that should be hereafter," we may conclude that what he wrote respected not only the future state of the church from the time of the vision, but the whole gospel dis pensation, from the ascension of Christ to the end of the world. What is said of the " seven stars and sev en golden candlesticks" would tend greatly to encourage both the ministers and the churches of Christ. There was a golden candlestick in the tabernacle, and in the second temple. — Exod. xxv. 31 — 40 ; Zech. iv. 2. That was but one candlestick, though it had seven branches : but these are seven candlesticks ; agreeing with the different constitutions of the Old and New Testament church, the former being national, and the latter congregational. inn; Eriri'LES TO THE CHURCHES. 19 DISCOURSE II. THE EPISTLES TO THE CHURCHES. Rev. ii. 1—17. Before we enter on these epistles dis tinctly, it is proper to make a few general remarks. First: Some have considered these church es as prophetically representing the different states of the church at large under the gospel dispensation. There is no doubt but analo gies may be found between them : but it ap pears to me that the hypothesis is unfounded. The church of Ephesus, if designed to repre sent the whole Christian church in the age of the apostles, might be expected to sustain as high a character at least as any that follow ; whereas Smyrna, in respect of its purity, is manifestly superior to it. Every thing addressed to the latter is in its praise ; which is not the case with the former. But surely itis not true that any age of the church since that ofthe apostles is to be compared with it, much less that it has excelled it in evangelical purity. Others, doubting the justness of this hy pothesis, have considered the epistles to the churches as referring to the then present state of the church, and the sealed book to that which was future. And this they consider as agreeing with the division ofthe book in to " things which the writer had seen, things which were, and things which should be here after,"— Ch. i. 19. This is Mr. Lowman's view of it When I entered upon these Discourses from the pulpit I adopted this opinion : but before I had proceeded far in the work I was compelled to give it up ; the reasons for which will appear when we enter on the opening of the seals, in ch. vi., under the fifth general remark in Discourse VI. Instead of considering the epistles to the seven churches either as prophetic, or as de scriptive of the state of the church at large as it then was, I should rather consider them as descriptive of the state of those seven churches as they then were, and as designed to furnish encouragements, reproofs, warn ings, and counsels, to all other churches and Christians, in all future ages, as their cases are found to resemble theirs. The application ought not to be confined to one age more than to another, nor even to collective bodies : every one, in every age, that hath an ear to hear, is called to " hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." In applying them to ourselves, we should consider the Great Head of the Church as watching over us, and closely observing the state of our hearts towards him, with all our proceedings, whether good or evil ; and in quire what would be his address to us were he to commission an angel or an apostle to write to us. Secondly ; By the epistles being address ed to the angels, we are not to understand them as concerning the pastors only, in dis tinction from the churches, but to consider them as their representatives. That which the Spirit saith in these epistles is " to the churches." Thirdly : In every address to the churches Christ assumes a distinct character, taken from some one part of the description given of him in the preceding vision ; each of which, if we rightly understand it, will be found to be appropriate to the character or circumstances of the church addressed. Fourthly : Every address begins with com mendation, provided there be any thing to commend. This shows that Christ knows all, and notices that which is good amongst us as well as that which is evil ; nay, that he takes more pleasure in noticing the good than in complaining of the evil — an example worthy of our imitation in dealing with one another. If we wish to reclaim our brethren who have fallen into sin, we must begin by appreciating the good in them, and by can didly commending it, before we reprove them for their faults. Such was the conduct of Paul to the Corinthians, when about to censure them for their abuse of the Lord's supper — " Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them unto you.'' Fifthly : Most of the churches have some what on account of which they are censured and admonished. This is an humbling truth, even of the first and purest churches : how much more of those in our times ! If the Son of God, whose eyes are as a flaming fire, were to pronounce our character, would there not be " somewhat against us ? " We can see each other's errors and defects ; but it were to much more advantage if we could detect our own. Finally : Every epistle concludes with a promise to him that overcometh, and an ex hortation to hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Professing Christians in this world are soldiers enlisted under the banner of Christ. Some have proved deserters ; many have been partially overcome j the Captain of the Lord's host here addresses them, holding forth the glory that awaits. them who are finally victorious. Ver. 1 — 7. Ephesus was the metropolis of the Proconsular Asia ; and it is probable that all these churches were planted by the labors of the Apostle Paul, during his two years' residence at Ephesus1, when " all they who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.'*— Acts xix. 10. The Ephesians appear to ha;e been in a good state when the apostle Paul took leave of their elders at Miletus ; but he then gave them to expect a time of trial after his de- 20 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. parture, and which by this time seems to have come upon them. The character which our Lord here as sumes is taken from ch. i. 16, 20, and seems to contain both encouragement and warning ; which fitly applies to their character, as part ly commendable and partly blameable. They had been distinguished by their exertions in promoting the cause of Christ, and their sufferings on account of it. They " work ed," yea, they "labored" for Christ, and when called to encounter persecution, bore it with "patience." They were zealous also in the exercise of a strict and holy dis cipline, not suffering evil characters and im postors to remain amongst them : and in this course of obedience they had " not faint ed." Altogether, this is a high character. Yet even here is something amiss ; they had "left their first love." We see here that the Lord looketh at the heart. We may re tain our character and respectability among the churches, while yet, as to the state of our minds, Christ has somewhat against us. To leave our first love is a very common case, so much so that some will give young Chris tians to expect it as a matter of course : but Christ treats it as a sin, and calls on the par ties to " repent " of it!, yea, and threatens to " remove their candlestick out of its place except they repented." To decline in our attachment to Christ, his gospel, his ordi nances, his people, and his cause, is practi cally reproaching him : it is saying, to those around us, We have not found that in his re ligion which we once expected to find. " O my people, what have I done unto thee, and wherein have I wearied thee ? Testify against me ! " A declension in love is followed by a de generacy in good works. If this had not been the case, they would not have been ad monished to do their " first works." Either they were neglected, or attended to in a half hearted manner, different from what they were at the beginning. The Lord, to show that he did not find fault with them with pleasure, again com mends them as far as they were commenda ble : they hated the doctrine of the Nicolai- tanes, which he also hated. Clemens of Alexandria, as quoted by Eusebius, speaks of these as a people who practised a communi ty of wives, living in fornication and adulte ry. It is thought, and with some probability, that they were the people to whom Peter and Jude refer — the antinomians ofthe prim itive church. If we have an ear to hear what the Spirit saith unto this church, we shall learn from it, among other things, — that works are the chief test of character — that in serving the Lord in this world there is great occasion for patience under sufferings, and discrimi nation of characters — and that, while justly censuring others, we may decline in spiritu ality ourselves. The promise to him that overcometh is, that he shall " eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." That which grew in the earthly paradise be came inaccessible by sin; but no flaming sword nor cherubim prevent access to this. Ver. 8 — 11. Of the church of Smyrna, as well as several others, no mention is made except in these epistles. — Polycarp, the dis ciple of John, was pastor of-it, and suffered martyrdom. Whether he was the angel here addressed is uncertain ; but when he suffered, which was about the year 162, he speaks of himself as having served Christ eighty-six years, and Irenasus speaks of him as having been ordained bishop of Smyrna by the apostles. This church seems distin guished by its persecutions ; all that is said has respect to them. The character under which Christ ad dresses them is taken from ch. i. 11, 18. " These things saith the first and the last, who was dead, and is alive." The former is expressive of his Godhead, and suggests how vain it is for the enemies of the gospel to oppose him. In the latter he holds up himself as an example of persecution be fore them, and as an earnest of deliverance from it. The commendation of their " works " in the midst of tribulation and poverty (poverty, it is likely, arising from their persecutions) is much to their honour. We see here of what little account worldly wealth is in the estimation of Christ. We hear much of re spectable congregations and churches, when little else is meant but that they are numer ous or opulent : but the estimation of Christ goes on quite another principle. What a contrast there is between this church and that at Laodicea ! They were rich in this world's goods, but poor towards God : these were poor in this world, but rich towards God. It is intimated that they had not only to contend with heathens, but Jews, who had a synagogue in this city : and it is remarka ble that, in the account of the martyrdom of Polycarp, the Jews are spoken of as being very active in it, and as joining the heathens in kindling the fire. We see here to what a state of mind that people were left after having rejected Christ : they had been tlie people of God, but were now no longer such, but blasphemers : their synagogues had been places where God had been worshipped: there our Lord himself attended, and to them the friends of God in heathen countries had been used to resort ; but hence they became the synagogues of Satan ! They are given to expect more persecu tions, but are encouraged to meet them with fortitude. The devil would stir up his agents -iM*. triSTLES TO THE CHURCHES CONTINUED. 21 to imprison some of them for a season, and some of them might expect to die for the name of Christ ; but, if faithful unto death, they are promised a crown of life. It was about sixty-seven years after this that Polycarp, and other members of this church, suffered martyrdom ; the account of which is given by Eusebius in a letter from the church of Smyrna. When Polycarp was apprehended by his persecutors, they set him on an ass, and brought him to the place of judgment. He was met by some of the magistrates, who took him into their carriage, and tried to persuade him to deny Christ and save his life, but which he resisted. On his approaching the place of execution, the proconsul, ashamed of putting so aged and venerable aman to death, urged him to blas pheme Christ. It was then that he answer ed, " Eighty-six years I have served him, during all which time he never did me inju ry ; how then can I blaspheme my king and my Saviour ? " When farther urged, his ans wer was, " I am a Christian." When threat ened with wild beasts, he said, " Bring them forth." When with fire, he reminded them ofthe eternal fire that awaited the ungodly. His last address to God had more of praise in it than of prayer. It is a high honor to this persecuted peo ple that nothing is said to them in a way of reproof. To be " blameless andharmless, the sons of God, without rebuke in an evil gen eration," is great, even in respect of our fel low creatures ; but to be without rebuke from Christ himself is much greater. To this suffering church Christ saith, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Let every one that hath an ear hear this language, and be armed by it against the fear of man. Ver. 12—17. Pergamos was a city of Mysia, not far from Troas. We find the apostle Paul at this latter city more than once ; and " a door was here opened to him of the Lord, to preach Christ's gospel." — 2 Cor. ii. 12. Here it was that he afterwards commemorated the Lord's death with the disciples ; and, as he had to wait seven days for their coming together, it would seem as if they had to come from some great distance. The church at Pergamos might therefore be planted about the same time. The character under which our Lord ad dresses them is taken from chap. i. 16, — " He that hath the sharp sword with two edges " — and wears a terrible aspect towards a cor rupt party amongst them, against whom he threatens to wage war. Kind and encouraging things however are addressed to the body of them. Christ knew their " works," and their firm adherence to him under great trials and persecutions, in which one of their number in particular, and probably their pastor, had suffered martyr dom. Pergamos was a city said to be " sa cred to the gods : " here therefore we might expect to find the head-quarters of idolatry and persecutions ; and their standing firm in such a place, and at such times, was much to their honor. But there were " a few things " amongst them which displeased Christ. Some ofthe members tampered with idolatry and its or dinary attendant, fornication ; and the rest connived at it. This is called "the doctrine of Balaam," because it was in this way that that wicked prophet drew Israel into sin. They had also some of the " Nicolaitanes " amongst them, whose principles and practices the Lord abhorred. They are called upon to repent on pain of Christ's displeasure, who threatens, except they repent, to come unto them quickly, and to execute the judgments of his word against them, even against the transgressors them selves, and all who favored them. These warnings and threatenings require our attention, and that of all who are guilty in a greater or less degree of the same evils : nor do the encouragements to them that over come require it less. The " hidden manna," the " white stone," and the " new name," be ing promised as the reward of them that over come, seems to refer to the blessedness and honor of a future state, rather than of the present ; though Christians doubtless have a foretaste of them even in this life. The "hidden manna" refers to those who should deny themselves of " eating things sacrificed to idols," and other carnal enjoyments, for Christ's sake ; and denotes that there is a feast in reserve for them, which shall infi nitely exceed the pleasures of flesh and sense. The Romans in judgment are said to have given their suffrage for condemnation by casting black stones into an urn, and, for abso lution, by casting in white stones. White stones are also said to have been given by the Greeks to the conquerors in the Olym pic games, with their names upon them, and the value ofthe prize they won. The appli cation of this is easy. DISCOURSE III. THE EPISTLES TO THE CHURCHES CON TINUED. Eev. ii. 18—29; iii. The character under which our Lord ad dresses the church of Thyatira is taken from chap. i. 13 — 15, with this variation : there he is described as " one like unto the Son of man : " but here he is called " The Son of God ; " as denoting his divine personality. With this agrees what is said of him, that " his eyes were like unto a flame of fire," discerning the secrets of the heart; "and his feet like fine brass," denoting the sta- 22 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. bility and glory of his proceedings. It is like saying, " All things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom you have to do." " Seeing then that ye have a great high-priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, hold fast your pro fession ! " It is a high commendation that is given of this church, for its " works, and charity, and service, and patience, and works." Nor is this last word repeated without cause ; it de notes their persevering and even abounding in good works ; " the last were more than the first." There are few churches, I fear, of which this can be said. Christ may know our works — and our works : but in most cases the first are more than the last ! Yet, with all this excellence, Christ has a few things against them. With all this pos itive good, there was a mixture of relative evil. " The woman Jezebel " seems to relate to a corrupt part of the church, who though united to God's people, as Jezebel was by marrying an Israelitish prince, yet were in heart attached to idolatry, and labored to se duce others into it. As a corrupt part of the Christian church is described as a harlot, so a corrupt part of a particular church may be thus designated ; and as Jezebel pretended to divine authority, and had her prophets to draw the servants of God into literal and spiritual fornication, so these had a kind of religion which would comport with eating and drinking at idolatrous temples, and so with occasional conformity to idolatry. They had had space to repent ; the Lord had long borne with them : but his forbearance opera ted, as it often does, to harden them in their sin. This forbearance, however, will not continue always : Jezebel, with her adulter ous paramours, will, except they repent, be cast together into a bed of devouring fire ; and this for a warning to the churches. It seems that, like some among the Corin thians, they boasted of their knoivledge, as being able to distinguish between eating at an idol's temple and worshipping it (1 Cor. viii. 1 ;) they spoke of their depths in knowl edge ; but Christ calls them " the depths of Satan," and virtually disowns their abettors, distinguishing the faithful from them — " Un to you, I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and who have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak ; I will put upon you none other bur den. But that which ye have hold fast till I come." The promise to them that overcome the temptations of the present life is a final tri umph. They shall judge the world of the ungodly : and those who have persecuted them, and set themselves against them, will then fall before them. As a potter's vessel is broken to shivers, so shall they be destroy ed ; and all this according to the commission which Christ received of his Father. Nor is this all : Christ will give unto them that overcome " the morning star." As this is one ofthe names assumed by himself (chap. xxii. 16,) it may denote that he himself will be their portion. The exhortation " he that hath an ear, let him hear," &c, may in this case direct our attention to the following important particu lars, — That we may be members of a true church, and yet not true members of the church ; that the mixture of evil characters and evil things which at present is found in Christ's visible kingdom greatly tarnishes its glory, but in the end he will gather them out, and then shall the righteous shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father ; that we may have space given us for repentance and yet never repent, which will greatly ag gravate our doom ; that there is a' species of knowledge with which it is our honor and happiness to be unacquainted ; finally, that the hope of victory is sufficient to stimulate us under all our conflicts. Ch. iii. ver. 1 — 6. The church of Sardis lies under the heavy charge of having " a name to live while it was dead." The ad dress to it is taken from chap. i. 4, 20, and may be designed to direct them and their pastor where to look for reviving grace. Nothing is said in a way of commendation, except to individuals amongst them. This indicates a bad state indeed. There arenot many churches, but individuals might be found in them who love the Lord. The " works " which Christ knew appear to be the same as those which he had " not found perfect before God." Though therefore he knew them, he did not approve of them. It is bad for the world to be dead ; but for a church to be so is worse : this is salt with out savor, which is neither fit for the land nor the dunghill. It is bad for individuals to be dead ; but for the body of a church to be so is deplorable. It is implied that they were not only destitute of spirituality, but had defiled their garments by worldly con formity. There had been some good amongst them, or they would not have been called to "re member how they had received and heard ; " and some remains of it might continue. As no complaint is made of false doctrine, it is likely they continued orthodox, and kept up the forms of godliness. There seem to have been something of truth, love, and zeal ; but they were like dying embers, ready to expire. Christ admonished them to awake from their supineness, to take the alarm, and to strength en the things which remained, that were ready to die. This is done by each one be ginning with himself, and ending with one another. The means of recovery from such a state are, " remembering how we received an d heard " the gospel at the first. Call to re - THE EPISTLES TO THE CHURCHES CONTINUED. 23 membrance the former days, not to get com fort under our declensions, but to recover those views and sensations which we had at the beginning of our Christian course. There were many, also, who at first had received the gospel with much heart, and had heard it with delight, but who in the course of for ty years would be removed by death. Let them call to remembrance the love and zeal of their fathers, and be ashamed of their own declensions. If these admonitions did not awaken them, they are given to understand that Christ will come upon them in an unex pected hour, even as a thief cometh in the night. The "few names which had not defiled their garments" are highly commended. To walk with God at any time is acceptable to him : and to do this while others around us are corrupt is more so. This is being faithful among the faithless. They shall walk with Christ in glory, honor, and purity. With this agrees the promise to them that overcome : " They shall be clothed in white raiment ; and Christ will not blot out their names from tlie book of life." The blessed God is represented as keeping a register of his servants, not as elect, or as redeemed, or as called, but as his professed folloiuers. When any turn back, their names are blotted out. Hence at the last judgment it is made the rule of condemnation. " Whosoev er was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." — Ch. xx. 15. Some were never there, having never professed to be the followers of Jesus, while others who had been there were blot ted out : in either case their names would not be found there. Hence also it is the rule of admission into the New Jerusalem. — Ch. xxi. 27. " He that hath an ear to hear let him hear." Let us beware of judging ourselves by what others think of us. We may have a name to live amongst our brethren, and yet be dead. Our names may be written among the professed followers of Christ, and yet be blotted out when he comes to judgment. But let faithful individuals know that, what ever may be the end of others, Jesus will confess them before his Father, and before his angels. Ver. 7 — 13. There is a great difference between the church at Philadelphia, and that at Sardis : in that there was nothing to commend ; in this nothing is censured. The character under which they are addressed is taken from chap. i. 18, and accords with the address itself. "-He that was holy and true " approved of them ; and " he that had the keys of David, who opened and no man shut, had " set an open door before them." The Lord knew and approved of their works, and would make them more and more successful. They were not distinguished by opulence, nor perhaps by any of those things that render a people respectable in the eyes of the world ; but of their " little strength " they had made good use ; they held fast the truth, and stood firm under per secution, which is of more account in the esteem of Christ thari all other things. This, and most of the primitive churches, met with great opposition from the Jewish synagogue, which is here again called " the synagogue of Satan ; " whose members, hav ing rejected the Messiah, were no longer worthy of the name of Jews. They that say they are what they are not, whether it be Jews or Christians, are commonly the bitter est of persecutors. Their " coming " to them in a way of cringing submission may refer to a state of things in which, a door being opened in a way of success, the Christians should be increased in number and in pow er ; while the Jews, owing to their wars with the Romans, would be glad of their friendship. The gospel is called " the word of Christ's patience," in respect of what it was to them. The retention of it under a succession of cruel persecutions required great patience ; yet they had kept it, and the Lord prom ised in return to keep them in a particular time of trial that was coming upon the world. It might be by a renewal of persecution in the empire, or by the prevailing of corrup tions in the church. As the Lord punishes sin by giving men up to sin, so he rewards righteousness by preserving them in the paths of it. We have had many of these hours of temptation, and may have many more : blessed are they that are preserved through them ! They are directed to look for the coming of their Lord, and to hold fast truth and true religion, lest their adversaries should wrest it out of their hands, and so deprive them of their reward. The promise to them that overcome is, that they shall be " pillars " in the celestial temple ; and, unlike those of the Jewish tem ple, which were removed by the Chaldeans and by the Romans, shall " go no more out." We are not to reckon the future greatness of men according to their talents in this life, but according to the use made of them. Those who have here had but " a lit tle strength '\ may there become pillars in the temple. The pillars of the church on earth go out and leave it by death ; but those of the church above will abide forever. The writing upon them of the name of God, and the name of the city of God, the New Jerusalem, and of his own new name, doubtless means as much as this — that they shall be treated as the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty, as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, and as those who are redeemed from among men. It is for us, both as individuals and as churches, to take encouragement from this 24 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. address to hold that fast which we have, that no man take our crown. Ver. 14 — 22. The Laodicean church ap pears to have been in the worst state of any ofthe seven. Sardis, though it had nothing to commend, had a few excellent names : but Laodicea is censured without distinction. Yet even this church is not given up, but re buked in love. The character under which the Laodice ans are addressed is that of" the Amen, the faithful and true witness." Being lifted up with their riches, they might be tempted to refuse this faithful witness that was borne against them ; but, however disagreeable, it was " true." Christ is here called " The be ginning of the creation of God." Itis true that as to his human nature he was himself created ; the name here assumed, however, does not refer to this, but to his being the head ( «>ixfl ) and first cause of creation. Thus, in Col. i. 15, he is called "the first-born of every creature ; " not as being himself a creature, but the first cause of cre ation : " For (it is added) by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." A message from such a character deserved their serious at tention. Christ knew their works, but could not approve of them ; for they were " neither cold nor hot." They may be said to be cold who have no religion, and pretend to none ; and they to be hot who are^zealously engaged in Christ's work : but these people were neither this nor that. They were not de cidedly religious, and yet would not let re ligion alone. This state of mind is represented as being peculiarly offensive to Christ. To halt be tween truth and error, God and the world, is worse in many respects than to be openly ir religious. Corrupt Christianity is more offen sive to God than open infidelity. No man thinks the worse of religion forwhat he sees in the openly profane ; but it is otherwise in respect of religious professors. If he that nameth the name of Christ depart not from iniquity, the honor of Christ is affected by his misconduct. These people appear to have been very proud, and withal very ignorant of them selves. Their opulence seems to have lift ed them up. Religion seldom thrives with much worldly prosperity. Men covet such things, &nd value themselves upon them ; but they are commonly snares to their souls. It is a hard thing for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. If these were the " riches " of which they boasted, it shows that the estimate of worldy greatness, formed by the faithful and true witness, is very different from that of the generality of men. Of what account is it in his sight to be rich and in creased in goods, while as to our spiritual concerns we are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked ? Being charged with blindness, and coun selled to use means to' remove it, it would seem, however, that the riches of which they boasted included those of the mind ; and that they were proud of their knowl edge and gifts as well as of their wealth. Like the Corinthians, "they were full, they were rich, they reigned as kings " without the apostles. There is much of this still among professing Christians. One par ty looks down upon another, and values it self for its superior light ; one declaims against pharisaism in the true spirit of a pharisee ; another is busy about the mote in his brother's eye, regardless of the beam in his own. The sentence of the faithful and true witness, concerning all that are wise and righteous in their own eyes, is, Thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked, and knowest it not ! In respect ofthe counsel offered them, they are addressed like sinners in common, who knew not the Saviour. This was probably the case with many of them ; and if some had known him, yet, being in a backsliding state, the best counsel that could be given them was, that they should come as sinners immediately to the Saviour. Tbey are di rected to seek the true riches, the true right eousness, and the true tvisdom, and to deal . with Christ for them ; not as giving him any valuable consideration for them (for this as being poor they could not,) but as parting with all for them. This is " buying without money and without price." This is the way in which sinners come to Christ at first, and this is the way for backsliders to be restored. The child that has been ill taught must begin anew, and go over every rule again. To reconcile them to this sharp and hum bling reproof they are assured that these were not the words of an enemy, but of one that bore them good will. It shows the great forbearance and long-suffering good ness of our Lord, even towards them that have greatly dishonored him. It also teach es* us to put a right construction on divine rebukes, receiving them as the rod of correc tion to bring us to repentance. To counsel is added a word of encourage ment and of warning : — " Behold I stand at the door and knock : If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Here again they seem to be treated rather as sinners than as Christians. If the com mon invitations of the gospel be acceptable, they are welcome to them. Jesus stands at their door and knocks for admission. Do they hear him ? and will they open the door and welcome him ? If so, he will come in, and. be THE EPISTLES TO THE CHURCHES CONTINUED. 25 their guest But if they are so taken up with their present company as not to hear him, or at least not to open to him, he will go away as he did from the Jewish temple — " Behold your house is left unto you desolate." If this serious and tender address did not reclaim them as a body, yet the promise to them that should overcome, that they should " sit down with him in his throne, as he also had overcome, and was set down with his father in his throne," might encourage in dividuals to return and hold out to the end." Let these censures, warnings, and encour agements, addressed to the seven churches in Asia, as a specimen ofthe whole, be heard and regarded by the churches of Christ, and by every individual member of them, to the end of time. DISCOURSE IV. THE VISION PRECEDING THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS. Rev. iv. The whole of this chapter is introductory to what follows. The scene of the vision is the heavenly world. Nowhere else could it have been with equal propriety. Where, but at the fountain of intelligence and influ ence, should a creature learn the secrets of futurity? When Ahab's destiny was re vealed to Micaiah, the scene of the vision was laid in heaven. — 1 Kings xxii. 19 — 22. A door being opened, the apostle is invited to enter in. Having entered, he immediately finds himself under prophetic inspiration. He was not removed from the earth as to his body : but as Ezekiel was carried by the spirit to Jerusulem, and saw what was trans acting there, while his body was still in Chaldea, so it was with him : he was still in the Isle of Patmos, while wrapt up by divine inspiration, and introduced into the immedi ate presence of God. In this supernatural state of mind he be held a " throne," and one " sitting upon it," who was the .supreme disposer of all the concerns of creatures. Such a sight would impress him with the conviction that what ever should befal the church, or the world, it was all according to his will who ruled in the armies of heaven and among the inhabit ants of the earth. — Ver. 1, 2. No description is given of the ever^bless- ed God, only that his glory seemed to resem ble the lustre of certain precious stones ; and this may allude to the visible glory of the God of Israel as displayed in the temple. A rainbow was also round about the throne, in appearance like an emerald. We know that this from of old was a sign of peace and good will to men. It may here denote that the glorious majesty of God, which in itself was too much to be endured, would be displayed towards his church in connection with covenant mercy. — Ver. 3. Having spoken of the king eternal, im mortal, and invisible, sitting on his throne, he next describes his retinue. Here are twenty-four seats, or subordinate thrones, on which sat twenty-four elders, clothed in white, and with crowns of gold updn their heads. The "lightnings, and thunderings, and voices," may denote not only the awful majesty of God, as %vhen he appeared at Si nai, but that from him proceeded all the ter rible judgments which would shortly afflict the earth. Besides these there were " sev en lamps of fire before the throne," which are said to be "the seven spirits of God ;" answering, it may be, to the seven candle sticks, and being as it were a lamp to each candlestick. The light imparted by the churches is all derived from the Holy Spirit. These seven lamps enlighten the world. — Ver. 4, 5. " Before the throne was a sea of glass like unto crystal." This crystal sea, as it was in appearance, but which was so solid that the harpers are afterwards described as standing upon it, may be opposed to the troubled tumultuous sea out of which the beast would rise, and may denote the gran deur and immutability of the divine throne as opposed to the turbulence and uncertain ty of earthly thrones. The four living crea tures seem to be the same as those describ ed by Ezekiel, and to allude, as they did, to the cherubim ip the holy of holies. That which the wheels were to the one the elders are to the other ; connected with them, like horses in a chariot, in all their movements. Of the former it is said, " When the living creatures went, the wheels went by them ; when those stood, these stood ; and, when those were lifted up from the earth, these were lifted up over against them : for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels."— Ezek. i. 21. Of the latter it is said, "When those living creatures give glory, and honor, and thanks to him that sit- tsth on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four-and-twenty elders fall down before him, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." The living creatures cannot be angels, for both they and the elders are distinguished from them in chap, vii. 11, where all the an gels are said to "stand round about th& throne, ani about the elders, and the four living creatures." Besides this, the living creatures and the elders speak of themselves as " redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, Vol. 2— Sig. 4 26 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. and nation." — Chap. v. 9. Those who led the worship under the Old Testament might be meant by the living creatures of Ezekiel ; and those who lead the worship under the New Testament may be signified by those of John. They and the elders, like the stars and the candlesticks, appear to be the representatives of Christ's ministers and churches in the heavenly assembly. They are not described as being themselves on earth, or in a state of affliction, but as before the throne of God, as though a number of the spirits of just men made perfect had been chosen of God to represent in his im mediate presence their brethren upon earth, and who, as things should be described which concerned the church, would express the interest they felt in them. The description of the living creatures as bearing a resemblance to certain animals, and as having each six wings, which wings were "full of eyes within," would naturally express their useful properties, particularly the union of zeal and knowledge ; and their unceasing ascriptions of glory to God may denote the tendency of their ministerial la bors. The elders were crowned, but they cast their crowns before the throne. Such appear to be the scene and scenery of this preparatory vision. — Ver. 6 — 11, DISCOURSE V, THE BOOK WITH SEVEN SEALS, Rev. v. That which is here called "a Book" must not be supposed to resemble our books, which since the invention of printing have been very different from those of the an cients, Conceive of seven skins of parch ment, written upon one side,* and rolled up, suppose on wood. At the end of every skin a seal is affixed on the backside, so that the contents of it cannot be read till the seal is opened, This book, or roll, or volume, being "in the right hand of him that sat on the throne," denotes that futurity is known only to God. The proclamation made for one that should be worthy to open the book shows how desirable it was that the mind of God in regard to futurity should be revealed, for strengthening the faith and supporting the hope of his church upon earth ; and as John had been invited for the very purpose * By the punctuation in our translation it would seem as if they were written upon on both sides; but this would not comport with the contents be ing Becret, which they were till the seals were unloosed. It seems, therefore, that a comma i3 ne cessary after the word " within," in verse 1. Sev eral other versions, and some editions of our own, read it, A book written within, and on the back side sealed with seven seals. of learning "the things that should be here after," things which related to the church of Christ, which he had been employed in raising, it must be peculiarly interesting to him. He must needs be anxious to know the things that should befal these his people in the latter days. To see a book therefore which contained them, and yet none in heav en or earth found worthy to open it, might well make him weep. — Ver. 1—4.- This want of a suitable person to open the book is introduced for the purpose of doing honor to the Lamb, whose success gives uni versal joy and satisfaction. tThe work of making known the mind of God was an honor too high for any mere creature in heaven or on earth ; it was given to Christ as the reward of his obedience, unto death, — Ver. 9. The honor of preaching the gos pel is represented as being of grace : "Un to me (said Paul,) who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the gentiles the un searchable riches of Christ." That which Christ received as the reward of his death, we receive in our measure of grace, and for his sake ; and a great favor it is to be bear ers of such good tidings. One of the elders, perceiving the apostle to weep under an apprehension that all must remain unknown, saith unto him, "Weep not ; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." John was not so unacquainted with the Scriptures as to be at any loss whom this could mean. Probably, however, he expect ed to behold his Lord in some majestic form corresponding to the imagery : but lo, instead of a lion, he saw a lamb, a lamb as it had been slain! yet invested with perfect authority, and possessing perfect knowledge, so as to qualify him for the work: for Tie had "seven horns, and seven eyes." — Ver, 5,6. This glorious personage, in whom are united the majesty of the lion and the gen tleness of the lamb, approaches him that sat upon the throne, and takes the book out of his right hand ; denoting on his own part the undertaldng of the work, and on that of God his perfect approbation. — Ver. 7. And now the whole church of God by their representatives are described as falling down before the Lamb, and joining in a chorus of praise. " The golden vials full of odors" doubtless allude to those of the priests who offered incense, and' denote that the church on earth is ever employed in pre senting its petitions before the throne. They had also "harps" as well as vials, and " sung a new song," denoting the great oc casion there now was for joy and praise. A new song is suited to a new manifestation of mercy. The Lamb is found worthy to THE EPISTLES TO THE CHURCHES CONTINUED. 27 take the book, and to open the seals ; and they perceive the ground of it to lie in his having redeemed them at the expense ofhis blood. For this they bless his name, as also for his having made them kings and priests unto God, and given them to expect that, however they were at present oppress ed on earth, they should even there be final ly victorious. — Ver. 8 — 10. Nor could the angels on such an occasion be silent, but must join in the choir. Myri ads of myriads, a number that no man could number, unite in ascribing worthiness to the Lamb, and that on the same ground as re deemed man had done, namely, his having been "slain:" a proof this of disinterested affection, both to the Redeemer and the re deemed. "He took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham :" yet angels unite in praising him for his love to men. In enumerating the things which he was worthy to receive, it is remarkable how they keep their eye on those perfections of which he had emptied himself in his humiliation. He did not lay aside any thing pertaining to his goodness, but merely what belonged to his greatness. He was no less holy, just, faithful, and merciful, when on earth, than he is now in heaven : but he emptied himself of " power," as laying aside his authority, and taking upon him the form of a servant— of "riches," as becoming poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich — of "wis dom," as making himself of no reputation — of " strength," as becoming weak and subject to death like other men— of " honor," as not ap pearing in his native divinity, but as a man, and a man of obscure birth, despised of the people — of "glory," as subjecting himself to shame and disgrace — and of " blessing," as receiving not the benedictions so much as the execrations of those among-whom he sojourn ed. The purport of the song is, By how much he hath emptied himself on earth, by so much let him be magnified and exalted in heav en !^Ver. 11, 12. Nor is the song confined to angels ; the whole creation joins in praising him that sitteth on the throne, and the Lamb, for ever ; while at every pause the representa tives of the redeemed add their emphatic " Amen," adoring in humble prostration him that liveth for ever and ever. — Ver. 13. .Such an august and affecting representa tion expresses the sentiments which become the friends of Christ while contemplating that great cause which is carrying on in the world, and which the world in a manner overlooks. To this may be added, If such 'be the glory ascribed to the Saviour whilst events are merely foretold, what will it be when they are actually accomplished, and when they shall be reviewed in the heaven of heavens to all eternity ! DISCOURSE VI. THE SEALS OPENED. Rev. vi. Before we enter on the opening of the seals, the sounding of the trumpets, or the pouring out of the vials, it will be proper to make a few general remarks. First: The whole series of events here' revealed is included in the sealed book. We are not to conceive of the seals as con taining one series of events, the trumpets another, and the Vials another; but as all being included in the seals : for the seven trumpets are only subdivisions of the seventh seal, and the seven vials of the seventh trumpet. Secondly: This division into seals, and subdivision into trumpets and vials, appears to be the only one which the prophecy re quires, or even admits. Not to mention its divisions into chapters, which are some times made in the midst of a subject, the scheme of dividing it into periods, which Mr. Lowman and many others have favored, seems to be merely a work of the imagina tion. There are doubtless some remarkable periods in the prophecy, such as that of the 1260 years, &c. ; but to make them seven in number, and for this purpose to reckon the day of judgment, and the heavenly state, as periods, is fanciful. It is by the division of the prophecy itself into seals, and the subdi vision of the seventh seal into trumpets, and of the seventh trumpet into vials, that we must steer our course. Thirdly : In tracing the events symbolized by the seals, trumpets, and vials, there is no necessity for supposing that every preceding one must be finished before that which fol lows it can have begun. It is enough if they succeed each other in the manner of the four monarchies predicted in the seventh chapter of Daniel. The Babylonish empire was not extinct before that of Persia be gan ; nor that of Persia before that of Mace donia began ; nor that of Macedonia before that of Rome began. The latter end of each would be contemporary with the be ginning of that which followed: yet upon the whole they succeeded each other in the empire of the world : and this was sufficient to justify their being represented in succes sion. Thus the wars of the red horse in this chapter might commence before the conquests of the white horse were ended, and continue in part while the events signi fied by the black horse occurred. The be ginnings and endings of each might run in to the other, while yet upon the whole they were successive. It is on this account that I am not solicitous to determine the year when each begins or ends. Fourthly : So far as the seals, trumpets, or EXPOSITION OF THE A>OCALYPSE*. vials, respect the world, it is as connected with the church. The plan of this prophecy is much the same as that of the Old Testament: it follows religion, and what concerns reli gion only. Why is there so much said in - the scriptures of Nineveh and Babylon rather than of other heathen cities in those times, but because these powers had to do with the people of God ? Why are the ravages of the fbur beasts predicted by Daniel, but for the same reason ? Had it not been for this, they might have risen and fallen unnoticed by the Scriptures, as much as Carthage, Palmyra, or Pekin. It is this that accounts for so much being said by Daniel of Anti ochus Epiphanes. It is this that accounts for so much being said by John of the Ro man empire rather than of the other great empires of the earth ; for it was here that Christianity would be principally embraced. And, as the Roman empire and the profession of Christianity would in the latter ages be in a manner confined to Europe, so the greater part of what respects the world in the latter part of these prophecies is in a manner con fined to that quarter of the earth. The Scriptures, foreseeing that Europe would be the seat of both the Christian church and the antichristian beast and harlot, predict events concerning this part of the world while they overlook the other parts. Nor must we expect to find all the great events even of those parts ofthe world which are connected with.the church. As the Old Testament history, in respect of the nations connected with Isriel, is select, so we may expect to find the New Testament prophecy. If some of the mightiest changes in Europe have no place in this prophecy, we are not to consider the omission of them as a defect, but rather take it for granted that God did not judge the introduction of them necessary for his purpose. Fifthly : The commencement of the pro phecy is, I apprehend, to be reckoned from the ascension of Christ. It has been com mon, I am aware, to reckon it from the time ofthe vision, which is supposed to have been under the reign of Domitian, about the year 95. On this principle Mr. Lowman pro ceeds. Hence he confines the opening of the first seal, on which it is said " there ap peared a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown, and went forth conquering and to conquer," to the success ofthe gospel after the year 95, leaving out the whole of that ivhich accompanied the la bors of the apostles. In like manner the opening of the second seal, on which there went forth " a red horse, and power was giv en to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another," is confined to those wars between the Jews and Romans which occurred be tween the years 100 and 138, leaving out the whole of those which issued in the de struction of Jerusalem.* But surely it must appear singular that in a prophetic descrip tion of the success of the gospel in the early ages the most glorious part of it should be left out ; and that in a like de scription of the wars between the Jews and Romans the most terrible part should be omitted. The reason given by Mr. Low- man for its being so is, "The destruction of Jerusalem, being past, can hardly be supposed to be denoted by a prediction of a judgment to come." Doubtless it is in general true that prophecies are predic tions of things to come : in some instances however they may refer to events the be ginnings of ivhich are already accomplished. There is a remarkable instance of this in the prophecies of Daniel concerning the four monarchies. He speaks of his seeing them all "rise up out of the sea," ch. vii. I — 3; yet at the time of the vision the first of them, namely Babylon, had risen, and reign ed, and was near its end ; for it was in the first year of Belshazzar, who was its last king. And why should not the apostle in like manner commence the prophecy with the commencement of the Christian dispen sation, though he wrote above sixty years after it? This makes the sealed book to contain a perfect system of New Testament prophecy, from the ascension of Christ to the end of all things. By this we include the success of the apostles in the conquests of the man on the white horse under the first seal, and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in those ofthe red horse un der the second seal. By this too we are fur nished with an easy interpretation of the division of the book into " things which the writer had seen, things which were, and things which should be hereafter." He had actual ly seen the great progress of the gospel from the time of Christ's ascension, and the de struction of Jerusalem by the Romans ; he then saw the church struggling under a cruel persecution ; and that which should be revealed to him would carry on those strug gles till she should rise triumphant over all opposition in her New Jerusalem glory. Ver. 1, 2. There is no doubt of this be ing meant ofthe glorious success ofthe gos pel in the early ages of the church, even when it had to encounter the most bloody persecutions. Of this the white horse is the appropriate symbol. — Ch. xix. 11, 12. " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty : with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness : and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things." — Ps. xiv. 3, 4. I need not show how truly this accords with historic fact Suffice it to say that from the beginning, as the Jews al- * Seo Lowman's History ofthe First and Second Seals, pp. 40—42. IHE ErisTLES TO TH^CHURCHES CONTINUED. 29 leged against the apostles, " Jerusalem was filled with their doctrine." It was foretold that, before the destruction of that city, the gospel should be preached in all the world. — Matt. xxiv. 14. Paul himself preached it, and that fully, " from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum :" and, as he says in behalf of himself and his fellow-laborers, " God always caused them to triumph in every place." The Csssars set themselves against it ; yet in spite of all their efforts there were, even in Paul's time, saints in Caesar's household. The epistles of Pliny and Tiberianus, f governors of Asia Minor »nd Syria, to Tra jan the Emperor, within ten or twelve years after tlie banishment of John to tlie Isle of Patmos, furnish a striking and unexception able proof of the progress of the gospel in those times. By the amazing number of persons who avowed themselves Christians, and so exposed themselves to death, they were moved with compassion, and wrote to know what they were to do with them. "The number is so. great," says Pliny, "as to call for the most serious deliberation. In formations are pouring in against multitudes, of every age, of all orders, and of both sexes : and more will be impeached ; for the conta gion of this superstition hath spread, rot only through cities, but villages, and hath even reached the farm-houses." He also speaks ofthe temples as having been almost desolate, the sacred solemnities [of idolatry] as having been intermitted, and sacrificial victims as finding but few purchasers. " I am quite wearied," says Tiberianus, " with punishing and destroying the Galileans." Ver. S, 4. This and the two following seals relate to the judgments of God upon the church's enemies. Great and terrible wars are as naturally suggested by the sym bol of a red horse as the success of the gos pel was by a white one. The wars particular ly alluded to appear to be those between the Jews and Romans, who having united in persecuting the church, as well as in cruci fying its head, were now permitted to " kill one another." It is well known that in the reign of Vespasian, the Jews having rebelled against the Romans, Jerusalem was taken and destroyed, the temple reduced to ashes, and an immense number of persons slain.* Forty or fifty years after this, in the reign of Trajan, the Jews in Egypt and in Cyprus rebelled, and are said to have slain, with great marks of cruelty, four hundred and sixty thousand men; yet the Jews were everywhere subdued: a far greater number, therefore, must have been slain amongst themselves. Soon after this, in the reign of Hadrian, the Jews who were left in Pales- * Mr. Lowman,from Usher4s Annals, says "A million and a half according to some, according io others two millions, besides what were slain on the side ofthe Romans." tine after the destruction of their metropolis were drawn into a new rebellion, by adher ing to a pretended messiah, whose name was Barchocab. In these wars, besides what were lost on the side of the Romans, the Jews are said to have had a thousand cities and fortresses destroyed, with the slaughter of above five hundred and eighty thousand men. The Jews having employed the Roman power to crucify the Lord of glo ry, God employed it to destroy them and their city. Their carnal policy told them that if they let him alone all men would believe on him, and the Romans would come and take away both their place and nation. Whether guilty or not guilty, it was judged expedient that he should die, and that the whole nation should not perish. The whole nation how ever did perish, and that by means of the Ro mans. Such was the result of that policy which was employed against the Lord, and against his Christ : and thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Daniel, — " and after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people ofthe prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desola tions are determined." — Chap, ix. 26. DISCOURSE VII. THE OPENING OF THE SEALS CONTINUED. Rev. vi. Ver. 5, 6. A black horse is the symbol of famine, or of a scarcity approaching to famine, by which the necessaries of life required to be dealt out by weight and measure, and special orders to be given that nothing should be wasted. — Lam. v. 10 ; Lev. xxvi. 26. Such appears to have been the state of things in the Roman empire for a long time, during the reigns of the Antonines. It is in reference to these^ among other calamities, that Tertullian speaks, representing the heathens as ascrib ing them to the Christians, because they taught men to despise the gods. J The " measure " here referred to is the chcenix, which contained the ordinary allow ance of corn to a man for a day ; and as the price of a measure of wheat in those times was a roman "penny," which was the amount of a day's wages, it follows that for a poor man to have lived on wheaten bread would have required all his labour, without any thing for other necessaries, or even bread for his family ! Ver. 7, 8. The pale horse was the sym bol of great mortality, by various means : particularly by the sword, by hunger, by pestilence, and by the beasts of the earth. fApology, Ch. XL. Lowman's History of the Third Seal, p. 46. 30 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. The facts were, that between the years 193 and 270, that is, in less than eighty years, there were more than twenty emperors, and at one time thirty pretenders to the throne. It is said also there were thirty usurpers, who raised war for themselves in different parts of the empire. Such a state of things is sufficient to account for all that is here predicted: for intestine wars must needs produce famine and pestilence, and by de stroying men give an ascendency to the beasts of prey. In this manner the ene mies of the gospel were visited, who con-. tinued, with but little intermission, to per secute the church of God. In understanding the symbols of the white, the red, the black, and the pale horses, of the success of the gospel, and the judg ments of God on its enemies, there is sufficient unity of design. They all bear a relation to the church, and to the Jews and Romans only as persecuting it. Ver. 9 — 11. A view of an altar, and the sacrifices that had been made upon it, fitly represent the numerous martyrdoms which had been made at the time under the heathen emperors. The "souls under the altar" are the departed spirits of those Christians who had fallen in the arduous contest, which are supposed to cry aloud for retribu tion. The " white robes " denote the heav enly honours conferred upon them. The answer to their appeal, in which they are encouraged to expect a retribution " after a little season, and when the number of their fellow-servants and brethren, who should be killed as they were (by the hands of paganism,) should be fulfilled," determines the period to which the vision refers. It is supposed that they had suffered under nine of the ten persecutions, and had only to wait for the completion of their number under the tenth, which being accomplished, God would take vengeance on their per secutors. The opening of this seal, there fore, would refer to about the year 270, when the ninth persecution was past, and the tenth, under Dioclesian and Maximian, was upproaching ; and which is said to have been more extensive and bloody than any which had gone before it. Its professed ob ject was nothing less than the utter extir pation of Christianity. The places for Christian worship were every where demol ished, bibles destroyed, and an immense number of Christians put to death. "It were endless and almost incredible," says Echard, " to enumerate the variety of suf ferers and torments : they were scourged to death, had their flesh torn off with pincers, and mangled with broken pots ; were cast to lions, tygers, and other wild beasts ; were burnt, beheaded, crucified, thrown into the sea, torn in pieces by the distorted boughs of trees, roasted by gentle fires, and holes made in their bodies for melted lead to be poured into their bowels. This persecution lasted ten years under Dioclesian and some of his successors; and the number of Christians who suffered death and punish ment made them conclude that they had completed their work : and in an ancient inscription they tell the world that they had effaced the name and superstition of the Christians, and had restored and propagated the worship of the gods. But they were so much deceived that this hastened the de struction of Paganism." * This was the first persecution that reach ed Britain, then a Roman colony, in which Alban suffered, and great numbers after him, " Our stories record," says Fox the martyr- ologist, " that all Christianity almost in the whole island was destroyed, the churches subverted, all books of Scripture burned, and many of the faithful, both men and women, slain." Ver. 12 — 17. " An earthquake " is the appropriate symbol of a revolution ; and an earthquake accompanied with an eclipse of the sun and moon, and, what was more than an eclipse, the " falling of the stars to the earth," as though nature itself were dissolved, denotes, I conceive, the overthrow of the pagan empire by the arms of Con stantine. The ruling powers of the world are that to the common people which the sun and moon and stars are to the earth : hence great changes in nations are express ed by God's "shaking the heavens and the earth ; " and sometimes by the very image ry here used. "All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll : and all their host shall fall down as the leaf faileth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree. For my sword shall be bathed in heaven : behold it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment." — Isa. xxxiv. 4, 5. The revo lution that took place in the time of Con stantine was not of a civil, so much as of a religious character. The government was still imperial, and the difference between one emperor and another would be of little or no account. But it was an eclipse of those powers which had so long endeavored to crush the cause of Christ. It is lan guage applicable to the last judgment: and was to them actually a day of judgment in miniature. The bloody enemies of Christ must now have felt, whether they would or not, that they had incurred the wrath of the Lamb. Now the number of the martyrs under the pagan persecutions is completed, and the prayers of the souls under the altar are answered. * Roman History, Vol. II. p. 5S0. Eusebius in the VHIth book of his Ecclesiastical History gives a particular account of this persecution, of which he was an eye-witness. ±ac criaiuuB tu ihi; CHURCHES CONTINUED. 31 DISCOURSE VIII. THE SEALING OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. Rev. vii. Ver. 1 — 8. This chapter is a continua tion of the sixth seal ; and bears a relation to the great revolution which had taken place by the accession of a christian empe ror. Considering what the church had had to encounter under a succession of heathens, this event would appear to be most auspi cious. Christians would now look forward to times of peace, happiness, and prosperity. And true it is that during the life of this emperor there was not only a season of peace, but considerable accession to the Christian profession. On this account, it seems, Mr. Lowman and others have been led to interpret this sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads of the numerous conversions made in those times to the christian faith. But sealing denotes, not conversion, but the preservation of those who are converted. Those who were seal ed did not by this become the servants of God,butaresupposedto.be such already. Instead of signifying the enlargement of the church, the object is to prevent it from being utterly swept away. It portends danger no less than the striking of the door posts of the Israelites when the destroying angel should pass through the land ; or than the marking of those who " sighed and cri ed" when Jerusalem was to be destroyed by the Chaldeans. It was for the preservation of a seed for God amidst a flood of corrup tion. Hence, when these evils had actually deluged the church, we find the sealed servants of God standing in triumph upon Mount Sion. — Ch. xiv. 1. God seeth not as man seeth: that which man is apt to think a gTeat acquisition, God often knows to be a great temptation. It is remarkable that, instead of a con gratulation of the church on its recent victory; by the striking up of the heavenly choir (as is usual in the prophecy when new and glorious events occur,) the choir on this occasion is mute. It is described, indeed, ai a day of judgment to the persecuting heathens, and iri itself doubtless afforded matter of thankfulness to Christians ; but, had they known what would arise out of it, the joy of that day would have been turned into mourning. From this time men were ripe for such spec ulations as those of Arius, who argued,t/W, if Christ was begotten of the Father, there must have been a time when he icas not ; and for all the intrigues, wars, and persecutions, which on both sides by turns were practised. From this time our Lord's doctrine of the new birth seems in a manner to have been laid aside, and conversion to Christianity was little more than being baptised, or con senting to wear the Christian badge. From this time conversions were mostly produced by authority, or by the hope of worldly ad vantage, or by exhortations addressed to kings that they should convert their subjects. From this time the glory of the church seems to have been placed more in splendid edifices and pompous ceremonies than in conformity to its head. In short, from this time she became a courtier, and, laying aside her own simple garb, appeared in a dress more befitting the mother of harlots than the bride of Christ. " What she gain ed in outward splendor and prosperity," says Mr. Faber, "she lost in purity of manners and doctrine. The holy simplicity of primitive Christianity was no more ; and the heresy oi Arius introduced a succession of crimes disgraceful alike to humanity and religion." — See Mosheim's Account of the Fourth Century. Doubtless there were hypocrites and merely nominal Christians in all ages of the church ; but they were never before so, designated as they now are. " The servants of God" are from this time distinguished from " the men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads." This distinction might not take place immediately after the, accession of Constantine, but from that time the seeds of it were sown. The alliance between the civil and ecclesiastical authori ties, described in the thirteenth and seven- teeth chapters by a woman riding on a beast, originated here. Here, therefore, we must look for the grand origin of that apostacy which the apostle Paul foretold, and which succeeding ages witnessed. If the account given of the state of things by Mosheim be just, it requires a great stretch of charity to believe that what was called the Catholic church, even in the fourth century, was the church of Christ. Christ certainly had a people at that time, but they seem to have consisted of individuals rather than of that visible community which called itself the church. They were " the servants of God whom he sealed in their foreheads." These ideas will be confirmed by attend ing to the manner in which the sealing of the servants of -God is introduced. Four angels are seen " standing on the four corners of the earth." Angels are the executioners of the divine providence. Their number answering to the four quar ters of the earth may express its extend ing over the whole world. Their " holding ' the winds " would denote that they were commissioned of God to afflict the earth with evils, or to withhold them, according to his will. The short period in which they held back the winds seems to refer to that season of tranquillity which the church enjoyed on the government's becoming Christian, and before the temptations of its new situation had had time to operate. — Ver. 32 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. 1, 2. But, as the principal part of the com mission of the four angels was to " hurt the earth and the sea," they stand ready, only waiting till the greater angel has sealed the servants of God ere they execute it. The " winds," which were to be let loose upon the earth and the sea, were spiritual rather than temporal judgments, and would principally grow out of the new order of things ; namely, errors, superstitions, corrup tions, divisions, and a conformity to the man ners and habits of the world. These were the winds which in the end swept away the great body of nominal Christians into the gulphs of popery and Mahomedism.— Ver. 3. And, as many of the symbols in the prophecy are taken from the Jewish temple, so the servants of God are symbolized by a certain number for an uncertain, taken from the twelve tribes of Israel. The Christian church, being now the true " Israel of God," were to the apostate Christians what Israel was to an apostate world ; namely, God's witnesses. — -Ver. 4 — 8. Ver. 9 — 17. After the sealing of God's servants is accomplished, the saints and martyrs of Jesus, who during the preceding persecutions had overcome and been receiv ed into glory, joining with the whole heavenly chorus, engage in a triumphant song of praise to God and to the Lamb. The reason of their being here introduced seems to be that the sealed servants of God, who were yet on earth, and had to pass through a series of trials, might by a view of their happy end be strengthened to follow their example. As great numbers would be against them in this world, they are directed to view the numbers of friends which they have in heaven ; who not only look back to their own deliverance, and ascribe it to God, but seem to look down to their brethren upon earth, and to say, " Hold fast the pro fession of your faith without wavering ! " The view of such a holy and happy as sembly is supposed to excite in the apostle emotions of admiration and joy. On this one of the elders asks him what he conceives them to be, and whence they could come. It would seem as if they must be pure celestial beings, whose whole existence had been filled up with righteousness and bless edness. He does not presume, however, to say what he thought they were, whether men or angels, nor to offer any opinion as to whence they came, but modestly refers it to his instructer to inform him. The answer is, in effect, that they are men — men who were lately upon earth, exposed to great tribulations, but who had come out of them. And, as to their " white robes," they had been once impure, but were washed and made white, not in their own blood, thouo-h that in innumerable instances had been shed, but '< in the blood of the Lamb." It was as believing in his death that they were justified and sanctified; and, having lived by faith on him, they were without fault "before the throne of God." Still more to stimulate the servants of God in this world to persevere, he adds, "And he that sitteth upon the throne 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 ! " DISCOURSE IX. THE SUBDIVISION OF THE SEVENTH SEAL INTO SEVEN TRUMPETS. Rev. viii. Ver. 1 — 6. We are now come to the opening of the last of the seven seals, and which is longer, and includes far more, than the preceding six. They have reached but little beyond three hundred years ; whereas this will reach thence to the end of all things. "Silence in heaven about the space of half an hour" seems to denote a solemn pause preparatory to other events. It is like saying, And now prepare thee for anoth er scene ! — This scene is, "the appearance of seven angels standing before God, to whom were given seven trumpets." As nothing is said on the opening of the seventh seal but what follows under the trumpets, the latter must be considered as a subdivi sion ofthe former. But, prior to the sounding of the trumpets, " another angel " comes forward, and stands at the altar, "having a golded censer, to whom much incense is given, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar before the throne." There were two altars belonging to the temple- worship ; one for sacrifice, called " the altar of burnt-offering," and the other for burning incense, called " the golden altar before the throne." The allusion here is to the latter. Our great High-priest, having offered him self without spot to God, passed into tlie heavens, where he ever liveth to make in tercession for us. Through him our prayers ascend with acceptance before God. The " prayers " here referred to appear to have a special relation to the events about to be predicted by the sounding ofthe trumpets. The events would occur in an swer to those prayers ; which might be so many intercessions for the success of Christ's cause, and against that of its adversaries. Heathen Rome was overthrown in answer to the prayers of the souls under the altar, and Christian Rome may fall in the same manner. Should it be objected that in the lat- HISTORY OF THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS. 33 ter there would be less to pray against, it may be answered that those who, under the name of Christians, corrupted and debased Chris tianity, modelling it to their fleshly minds, and converting it into an engine of state policy, might incur more ofthe divine dis pleasure than those who, under the name of Heathens, openly opposed it. For the per secutions of pagan Rome the persecutors only were punished, having their power ta ken from them and given to the Christians ; but for the corruptions of Christian Rome we shall see the empire itself dissolved, and divided amongst the barbarians. . The symbolical language under which these events are represented is that of the angel taking the censer, filling it with fire of the altar, and casting it into the earth ; on which follow voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. " Fire " cast into the earth by an angel would be the precursor of dreadful wars ; and an " earth quake " is the well-known symbol of a revo lution, or such an overturning in matters of government as should introduce a new order of things. Such were the events which dis tinguished the times between Constantine and Augustulus, especially those between the years 400 and 476. Whatever virtues attached to Constantine or his successors, and whatevever obligations the Christians were under for the protection afforded them by their government, yet the system which from those times was adopted proved ruin ous both to the church and to the empire. The corruptions ofthe former, as we have seen already, required the servants of God to be sealed in their foreheads ; and the calamities of the latter we shall see describ ed under the sounding of the first four trumpets. Ver. 7—12. The fulfilment of these pre dictions must, according to the chronologi cal series of the prophecy, be looked for in the fourth or fifth centuries. They are the same things particularly described as those which followed the fire cast by the angel into the earth. Moreover, as the seals went to destroy the empire as Pagan, the trumpets will go to overturn it as Christian. Both issue in an " earthquake " (ch. vi. 12, with viii. 5,) the ordinary symbol of a revolution. The Roman empire, as being now the seat of Christianity, is here considered as a world of itself; having not only its earth, its sea, and its rivers, but its sun, and moon, and stars. By the earth we may understand those parts of the empire which were conti nental, as Gaul and the southern parts of Germany. On these fell the effects of the first trumpet, burning up the trees and the grass, or destroying^ great numbers among the middle and lower orders of men. By the sea we may understand those parts of the empire which were maritime, such as Spain, Portugal, and the lower parts of Vol. 2.— Sie. 5. Italy. On these fell the effects ofthe second trumpet, turning the waters into blood, and destroying whatever was in them. By the riv ers andfountains oj waters may be understood the mountainous parts ofthe empire, as Up per Italy, and the countries about the Alps; at no great distance from which rise the Loire, the Po, the Rhine, the Rhone, and the Dan ube. On these fell the effects of the third trumpet, imparting to their streams a mortal bitterness. By the sun, moon and stars, we may understand the governing powers, su preme and subordinate. On these fell the fourth trumpet, smiting them with darkness, or with a general eclipse. Finally, by a third part only being affected at once may be meant, not only that the events should take place by several successive calamities, but that the effect ofthe whole would not be to destroy the western empire, but merely to subvert it. The empire was to continue, though under another form, namely as com posed of the ten kingdoms. Mr. Cuning- hame very properly remarks the difference between the effects of the trumpets, which refer to the subversion of the empire, and those of the vials, which refer to its final dissolution. The former are partial, the lat ter total. — Dissertation, pp. 80, 81. Whether the events pertaining to each trumpet can be exactly ascertained or not, thus much is certain, that the ravages ofthe Goths, the Vandals, arid the Huns, were that to the empire which a terrible hail-storm, accompanied with thunder and lightning, is to the " trees arid the fields ; " which a burning mountain, thrown into the sea, would be to the waters ; and which a blazing meteor that should fall upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and imbitter them, would be to a country ; while the effects of these successive ravages on the government would resemble a great though not a total eclipse of the heavenly bodies. APPENDIX TO DISCOURSE IX. CONTAINING A SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OP THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS. In the northern and north-eastern parts of Europe, bordering on the Baltic and the Euxine seas, there were many barbarous nations which were never subdued by the Roman arms : such were the Saxons, the Visigoth?, the Ostrogoths, the Vandals, the Burgundians, the Huns, the Alans, &c, and who were often associated in their enter prises. About the year 376, during the reign of the eastern emperor Valens, the Goths having been driven from their own country by the Huns and Alans, a body of not fewer than two hundred thousand of them, besides women and children, under Alavivus and Fritigern, two of their chiefe, 34 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. obtained permission to settle in Thrace, a province of the Roman empire. To the im prudence of admitting such a body of hostile emigrants were added several instances of injurious treatment after their arrival. These first produced resistance, and then a battle, in which the Romans were defeated, and the emperor lost his life. By tlie prudent and energetic measures of Theodosius the Great, who succeeded Valens, the Gothic emigrants were so far subjugated as to be rendered serviceable to the empire. But after his death the jealousies between Rufi nus and Stilicho, ministers of state at Con stantinople and Rome, under Arcadius and Honorius the emperors, afforded them oppor tunity to renew their hostilities. Alaric, an Arian Christian, the successor of Fritigern, had been in the Roman service for several years, having commanded a body of his countrymen in the wars of Theodo sius: but thinking himself not sufficiently rewarded by that prince, and perceiving as he thought a fair opportunity, he was dis posed to carve for himself. To this he is said to have been encouraged by Rufinus, princi pal ruler under Arcadius at Constantinople, whose duty it was to oppose him. Marching his army into Macedonia and Thessaly, he laid waste the country as he went. Through the treachery of Rufinus the straits of Thermopylae were left unguarded, and so opened a free passage for him into Greece, where the villages were plundered and burnt, the males who were capable of bearing arms massacred, and the females led captive. His successes obtained for him a command in the eastern empire, which having improved to the strengthening of his own army, he resolved to invade that of the west. Hav ing laid waste Epirus and Pannonia, he in 402 entered Italy. Italy however was for this time delivered from his depredations. The Romans under Stilicho, after twics de feating him, suffered him to quit the country with the remnant of his army. In 406 another vast army, composed of Goths, Huns, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Alani, &c, under Radagaisus, a heathen, attempted the invasion of Italy. The num ber of fighting men is said to have been two hundred thousand, besides slaves, women, and children, who are reckoned to have amounted to as many more. But neither were they successful. Radagaisus was de feated and slain, and a great part of his army either perished or were sold for slaves. But, though the capital of the western empire was by these events once more saved, yet its provinces were reduced to desolation. Gaul was at this time invaded by the Van dals, the Suevi, the Alani, and the Burgun dians, who, wilh the remains of Radagaisus's army, destroyed all before them. " On the last day of the year (says Gibbon,) when the waters of the Rhine were probably fro zen, they entered without opposition the de fenceless provinces of Gaul. This mem orable passage of the Suevi, the Vandals, the Alani, and the Burgundians, who never afterwards retreated, may be considered as the fall ofthe Roman empire in the countries beyond the Alps ; and the barriers which had so long separated the savage and the civilized nations of the earth were from that fatal moment levelled with the ground. — The banks ofthe Rhine were crowned, like those of the Tiber, with elegant houses, and well cultivated farms. This scene of peace and plenty was suddenly changed into a desert ; and the prospect of the smoking ruins could alone distinguish the solitude of nature from the desolation of man. The flourishing city of Mentz was surprised and destroyed ; and many thousands of Christians were inhu manly massacred in the church. Worms perished after a long and obstinate siege ; Strasburgh, Spires, Rheims, Tournay, Arras, and Amiens, experienced the cruel oppres sion ofthe German yoke ; and the consu ming flames of war spread from the banks of the Rhine over the seventeen provinces of Gaul. That rich and extensive country, as far as the ocean, the Alps, and the Pyren- nees, was delivered to the barbarians, who drove before them in a promiscuous crowd the bishop, the senator, and the virgin, laden with the spoils of their houses and altars." — Decline, &c, ch. xxx. Thus far events appear to answer to the " hail and fire mingled with blood " under the first trumpet, which, as they are said to be on the earth, correspond with the calami ties which in those times were brought upon the continental parts of the empire. Alaric, the king of the Visigoths, had made peace with the emperor Honorius, and been made master-general of the Roman armies in Illyricum. In the invasion of Rad agaisus he took no part, but was attentive to the recruiting of his own army. In 408 he made large demands on the Roman govern ment, accompanied with intimations of what would follow if they were not complied with. Stilicho persuaded the senate to com ply with them, and four thousand pounds of gold were promised him under the name of a subsidy. But, before the promise was ful filled, Stilicho was disgraced and slain. Of the measures of his successors, Alaric is said to have had just cause of complaint. The result was, he determined again to in vade Italy. Passing over the Alps, he pillaged the cities of Aquileia, Altinum, Con cordia, and Cremona, which yielded to his arms ; increased his forces by the accession of thirty thousand auxiliaries ; and without opposition marched to the gates of Rome. Here, encompassing the city, he reduced it to a state of famine, of wliich many thou sands died. To this succeeded a destructive pestilence. At length the siege was raised HISTORY OF THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS. 35 on a large sum of money being paid him : but his terms of peace being rejected by Honorius, who had shut himself up in Ra venna, Rome was a second time besieged. After this it was taken, and for three days fiven up to the plunder of the besiegers. 'ast numbers of the Romans were slain, not only by the Goths, but by their own slaves, forty thousand of whom, being liberated, fell upon their masters. About ten months before this terrible ca lamity on Rome and the Lower parts of Italy by the Goths, Spain and Portugal were invaded by the Vandals, the Suevi, and the Alani. These nations had already desolated Gaul, whence passing over the Pyrennees they conquered the peninsula. Echard says, " The Vandals took Galicia, where they set tled ; the Suevi pushed their conquests farther ; and the Alani fixed themselves in Portugal and Andalusia. From these bar barians (he adds) descended the ancient kings of Spain." The calamities of this invasion are thus described by Gibbon from a Spanish Histo rian: — "The barbarians exercised their in discriminate cruelty on the fortunes of the Romans and Spaniards, and ravaged with equal fury the cities and the open country. The progress of famine reduced the miser able inhabitants to feed on the flesh of their fellow-creatures : and even the wild beasts, that multiplied without control in the desert, were exasperated by the taste of blood, and the impatience of hunger, boldly to attack and devour their human prey. Pestilence soon appeared, the inseparable companion of famine ; a large portion ofthe people was swept away ; and the groans of the dying excited only the envy of their surviving friends. At length the barbarians, satiated with carnage and rapine and afflicted by the contagious evils which they themselves had introduced, fixed their permanent seats in the depopulated country." — Rom. Hist. ch. xxxi. These events seem to answer to the " burning mountain cast into the sea," caus ing a third part of it to become blood, and destroying a third part of all which were in it, as described under the second trumpet. If Mtna. or Vesuvius had literally been thrown into the ocean, it could hardly have produced a greater effervescence among the waters than these things produced among the nations. The sea would also have a special reference to these calamities being brought upon the maritime parts of the empire. After this, the empire received another mighty shock from the Scythians, or Huns, a heathen nation, more barbarous and cruel than either the Goths or Vandals. Attila, their long and commander, was distinguished by his ferocity, affecting to be called the " scourge of God," and declaring that "the grass would never grow upon those places where his horse had trodden !," About 441 he fell upon the eastern empire, where, bearing down all before him, the country was in a manner destroyed by fire and sword. Gibbon says, " The whole breadth of Europe as itjextends above five hundred miles, from the Euxine to the Adriatic, was at once invaded and occupied, arid desolated by him." The government at Constantino ple, after seventy cities had been razed to the ground, was compelled ignominiously to purchase his retreat. Ip the year 450 Attila again declared war against both the eastern and western em pires. He was defeated in Gaul with a loss (says Echard) of 170,000 men ; yet in the following year he invaded Italy with a larger army than that with which he had entered Gaul. Aquileia after a siege of three months was taken, and so effectually destroyed that the succeeding generation could scarcely discover its ruins. After this, Verona, Mantua, Padua, and many other cities, shared the same fate ; the men were slain, the women ravished, and the places reduced to ashes. These devasta tions, however, were confined to those parts of Italy which border on the Alps. Attila threatened Rome, but was induced, partly by fear of the Roman army, partly by the remonstrances of his own, and partly by the embassy of Leo the Roman pontiff, to forego the attempt, and, returning into his own country, he shortly after ended his This surely must be the " great star burn ing as it were a lamp," which followed the sounding of the third trumpet, and which, shooting like a fiery meteor from east to west and falling upon the rivers and foun tains of waters, impregnated the streams with a mortal bitterness. If the rivers and fountains denote, as has been supposed, the mountainous parts of the empire, whence they have their origin, the facts have a re markable coincidence with the prediction. As to the remainder of the history, every thing from this time went to eclipse the im perial government. Africa, Spain, Britain, the greatest part of Gaul, Germany, and Illyricum, are said to have been dismem bered from the empire ; the court was full of intrigues and murders ; Valentinian the emperor ravished the wife of Maximus, one of his senators ; Maximus in return got Valentinian murdered, usurped his throne, and compelled Eudoxia the empress to marry him ; Eudoxia, in hatred to the usur per, invited Genseric, the Vandal,' to come over from Africa and revenge the death of Valentinian ; Genseric prepared to in vade Italy; Maximus, on hearing it, instead of taking measures for repelling him, sunk 36 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. into despondency ; the senators stoned him to death, and threw his body into the Ti ber ; Genseric entered Rome without op position, and gave it up to be sacked and plundered by his soldiers for fourteen days. Hence, as bishop Newton observes, "the western empire struggled hard, and gasped as it were for breath through eight short and turbulent reigns, for the space of twenty years, and at length expired in the year 476, Under Momyllus, or Augustulus, as he was named in derision, being a diminutive of Augustus." After this, Odoacer, lung of the Ostro goths, invaded the country and seized the government, which he held, however, not as head of the western empire, but merely. as King of Italy. There were indeed a senate and council after this, but they had only the shadow of authority. Thus it was, I conceive, that the eclipse of the sun, moon, and stars, as described under the fourth trumpet, was accomplished. It may be thought that these events had too slight a relation to the church of Christ to become the subject of prophecy : two things, however, may be alleged in answer. First : They were necessary for the accom plishment of other prophecies, particularly Dan. vii. 7, 8 ; 2 Thess. ii. 7. Hereby a way was made for the beast to have " ten horns," as after the overthrow of the empire it was divided into so many independent kingdoms, which with little variation con tinue to this day. Hereby also a way was made for the " little horn " of Daniel's fourth beast, or the papal antichrist, to come up amongst them ; or, as the apostle expresses it, for the man of sin to be revealed. " The mystery of iniquity hath already begun to work (saith he,) only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way : and then shall that wicked (one) be re vealed." While the imperial authority con tinued, there was not sufficient scope for ec clesiastical ambition ; but, when this was re moved, the other soon appeared in its true character. The Goths embracing the re ligion of the conquered Romans, the clergy became objects of superstitious veneration amongst a barbarous people, and of this they availed themselves to the establishment of their spiritual authority. Hence the see of Rome made no scruple of setting up for supremacy. Secondly : In these judgments upon the empire we perceive the divine displeasure for its having corrupted the Christian re ligion, and transformed it into an engine of state. The wars of the Assyrians and Babylonians were the scourges of God on those who had corrupted the true religion ; and such were those ofthe Goths, the Van dals, and the Huns, on the Christian gov ernments of the fourth and fifth centuries, DISCOURSE X. THE FIRST WOE-TRUMPET, OR THE SMOKE AND LOCUSTS. Rev.' viii. 13 ; ix. 1—12. As the first four trumpets were connected in their objects, so are the last three. The last verse of the eighth chapter is introduc tory to them. Ver. 13. " This solemn denunciation seems to be introduced for the purpose of drawing our attention to the great importance of the events which were to happen under the last three trumpets. It serves also as a chrono logical mark to show that these three trum pets are all posterior to the first four, not only in order, but in time ; and that they belong to a new series of events." * The most distinguishing plagues which were to befal the church and the world are desig nated by them. The first two seem to refer to the prevalence of popery and Maho- medism, and the last to those vials of wrath which should effect their overthrow. Ch. IX. ver. 1—12. The fifth, or first woe-trumpet, is short, but awfully impres sive. Looking at this dreadful irruption of darkness and desolation, we perceive the necessity there was for " sealing the servants of God in their foreheads," that they might be preserved amidst these trying times. These are the " winds " which those minis ters of vengeance to whom it was given to hurt the earth (ch. vii. 1, 2,) at length let loose upon it. The professing Christian world being exceedingly corrupt, it became necessary to try them. The " sealed " ser vants of God would endure the trial; but " those men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads " would be carried away and perish. That the locusts refer to the ravaging hordes of Saracens, who, with Mahomed at their head, subdued and destroyed the east ern part of Christendom, seems to be gen erally admitted ; and some have considered the " smoke " as denoting his false doctrine, and the " star " which fell from heaven to the earth as meaning himself. But, on the most mature consideration, I concur with those expositors who, while admitting the locusts to be Mahomed's destructive hordes of Saracens, yet understand the smoke of popish darkness, which was preparatory to the other, and the fallen star of the fallen bishop of Rome, f If the fourth trumpet *Cuninghame's Dissertation, p. 84. t It is true that that part ofthe prophecy which treats directly of the great papal community is yet in reserve : but, as in a history of any nation frequent mention requires to be made of other na tions, so, in a prophecy of the ravages of Maho- medism, mention may require to be made of popery, as preparing its way. THE SMOKE AND LOCUSTS. 37 refer to the subversion of the imperial gov ernment under Augustulus, it may be presu med that the fifth would refer to things not very distant from it, and probably rising out of it : but the appearance of Mahomed was 130 years after this event, and seems to have no immediate connection with it. On the other hand, there is a connection between the subversion of the imperial government and " the revelation of the man of sin." It was the imperial authority which " let" or hindered him, and which, when " taken out of the way," made room for his appearing. — 2 Thess. ii. 4 — 8. Thus the eclipse under the fourth trumpet prepared the way for the irruption of darkness under the fifth. The mystery of iniquity had long been at work ; but now it burst forth as the smoke of a great furnace, impeding the light of the gospel, and darkening the moral atmosphere ofthe Christian world. With this also agrees the application of " the fallen star " to the pope or bishop of Rome. It comports with the symbolical style of the book that a prophetical person should denote not an individual, but a suc cession of individuals in an official charac ter. The bishop of Rome was once a star in the Christian firmament ; but abandoning the doctrine and spirit of a Christian minis ter, and setting up for worldly domination, he " fell from heaven unto the earth," and thus became a fit agent for " opening the bottomless pit." The bishop of Meaux ac knowledges that "Hell does not open of itself: it is always some false doctor that opens it." The darkness of popery is not only of infernal origin, but brings with it a state of mind prepared for the grossest delusions. Intercepting the light of truth, it darkened the world with its doctrines. It changed the truth of God into a lie, and, like old heathenism, "worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever, Amen ! " Wherefore God gave them up to Mahomedan imposture, depredation, and ruin. As the smoke brought forth the locusts (though both pro ceeded from the pit,) so popery brought forth Mahomedism.* But for the one, the other could not have prevailed as it did where the light of the gospel had once appeared. The Roman Catholics have made great noise about the keys ; and truly a key has been given them, "the key of the bottomless pit!" As to the locusts, they are described chiefly by their depredations. The wrath of God is less directed against them than against that out of which they came. They were indeedyrom beneath, and so was the conquering system of Assyria and Babylon ; * See Mr. Cuninghame's Dissertation on the Trumpets, ch. VI. but, as these powers were the rod of God's anger against a nation which had corrupted the true religion, it is not till they in their turn are punished that much is said of their crimes. And thus the destructive hordes of Saracens that laid waste a great part of the eastern world are described as executing a commission, not against " grass, or green things, or trees," like ordinary locusts, but " against the men who had not tlie seal of God in their foreheads " — that is, against the corrupters of Christianity. — Ver. 4. — There was a direction given to their succes ses very much like that which has of late years been given to those on the continent of Europe against the papal countries. The Christianity of the Greek church, whose patriarch resided at Constantinople, was in a great degree absorbed by them. It is observable, however, that the men against whom their commission was direct ed were not to be killed, but tormented for a certain time. They doubtless did kill great numbers, individually considered ; but with all their ravages they only harassed those countries where corrupted Christianity pre vailed. They were not able to destroy either the Greek or the Latin Church. The time in which they should harass them is limited to " five months," which pro bably alludes to the usual season for the ravages of the natural locusts. It has been thought to intend so many prophetical days, or years. Five months, reckoning thirty days to a month, and each day a year, would be 150 years ; and this was the period in which the Saracen arms are said to have prevailed. They began about 612. After the death of Mahomed, they continued, though with some interruptions, to carry on their conquests. In 713 they entered Spain, which in a few years was subjugated to them, and, passing the Pyrennees, they en tered France, which was then said to be the only rampart of Christianity . They advanced as to a certain victory, whereupon ensu ed one of the bloodiest battles that the world had ever seen. Of the Saracen9 there were 400,000 men, besides women and children, who came with them, designing to settle in France, and no doubt to extirpate Christianity from Europe. Three hundred and seventy thousand of them are said to have been slain, including their general. This battle was fought by Charles Mattel, the grandfather of Charlemagne, in 734, and put a stop to the progress of the Sara cen arms in Europe. About 762, after the " five months " of years which were given them to continue had elapsed, they ceased to extend their conquests by settling peace ably in the countries which they had conquered, and so cease'd to ravage as locusts. The description given of these loeusts, ver. 7 — 10, answers to most of the peculiari- 38 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. ties of the Saracen armies ; as their use of cavalry ; their turbans resembling crowns, in which they gloried ; the union of fierce ness and effeminacy in their character ; the impenetrability of their forces ; the rapidity of their conquests ; and their carrying with them the sting of deadly imposture. Finally : This fearful army is described as having " a king over them, even the angel of the bottomless pit," whence they came, and " whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek Apollyon." This would seem to be Mahomed and his succes sors, or Satan as working by them. The genius of Mahomedism is to destroy the lives as well as the souls of men. After this we are told, " One woe is past : and behold there come two woes more hereafter." By the term " hereafter" it seems to be intimated that the second woe would not follow very soon after the first, but that a considerable lapse of time would intervene betwixt them. In this re spect the language differs from the introduc tion of the third woe, in ch. xi. 14, where it is said, " The second woe is past, and be hold the third woe cometh quickly." DISCOURSE XI. THE SECOND WOE-TRUMPET, OR THE ARMY OF HORSEMEN. Rev. ix. 13—21. We here enter on the sixth, or second ¦woe-trumpet, which, embracing different contemporary events, may be expected to require several discourses. That part of it which we are now upon contains a descrip tion ofthe "revival of the Mahomedan deso lations by the Turks, in the thirteenth and following centuries. It will be recollected that the second woe was not to come quick ly, but "hereafter." Such was the fact. Several centuries elapsed between the ravages of the Saracens and those of the Turks. But as the desolations wrought by the followers of Mahomed, whether Saracens or Turks, would be less injurious to the cause of Christ than the abominations of popery, there is not only much less said of them than of the other, but what is said is finished before the other is particularly begun, that the thread of the principal sub ject might not be broken. There is no reason to think that the Turkish wars would have occupied a place in Scripture prophecy, but for their being the appointed means of crushing a corrupt part of tlie Christian church. For these reasons I question the propriety of calling the Mahomedan power the eastern antichrist. There is no doubt of its being opposed to Christ, and the same may be said of heathenism ; but nothing is called antichrist in tine Scriptures which makes no profession of being on the side of Christ. If there was an eastern antichrist, it was that community- which the Mahomedans destroyed, namely, " the men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads'! " The leading facts corresponding with this part of the prophecy were as follows : — The Turks, a people who in the ninth century had migrated from the neighborhood of Mount Caucasus, and settled in Armenia Major, by the eleventh century became for midable to their neighbors. They consisted of four Sultanies, the seats of which were at Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo, and Iconium: all m the neighborhood of the Euphrates. Their principal struggles were with the eastern Roman empire, or the Christians of the Greek church. For about two centuries their ambition was restrained, partly it may be by the European crusades, or what were called the holy wars, for the recovery of Jeru salem: but, the disasters which attended these undertakings inducing the European princes at length to relinquish them, they were then at liberty to pursue their objects. In 1281 they obtained a decided victory over the eastern Christians ; and in 1299 a new empire was founded by Othman, composed of the four Turkish Sultanies, which still subsists, and is called after his name the Ottoman empire. During the fourteenth century their successes continued. In the middle of the fifteenth (1453) Constantino ple was taken, the eastern Roman empire fell, and with itHhe Greek church, neither of which, except in the religion of the latter being embraced by the Russians, has since lifted up its head. The " four angels" then denote the four Turkish governments near the Euphrates. These are called angels, as being messengers of wrath, commissioned to destroy the cor rupt Christians of the east. The " loosing" of them refers to the removal of those ob structions which for a time impeded their progress. The " voice" which ordered them to be loosed proceeding from the " four horns of the golden altar" signifies that these judgments, like those in chap. viii. 3 — 5, would be in answer to the prayers of the saints : or, perhaps, as bishop Newton says, " intimating that the sins of men must have been very great, when the altar, which was their sanctuaiy and protection, called aloud for vengeance." Their continuance " for an hour and a day, and a month and a year," reckoning by prophetic time, includes 391 years ; which beginning from 1281, the year of their first victory over the eastern Roman empire, extends to 1672, the year of their last victory over the Poles; from which period they have been sinking into such dis order and imbecility as forebode their ruin. Their armies being described as "horsemen," answers to the numerous cavalry of tlie Turks. The number of them, consisting of WESTERN APOSTACY. "myriads of myriads," shows the vast armies which they brought into the field. " Breast plates of fire, of jacinth, and of brimstone," may denote the glittering harness with which the horses were caparisoned. Their " heads being as the heads of lions" is ex pressive of their strength and fierceness. " Fire and smoke and brimstone, issuing out of their mouths," seems to allude to the use of gunpowder in war, which began about this period. Great guns were used in the taking of Constantinople in 1453. The sym bol is expressive of what a body of horse men, fighting with fire-arms, would appear to a distant spectator, who had never before seen or heard of any thing ofthe kind. There is one remarkable difference be tween the locusts and the horsemen: the former were not commissioned to kill, but merely to torment ; whereas of the latter it is said, " By these were the third part of men killed, even by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths." They both, doubtless, killed men as individuals ; but the latter only were permitted to Mil those political bodies to which the prophecy refers. ¦ The eastern Roman empire, and the Greek church as connected with it, fell not by the Sara cens of the eighth, but by the Turks of the fifteenth century. Finally, their "power was in their mouth, and in their tails." Now, as the fire and smoke and brimstone are said to issue from the former, they would seem to denote their artillery ; and, as in respect of the latter they resemble the locusts, these are the destructive principles which they propagate by the sword in com mon with the Saracens. Mahomedism was that to the Christian church in the east which Assyria and Babylon were to Samaria and Jerusalem. Its first appearance in the seventh and eighth centuries was a judgment upon them for having corrupted the Chris tian doctrine and worship ; but as a body it went only to "torment" them, not to "kill " them. It said, " Repent, or I will remove thy candlestick out of his place ! " but they repented not. Its last appearance therefore, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, carried the threatening into execution. The candlestick of the eastern church was re moved, and her children were killed with death ! But that which is the most remarkable is the effect, or rather the want of effect, of these terrible judgments on' 'hose who sur vived them. " The rest of the men (that is, of the men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads,) who were not killed by these plagues, repented not." As those that were killed were the eastern Roman empire and the Greek church as connected with it, so those that were not killed were the west ern Roman empire and the Latin church. These two churches were as Aholah and Aholibah. The fall of the one ought to have been a warning to the other ; but it wad not. They persisted in their image-worship, which was only the old idolatry of the Pa gans under a new form: nor were they behind them in their murderous persecu tions, their foul impostures, their filthy in trigues, and their fraudulent impositions. And though, soon after the overthrow of the Greek church, the Reformation began, yet they reformed not. The Council of Trent, which was called on this occasion, sat eighteen years, and at last left things as it found them. Babylon was not to be healed ! DISCOURSE XII. INTRODUCTION TO THE WESTERN OR PAPAL APOSTACY. Rev. a. The eastern church, as connected with the Roman empire, being slain, the re mainder of the prophecy may be expected to concern the western, or " the rest of the men, who were not killed by these plagues." This it does ; so much of it, at least, as brings us to the taking of the beast and of the false prophet and so to the commence ment of the Millennium. The corruptions of the western church have been intimated before ; as by the sealing of the servants of God in their foreheads, chap, vii.; by the judgments inflicted on the western empire under the first four trumpets, chap. viii. ; and by the clouds of smoke from the bottomless pit: but now the prophecy treats directly and exclusively of them. Nor is it surpris ing that the apostacy of this church should occupy so large a part of the prophecy,* inasmuch as both for its duration and mis chievous effects there is nothing equal to it under the gospel dispensation. The period allotted for its continuance is no less than 1260 years; during which the holy city is trodden under foot, the witnesses prophecy in sackcloth, the true church fleeth into the wilderness, and the saints of the Most High are persecuted to death by a ferocious and cruel beast. This apostate church was, no doubt, the man of sin foretold by Paul; and, notwithstanding what has been advanced against it by a late respecta ble writer, I have no doubt of its being the Antichrist which the Christians in John's time had heard should come.\ * From the beginning of chap. x. to the end of chap. xix. f This appears to be evidently made out by Mr. Scott, in his notes on 2 Thess. ii. 3—12, and 1 John ii. 18. As to its being a character of Anti christ that he " denieth the Father and the Son " (ver. 22,) it is of the Antichrists already come 40 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. Before we enter upon this subject it will be proper to give the outlines of the ten chapters in which it is contained. Chap. x. I consider as merely introductory. Chap. xi. gives a general representation of this corrupt and persecuting power, with the state of the church of Christ under it, during the 1260 years. Chap. xii. gives a second, and chap. xiii. and xiv. a third general repre sentation of it during the same period. Chap. xv. and xvi. gives a more particular account of that part of the subject which commences at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, and contains a subdivision of that trumpet into seven vials, the pouring out of which brings us down to the Millennium. The xviith, xviiith, and xixth chapters con tain what in modern publications we should call notes of illustration, giving particular ac counts of things which before had only been generally intimated. We are not to expect the events relating to the western church to follow the conclu sion of those ofthe eastern, in order of time. In tracing the issue of the one, we were led almost down to the times ofthe Reformation ; but, in taking up the other, we must expect to go many centuries back again. It is in prophecy as it is in history, when describing contemporary events, the writer, having gone through one series, returns and takes up the other. It is thus in the history of Judah and Israel in the second book of Kings ; with this difference, that, in carrying on those histories together, the writer went through only a single reign of one of them ere he returned to the other ; whereas in this the overthrow of the eastern church is completed before the account of the western is begun. The former brought us down to the fifteenth century ; the latter, when tracing the origin of things, may glance at events as early as the fourth. Ver. 1—11. The " mighty angel " appears by his description to he the Son of God himself, and this may indicate the im portance of the vision. His being " clothed with a cloud " may express the concealment that this is spoken, who had professed Christianity, and whose apostacy consisted not in a disavowal of the name of Christ, but of certain Christian doctrines, which included a virtual denial of Jesus being the Christ, as that also was a virtual denial ofthe Father. Had these •' forerunners of Anti christ," as Mr. Scott very properly calls them, been avowed infidels, they could not have been seducers to the churches of Christ (ver. 26,) a name given to false teachers. Such were those deceiv°rs in 2 John 7, who, by denying the real humanity of Christ, denied his being come in the flesh. But, if a virtual denial of the Father and the Son rendered those who were already come Antichrists, there is no reason why it should not do the same of him that should come. It is not probable that John would have allowed " the man of sin" to acknowledge either the Father, or the Son, while he usurped the place of both. ofhis designs, and the hiding of his power. He could have crushed this great conspiracy at the outset, but he did not. The " rainbow on his head " is the sign of peace, or of covenant mercy, and may here denote that whatever evils might be permitted in order to try the church, yet there should not be such a deluge as to destroy it. His counte nance being compared to " the sun," and his feet to " pillars of fire," may intimate that neither is his glory tarnished nor his majesty diminished, by all the corruptions which are introduced under his name. Finally, his " coming down from heaven" seems to de note a change of scene. The Lamb's com pany stand upon Mount Sion ; but the harlot sitteth upon the waters, and the beast riseth out ofthe sea. Thus, as the subject respects ' the same apostate community, the scene is the earth, and the angel descends from heaven to disclose it. The " little book" which the angel held open in his hand relates doubtless to the western apostacy. It has been thought to be a kind of Appendix, or Codicil, to the sealed book, and a part of what follows to be chapters of it. But this seems too much : for, if so, it would not properly belong to the sealed book, whereas all that pertains to the apostacy, and to the state of the church to the end ofthe world, belongs to the trumpets, which trumpets are a subdivision of the seventh seal. It is not therefore anything added to the sealed book, but a marked di vision of it, — a book as it were within a book. — The angel's setting his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, would express his absolute dominion over both. His "crying with a loud voice as when a lion roareth" was awfully preparato ry to the seven thunders which immediately uttered their voices. On hearing them, John was about to write, but is told by a voice from heaven to " seal up the things which the thunders uttered, and write them not." The thunders then were not mere sounds, but certain "things," which, though they were not at present to be disclosed, yet in due time should be fulfilled. Their fulfilment too was an object of such im portance, and lay so near the angel's heart, that with the utmost indignation he " sware by Him that liveth forever and ever that there should be no delay;" but that in the days ofthe voice ofthe seventh angel, when he should begin to sound, they should be accomplished.* 'Whether wi ^povoc owe teu ti-i be rendered, as in our version, that there should be time no longer; or, more literally, as by Mr. Daubuz and others, that the time shall not be yet; or, as Dr. Gill says the words will bear to be rendered, that there should be delay no longer; the mean ing cannot be that time itself should then be at an end. Nor does it seem to be an object of sufficient importance for an oath that the time for the seven DESCRIPTION OF THE PAPAL APOSTACY. 41 From these considerations it appears plain that the seven thunders relate to the same " things" as those which are afterwards dis closed under the seven vials. They both express the wrath of God against the papal antichrist; the one describes it only in general, and that in the form of threatenings, the other descends to particulars, and de scribes it as actually executing* The thunders being introduced before the prophetic ac count of the apostacy may denote the dis pleasure of God against it from its very beginning, and tend to support the faith and patience ofthe church under it. The forbidding the apostle to write, and commanding him to eat the book, seems like saying, — The apostacy is not yet ripe. The wrath of God against it will be deferred for the present. Under the sounding of the seventh angel he will pour forth the vials of his indignation upon it. At present, there fore, write it not ; but receive a general im pression of things by eating the book ! — The allusion doubtless is to Ezek. iii. 1 — 3, and denotes that he must understand and digest its contents. The book, he was told, would be sweet in his mouth, but bitter in his belly. The same desire of understanding the future state of the church which made him weep when no one was found worthy to open the sealed book must make him rejoice when an open book was put into his hand, with a direction to eat it ; but when he came to digest it, and to perceive the corruptions and persecutions that should prevail, and for so long a period retard the progress of the gospel', it would be grievous to him. To teach him that what he had now seen and done was designed only as a general impression, preparatory to what should fol low, he is given to understand that he must go over the ground " again," writing prophe cies which respect many " peoples, and na tions, and tongues, and kings." thunders to be executed should not be yet. It is not their not being yet, but their being at the ap pointed time; not the protraction, but the accom plishment notwithstanding the protraction, to which the angel swears. There is a manifest reference in the passage to Dan. xii. 7 : " And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was upon the waters ofthe river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and a half, and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." It was of the Papal Antichrist, of whom Antiochus Epiphanes was a type, that the man clothed in linen spake, and of him speaks the angel to John. As the former predicts his fall, so does the latter; and as Antiochus had been per mitted to scatter the power of the holy people for a time, times, and half a time, so should Anti christ be permitted to scatter the church of Christ for the same prophetic period, reckoning a year for a day, that is, for the space of 1260 years. See "Prideaux's Connection," Part 11. Book III. at the close. Vol. 2— Sie. 6. DISCOURSE XIII. THE FIRST GENERAL DESCRIPTION OP THE PAPAL APOSTACY, AND OP THE STATE OF THE CHURCH UNDER IT. Rev. xi. &c. I conceive with Mr. Lowman that the following chapters contain three general descriptions of the papal Antichrist, and of the state of the church under it ; only he confines them to the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth chapters, whereas it appears to me that the thirteenth and fourteenth should not be divided, but considered as containing between them the third general description. The reasons for considering these four chapters not as one continued prophecy, but as general representations of the events of the same period, are the following :— First : The events foretold by the slaugh ter and resurrection of the witnesses in ch. xi. ; by the flight of the woman into the wilderness, and the victory over the dragon in ch. xii. ; with the ravages of the beasts and the triumph of the Lamb's company in chapters xiii. and xiv., are the same. — Se condly : These representations are not con fined to one ortwo trumpets, but comprehend the times of the greater part of them. Some ofthe things represented, particularly those at the beginning of ch. xii., in which the origin ofthe apostacy is traced, appear to go back to the times of the first four trumpets, namely, to the fourth and fifth centuries; others, particularly those at the close of chapters xi. and xiv., which describe the overthrow of the apostate church, go for ward to the times of the last trumpet, and even of the last vials, into which that trum pet is subdivided. This will be evident by comparing ch. xi. 19 with ch. xvi. 18. In both mention is made of "lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail ;" both, therefore, manifestly refer to the same events. — Thirdly : In each of these descriptions there is a reference to the 1260 years, the period which in prophe cy marks the duration of the antichristian power. So long were the witnesses to prophecy in sackcloth, so long the woman to be in the wilderness, and so long the beast to make war with the saints. It is therefore to the events of this period that these chapters relate; containing an ac count of the rise, the reign, and the over throw of the papal Antichrist. It could scarcely be expected that so long a period, embracing such multifarious char acters and events, events too which so deeply interest the church of God, should be passed over without particular notice. The sacred writer is as it were made to pause, and to give us several distinct views ofthe subject, 42 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. according to the different lights in which he beheld it. I only add, if these chapters do really comprehend the events of the 1260 years, we might almost presume, in going over them, to meet with something under each description relating to so distinguished' an event as the Reformation, and must cer tainly have thrice to cross the meridian of our own times. The first of these general descriptions, which we now enter upon, does not appear to trace the origin of the apostacy, but to take it up from the time in which things were so matured that, in taking the measure ment of God's temple, the papal community was ordered to be left out, as not belonging to it. Ver. 1. 2. The language no doubt is Jewish, but the doctrine, worship, and worshippers of the Christian church are in tended. Christianity, having become the religion of the state abounded with con verts ; but such would be their character, and such the kind of religion they would introduce, that the extent of the church would require to be contracted. The outer court, containing the body ofthe worshippers, must be left out. That which had been known by the name of the Catholic church must be given up as idolatrous; and thus the profanation of the temple by Antiochus would be acted over again.* Ver. 3 — 6. The import of these verses is that, during the long period of papal cor ruption and persecution, God would have his faithful witnesses, who should bear testimony against it, though it were in sackcloth. As, in the language of the prophecy, a king de notes not an individual monarch, but a suc cession of kings, or a kingdom, so by " two witnesses" we are doubtless to understand not two individual witnesses, but a competent succession of them. This is manifest from their continuing through the long period of 1260 years, which can only be true of a succession of men. Some have supposed them to be the Old and New Testaments, others the old and New Testament churches ; ?"Our Reformers (says Mr. Faber) never thoughtof unchurching thechurch of Rome, though they freely declared it to have erred. Hence, while they rejected its abominations, they did not scru ple to derive from it their line of episcopal and sacerdotal ordination." Vol. II. p. 3, note. The English Reformers might allow the church of Rome to be a true church of Christ ; but do the Scriptures support them in this concession1! The church of Rome was once a part of God's temple ; but hence it is left out of the measurement. In stead of being " the holy city," it is a body of idolaters who tread It under foot. It is not Zisn, but Babylon, Some of God's people might be found in her, but they are commanded to come out of her. She is not the bride, the Lamb's wife, but the mother of harlots. Finally, If the church of Rome continued to be a church of Christ, what must that church be who fled from her persecution! into the wilderness? but I see no reason why they should not be understood of the faithful servants of Christ, who, during this period, would bear witness for the truth. It is of the true church as opposed to the false that the other general descriptions speak ; namely, of the woman and her seed who fled into the wilderness, and of the Lamb's company as opposed to that of the beast: I conclude, therefore, that such are the two witnesses in this. Moreover, the correspondence of 1260 days, in which they should prophecy, with the " time, times, and the dividing of time," in Daniel (ch. vii. 25,) not only determines the general application of the prophecy, but the parties concerned in both to be the same. In the latter end of the fourth, or Roman, government, according to Daniel, a little horn should grow up among the ten horns, that should " wear out the saints of the Most High, until a time, times, and the dividing of time." According to John, the witnesses, during the same period, should prophecy in sackcloth, and be persecuted and slain. The witnesses of John, therefore, and the saints of Daniel, are the same. These two witnesses are said to be " the two olive-trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the God of the earth." The olive-trees and the candlestick of Zechariah, to which there is a manifest reference, were not the same. The former supplied the latter, or the two sides of the bowl of it, with oil. The candlestick seems to have signified the church, and the olive-trees the prophets of God who were with the builders helping them — Ezra v. 2. Corresponding with this, the olive-trees of John are faithful ministers, and the candlesticks Christian churches. The same prophecying which bears witness against the corruptions of Antichrist supplies the friends of Christ as with fresh oil, and enables them to shine as lights in the world. Both the olive-trees and the candlesticks in different ways are witnesses to the truth. The "fire that proceedeth out of their mouth " denotes the divine threatenings to which those who reject their testimony are exposed. In this way all who have per- severingly set themselves against the truth of God have been slain by it, not only as incurring the wrath to come, but spiritual judgments even in this life ; such are blind ness of mind and hardness of heart, the most awful and sure presages of eternal death. Their having "power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, to turn waters into blood, and to smite the earth with plagues as often as they will," denotes the influence of prayer when presented in faith and in conformity to the will of God. There is a reference no doubt to the prayer of Elijah against apostate Israel, which prayer was answered with a dearth: but, without any thing properly miraculous, the HISTORY OF THE WITNESSES. 43 prayers of God's suffering servants may draw down both temporal and spiritual judg ments on persecuting nations. The terrible things which God is now in righteousness inflicting on the nations may be in answer to the prayers ofhis servants of former ages, who century after century have been crying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth ! " Such cries enter the ears ofthe Lord of Hosts, and must be answered. APPENDIX TO DISCOURSE XIII. The history of the witnesses prior to the eleventh and twelfth centuries is diffi cult to be traced, owing to the want of materials : and during those centuries almost all the accounts that we have of them are from the pens of their persecutors, who have not failed to transmit their memory to pos terity in the most odious colors. That some who in church-history are deemed heretics were really such need not be ques tioned : but let any serious Christian read the church-history of Mosheim ; and, un less he can find a portion of true religion under the article of " heresies and heretics that disturbed the peace of the church during this century," it is difficult to say where he is to look for it. After the utmost search through other parts, he may ask, " Where is wisdom, and where is the place of understanding ? " There is little doubt but that all through these dark ages there were many thousands who stood aloof from the corruptions of the times, and bore practical testimony against them; and who, notwithstanding some errors, were much nearer the truth and true religion than those who have reproached them as heretics. There is reason to believe that amongst the Novations, the Paulicians, the Cafhari, the Paterines, and others who separated from the catholic church, and were cruelly persecuted by it, there were a great number of faithful witnesses for the truth in those days. We should not, like Bishop Newton, confine the witnesses to councils, princes, and eminent men, who in their day bore testimony against error and superstition. They will be found I doubt not in great numbers amongst those who were unknown, and consequently unnoticed by historians. God hath chosen the things that are not to bring to nought the things that are. Let a church-history of our own times be written on the principles of that of Mosheim, and the great body ofthe most faithful witnesses would have no place in it. The history ofthe witnesses will be princi pally found in that of the Waldenses and Albigenses, who for a succession of centuries spread themselves over almost every nation in Europe, and in innumerable instances bore testimony, at the expense of their lives, against the corruptions of the anti christian party. John Paul Perrin, a French protestant of the city of Lyons, who early in the seven teenth century wrote the history of these churches, traces their origin to Peter Waldo, who was also a citizen of Lyons. Waldo, as we shall see presently, was not the father of the Waldenses ; but he was an excel lent man. About the year 1160 he began to bear testimony against the papal corrup tions. The archbishop of Lyons, being informed of his proceedings, sought to appre hend him ; but Waldo, having many friends in the city, was concealed there for about three years. After this, he was driven from Lyons, and it is said that he retired into Dauphine in the south of France, and after wards into Picardy in the north ; and that his followers spread themselves, not only in Piedmont, Provence, Languedoc, &c, but in almost all the nations of Europe. Waldo translated, or procured to be trans lated, the Scriptures into the French lan guage ; by means of which his followers disseminated the truth over a great part of Europe. In Piedmont, whither some of his follow ers were driven, churches were planted, which though exposed to innumerable oppressions and persecutions from their princes, who were stirred up by the priests, yet continued to bear witness to the truth, not only till the Reformation, but for a con siderable time after it. In Picardy, whither Waldo himself retired, the houses of three hundred gentlemen who adhered to him were razed to the ground, and several walled towns were destroyed. Being driven thence, he and his followers retired into Flanders, where great numbers of them were burnt to death. Thence many fled into Germany, particularly into Alsace, and the country along the Rhine, where the bishop of May- ence caused to be burnt thirty-five burgesses in one fife, and eighteen in another, who with great constancy suffered death. At Strasburg eighty were burnt at the instance of the bishop of the place. They were scattered through the whole kingdom of France. From the year 1206, when the In quisition was established, to 1228, such multitudes were seized, particularly in France, that even the bishops declared to tlie monks inquisitors, that " the expense of supporting them would be more than could be defrayed, and that there would not be found lime and stone sufficient to build pris^- ons which should contain them !" A hun dred and fourteen were burnt alive at one time in Paris. In 1223 they had goodly churches in Bulgaria, Croatia, Dalmatia, 44 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. and Hungary ; and, notwithstanding the persecution, in Germany, one of their mar tyrs assured his persecutors, in the year 1315, that there were then 80,000 of the same mind in the country. In Bohemia, a colony of Waldenses settled and planted churches 240 years before the time of Huss. Another colony went from Dauphine about 1370, and settled in Calabria, where they were defended by their landlords against the priests till 1560, when they were exter minated by the papal soldiery. In England, during the reign of Henry IL, namely, from 1174 to 1189, they were persecuted under the name of Publicans. About 1315, Lollard, who was seven years afterwards burnt to death at Cologne, came over to England and taught many, who thence were called Lollards, and were persecuted with out mercy. Soon after the death of Lol lard, the same doctrines were taught by JHckliff, whose followers also for a century and a half, down to the Reformation, were burnt in great numbers. Perrin, as has been observed, traces the origin ofthe Waldenses and Albigenses to Peter Waldo : yet . there are several things even in his history which prove their existence long before the time of Waldo. He quotes Reynerius the inquis itor, who wrote within sixty years after Waldo, as saying of the Waldenses that " they had resisted the church of Rome for a long time." He quotes a Waldensian poem, called The Noble Lesson, which poem ap pears by its contents to have been written about the year 1100, that is, forty or fifty years at least before the appearance of Waldo. He quotes Claudius Rubis, who, in his History of Lyons, says of the Wal denses, in a way of reproach, that " being retired unto the Alps, at their departure from Lyons, they became like the rest of the people of that country, besom-riders," or sorcerers. There must then have been a people among the Alps who were reproach ed as sorcerers, before the disciples of Waldo went and joined them. Finally, in Perrin's History of the Albigenses, he says, They received the belief of the Waldenses soon after the departure of Waldo from Lyons, that is, soon after 1160, and yet that the instruments who were employed in this work were Peter of Bruis, Henry, Joseph, Esperon, and Arnold Holt. But Peter of Bruis began to preach against the corrup tions of popery in 1110, and was burnt in 1130, and Henry was soon after imprisoned at Rome ; all before the times of Waldo. There must therefore have been a body of these faithful witnesses from an early period, probably from the times in which the Chris tian church began to be overspread with corruptions. In the spring of 1655 a most horrible massacre of the Waldenses was perpetra ted in the dominions of the duke of Savoy. On this occasion Sir Samuel Morland, going over as envoy from the protector Cromwell to the court of Savoy, was charged, as he says, by archbishop Usher, before he left England, to make the most diligent inquiry into the antiquity of the Waldenses.* Having finished his business at Turin, and retired to Geneva, he was requested by secretary Thurloe to write his History qf tlie Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piedmont. In his history, Sir Samuel, besides relating many things of the Wal denses since the days of Perrin, and narra ting the particulars of the late massacre, makes it appear that these churches remain ed united with all other Christian churches so long as they retained the true religion ; but, when the church of Rome departed from it, they began to depart from her; and that the followers of Peter Waldo, who about 1165 fled from the south of France into the valleys of Piedmont, were not the first Waldenses, but rather that they joined themselves to those their faithful brethren who had been there long before them. The learned Dr. Allix, a French pro testant who took refuge in England on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, largely establishes the same thing in his Remarks on the Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of Piedmont and of the Country of the Albigenses. He has proved that these people, from their situation in the valleys, and not from Waldo, were denominated Wallenses, or the Vaudois — that though not free from a portion of the general corruption, yet they continued to maintain the leading principles of what is now called the protest ant religion — that before the year 1026 a body of men in Italy, connected with Gun- dulfus, believed contrary to the opinions of the church of Rome, condemned its errors, and sent their brethren into divers places to oppose themselves to the superstitions that reigned throughout the west — that in the * It was on occasion of this horrible massacre that Milton wrote the following sonnet : — Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones Lie scatter'd on toe Alpine mountains cold } Even them who kepi thy tiuth so pure of old, When all our fathers worshipp'd stocks and stones, Forget not: in thy book record their groans, Who were tby sheep, and in their ancient fold Slain by the bloody riedmontese, that rollM Mother and infant down the rocks. Their moans The vales redoubled to the hills, and they To heaven. Their martyr'd blood and ashes sow O'er all 111' Italian fields, where still doth sway A triple tyrant j that from these may grow A hundred fold, who, having learn'd thy way, Early may fly the Babylonian woe ! Not only did the English government interfere with the court of Turin in behalf of the remnant of these persecuted people, but a collection was made for them through the nation, which amounted to nearly £40,000, (a prodigious sum in those times,) which was sent to them by Sir Samuel JMorland, HISTORY OF THE WITNESSES. 45 same century another body of the Christians of Italy denominated Paterines, and whose principles were much the same with those who were afterwards called Waldenses, separated from the church of Rome — that soon after the year 1100 it was said, " If a man loves those that desire to love God and Jesus Christ, if he will neither curse, nor swear, nor lie, nor whore, nor kill, nor deceive his neighbor, nor avenge himself of his enemies, they presently say, He is a Vaudes, he deserves to be punished ; and by lies and forging are found to take away from him what he has got by his lawful in dustry " — that about 1160 many of the fol lowers of Peter Waldo retired into the valleys of Piedmont, and there joined the Vaudois — that, Waldo himself being con demned as a heretic, it was common for the papists to call all religious people Walden ses, hoping thereby to fix a stigma upon them, and to represent them as a sect but newly risen up — and that from this time to the Reformation, a period of between three and four hundred years, the Waldenses were persecuted with but little intermission ; partly by armies sent to destroy them, and partly by the horrid process of the inquisi tion ; which persecutions they bore with unparalleled constancy. Similar remarks are made by Dr. Allix on the churches of the Albigenses, so called from Albi, a city in the South of France. He has proved that these churches continued for many centuries independent of the pope — that about the middle of the eleventh century Berengarius of Tours opposed the doctrines of the Romish church, and was charged by its adherents with having cor rupted almost all the French Italians, and English — that early in the twelfth, namely, about the year 1110, Peter of Bruis, and after him Henry, taught the same doctrines, for which the former was burnt, ' and the latter died in prison — that in the fourth canon of the Council of Tours, held in the year 1163, it is said, " In the country about Thoulouse there sprang up long ago a damnable heresy, which by little and little, like a canker, spreading itself to the neighboring places in Gascoin, hath already infected many other provinces" — that between 1137 and 1180 Languedoc was so full of the disciples of Peter of Bruis and Henry, that the archbishop of Narbonne, writing to Louis VII. king of France, com plains as follows : — " My lord the king, We are extremely pressed with many calamities, among which there is one that most of all affects us, which is, that the catholic faith is extremely shaken in this our diocese, and St. Peter's boat is so violently tossed by the waves that it is in great danger of sinking ! " From the whole it appears that in the early ages of the papal apostacy, before the introduction of image-worship, transubstan- tiation, and other gross departures from the faith, the opposition of the faithful would be less decided than in latter times. Other Christian churches, while they preserved their independency, might not go the same lengths as that of Rome ; but neither might they at once separate from it, nor probably be clear of a participation in its corrup tions. The opposition to it might be expect ed also to be chiefly from individuals rather than from churches ; and this appears to have been the fact. The famous Claude, bishop of Turin, in the ninth century, though he preached the doctrine of Christ in great purity, and boldly opposed almost all the errors of popery, yet does not appear to have so separated from the church of Rome as to form independent churches. The principles however which- . he taught led to this issue, and were acted upon after his death. His preaching and writings contributed greatly to the spread of true religion in the V alleys of Piedmont. From the fourth to the tenth century but little is said of the Waldenses in history : yet as Reynerius, who wrote about the year 1230, speaks of the Vaudois as " a sect of the longest standing," and as the Council of Tours, about seventy years before this, speaks of the same heresy as having " sprung up long ago," we may conclude even from the acknowledgments of the adversa ries that God was not without his witnesses in those dark ages. Milton also, in the sonnet before quoted, represents the Vau dois, or people of the Valleys, as having " kept God's truth so pure of old, when all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones." He must therefore have considered them as having preserved the purity of Christians ity while our Saxon ancestors were yet heathens. After the tenth century, when iniquity was at the full, the opposition was more decided. For 500 years, during the most murderous wars and persecutions, the Paterines the Petrobrussians, the Waldenses, the Albigenses, the Lollards, the Wickliffdes, &c, maintained their ground. Nor were they contented to bear witness to the truth in their own countries, but employed mis^ sionaries to almost all the nations of Europe ; and this notwithstanding each missionary could expect nothing less than martyrdom for his reward ! , Nor were their labors unproductive. The numbers who espoused their principles in the South of France only were such that a crusade of 500,000 men was sent against them. It was by this army of bloody- minded fanatics that the ctiy of Beziers was taken, and the inhabitants, without distinc tion, men, women, and children, to the number of 60,000, were put to the sword ! 46 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. DISCOURSE XIV. THE FIRST GENERAL DESCRIPTION CONTIN UED ; OR THE SLAUGHTER AND RESUR RECTION OF THE WITNESSES, WITH THE FALLING OF A TENTH PART OF THE CITT. Rev. xi. 7—13. Ver. 7 — 12. If the testimony ofthe wit nesses be the same as their prophecying in sackcloth, it must continue through the whole of the 1260 years. But it does not appear that the beast at the termination of that period will be able to " overcome and kill them," seeing he himself will then be slain and his body given to the burning flame. Several commentators therefore have ren dered it, while they shall perform, or be about to finish, .their testimony, &c. And with this agrees the account which represents the beast and his party at the time ofthe slaying ofthe witnesses as being in the plenitude of their power. The slaughter ofthe witnesses would not, according to the usual style of the prophecy, denote their being put to death as individu als, but silenced and crushed as witnessing bodies. It was thus, as we have seen, that the eastern empire, and the Greek church as connected with it, were killedhy the turk- ish horsemen. — Ch. ix. 18. Of the beast that shall kill them no men tion is made before ; but we shall hear much of him hereafter. Suffice it at present to say, it is the same as Daniel's fourth beast, ch. vii., and as that which is described by John, in ch. xiii. 1 — 8 of .this book, as hav ing " seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns : " it is the Roman em pire under its last form, as divided into ten in dependent kingdoms. There he is described as rising out ofthe sea ; here out ofthe abyss, or bottomless pit: the one, as Mr. Faber remarks, may denote his political, and the other his spiritual origin. The witnesses were to be killed in the great city, which " spiritually is called Sod om and Egypt, where also our Lord was Crucified." We shall have occasion more than once to notice an antichristian city as opposed to the church of Christ, just as the great harlot is opposed to the bride the Lamb's wife. It will be proper there fore to fix the meaning at the outset. If the prophecy had related to Old Testa ment times, when God chose a literal city in which to build his temple, a literal city might have been properly opposed to it. When Zion was his dwelling-place, Babylon was its adversary. But, as the true church under the gospel is not confined to place, neither is the false church. The New-Testa ment Zion does not consist of material buildings, but is v. community scattered among the nations ; and such is the New- Testament Babylon. The "great city'' therefore means Rome, not in respect of its buildings, nor the inhabitants within its walls, nor as a political empire, the symbol of which is the beast ; but as the head ofthe antichris tian community. This city, or community of nations under one ecclesiastical head, was a Sodom for its filthiness, an Egypt for its idolatry and persecution, and a Jerusalem for its malignant hatred ofthe Lord Jesus Christ. The dead bodies ofthe witnesses were to lie in the street of the great city unburied : that is, being silenced and crushed through out Christendom', they would for a time be treated with the utmost indignity and re proach, as those are who are denied the ordi nary decencies of burial. Nor would these indignities be inflicted by the highest orders only; but "peoples, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations," that is, the body of the inhabitants of Christendom, would take a part in them. While insulting the wit nesses, they would make merry on their own account, as being no longer tormented with their testimony. Such is the description given of the wit nesses, and of the treatment which they would receive, both from the ruling pow ers and the common people. The question is, What are the facts which correspond with it ? It is thought by some that both the slaugh ter and the resurrection of the witnesses are yet to be fulfilled. If so, it is vain to look for corresponding fasts mpast events. This was the opinion of bishop Newton, of doc tor Gill, and of other expositors of note. I cannot but consider this as a mistake. In the bishop it appears to have been founded on the supposition of the time of the dead that they should be judged, spoken of in ver. 18, referring to the last judgment, or " the consu mmation of all things ; " but which manifestly refers to the avenging ofthe martyrs by the judgments to be inflicted on the Papal pow er, under the seven vials, antecedent to the Millennium. — Comp. ch. xi. 18, 19 ; ch. xvi. 12 — 21. Dr. Gill speaks of the war by which the witnesses are slain as being " the last war of the beast " (on chap. xi. 8 ;) but the last war of the beast is that in which he and the false prophet will be taken ; and in which the followers of Christ, instead of be ing killed, shall be victorious over their ene mies. — Chap. xix. 20.* It is remarkable, too, that both the slaughter and resurrection of the witnesses, together with the falling of a tenth part of the city, are introduced before the termination of the sixth, or sec ond woe-trumpet. I question therefore whether these prophecies can refer to events of so late a date as this hypothesis requires. The time in which the witnesses are slain, and their bodies lie unburied, appears to be * See President Edwards on Agreement in Extraordinary Prayer, p. 100. THE EARTHQUAKE. 47 a time in which the beast is in the height of his power, or, as President Edwards says, "in which the true church of Christ is low est of all, most of all prevailed against by Antichrist, and nearest to an utter extinc tion ; a time in which there is left the least visibility of the church of Christ, yet subsisting in the world, and the least remains of any thing appertaining to true religion whence a revival of it could be expected." — p. 92. It is true we know not what is before us ; but, if such a state of things as this should return after what has occurred in Europe within the last three hundred years, it will, as Mr. Edwards I think has proved, be contrary to all God's usual methods of proceeding. I cannot therefore but think with him that the persecution and slaughter of the witnesses preceded the Reformation. After the suppression of the Bohemians, for nearly a hundred years, true religion was in a manner crushed. The enemy con tinued without resistance to " wear out the saints of the Most High." Not a society or body of Christians was to be found which dared to oppose the general corruption. The Popish party considered the heretics as suppressed, and congratulated each other on so happy an event. The security that they felt was manifest by the bare-faced manner in which they sold their pardons and indulgences at the time when Luther's indignation was first kindled against them. Whether the " three days and a half," du ring which the witnesses should lie unburi ed, denote three years and a half, and refer to a. particular period of that duration, or only to a short space of oppression, in allu sion to the "three times and a half," as being a kind of 1260 years in miniature, I am not able to determine ; nor have I seen any thing on the subject relating to a par ticular period which afforded me satisfac tion. However this may be, if the slaying of the witnesses refer to the times imme diately preceding the Reformation, their resurrection and ascension to heaven must denote the Reformation itself, and the placing, by Divine Providence, of the par ties concerned in it out of the reach of their enemies. The resurrection, as it were, of the Waldenses, the Wickliffites, and other reputed heretics, in the persons of Luther and his contemporaries, with the rapid progress made by them in various na tions nearly at the same time, would cause great fear to fall upon their adversaries ; and the security in which they were placed by the secession of those nations from the see of Rome was equal to their being taken up to heaven in a cloud, where those who thirsted for their blood could only look after them with malignity and envy. Ver. 13. After the resurrection of the witnesses, and before the sounding of the seventh, or third woe-trumpet, follows an earthquake, and a tenth part of the city falls. In the earthquake are slain of men (or names of men) seven thousand, and the remnant are affrighted, and give glory to the God of heaven. If the meaning of this passage can be clearly ascertained, it will determine the time of the sounding of the seventh angel, and serve as a medium by which to judge of several other tilings. The " earthquake " must, I conceive, de note a revolution, as this is the appropriate and well-known symbol of such an event. The " city " is doubtless the same as that which in the 8th verse is " spiritually called Sodom and Egypt ; " that is, the Romish church, or the Apocalyptic Babylon. By " a tenth part " of it must be understood a considerable portion of it, and very probably a part belonging to one of the ten horns, or kingdoms, into which the empire under its papal form was to be divided. By " the names of men," Dr. Goodwin and others have understood titles or orders of men, and supposed that the revolution signified by the earthquake would destroy them. Or if" the phrase denote, as some have understood it, men of name, it would signify the de struction made among the higher orders, and which would of course be accompanied with great slaughter among the common people. " The remnant that were affright ed and gave glory to God " would denote those of the same community who escaped, and whose fears would forebode other ex amples of the divine justice. What event is there during the 1260 years of antichristian usurpation which an swers to these characters ? It has been un derstood of the fall of the Greek church in 1453, when Constantinople was taken by the Turks : but that event has been de scribed in the vision of the horsemen (chap. ix ; ) and it is the western or Latin church that occupies the whole of these chapters. It were much better to understand it of the falling off of the northern nations from the see of Rome, which was an immediate con sequence of the Reformation. Its being " in the same hour" with the resurrection of the witnesses would favor this interpreta tion, but in several other particulars it does not agree. No reason can be given why the seceding northern nations should be called " a tenth part of the city ; " nor do any events which attended the Reforma tion appear to correspond with the slaugh ter of " seven thousand names of men." If the tenth part of the city fell as early as the Reformation, the seventh angel must have sounded his trumpet " quickly" after it ; and this some writers who believed the former have very consistently maintained, conceiving also that the Millennium com menced, or would commence, towards the middle of the eighteenth century. But surely we must allow that events have con- 48 EXPOSITION OP THE APOCALYPSE. tradicted this explication. The character of the seventh trumpet is that under it the kingdoms of this world were to become the kingdoms of our Lord and ofhis Christ : but the nations which have fallen off from the papal see have not answered to this de scription, but have rather sunk into formali ty and irreligion. And, as to the Millen nium, one of its characters is that the beast and the false prophet shall first have gone into perdition, and Satan be bound ; but neither of these has taken place. It is also in the Millennium, if ever, that we are to look for the cessation of war, and the universal prevalence of true religion, both among Jews and Gentiles, neither of which has yet come to pass. All things considered, I know of no event that seems to correspond so well with the prophecy as the late Revolution in France. Thus it has been understood by some of the ablest expositors, and that for ages prior to the event. A writer in the Eclectic Re- view has collected no fewer than ten of them who have referred to this event, and that long before it occurred, and several of them in commenting on the passage. Among these are the names of Dr. Thomas Goodwin, and Vitringa. Dr. Goodwin, who wrote in 1639, says, " By the tenth part of the city, I understand, as Mr. Brightman Before me, some one tenth part of Europe." "" I think it probable that France may be this country ; and that in this revolution men will be deprived of their names and titles, which are to be rooted out forever, and -condemned to perpetual forgetfulness." ""France may have the honor to have the last great stroke in the ruining of Rome. And this figurative earthquake, though hap pening only in one country, may extend its effects to others, so that a great shaldng of states, as well political as ecclesiastical, may be intended." Vitringa, who wrote in 1719, asks, *' What cari be more suitable than to under stand here by the tenth part of the city some illustrious kingdom, which, "being under the dominion of Rome with respect to religion, was of distinguished rank among the ten kingdoms, and had hitherto defended the Romish superstitions ? It is here said, in a figurative sense, that it would fall, since by means of those mighty commotions by which it was to be shaken it would be torn from the body of the antichristian empire." " France may be the forum of the great city." " The earthquake in this tenth part of the city is an event which history must illustrate. It is not perfectly clear from the prophecy of what land these commotions are ; whether warlike, such as are wont to shake the world, and subvert the existing government, or whether they are such as arise on a sudden from the insurrection of •a nation that has been long oppressed : the words of the prophecy appear to favor the latter sense. In the predicted catastrophe some thousands will undoubtedly perish dis tinguished by their elevated dignities or no bility of birth." — Eclectic Review for Febru ary, 1814. Dr. Gill, in? 1748, speaking of the earthquake, says, " Something yet to come is here intended ; " and " I think thei king dom of France is meant, the last of the ten kingdoms which rose up out of the ruins of the Roman empire." And, in his note on chap. xiii. 18, he speaks of the destruction of Antichrist as "quickly following the downfal of the kingdom of France, as the tenth part of the city, which should fall a little before the third woe came on." The revolution in France has been truly a moral earthquake, which has shaken the papal world to its centre. One of the ten kingdoms which composed it, and that the principal one, has so fallen as at present to be rather a scourge than a support to it. If by names of men he meant titles, they were abolished : or, if men of name, the slaugh ter predicted of them certainly corresponds with the calamities which befel the princes, the nobles, and the priests, during that awful period ; and, as the fall of a few thousands of great men would involve that of an im mense number of the common people, such hasbeenthe effect in this instance. Whether the remaining adherents to the papal cause have given " glory to God" in the manner they ought, or not, they have felt his hand, and by their fear and dismay have been com pelled to yield a sort of involuntary ac knowledgment of his justice. The only objection I feel to this applica tion of the prophecy is that it is said to be "in the same hour" as that in which the witnesses ascended into heaven, which, if understood of that legal security which from the Reformation was afforded to the protestants against popish persecutions, may seem to be at too great a distance for such a mode of expression. It is however not only under the same trumpet, but during the period in which the witnesses continue to en joy that security to which they were then in troduced, that this event has occurred. In stead of the great Babylonish city recover ing itself so as to renew its persecutions against the witnesses, it is itself smitten of * God as by an earthquake and in a measure overthrown. If tlie opinions of Goodwin, Vitringa, and Gill be correct, and if the events which have of late years occurred be the accomplishment of them, the last of these writers must have been mistaken in supposing the slaying of the witnesses to be something future; for the fall of the city is placed after the slaying and rising again of the witnesses. If therefore the one be now past, so is the other. END OF THE SECOND WOE. THE SEVENTH TRUMPET. 49 DISCOURSE XV. the first general description con cluded ; OR THE SOUNDING OF THE SEVENTH ANGEL. Rev. xi. 14—19. After the great earthquake, we hear as it were the cry of the watchman, telling us the hour of the night — " The second woe is past, and behold the third woe cometh quickly ! " When the first woe was past, the second and third woes were to come hereafter; but between the last two there would be but a short space. As things should approach to a crisis, events would occur in more rapid succession. This second woe, as it introduced the Turkish horsemen (ch. ix. 13 — 19,) must have commenced about 1281, and (if the falling of a tenth part of the city has been rightly interpreted) ended about 1791. Its having commenced with the introduction of the Turks does not. prove that it comprehended them only, nor that it must needs end with the passing away of their empire. On the contrary, the accomplishment of their over throw seems to be reserved for the sixth vial of the third woe-trumpet, which will be poured upon the Euphrates, near the times ¦ of the Millennium. But, it may be asked, how is it that the sounding of the trumpets should be intro duced in this plaGe ? If this and the three following chapters Contain general descrip tions of the papal apostacy, including the times of vaiious trumpets, but not divided by them, how is it that in the midst of one of these descriptions mention should be made of the second woe ending, and the third woe coming quickly? I answer, Though these general descriptions are not divided by trumpets, yet, as they comprehend the times of the trumpets, each of them might have been so, and, for our information, one of them actually is so. And, as the termi nation of the sixth and the sounding of the seVenth trumpet forms an era in the church of Christ, it is here marked with peculiar emphasis. It is from this era, as we shall find, that, after these three general descrip tions are given, the series of the prophecy is resumed, and the vials are introduced. But, if the sounding ofthe seventh angel forms an era in the Christian church, it re quires that we pause, and pay particular at tention to it. The events of this trumpet were antici pated by the angel at the distance probably of more than a thousand years, when he forbade the seven thunders to be written — "The days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he should begin to sound," are marked as the period when the great de signs of heaven, foretold in prophecy, should be accomplished. — Chap. x. Vol. 2.— Sig. 7. The contents of this trumpet are of deep er interest than any that have preceded it, both to the enemies of the church and to the church itself. It wears a two-fold aspect Towards the enemies of the church it is a tooe-trumpet, and a signal of mighty ven geance : towards the church itself it is a harbinger of joy, a. kind of juMee-trumpet, announcing the year of enlargement; for, when the "seventh angel sounded, there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever ! " Under the former of these aspects it includes the seven last plagues, which are but so many subdivisions of it, and which are, I conceive, the execution of the seven thunders in chap. x. These thunders, it is observable, are not only referred to " the days of the voice of the seventh angel," but to those in which he should " begin to sound," that is, to the early part of them. Under the latter aspect it comprehends all the success of the gospel previous to and during the Millennium, with all the glorious results of it as described in the remainder of the prophecy. We are not to consider it, however, under either of these aspects as being more than cl signal of things ivhich are to follow. As the ven geance will not all be poured forth at once, so neither will the kingdoms of this world at once become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ : but from the sounding of this trumpet both shall have a commencement, and both be singularly progressive under it. With respect to the time, if the applica tion of the " earthquake and the falling of a tenth part of the city" to events which have occurred within the last twenty years be just, there can be little if any doubt of the seventh angel's having sounded his trumpet within that period, and of the whole of these verses containing a general view of the state of things from our times to the commencement of the Millennium. On this occasion the heavenly chorus strikes up. The four-and-twenty elders, who sit before God on their seats, fall upon their faces and worship God. This heaven ly chorus is not introduced on ordinary oc casions. Things must therefore be pending of deep interest to the church of God. By the matter of the song we may learn some thing of what they are. Corresponding with the two-fold aspect of the seventh trum^ pet, those who have destroyed the earth are to be destroyed, and those who have suffered for Christ are to be rewarded. The character under which the Most High is praised — "the Lord God Almighty, who is, and was, and is to come" — seems to imply that he could have suppressed the power of his enemies at any time ; that though, for wise reasons, he had not for ages past exerted his strength, yet now he was 50 EXPOSITION OP THE APOCALYPSE. about to "take unto him his great power, and to reign ;" and that all this is the result of his immutable counsels. The "anger" of the nations had been great both against God and his servants, opposing him, and persecuting them with unrelenting cruelty : but now his wrath is come ; now the blood of the martyrs of past ages shall be avenged (chap, xviii. 20 ;) now their labors and sufferings shall produce their effects ; from the seed which has been sown during1 a succession of centuries in tears and blood a harvest of joy will spring up ; finally, those who by persecutions, cor ruptions, and unjust wars, have destroyed the earth, shall now be themselves de stroyed. Under the image of opening the heavenly temple seems to be set forth the glorious state of the church when these judgments shall be executed upon her enemies. As the temple was polluted and shut up under cer tain idolatrous reigns, and opened in times of reformation, so the gospel temple has been treated under the reign of Antichrist, and so it shall be restored at or towards the end ofthe 1260 years. "The ark ofthe testament being seen" implies the removal of the veil ; and as it was not to be seen in the second temple, but only in the first, its being seen here would seem to denote the restoration of pure primitive Christianity, as it was taught, believed, and practised, when the gospel temple was first erected. "The lightnings, voices, thunderings, earthquake, and hail," are the same things which are de scribed under the seventh vial. — Chap. xvi. 18 — 21. Both refer to the same events; only this is general, and that more particu lar : and as there the language seems to refer to the efficacy of the gospel, and of the spiritual judgments on those who reject it — purifying the moral atmosphere of the world — such appears to be its meaning here. DISCOURSE XVI. THE SECOND GENERAL DESCRIPTION; OR THE GREAT RED DRAGON, AND THE WOMAN FLYING INTO THE WILDERNESS. Rev. xii. 1 — 6. The first general description, it has been observed, took up the apostacy at the time when things were so matured that the Catho lic church was ordered to be left out of God's temple, as not belonging to it: but this appears to trace it to its origin. Here we go back to an early period of history ; possibly as far as to the fourth century, and to the times of some of the first trumpets. At a time when the church was in danger of being lost in superstition and worldly conformity, it was natural for the faithful to feel anxious for the cause of Christ. For their encouragement, the church is describ ed in vision as bearing a seed'which should be preserved by the special care of heaven, through all these evil times, and become in the end victorious over the whole earth. Such appears to be the scope of this second general description. Prior to the introduction of antichristian corruptions, the church is described as " a woman clothed with the sun, and having the moon under her feejt, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars ;" denoting the pleni tude of gospel light which compassed her as a garment; her superiority to the Jewish dispensation ; and, in consequence of her adherence to the doctrine and examples of the apostles, her triumph over ten successive persecutions. The woman is said to be "with child, travailing in birth, and pained to-be deliver ed ; " denoting, it may be, the earnest desires of the true church after the increase of be lievers. Such has always been its character. Worldly men who have taken upon them the Christian name have invariably been employ ed in compassing selfish objects. But true Christians have at all times been distinguished by a desire to extend the kingdom of Christ. The following description, by Eusebius, of the labors of the immediate successors of the apostles, is doubtless applicable to the church so long as it adhered to their doc trine and example. " They built up those churches the foundations of which were laid by the apostles, promoting greatly the doctrine of the gospel, and scattering the salutary seed of the kingdom of heaven at large over the whole world. — Travelling abroad, they performed tlie work of evan gelists to those who as yet had not heard the word of faith, being very ambitious to preach Christ, and to deliver the books ofthe divine gospels. And these persons having only laid the foundation of faith in remote and barbarous places, and constituted other pas tors, committed to them the culture of those they had perfectly introduced to the faith, departing again to other regions and nations, accompanied with the grace and co-opera tion of God."— Lib. III. c. 37. While the woman is thus in labor, "be hold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns "upon his heads, whose tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth, stands before her, ready to devour her child as soon as it was born." The dragon is in ver. 9 expressly called " the devil and Satan who deceiveth the whole world," and all that is said of him in the remainder of the prophecy agrees with this in its literal application: but, by his having the heads and horns of the Roman beast, is intimated that it was under this form, or by means of this government, that he did what he did in the present instance. THE WOMAN AND THE DRAGON. 51 As the woman is not an individual, but the society of the faithful, so neither is the man-child an individual, but the woman's seed, which, in ver. 17, is explained of them who " keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." It was this seed that tiie dragon aimed by persecu tion and corruption to destroy. This child was born to ride : not however at present ; for, if so, there had been no need of his be ing caught up to the throne of God, nor for his mother's flying into the wilderness for 1260 years. It is at the termination of that period that the man-child, or the seed of the church, shall rule ; and this accords with Dan. vii. 27, "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people ofthe saints of the Most High." Nor need it be objected that the sceptre of this govern ment is a rod of iron ; for such the kingdom of Christ must ever be to the ungodly. There are two marks by which the times referred to in this vision may, if I mistake not, be ascertained. One is the 1260 days, or years, which, being the appropriate num ber of the reign of the papal Antichrist, proves it to have no reference to the times of paganism. The other is, that the ten horns are not upon the beast, but upon the dragon, and the crowns are not as yet upon them, but upon the seven heads. When the horns are spoken of in reference to the times following tiie overthrow of the empire by the northern nations, and of its becoming ten independent kingdoms, they are de scribed as being upon the beast, and as hav ing crowns upon them. — Ch. xiii. 1. This indicates that the introduction of the vision contained in the first five verses of this chapter, though it does not go so far back as to the days of paganism, yet neither does it go so far forward as to the times of popery ; but to those which were intermediate and pre paratory, namely, the fourth and fifth centuries, in which Christianity became ex ceedingly corrupt, and a connection was introduced between the secular and ecclesi astical powers which issued in what is ex hibited in ch. xvii., a woman riding upon a scarlet colored beast! I do not suppose that the 1260 years of the reign of Antichrist are to be reckoned from the time when these corruptions began. Antichrist did not commence his reign from his birth; but thence his way was preparing. It is of what was done prior to the woman's flight into the wilderness for 1260 years that these verses speak. By the accession of Constan tine, the beast was " as it were wounded to death ; " and this may be the reason why no mention is made of him. Under the Chris tian emperors the beast for some time would lie apparently dead: the dragon, however, " that old serpent the devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world," knew how even at that time to make use of the pomp and power of the empire to serve his purposes. It is in the corruptions of the fourth and fifth centuries that we are to look for the origin of popery. It was by the influx of worldly power and glory into the church that Satan first seduced a great part of those who had shone like stars in the Christian firmament, and (alluding perhaps to his having originally drawn into apostacy a great part of the angels of heaven) cast them to the earth. But perceiving, notwithstanding what had been done as to a number of the leaders of the church, that a large body of the faithful were still intent on not only preserving but extending the Redeemer's kingdom, the dragon aims to destroy the fruits of their labors. When he saw that the bait of worldy pomp and power had so far succeeded as to draw the principal men into his net, it was doubtless his object to make a full end ofthe church of Christ. But he was disappointed. The woman " brought forth a man-child, who, in the end, would rule all nations as with a rod of iron." By the woman's flying into the wilderness seems to be meant her retiring into obscuri ty, where she would exist without legal protection, in some such manner as David did when he fled from the persecutions of Saul, and without any other defence than that which was afforded by the shielding providence of God. In this way the true church existed in all the nations of Europe from the time that popery first obtained the ascendancy, and during the long period of its domination. Wherever this religion prevailed, all those Christians who refused to yield to its corruptions were driven into obscurity. It was thus not only in those countries bordering upon Italy, but in others at the greatest distance. It is thought by some to have been thus with the British churches in Wales, with the Culdees in Scot land and Ireland, and .probably with every other body of Christians where this influence extended. Many of them were so pursued by persecution, that, if they had any com munion with each other, it was in a secret way. If they met to worship God, it must be in the night, in woods, or mountains, or caves of the earth. So little visibility be longed to the church, in this state, that it requires some attention to ascertain where it was to be found. To the question, how ever," Where was your church before Lu ther? we may answer, In the wilderness, where prophecy has placed her, and whither those who ask the question had driven her. If one place was more distinguished than another as affording a shelter to the faithful, it was among the mountains and valleys of the Alps. It may be difficult to decide upon the time when the woman fled into the wilder ness. This, however, we know, that very 52 EXPOSITION OP THE APOCALYPSE. soon after the revolution by the accession of Constantine corruptions in doctrine, di visions, intrigues, persecutions, and a flood of superstition, overspread the Catholic church.* In such a state of things true Christians must not only be offended, but must become offensive to others, and so be persecuted, and compelled to retire as into the wilder ness. The ancient Vaudois are said to "date their origin from the beginning of the fourth century ; when one Leo, at the great revo lution in religion under Constantine the Great, opposed the innovations of Sylvester, bishop of Rome. This agrees with what was said by Rainerius, a monk inquisitor of the thirteenth century, that they were the - most pernicious of all sects, for three rea sons. 1. "Because it is the most ancient. Some aver their existence (says he) from the days of Sylvester, others from the very times of the apostles. 2. Because it is so universal : for there is hardly a country into which this sect has not crept. 3. Because' all others render themselves detestable by their blasphemies ; but this has a great ap pearance of godliness, living a righteous life before men, believing right concerning God, confessing all the articles ofthe creed, only hating and reviling the church of Rome." DISCOURSE XVII. THE SECOND GENERAL DESCRIPTION CON TINUED ; OR THE WAR BETWEEN MI CHAEL AND THE DRAGON. Rev. xii. 7 — 17, Ver. 7 — 12. The dragon, having driven the true church into the wilderness, is supposed to have carried things in his own way among the rest. At a certain period, however, during her 1260 years' residence in the wilderness, Michael her prince espouses her cause, and makes war upon the dragon. There is no doubt a reference in this part * We may see into what a gulf of superstitious imposture the CaLholic church was sunk within fifty years after the death of Constantine, by the following story, taken from Dr. Allix. Sulpicius Severus, who lived early in the fifth century, wrote The Life of a Saint Martin of Tours, who had lived in the latter part of the fourth. In writing this life, Sulpicius speaks of a certain altar, which the popular superstition had rendered famous, because some martyr was pretended to have been buried in the place, " St. Martin not being able to make any certain discovery ofthe name of the martyr, and the circumstances of his sufferings, and being loth absolutely to doubt the truth of it, thought fit himself to go to this famous sepulchre in company with some ofhis brethren. Being come to the place, he earnestly begged of God to reveal to him the name and merit of the martyr. After of the prophecy to what was predicted in Dan. x. 13—21, xii. 1: Michael is there described not only as standing up for the people of God under Persian oppression, but as fighting the battles of the church in later ages, even during the " time, times, and half a time," or during the dominion of Antichrist The account given of Michael agrees not with the character of a created angel, but with that of Messiah the prince, who defends his church against the dragon, ".that old serpent the devil." Each has his angels, who perhaps are the visible agents in the war. But, before we determine the appli cation of this part of the vision, it will be proper to notice a few of its general charac ters. First: The scene is laid in "heaven." Yet in this heaven there is supposed till now to have been a place found for the dragon. It could not therefore be in the church above, where there has been no place for him since he "left his first estate." But in the church below there has. The latter therefore must have been the scene of the present contest. Secondly : The war is made by Michael on the dragon, and not by the dragon on Michael. This intimates that it must have been at a time when the dragon possessed such a plenitude of power in what was called the Christian church that his object was not to extend so much as to retain it. Thirdly : Whatever of worldly power and policy might accompany the war, the war itself was spiritual. It was a war between truth and error, righteousness and unrighteousness ; for the victors " overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." Fourthly : It is supposed that in this great struggle many of Michael's adherents would lose theft- lives, but that nevertheless they would overcome. The cause of truth and righteousness would prevail, and those Who suffered for Christ's sake would bear such a testimony for truth, and obtain such a victo ry over the world, as to be more than con querors.this, turning himself towards the left, he saw standing a hideous ghost. They command him to declare himself. The ghost obeys, tells his name, confesses that he had been executed for robbery, that it was only the error ofthe people that caused him to be canonized, that he was in nothing Hke the martyrs, they were in glory, Whereas he was in pain. The good St. Martin, being troubled to hear this account, caused the altar to be carried to another place, and so, says his biographer, de livered the people from a superstitious error." The same Sulpicius Severus, though a monk himself, yet, speaking of the monks of his time, says, " They do almost all things in such a manner that you would not so much think they had re pented for their former crimes, as that afterwards they had repented of their repentance ! " MICHAEL AND THE DRAGON. 53 Such are the characters of the war : to what event during the 1260 years of anti christian usurpation does it apply ? I can conceive of none but the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Satan, as ruling by means of Rome, was then attacked, and cast out of those nations where the Reformation prevailed ; *hich nations, being the seat of Christ's visible kingdom, are accounted as " heaven," while those which still cleave to the apostacy are " the earth." A song of the heavenly host is introduced on this occasion: for the "loud voice" (ver. 10) does not appear to be that of an individual, but of a multitude, who join as with one voice in a shout of joy and praise. It fits the lips of the holy army of martyrs before the throne, who, feeling for their brethren upon earth, rejoice in their having obtained a portion of relief. As Satan accused Job, and obtained permission of God to persecute him, so, by the agency of the bishop of Rome, he had from century to century accused and persecuted the saints of the Most High. But now were come " salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren," say they, "is cast down, that accused them to our God day and night." The Reformation was at once a pledge of Antichrist's consumption, and of the increase of the Redeemer's kingdom. The weapons by which the victory was obtained are celebrated by the heavenly host, and are worthy of our special atten tion. Some of the followers of Christ among the Albigenses, the Bohemians, and the Reformers, thought it necessary to take arms, and fight for their religion : but it has proved, I believe, in almost every instance, that where a body of Christians have taken the sword to defend themselves against persecution they as a body have perished by the sword. Whatever of this spirit there might be amongst the Reformers, it was not by this, but by " the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony," that they overcame. The "heavens," from which the dragon is cast out, are called upon to rejoice, while a woe is pronounced upon the inhabiters of " the earth and of the sea," or those conti nental and maritime nations where he still dwelleth, and to which his influence is in one sense confined. The power of Satan in this way, being reduced to narrower limits, would be the more mischievous within those limits. He would consider the Reformation as only a first step towards the overthrow of a system by which, under the Christian name, he had deceived mankind with equal facility as by the delusions of heathenism. Knowing therefore that his time was short, he would be the more assiduous in improving it. The denuncia tion wears a terrible aspect towards those nations which, notwithstanding all the light of the reformation, still cleave to the aposta cy. It may be equal to saying, Woe unto you Austria, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy ; for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time ! — From this language it mightbe expected that, in those countries which rejected the Reformation, popery would operate so as either, by pro ducing its proper effect, to lead its votaries into downright infidelity, or, by rivetting the delusion, to render them more and more the dupes of imposture. And thus it has actu ally operated : the nations which still cleave to it are nearly divided into two classes, the deceivers and the deceived ; the former of which appear to be the destined instruments of heaven in destroying the latter, and so of executing the vials of God's displeasure upon them. Ver. 13—17. The wrath of the dragon, for having been cast out of heaven, is direct ed against not only the spiritual welfare of his own subjects, but the lives of those Christians who were situated within liis territories. The friends of Christ in popish countries have since the Reformation been persecuted with increased violence. In the ordinary measures of legal process, persecu tion has indeed diminished ; it has in a man ner been shamed out of countenance by the prevalence of tolerant principles : but, the more it has been restrained in this way, the more violent have been its ebullitions in a way of occasional outrage. Of this the massacre of Paris in 1572, the cruelties in the valleys of Piedmont in 1655, and the revocation ofthe edict of Nantes in 1685, are horrible examples. From the times of the Reformation the church of Christ had in a manner come out of the wilderness. Having obtained a de gree of legal protection in several nations, its members were not obliged as heretofore to retire into woods, and mountains, and caves, nor to have recourse to midnight assemblies for the purpose of hearing the gospel: but after these renewed persecu tions the woman is obliged to fly a second time into the wilderness, as to her wonted place of refuge. Such has been the state of the protestants in all popish countries : such has been their state in France from the revocation of the edict of Nantes, in 1685, to the Revolution in 1789, though of late they were treated with less severity than formerly, being allowed to meet in the day time, only under military inspection. Nor was it in popish countries only that the wrath of the dragon vented itself, A por tion of the poison of a persecuting spirit was found among protestants, even in our own country, from the Reformation to the Revolution of 1688.' If one place was more 54 EXPOSITION OP THE APOCALYPSE. distinguished than another, as affording a shelter for the woman at the time of this her second flight, I suspect it was North Ameri ca, where the church of Christ has been nourished, and may continue to be nourished, during the remainder of the 1260 years. And, as to those parts of the church which still exist in a state of insecurity, the serpent has not been suffered to make a full end of them ; they are nourished by the word of God, and shall doubtless survive the reign of antichristian corruption and perse cution. The flood of waters cast after the woman by the dragon, and the war made on the remnant of her seed, referring, as it appears, to the latter end of the 1260 years, may be something yet to come. It is not impossible that persecution may yet be revived. The antichristian cause can hardly be supposed to expire without some deadly struggles. Indeed it is in the very act of " making war on him that sitteth upon the horse, and his army," that the " beast and the false prophet will be taken ;" and this seems to be the same war which is here made with the "remnant of the woman's seed." Should a flood of persecution yet be in reserve for the church of Christ, it may be the last effort of an expiring foe ; and from that the earth will preserve her by swallow ing it up : it may be in some such way as the invasion of the Philistines preserved David, or as political struggles have often been favorable to Christians, by furnishing those who wished to persecute them with other employment. The dragon, provoked by his want of success against the woman, may vent his malice on the remnant of her seed that are within his reach ; but his time is short. His agents, "the beast and the false prophet," will soon be taken ; and the Angel, with a great chain in his hand, shall next lay hold of him, and cast him into the bottomless pit. DISCOURSE XVIII. THE THIRD GENERAL DESCRIPTION : OR THE BEAST WITH SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS. Rev. xiii. 1—10. The apostle, in vision, standing as upon the sea shore, sees " a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy." A beast rising out of the sea is an empire opposed to God and his Christ rising out of the per turbed state of things in the world. The description given of this beast leaves no doubt of its being the same as the fourth beast in the seventh chapter of Daniel, name ly, the Roman Empire ; with only a few cir cumstantial differences. Daniel viewed it in its wlwle duration, whereas John describes it with special reference to its last or papal form; Daniel says nothing of its Heads, which John does ; and, lastly, Daniel speaks merely of the ten horns pertaining to the beast, but John describes them as having " crowns," which shows that the times refer red to are those in which the western em pire would be overthrown, and ten indepen dent kingdoms arise out of it. This seven-headed and ten-horned beast does not appear to be the pope, or popedom, nor the church of Rome ; but that secular power which has supported the church of Rome through the whole of her corrupt and bloody progress. The beast is not the harlot, but that on which the harlot rides. That which has been denominated The Holy Roman Empire, of which sometimes a French and sometimes a German monarch has been the head, seems to be the government principal ly intended, as being the great supporter of that church. It is not this government, how ever, exclusively of that ofthe other Europe an nations, but merely as aprincipal amongst them. The ten horns were not distinct from the beast, but constituent parts of it Eu rope, prior to the Reformation, was a family of nations, united in respect of religion by one ecclesiastical head. As nations they were independent, and often engaged in war with one another; but in supporting the church they were united. The beast is in deed distinguished from its horns, as any other beast may be, while^ret the horns are constituent parts of it. Thes ten horns are said to " agree and to give their kingdom to the beast" (ch. xvii. 17:) that is, they united with the emperor in supporting the church. Things were so managed indeed by the church that the rulers of every nation in Christendom were in a manner compelled to unite in her support " All the civil pow ers were obliged by the council of Lateran to take an oath, on pain of ecclesiastical cen sures, that they would endeavor to exter minate all who were declared heretics by the church out of their dominions ; and if any prince or ruler refused to do so, after admonition, it was to be certified to the pope, who should declare all his subjects absolved from their allegiance, and any Catholic was free to seize his dominions." Such was this monstrous beast, and such the means used by his rider to guide and govern him. Of the heads and horns of the beast we shall have occasion to speak hereafter more particularly. At present we may observe he is described as possessing the properties of the first three of Daniel's four beasts, a leop ard, a bear, and a lion, each ferocious and destructive : and, whereas the dragon is said to have given him his authority, the gov ernment, though professedly Christian, was under the influence of the wicked one. Af- THE TEN'HORNED BEAST. 65 ter the empire became Christian, the dragon for a while seemed to take the work of se ducing and persecuting men into his own hand (ch. xii. 1 — 6 ;) but he is now contented to transfer it to the beast as a kind of deputy under him. — Ver. 2. " I saw one of his heads," continues the apostle, " as it were wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed, and all the world wondered after the beast" To under stand this, we must know what is meant by the heads of the beast, and this we must learn from ch. xvii. 7 — 11. They are there said to be " seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, and seven kings, five of which are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come." It was not one of the seven moun tains that was " as it were wounded to death," but one of the seven kings, or governments, or forms of government, under which Rome existed. These according to Tacitus the Roman historian, were kings, consuls, dicta tors, decemvirs, military tribunes, and emper ors ; five of which forms of government nad passed away at the time of the prophecy ; " the sixth, namely that of emperors, then was, and the other was not yet come. The wound which the beast is said to have re ceived in one of his heads was so serious that he was for a time considered as dead ; yet was he not dead in reality, but merely "as it were wounded to death :" for after this he revived and lived and reigned, to the won der of the world. Hence the language in ch. xvii. 8, "And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder — when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is ! " There are two interpretations of this part ofthe prophecy on which good commenta tors have been divided. One is that the sword by which the beast was wounded was that ofthe northern nations in the fifth cen tury, by which Rome, under its sixth or imperial head, was overthrown; but by means of popery the wound was healed, and she who had been given up for lost became in a new form the mistress of the western world. The other is that the deadly wound was caused by the sword of Constantine, who, having in different engagements de feated his pagan colleagues, subverted the ancient religion of the empire, so that for a few years the beast was as it were dead ; but that when, under the influence of corruption, it again became idolatrous and persecuting, the beast revived, and the world wondered after him. Till of late I have preferred the former of these interpretations ; but upon a closer ex amination of the prophecy I am inclined to think the latter to be the meaning. It does not seem likely that so extraordinary a change in the empire, and one that so deeply inter ested the church of God, should be over looked, while one which is much more or dinary, and of but small account to religion, should be held up to view. It seems also, notwithstanding the corruptions introduced under the first Christian emperors, it were too much to suppose that the empire continued to be the same beast as it was in the times of paganism, or that the difference was so small as not to require any kind of notice in the page of prophecy. That the species of Christianity introduced in the times of Constantine was injurious to the church is allowed, even by those who approve of national religious establishments ; yet the prophecy may be very applicable to the event. Supposing this to be its true meaning, there is no countenance given by it to that partial and corrupt system which at that time was introduced. On the con trary, there is a strong intimation conveyed in those saving terms " as it were " that the beast, though stunned, was not slain.. He was not wounded to death, but merely as it were wounded to death. As soon as circum stances favored his recovery, the wound was healed, and thebeastresumed his wont ed vigor. — Ver. 3. "They worshipped the dragon and the beast." The homage ofthe world is gener ally paid to success, though it be in the worst of causes. Those powers which raised and supported the antichristian harlot, being successful, receive the homage ofthe nations called Christian, though in paying it they sink into old idolatry under a new name, and in reality worship the wicked one. — Ver. 4. The " great things" spoken by this secu lar beast may refer to that spirit which gives not God the glory of success, but, like Sen nacherib and Nebuchadnezzar, arrogates every thing to self. Its " blasphemies" relate to words and assumptions more immediately directed against God and his cause. The charge of blasphemy was preferred against all the heads of the beast (ver. 1,) though most of them were pagan, and of course un acquainted with the true God. The blas phemies referred to therefore must be not merely his speeches directly uttered against the Great Supreme, but his arrogating and assuming that which exclusively belongs to him. This charge is repeated and enlarged upon in ver. 6, where also it is followed with " making war upon the saints." If God had been within the reach of the beast, he would have made war with him; but, as he was not, his hatred against him was discovered in making war upon his people. A species of practical blasphemy seems to constitute the principle from which all persecution proceeds ; for it is no other than usurping the throne of God in the mind of man ? This principle has been common through all those pagan and papal governments which have come in contact with the church of God. Nay, is it not exceedingly prevalent in almost all the governments now in being ? It is rare, 56 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. very rare, for those who occupy the supreme place in civil affairs to respect the claims of conscience and of God. Had these claims been properly respected, it had never entered the minds of the rulers of' any nation that all the people within certain geographical boundaries should be compelled to worship God in a given way ! The blasphemies of this beast are directed not only against the "name," but against " the tabernacle of God, and them that dwell in heaven," or his celestial attendants. The very saints and angels before the throne are by him represented as rebels against God, by receiving that homage which is due to him, and participating in their abominations. The church of God on earth, relatively con sidered, or as being his "tabernacle," pos sesses a sacred character. If any man destroy or defile it, as Antiochus did that of the Jews, him will God destroy. What then must be the guilt contracted by those perse cuting powers who, under the pretence of extirpating heresy, have reproached the liv ing God, and done every thing in their power to drive the religion of the Bible out of the world ! The time allotted for the continuance of this beast is "forty and two months." A day being here put for a year, it is the same period as the " thousand two hundred and threescore days " in which the witnesses were to prophecy in sackcloth, and the wo man was to continue in the wilderness. The war which it was " given him to make with the saints " is the same as that which he is said to have made against the witness es. — Chap. xi. 7. It is that continued series of persecutions which, during that part of the 1260 years which has already elapsed, he has been carrying on against the follow ers of Christ. As ther beast had assumed the place of God, so the multitude consented to treat him as the sovereign lord of conscience, and to be of that religion which he required. In describing this unworthy compliance, how ever, the Holy Spirit takes care to except "those whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life;" thus branding tlie idolaters with the black mark of reprobation. Such language wears a terrible aspect to wards those who enter into the abominations of Antichrist and persevere therein ;¦ but a pleasing one towards the chosen of God, who in the worst of times maintain their al legiance to Christ. — Ver. 8. The account of this secular beast (which from' its character of supporting the popish hierarchy may be denominated papal) here closes with a few words by way of solemn warning — " If any man have an ear let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity ; he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and faith of the saints." The per secutor shall soon be persecuted, and the destroyer detroyed; and this not only in the world to come, but even in this world. Meanwhile, let the saints know that this is the season for the trial of their patience, and of their faith ; the one to bear up under the persecutions of their enemies, and the other to keep in view the crown of life before them.— Ver. 9, 10. DISCOURSE XIX. THE THIRD GENERAL DESCRIPTION CON TINUED: OR THE BEAST WITH TWO HORNS LIKE A LAMB. Rev. xiii. 11—18. Ver. 11 — 15. The former of these beasts we have considered as designed to symbolize the Roman empire under its last head, or that secular government which, in connection with the ten horns or kingdoms of Europe, supported popery through all its foul and bloody deeds : but here arises another beast, diverse from the former, yet acting in con cert with him. Daniel, when describing the fourth or Roman beast, speaks of a little horn which should grow up as it were insensibly among the ten horns, and displace three of them. John says nothing of this little horn of Daniel, and Daniel is equally silent about this second beast of John: but from the character given to them both they appear to be one and the same, namely, that ecclesias tical power which was to co-exist with the secular, and both assist it and be assisted by it. This beast is described as "rising out of the earthy' in which particular it is distin guished from the other, which " rose out of the sea." For a beast to rise out of the sea is for an empire to rise out of the perturbed state of things in the world, and such was the empire before described ; but for one to rise from the earth is for a power to grow up insensibly, like a weed in a garden, out of the established order of things. — Such was popery. ' "And he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon." This perfectly answers to that affectation of Christian meekness, accompanied in reality by the spirit and doctrine ofthe wicked one. On one occa sion it can be the sei-vant of servants : on another the deposer of kings and_disposer of empires. " He exerciseth all the power of the first beast, before, or in tlie sight of him." " He is (says bishop Newton) the prime minister, adviser, and mover, of the first or secular beast. He holdeth imperium in imperio, an empire within an empire ; claimeth a temporal authority as well as a spiritual ; hath not only the principal direction of the THE TEN-HORNED BEAST. 57 temporal powers, but often engageth them in his service, and enforceth his canons and de crees with the sword ofthe civil magistrate." "He causeth men to worship the first beast." As the secular authority invested the ecclesiastical with power and riches and honors, so, in return, the ecclesiastical, by consenting that Christianity should be come an engine of state policy, and con science itself be subjected to its interests, transferred that homage to man which was due only to the eternal God. It is this ecclesiastical influence that has constituted the European nations a continuation ofthe old Roman empire. It is the only bond which for ages has held them together, so as to render them one great antichristian beast— Ver. 12. He is next described by his pretended miracles. He doeth great wonders, so that he maketh (or seemeth to make) " fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast." This part of his character answers to what was foretold by the apostle of the man of sin — that he should come with " signs and lying wonders." All these impositions of " the false prophet," as he is elsewhere called (chap. xvi. 13, 14,) being wrought in the sight of the first beast, and in that of the people, were to ingratiate himself with them, and to persuade them that he was, as is said of the sorcerer, " the great power of God." While therefore he was professing to hon or magistracy, he was laboring to subject it to himself; To show his devotion to the secular beast, he directs the people to make an image to him ; which being done, he, after his manner, endues it with life, and speech, and great authority : but all is "deceit;" for the object is not to exalt the secular beast, but himself. This making of an image to the beast seems to allude to the heathen practice of making images to their deities. The gods themselves were supposed to be invisible. The same deity had images made to him in diversg places. The design of making ,an image to a god would be to acknowledge him as their deity, and to give a visibility and an establishment to his worship. To " make an image to the beast whose deadly wound was healed" would therefore be to give visibility and authority to his worship ; or to require implicit obedience to his^ commands in whose reign Paganism was revived under the name of Catholic Christianity ! It is as guarantee of this system that the first beast is designated by the healing of his deadly wound, and that the second beast exerts all his influence in his favor. It has been observed that, while the secu lar beast is-said to make war upon the saints, the ecclesiastical is only said to " cause them to be killed." The council of Lateran de- Vol. 2.— Sig. 8. creed not to put heretics to death, but to deliver them over to the secular power to be killed! "The inquisitors (says Burnet) on this occasion, with a disgusting affecta tion of lamb-like meekness, are wont to be seech the civil magistrates to show mercy to those whom they themselves have given up to be consigned to the flames ! " — Ver. 15. Ver. 16 — 18. Such was to be the growing influence of this last beast that he could "cause" all ranks and degrees of men to enlist under the banners of the first, to re ceive like soldiers his mark and number, and so to be aiding and assisting in the execu tion of his measures. Such has actually been the conduct of the Roman hierarchy : so that the common rights of men have been suspended on condition of their receiving the papal badge. Such, in fine, is the nature of the alliance established by this system between the ecclesiastical and the secular powers : each plays into the other's hands : the church consents that religion shall be an engine of state policy, and in return the state supports the church in all her corrupt proceedings. Respecting the " mark " and the " name" of the beast, it is opposed, I conceive, to the seal of God on the foreheads of his ser vants. — Chap. vii. And as the seal and name of God on the forehead appear to be the same (compare chap. vii. 3 with chap. xiv. 1,) so may the mark and the name of the beast. Both are thought to allude to the ancient practice of marking servants and soldiers with their owner's name in their forehead or in their hand. I cannot pretend to be certain what is meant by the "name of the beast" It may be observed, however, that, as the beast here evidently means the secular and not the ecclesiastical power, there is a name given to him in the prophecy. He is called " the beast that was, and is not, and yet is" (chap. xvii. 8, 11 ;) the meaning of wliich I con ceive to be, — the government that existed in all its beastly properties as Pagan, that appeared to have lost them as Christian, but that in supporting a corrupted Christianity resumed them. In other words, it is Pagan ism revived under the form of Catholic Christianity. Now, as names are signs of character, to have this name or maTk of the beast would be the same thing as being openly of this character or religion. As to the " number of his name," I have nothing to offer which is fully satisfactory to my own mind. It is something which requires "wisdom and understanding to count it ; " and yet, by its being the " number of a man," it would seem not to surpass human comprehension. It may be a name whose numerals amount to 666, as the Greek word aatuvo;, or other words in which this number has been found : but, as this appears to be merely conjecture, I leave it undecided. 58 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. DISCOURSE XX. THE THIRD GENERAL DESCRIPTION CON TINUED J OR THE LAMB'S COMPANY. Rev. xiv. 1 — 5. Unless we consider the whole of the fourteenth chapter as a continuation of the thirteenth, we cannot be said to have a third general view of the rise, reign, and over throw of popery ; for the whole of the thirteenth chapter is taken up with a descrip tion of its rise and reign, and nothing is said in it of its downfall. Nor is any thing said of the state of the church of Christ du ring these "forty and two months," save that the beasts " made war " with its mem bers and "caused them to be killed." But, if the fourteenth chapter be considered as a continuation of the subject, we have then a complete view of it, and a most animating description of the state of the church of Christ during the " forty and two months," or 1260 years, in beautiful opposition to the beasts and their followers. Ver. 1. The first of the beasts was a monster, having seven heads and ten horns ; a compound ofthe leopard, the bear, and the lion. And as to the last, though in respect of its horns it was like a lamb, yet it had nothing of a lamb in its nature. What a charming contrast is here ; not only between the kingdom of heaven and the Idngdoms of this world, but between a compound of hy pocrisy and malignity, and the religion of Jesus Christ! There was something like a lamb : but, lo, here is a lamb ! One of the beasts is described as rising out of the sea, and the other out of the earth; but the Lamb as standing upon a mountain. " Standing " is a reigning pos ture. — Dan. xi. 3. He had been slain, but now " stands up, and rules with great do minion." It also denotes that the party is not only unvanquished, but triumphant. It might have been supposed that from the rising up of these beasts the Lamb should have found no place to exercise his govern ment among men ; but he stands his ground, and has his followers, as the beasts have theirs. His kingdom was never overturned even in the most corrupt ages. The place on which he stood was " Mount Sion." This is his proper ground, as much as Babylon was ofthe other. In his church even upon earth, and amidst the sharpest persecutions, the Lamb standeth upon the mount Sion. The company said to be with him are the same that were sealed in chap. vii. This sealing was prior to the papal apostacy, and contained an assurance that God would pre serve himself a people under it ; and lo, after all the ravages of the beasts, here we find them; not in Babylon, but with the Lamb in Sion, The followers of the beast were designated by his mark and the num ber of his name ; and the followers of the Lamb "have his Father's name written in their foreheads." These are the same with the two witnesses, and the woman that fled into the wilderness : they denote the Israel of God, and were that to an apostate church which the twelve tribes who served God day and night were to an apostate world. In reviewing the dark ages of popery, we are apt to think there could have been but few who clave to the truth in those times : but, if the Christian world were again put to such a test of their sincerity, it were well if the number of the faithful proved greater . than in those days. Mede (says Bishop Newton) hath observed, from good authori ties, that in the war with the Waldenses and Albigenses there perished in France alone a million : from the first institution of the Jesuits to the year 1480, that is, in little more than thirty years, nine hundred thou sand. In the Netherlands alone, the duke of Alva boasted that within a few years he had dispatched to the amount of thirty-six thousand, and those all by the hand of the common executioner. In the space of scarcely thirty years the inquisition destroy ed by various kinds of tortures one hundred and fifty thousand. Saunders, himself a popish writer, confesses that an innumerable multitude of Lollards and Sacramentarians were burnt throughout all Europe ; who yet, he says, were not put to death by the pope and bishops, but by the civil magistrates." That is, the secular beast did the work, and the ecclesiastical only caused it! These, and many more whose names will appear another day, composed the company who stood with the Lamb. Ver. 2, 3. But hark ! A sound is heard — It is from a great distance — It is like the roaring of the sea, or the rolling of thunder — It is the sound of a multitude — There is music — It seems like a new song — It is the moving of God's host ! — What can be the meaning ? If I mistake not, this is a de scription of the same event which is signi fied in the first general view by the resur rection of the witnesses, and in the second by the victory of Michael and his angels over the dragon and his angels ; that is to say, The reformation of the sixteenth centu ry. The song intimates that something has occurred which furnishes matter for rejoic ing. A new song commonly supposes a new or recent deliverance ; and to what event during the 1260 years can this be ap plied unless it be to the Reformation ? It was then that the army of the Lamb felt its ground, and gloriously triumphed. That which at a distance was only " as it were " a new song, on drawing nearer proved to be one in reality, and one that none but the redeemed could unite in. The joy attending the Reformation would be confined to the THE MESSAGES OF THE THREE ANGELS. 59 faithful. As to worldly men who engaged in it, they would rejoice only as their tem poral interests, were promoted by it : and, as to the devotees of the beasts, they would deplore the dangers ofthe church: but they who had been reclaimed from the apostacy of their species, and preserved from that of professing Christians, would enter into the spirit of it. In them it was the triumph of faith. The blood ofthe Lamb and the word of their testimony would be the burden of their song. The Lamb's company are here particular ly characterized. First: By the things from which they had been preserved ; name ly, spiritual fornication and adultery, into which the generality of professing Chris tians had fallen. Secondly : By the course they had pursued. They followed the Lamb whithersoever he went: in his doc trine, worship, afflictions, spirit, and conduct, he was their example. Thirdly: By the distinguished blessings conferred upon them. They were "redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb." They were the travail of his soul, in which he was satisfied. In them ap peared the efficacy of his death : while others, though calling themselves Chris tians, still continued under the worst of bondage. And as, in the law of the first- fruits, a part was accepted for the whole, so, when that which called itself the church apostatized, those who continued faithful were accepted as the Christian church, or reckoned as the Lord's portion. Fourthly : By their sincerity and purity. "In their mouth was found no guile ; for they were without fault before the throne of God." While the followers of the beasts were trimming and worshipping, as their worldly interests required, these were upright before God in all their conversation. Such is the contrast between the beast and the blasphemies of his worshippers on the one hand, and the Lamb and the praises of his followers on the other. DISCOURSE XXI. THE THIRD GENERAL DESCRIPTION CON CLUDED ; OR THE MESSAGES OF THE THREE ANGELS, THE HARVEST, AND THE VINTAGE. Rev. xiv. 6—20. If the foregoing application of the new song of the Lamb's company to the Reforma tion in the sixteenth century be just, it may be expected that what follows will relate to events subsequent to that distinguished era. Ver. 6, 7. I am aware that this commis sion ofthe flying angel has been generally understood as addressed to papal idolaters, and the passage of course applied to the evangelical labors of the reformers. The fall of Babylon, and the warnings against worshipping the beast and his image which follow, may have led to this application. There are other things, however, which have led me to consider "the angel flying in the midst of heaven " as sent to pagan rather than to papal idolaters. It is true we are in danger of magnifying the events of our own times, and of expect ing to find things occupying a conspicuous place in prophecy which upon the great chart ofthe divine proceedings may have no place, or at most be only as a speck. I have not sought however for any thing which might be applied to the events of present times, nor interpreted the passage in any other than what appears to be its most nat ural meaning. There are four characters pertaining to the prophecy, some of which appear to be inapplicable to the evangelical labors of the reformers, but which are all applicable to the attempts to evangelize the heathen. 1. The parties to whom the message is sent are not merely the nations of Europe, but EVERT NATION, AND KINDRED, AND TONGUE, and people. 2. The message itself seems to intimate that they had hitherto read only the book of nature, and that without learn ing from it so much as who made the HEAVENS, AND THE EARTH, AND THE SEA, AND THE FOUNTAINS OF WATERS. 3. It is supposed that when the spread of the gos pel should be attempted in good earnest, and in a humble dependence upon God, difficul ties which before seemed insuperable would subside. The church has long felt too much like the unbelieving Israelites in respect of going up to possess the promised land. Giants have seemed in the way, and walls reaching up to heaven ; but, when the work is attempted in the name of Christ, it is like an angelfiying in the midst of heaven, whose course none are able to arrest. 4. The tone in which the nations are addressed is solemn and imperious. " The hour of his judgment is come!" There was something resem bling this when the gospel was first announc ed. " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is- at hand." — " The times of this ignorance God winked at ; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness," &c. The kingdom of the Messiah was then at hand, but now it draws near in its most extended form; and those nations and governments that will not bow to him shall be dashed in pieces as a potter's vessel ! It is now coming to this, that " All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him : and none can keep alive his own soul :" — 60 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. which, as our poet expresses it, is equal to saying — And all the kindreds of the earth ShaU worship, or shall die ! The desire which has been kindled of late years to carry the gospel among the heathen does not appear to be an object unworthy of a place in prophecy. It has engaged the attention of a larger portion of the Christian church, and excited more earnest prayer and disinterested exertion, than perhaps any thing which has occurred since the Reformation. Nor ought we to consider what has hitherto been done as any thing more than the commencement of the angel's flight. It has indeed for its object the evangelizing of "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people ;" but at present this is far from being accomplished. We have seen enough, however, to convince us with what ease the great God, by touch ing the hearts of a few individuals, can accomplish it. Ver. 8. This is the first time that men tion is made of Babylon. The allusion doubtless is to old Babylon, by which the church was formerly oppressed ; and to the predictions of her fall as given by the prophets (Isa. xxi. 9 ; Jer. li. 8 :) but the Babylon here referred to doubtless is Rome, considered as the head of that great anti christian community which has corrupted the religion of Christ, and persecuted his followers. There may be no such immediate connec tion between the preaching of the everlast ing gospel to the heathen world and the fall of antichristian Babylon as that the latter should be the effect of the former ; but it may comport with the wisdom of God to render it a concomitant. When the ser vants of Christ lay themselves out for his name in one way, it is not unusual with him to promote the same n general object in another. If we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, temporal bless ings are added unto us ; and thus if we lay ourselves out in extending his cause among the heathen, he may at the same time, by his providence, be working in another quar ter the overthrow of that which is opposed to it. The cry of the angel does not denote that Babylon would be immediately and entirely destroyed at this time ; for, if so, the warn ings of the third angel, which follow, would be unnecessary. Besides, it is by the harvest and the vintage, towards the close of the chapter, that the overthrow will be effected. But the church is here called upon to expect it, and to observe the course of events, as preparing the way for it. Ver. 9 — 13. This is the language of solemn warning. It is addressed to all whom it concerns, good and bad, especially to those who live at the time here referred to, the time immediately preceding the fall of the antichristian power, and so looks with a severe aspect on those wlio persevere in their attachment to it, notwithstanding the light which will have been diffused in the world. .They who at any period surrender their consciences to human authority, and fully imbibe the antichristian system, will incur the wrath of God : but they who do this in the face of that light which by this time will be spread through the world will incur greater degrees of the divine dis pleasure than those who have been earned away with it in darker ages. The twelfth and thirteenth verses would seem to por tend a time of persecution prior to the final overthrow of the antichristian power ; a time which may be as the last struggles of the beast. This is the flood cast out of the mouth of the dragon after the woman (ch. xii. 15 ;) the gathering together ofthe "kings of the earth and of the whole world to the battle of the great day of God Almighty (ch. xvi. 14 ;) and the war made by the beast and the kings against him who sat upon the horse, and against his army. — Chap. xix. 19. Ver. 14 — 20. The angels have delivered their messages, and now the Lord himself appears. He comes as it were to judgment, and to the antichristian party a terrible judgment it will be. Under the symbols of a harvest and a vintage is predicted its utter overthrow. Whatever distinction there may be between the one and the other, both I doubt not refer to that series of calamities which is reserved to destroy the beast and his adherents. They refer to the same things which have been noticed from ch. xi. 18, when the wrath of God was come, and * the time of the dead that they should be avenged, and those destroyed who had long destroyed the earth. This being a general description of events which will be more particularly set forth under the pouring out of the vials, we shall find them again under ".the battle of Armageddon, or the great day of God Almighty " (ch. xvi. ; ) also in the " supper of the Great God," to which the fowls are invited, and in which "the beast and tlie false prophet are taken." — Ch. xix. One thing is remarkable in both the har vest and the vintage, they indicate that the papal abominations shall be ripe, fully ripe. There is a tendency to maturity in both g-ood and evil, in individuals and communi ties, and even in the world itself. Popery matured is Infidelity. To this it tends, and here it will probably land the great body of its adherents. I see no solid ground for Mr. Faber's hypothesis of an infidel king, any more than of an infidel antichrist, the historical exposition of the eleventh chapter of Daniel by Prideaux {Connection Part II. Book IL, III.) appearing to me to be the true one ; but I have no doubt that infidelity is, and will be, the distinguishing feature of INTRODUCTION TO THE VIALS. 61 the last times. What is said of the " scoff ers of the last times " is indeed descriptive of what we daily witness ; but it is only of individuals that these things are spoken. Infidelity does not appear to be symbolized in the Scriptures, either by a beast, a horn, or a king : it is merely the papal beast grown old, or popery as having produced its proper fruits, which fruits may be the appointed means of its destruction. DISCOURSE XXII. INTRODUCTION TO THE VIALS. Rev. XV. Three general descriptions having been given of the antichristian power, each of which carried us to the end of tlie 1260 years, the series of the prophecy from the time qf the sounding of the seventh trumpet is now resumed. This trumpet, it has been observ ed before, wears a two-fold aspect. It is partly a woe-trumpet, and partly the har binger of joy. The seven vials are a part of it, and answer to the former view. The other part comprehends the success of the gospel preparatory to the Millennium, the Millennium itself, and all that follows to the end of the prophecy, and answers to the latter view. At present we are to consider it as a woe-trumpet, or as comprehending the seven vials ; which, containing a more particular account of the judgments already hinted at towards the end of the general de scriptions, will, like them, bring us to the close ofthe 1260 years. The angels with the vials are called " a sign in heaven, great and marvellous," be cause the judgments which follow are signal and fearful, and the times very eventful, so as deeply to interest the church of God. The seven vials are denominated "the seven last plagues, in which will be filled up the wrath of God." This supposes that in various instances God had already poured forth his wrath upon these antichristian . powers, but that this should be the finish ing blow. Hence it follows that we are not to consider these vials as including all those plagues which at different periods have been poured upon the antichristian party, but merely those which shall bring it to its end. As the vials are a subdivision of the third and last woe-trumpet, they could not begin to be poured out till that trumpet was sounded : and, as they are emphatically called the seven last plagues, they must refer to the latter end of the 1260 years. In short, they are the particulars of what was signified under the general representations by God's wrath being come, and the time of the dead that they should be avenged — and by the harvest and the vintage. — Ch. xi. xiv. All those expositions of tie vials, there fore, which suppose them to have been pour ing out at different periods from the begin ning of the 1260 years, appear to me to be founded in mistake. The farthest point to which we can look back for the commence ment of these calamities may be found to be within the last five-and-twenty years. — Ver. 1. The " sea of glass mingled with fire" is the same which is said in ch. iv. 6 to have been before the throne. It is opposed, I conceive, to that perturbed element from which the beast arose ; and describes the pure, calm, and triumphant state of those who have overcome. The striking up of the heavenly choir on this occasion was to express the great good that should arise from these evils. The 'song they sing is that of "Moses and the Lamb." As the song of Moses at the Red Sea magnified the victory of the Lord over the Egyptians, so this song will celebrate the triumph of the Lamb and of his followers over enemies of a similar character. If the works of God in redeeming his people from the long and hard bondage of Egypt were " great and marvel lous," much more so would they be in de livering his saints from the long and hard bondage of " that great city which is spirit ually called Egypt ; " and, if his " ways were just and true" in the former instance, they would be still more manifestly so in the latter.— Ver. 2, 3. It is not in malignity towards any crea ture, but in love to God, whose honor had for so long a time been trampled under foot, that these heavenly minds rejoice ; not for the evil considered as evil, but for the good that should arise from it. Hence, anticipat ing the righteousness which the world shall learn when these judgments are abroad in the earth, they triumphantly ask, " Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy : for all nations shall come and worship before thee ; for thy judgments are made manifest." By this lan guage we are given to expect that the judg ments on the antichristian powers, in connec tion with the preaching of the gospel, will contribute to the universal spread of true re ligion over the face ofthe earth. — Ver. 4. As the throne ofthe God of Israel was in the holy of holies, so his throne in heaven is described as in his temple ; and as, when the high-priest entered into the former once a year, he saw the ark of the testimony, so, the heavenly temple being opened, the apostle looked and saw the seven angels come out from before the throne, as having received their commissions. They are de scribed as " clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles." Nothing could better express the state of their minds in executing the divine displeasure. God had sometimes employed evil angels to execute his will, even towards 62 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. his own people, as in the case of Job, and in such instances they have beep certain to discover their malignity. But when good angels execute the divine will, though it be upon his worst enemies, they have no ma lignant bitterness, but are influenced purely by the love of God and righteousness. — Ver. 5, 6. Next to the description ofthe messengers follows the delivering to them their respec tive messages ; and this was from the hand of one of the four living creatures who rep resented redeemed men. God does not usually employ his people in this world to overthrow either corrupt churches or anti christian governments. This is a kind of work not suited to them. They must, how ever, have some concern in it. Their prayers for deliverance are answered by terrible things in righteousness upon their persecu tors ; and to all the judgments of God they must add their cordial Amen. — Ver. 7. The effect of the delivery of these mes sages is described as "filling the temple with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power, so that no man could enter it." " This cloud (says Dr. Guyse) appeared like a thick smoke, awfully glorious, which was a symbol ofthe divine vengeance (Ps. xviii. 8,) as going forth from the presence of the Lord, and to be executed by the glory ofhis power, in the destruction of Antichrist ; even as the cloud on the tabernacle was of his dreadful judgment upon Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the murmuring Israelites (Numb. xvi. 19, 42 ;) and as Moses could not enter into the tabernacle, nor the priests stand to minister in the temple, while the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (Exod. xl. 35; 1 Kings viii. 11;) so no one could enter into this heavenly temple to intercede for the preventing of these grievous calamities upon the beast : none were suffered to do this, that judgment must have its free course, till all the seven punishments to be inflicted by the ministry ofthe seven angels were fully executed in their order." DISCOURSE XXIII. ON THE VIALS. Rev. xvi. 1 — 9. I enter upon this part ofthe subject with diffidence, because I consider the events predicted as mostly future ; and the exposi tion of unfulfilled prophecy, especially when couched under symbolical language, is rare ly accurate. When in looking at a symbol we compare it with facts, we can judge of the one as being designed to predict the oth er: but, in looking at the symbols without the facts, we can seldom make much out in ex plaining them. Nor does it appear to have been the design of prophecy to enable us to foresee things with any considerable degree of precision ; but to keep up a general hope before the accomplishment, and to strength en our faith after it. Ver. 1. Before entering on particulars I shall offer two or three general remarks : — First : Some of these " plagues," and it may be the greater part of them, will consist in wars between the nations of Christendom. Such is doubtless the meaning of those in which mention is made of "blood," and of the " battle of Armageddon, the great day of God Almighty." It is thus that the nations which have shed the blood of his saints will have blood given them to drink ! Secondly: As the grand design of these wars is the destruction of the antichristian hierarchy, they may be expected to have a providential direction given to them, causing them to bear more especially upon that ob ject. If this remark be just, it furnishes a presumption that the vials have been pouring out for the last twenty years. * As a fire kin dled in a city has a direction given to its ravages, by the wind, or by some other means ; so Providence has caused the deso lations of the Continent to bear principally, though not entirely, upon the papal cause. Thirdly : The resemblances between the , vials and the trumpets may throw more light upon the subject than any other medium of which we are in possession. Itis a fact very remarkable that each of the seven trumpets has a point of resemblance to one of the sev en vials — For example, The first trumpet affected the earth; and so does the first vial.* The second trumpet turned the sea into blood ; and the second, vial was poured out upon the sea, which became as the blood of a dead man. f The third trumpet affected the riv ers and fountains of water ; and so does the third vial. I The fourth trumpet respected the sun ; and the fourth vial does the same.§ The fifth trumpet was followed by darkness and pain; and such were the effects of the fifth vial. || The sixth trumpet was complex, relating partly to the depredations of the Euphratean horsemen in the east, and partly to the idolatries and persecutions of the beast and his associates in the west ; and so is the sixth vial, relating partly to the Eu phratean waters being dried up, and partly to the battle of Armageddon, by which the cause of the beasts will be ruined.1I Finally, The seventh trumpet presents a closing scene ; and so does the seventh vial. * These resemblances cannot be accidental. Though they refer to events, therefore, more than a *Comp. ch. viii. 7, xvi. 2. t Ch. viii. 8, xvi. 3. t Ch. viii. 10, 11, xvi. 4. § Ch. viii. 12, xvi. 8, 9. || Ch. ix. 1-3, xvi. 10. TTComp. ch. ix. 14, xi. 14, xvi. 12—16. * Ch. xi. IS, xvi. 17. ON THE VIALS. thousand years distant from each other, yet there must be some important points of like ness between them ; and as the trumpets are all, except the last, fulfilled, we may by means of them form some judgment of the vials which yet may be unfulfilled. It is on this principle that Dr. Gill seems to have proceeded in expounding the vials. "The first vial," says he, "will be poured out upon the earth, and designs those popish countries which are upon the continent, as France and Germany, especially the latter : and, as the first trumpet brought the Goths into Germany, so the first vial will bring great distress upon the popish party in the empire. — The second vial will be poured upon the sea, and may intend the maritime powers belonging to the church of Rome, particular ly Spain and Portugal : and, as the second trumpet brought the Vandals into these places, so this vial will affect the same, and bring wars and desolations into them. — The third vial will be poured out upon the rivers and fountain of waters, which may point to those places adjacent to Rome, as Italy and Savoy : and, as the third trumpet brought the Huns into those parts, so this vial will bring in large armies hither, which will cause much bloodshed, and a'great revolution in church and state."* This comment on the vials, founded upon their analogy with the trumpets, bids fair, in my judgment, to be the true one ; especially that on the first three which has just been quoted. The doctor adds — "As yet I take it none of them are poured out, though some great and learned men have thought otherwise. As yet there have been no such devastations on the continent, as in France and Germany, as to produce the above effects ; nor in the countries of Spain, Portugal, &c." This was doubtless the case in 1752, the year in which the sermon from which the above ex tract is made was printed, but this is more than can be said in 1810 ! Ver. 2. If by the " earth "be meant " the continent, as France and Germany, especially the latter" (and I know of no interpretation more natural,) we have certainly seen a suc cession of evils falling upon the men who" had the mark of the beast," first in France, and after that in Germany, grievous as the most "noisome sores," and like them indicative of a state of corruption and approaching dissolution. Ver. 3. If this vial respect the papal mari time nations, particularly Spain and Portugal (and here also I know of no interpretation more natural,) we have seen a commence ment of things in those countries, but have not yet seen the issue. What it will be God knoweth. Whether this or that political * Sermon on The Glory of the Church in the latter Day, pp. 12—15. party prevail, it will be a plague, and a plague that will tend to accomplish the ruin of the antichristian cause. There is a circumstance of additional hor ror in this vial, which was not in its corres ponding trumpet : the blood into which this " sea" would be turned is described as stag nant, " as the blood of a dead man ; " as though such a quantity should be shed as not only to tinge, but to congeal the ocean, turn ing it as it were into a putrid mass ! Ver. 4 — 7. If the rivers and fountains of waters denote "Italy and Savoy," these countries may be expected tq be the scene ofthe next great convulsions which shall agi tate Europe. And, if it be so, it may be a j ust retribution for the blood of the Waldens es, which was there shed in shocking profu sion for many successive centuries. The responsive language of the angels on this occasion accords with such an interpre tation, and is exceedingly impressive. It shows in what light the persecution of the faithful is viewed in heaven. This sin im plies such a hatred of God and his image as would, if he were within reach, dethrone and kill him ! Unjust war is a great sin : it is murder on an extended scale : yet it is not to be named in comparison of persecution for Christ's sake. The one is destroying God's natural image ; but the other is aimed at his moral image. In the former "the potsherd striveth with the potsherds of the earth : " but in the latter man striveth with his Maker ! This was the sin which crowned the wicked life of Herod the tetrarch, who to all his other crimes " added this, above all, that he shut up John in prison ! " Blood shed in persecution of God's servants hath a cry which must sooner or later be heard. The persecutions of former ages may be forgotten by men : but he " who is, and was, and shall be " will not forget them. The judgments of our own times are examples of this : all Europe, previously to the Reforma tion, was stained with tlie blood of the mar tyrs ; and, since that memorable era, France and Germany, and Spain, and Portugal, and Italy, have been deeply engaged in that impi ous practice. Is it surprising then that all Eu rope in measure, and those nations in par ticular which have persisted in it, should be made to drink the bloody draught ? While we feel, and ought to feel, for suffering humanity, it is not for us to join with the merchants of the earth in their wailings ; but rather with the angels in heaven, saying, "Thou art righteous, O Lord, because thou hast judged thus!" Ver. 8, 9. In discoursing upon the trum pets it was observed that the Roman empire, then become the seat of Christianity, was considered as a world of itself; having not only its earth, its sea, and its rivers, but its sun, and moon, and stars ; symbols of its su preme and subordinate governments. — Ch. 64 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. viii. 6 — 12. When" the sun was eclipsed, on the sounding of the fourth trumpet, it signified the fall of the imperial authority : but the fourth vial, though poured upon the sun, yet, unlike its corresponding trumpet, does not terminate upon it, but upon the people on whom it shines. The sun here, instead of being eclipsed, or having its power diminished, has it increased. Its heat is rendered more intense, so as to be come a plague to those who are under its influence. By the " sun" is undoubtedly to be under stood the supreme secular government of what is called the Holy Roman Empire, which is denominated the beast, and distin guished by its carrying or supporting the harlot. Its scorching heat cannot be under stood of the persecution of the faithful ; for they would not " blaspheme " under it. It would seem, therefore, to be the galling tyranny by which the adherents ofthe beast will be oppressed : while yet they repent not of 'their deeds. , DISCOURSE XXIV. THE VIALS CONTINUED. Rev. xvi. 10-21, Ver. 10, 11. By the "beast" we have all along understood that secular govern ment which at the head of the other Euro pean governments has 'supported the papal Antichrist. This certainly has not been the imperial government of France, but of Ger many, to which therefore the character of the beast belongs. The station from which his influence and authority proceeds will be his " seat," or throne, or we may say his den; and that which the swellings of Jor dan were to the lions which made their dens amongst the thickets growing upon its mar gin (Jer. xlix. 19,) that will this plague be to him, causing him, if not to quit his den with bowlings, yet to be very miserable in it. This is intimated by his " kingdom being full of darkness," and by their " gnawing their tongues for pain." The supporters of the papal cause will be confounded. Dark ness and anguish will come upon them. Yet being given up, like Pharaoh, to hardness of heart, they will continue to blaspheme the God of heaven, and will not repent of their deeds. These blasphemies and this perse verance in impenitence are sure signs of its being the determination of Heaven to de stroy them. Individuals may repent and escape ; but as a community they are ap pointed to utter destruction. Ver. 12 — 16. This vial, so far as respects the temporal dominion of Christ's enemies, possesses a final character ; and seems partly to respect the overthrow of the Turkish power, signified by the " drying up of the waters of the Euphrates," and partly that of the papal, signified by the battle of "Arma geddon," or of that " great day of God Al mighty." With regard to the first, as the sixth trum pet respected the rise of the Turkish power to punish the eastern church, so the sixth vial seems to denote its overthrow, along with that of the western church. The dry ing up of waters fitly expresses that diminu tion of strength and defence in a nation which issues in destruction. Thus, when God would destroy Babylon, he saith, " A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up — I will dry up her sea, and will make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, adwelling-placeLfor dragons, an astonishment and a hissing, without an inhabitant." " The kings of the east " may denote those who shall be employed in over throwing this power, as the armies of Cyrus and Darius, on the waters of the Euphrates being diverted, were employed in overthrow ing Babylon. I have expressed a doubt whether either the doctrines or the wars of Mahomed would have had a place in this prophecy but for their relation to the Christian church (on ch. ix. 13 — 21 ; ) and I think it questionable whether the downfall of the Turks would have been noticed but on the same account. This was the reason of so much being said of old Babylon. She might have risen and fallen unnoticed by the prophets, if she had had nothing to do with Jerusalem. But though she was an instrument in God's hand in purging that corrupted city, yet seeing she " meant not so," but set herself against God himself, it required that she should in the end be overthrown, and that her over throw should be marked in prophecy. In like manner, though Mahomed and his fol lowers were instruments in punishing a corrupt part of the Christian church, yet seeing they meant not so, but set themselves against Christ himself, they also shall be overthrown, and their overthrow is marked in prophecy. With regard to the second part of this vial, or that which respects the papal powers, this is the most tremendous. This is the last struggle of the beast and his adherents, and it will issue in their utter overthrow. This is " the great day of God Almighty ; " the same as the harvest and the vintage in chap, xiv., and the " taking of the beast and the false prophet " in chap. xix. Preparatory to this great day we have the mustering of the forces. — " Three unclean spirits like frogs" are described as going forth amongst the nations, to gather them to- gather ; one from the mouth of the dragon, another from that of the beast, and another from that of the false prophet. These spirits may denote the corrupt principles which shall be disseminated .in the earth, THE LAST THREE VIALS. 63 tending to deceive and destroy mankind. As the dragon is described as the grand mover of all these mischiefs, as he is not said to be taken with the beast and the false prophet in chap, xix., and is denominated "that old serpent the devil and Satan," I consider him as a being of a different order from either of them ; and, as the unclean Spirit which proceeded from the dragon may be supposed to correspond with his charac ter, it may be a spirit of diabolical malignity against God and true religion. — The beast being understood of the last head of the Roman empire, the great supporter of popery, the unclean spirit proceeding out of his mouth may be that which assumes the place of God in the consciences of men, and converts Christianity into an engine of state policy. — The false prophet, though designa ted by a new name, appears to be the same power that was represented in chap. xiii. by the two-horned beast, and in 2 Thes. ii. 3 by " the man of sin." This is evident from the character of each being the same. The coming of the man of sin was to be with "signs and lying wonders." The two- horned beast " deceived them that dwell on the earth by, means of his miracles ; " and amongst the operations of the three evil spirits mention is made of " miracles," which seem to pertain to the false prophet. The man of sin, the two-horned beast, and the false prophet, therefore are the same ; name ly, the papal hierarchy, or the community of which the pope is the head. The evil spirit proceeding out of his mouth may be that of blind zeal, and religious imposture. These three evil spirits, discordant as they may be in some respects, will be united in their opposition to true religion. Hence in the great battle wherein the beast and the false prophet are taken (chap, xix.,) and which, as has been observed, is the same as this at Armageddon, the whole triumvirate is engaged " against him that sat on tlie horse, and against his army." It will be a character, it seems, of these times, that the friends and enemies of Christ will be nearer together than they have been wont to be : irreligion and false religion will unite their standards and fight with neither small nor great but with Christ and his adherents. Where men agree in the grand outlines of false doctrine, and conceive themselves to meet in their political interests, they can easily overlook other differences. It seems as if a spirit of infatuation, like that in Pharaoh and his host at the Red Sea, would possess the enemies of Christ prior to this their last overthrow. The kings of the earth are gathered together, partly by hatred of God and religion (the spirit of the dra gon,) partly by the desire of subjugating both to political purposes (the spirit of the Vol. 2.— Sig. 9. beast,) and partly by blind zeal and reli gious imposture (the spirit of the false pro phet,) and being assembled will direct all their force against God and his cause. In what particular mode their hostility will be manifested, and by what means Christ will prevail against them, it is too much for us to determine. The former may be by direct persecution, or, if by war, it will be one whose object shall be to exterminate the true religion ; and the latter may be by turning their hearts one against another. Though they have been gathered together, and have unitedly engaged in this notable enterprise, yet, finding it unsuccessful, they may fall out with one another. The spirit of the dragon may prevail over that of the beast and that of the false prophet, and he may think to govern the world without them. The antichristian kings also, perceiving how things are going, may be for joining the strongest side. But, if so, they will find themselves deceived. The next vial will purify the world of their baleful influences, and the angel with a great chain in his hand stands ready to lay hold on the dragon himself and to cast him into the bottomless pit. The warning language addressed to the faithful (ver. 15) seems to intimate that these important events will come upon men unex pectedly, and that many will be stripped by them of their professions and prospects. Blessed are they whose religion will stand the test of such times of trial. Ver. 17 — 21. As the sixth vial has issued in the overthrow of the temporal power of Antichrist, the seventh seems to respect its spiritual dominion, or the hold which it has on the minds of men.* The moral atmosphere of the world has long been polluted by false religion, from which it seems to be the object of this vial to cleanse it as by a thunder-storm, which thunder-storm produces a great earthquake, and this the falling to pieces of the great antichristian city, and other cities with it. The face of the world hence becomes chang ed, and the wrath of God pursues, as by a terrible hail-storm, the men who repent not of their deeds. Nor will this purification of the moral at mosphere be confined to Christendom, but will extend to the whole earth. Paganism, Mahomedism, apostate Judaism, and every thing which stands opposed to the truth, shall now be driven out of the world. An " earthquake " is the well-known symbol of *That these are very distinct we need go no fur ther than Ireland for proof. Popery has there long existed, not only without the aid of temporal power, but in a manner against it : yet there are few if any countries where it has faster hold on the minds of men. 66 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. a revolution ; and so great and mighty a-re- volution of religious principle may well jus tify the description given of it And now, a voice out of the temple of heaven, even from the throne of God, is heard, saying, "it is done!" The threatening of the angel in chap. x. 7 is accomplished — the 1260 years are ended — the mystery of God is finished ! n As this vial seems to be wholly of a spiritual nature, the "thunders, and light nings, and earthquake, and hail," do not seem to refer to wars, or to any other tem poral calamities, but it may be to the effects of truth, and to those spiritual judgments which will fall on them who continue to re ject it. The body of Antichrist, as I may say, will be destroyed by the temporal sword, as described under the preceding vial ; but the " spirit of Christ's mouth " shall destroy his spirit. Such from the beginning was the doom passed upon that wicked one ; and such is the punishment of those who escape in the great battle wherein the beast and false prophet shall be taken, but who repent not of their deeds: they shall be "slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of his mouth." — Chap. xix. 21. The city being "divided into three parts," as by an earthquake, denotes I think the breaking up of the papal system ; and what " the cities of the nations " which fall with it can be understood to mean but those worldly establishments of religion which have symbolized with popery, not only in worship and ceremonies, but in an alliance with the kingdoms of this world, I cannot conceive. To understand "the great city" of the Roman empire, and " the cities of the nations" oi particular states, neither com ports with the meaning of the terms in other parts of tlie prophecy nor with the spiritual judgments denoted by this vial. " The great city " is mentioned in several other places in the prophecy — as in chap. xi. 8, " Their dead bodies shall lie in the streets of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was cruci fied." — And in chap. xiv. 8, "Babylon is fallen, that great city." — And in chap, xviii. 10, 21, " Alas, that great city, Babylon."— "Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down." In none of these passages does it appear to mean the empire, but the church of Rome. The empire is symbolized by a beast, from which the great city is distinguished. — Chap. xi. 7, 8. But if " the great city " mean the Church of Rome, even " great Babylon who now comes in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of •his wrath," "the cities ofthe nations "must mean those ecclesiastical communities which have symbolized with her. DISCOURSE XXV. THE GREAT HARLOT, AND THE BEAST THAT CARRIETH HER. Rev. xvii. Having gone through the vials, we have arrived at the commencement of the Mil lennium. Indeed we descended to this period in each of the three general descrip tions, and in the pouring out of the vials have only retraced the fatter part of the ground more particularly. All that remains between this and the twentieth chapter would in mo dern publications be called notes of illustra tion. No new subject is introduced, but mere enlargement on what has already been an nounced. We have heard much ofthe beast in the thirteenth chapter ; but in the seven teenth we have a still more particular account of him, and ofthe woman that sitteth upon him, without which we should not have been able to understand the other. • We had a hint given us of the fall of Babylon in the fourteenth chapter; but in the eighteenth and part ofthe nineteenth we have a trium phant ode, sent as it were from heaven, to be sung on the occasion. Finally, we have been given to expect, in the fourteenth chapter, that prior to the overthrow of the antichristian cause the gospel would be making progress j but in the nineteenth we see the word of God going forth, riding upon a white horse, and the antichristian powers destroyed in the very act of opposing him. The first of these illustrative notes, as we shall call them, is contained in the seven teenth chapter, and respects the leading char acters ofthe antichristian party. Ver. 1 — 6. The object of this vision was not to gratify curiosity, but to show the jus tice of those plagues which were, or were about to be, inflicted. The opprobrious name given to the woman determines its reference to a corrupt and false church, as opposed to " the bride the Lamb's wife." Her "sitting upon many waters," and which are said to be " peoples and mul titudes and nations and tongues" (ver. 15,) prove that this corrupt and false church would not be confined to a single city, or nation, but would extend over a number of nations. The "kings ofthe earth that have committed fornication with her" are all those governments which are or have been within the pale of her communion, and which till the Reformation included the whole of western Europe, " the great Gothic family," as they have been denominated. It is this their idolatrous communion with her that is called fornication. Those who have been made "drunk with the wine of her fornication" are those who have drunk into her doctrines, THE HARLOT AND THE BEAST. 67 worship, spirit, and practices, and have be come as it were intoxicated by them. To have a view of this harlot, the apostle is carried in vision "into the wilderness." She was represented before as sitting upon many waters ; but, as she is now to be de scribed as riding upon a beast, it is proper that it should be upon the earth. Though the imagery however is changed, yet the meaning may be much the same: for a wilderness, no less than many waters, signi fies peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. Hence the nations into which Ju dah was carried captive are called " the wilderness of the people." — Ezek. xx. 35. For the apostle to be carried into the wilder ness may be equal to his being placed in the midst of the nations of Europe — say in London, Paris, Madrid, or Vienna — at a time when papal Rome was in all her glory. Being in the wilderness he sees a woman sitting upon a beast, which beast was capar isoned with scarlet trappings, full of the names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten homs. This beast is manifestly the same as that which is described in the thir teenth chapter as " rising out of the sea," and is no other than the Roman empire under its last head or form of government, or that which has been known in history as the western or Holy Roman Empire, in connection with the kingdoms of Europe, which are its ten horns. It is this government which has given the title of emperor, sometimes to a king of one nation, and sometimes of an other; but, whoever has possessed it, he has been considered as the grand supporter of the papal hierarchy. It is said that the ancient pagan emperors were wont to be dressed in "scarlet" in times of war, — a fit attire then for a bloody period, and now for a bloody persecuting government. Its "names of blasphemy" express its impious and antichristian charac ter, assuming the throne of God in the minds and consciences of men. The " purple, and scarlet, and gold, and precious stones, and pearls," with which the woman was arrayed, allude no doubt to the attire of a harlot of no ordinary rank. The design is to describe her as being of the world, and seeking the things of the world, or as contriving by her meretricious orna ments to dazzle the eyes of her beholders. It is by that ceremonious pomp, splendor, and will-worship, wliich have often been de fended under the name of decency, and deemed necessary, both to gratify the taste of the polite and to excite the admiration of the vulgar, that false religion makes its way. The " golden cup in her hand, full of abomi nations and filthiness of her fornication," are her corrupt principles and idolatrous practices, recommended by her seducing emoluments. The " name on her forehead " is thought to allude to the ancient practice of harlots, who not only used to put their names on their doors, but some of them upon their foreheads. It is expressive not only of the general character of the antichristian church, but of her impudence ; practising day by day the foulest and filthiest impostures, and yet calling herself the Holy Catholic Church, and denying salvation to all without her pale ! The name of " mystery" was fiven to this apostacy by Paul as well aa ohn, and with this very proper exposition, " The mystery of iniquity." The system is full of " the depths of Satan," wliich it is an honor not to know. — She is farther denomi nated " Babylon the great." Here we see that the apocalyptic Babylon and the harlot are the same : it is Rome, as an antichris - tian community extending over many na tions. What Babylon was to the Old-testa ment church she is to the New ; and such will be her end. — Finally, she is denominated " The mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." There are other corrupt churches as well as that of Rome ; but she is the prin cipal, and the parent of them, the harlot of harlots. Not only by " forbidding to marry" does she open the flood-gates to illicit com merce between the sexes, and even to un natural crimes, but sells indulgences and pardons in the name of Jesus Christ ! To complete the character of this mother of harlots, she is described as making others intoxicated, and as being herself "drunken with the blood of the saints ! " Persecution is the crowning sin of the greatest sinners. The apostle, having beheld her, " wondered with great admiration," as well he might. So much wickedness, be it committed by whom it might, was wonderful ; but who could have thought that this was a picture of what would be called The Holy Catholic Church, in whose pale only ivas salvation ! 1 1 The Christian church was an object dear to him : what then must be his feelings to be told that it should come to this ! Ver. 7. The answer of the angel is de signed to allay the admiration of the apostle : and this it does by accounting for what had been seen. When Hazael wondered at his own predicted cruelties, and scarcely thought them possible, he was told in answer, " The Lord hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria." This was answer sufficient; and that of the angel resembles it. The character of the woman is accounted for by her alliance with the beast. Let the Chris tian church consider this, and tremble at such alliances ! Ver. 8 — 11. Having given an account of the woman, the angel proceeds to describe " the beast that carrieth her." This no doubt is the Roman empire, described as the "beast that was, and is not, and yet is." Prior to the overthrow of Paganism by Constantine, it was — it was that idolatrous, blasphemous, persecuting power which Daniel had fore- 68 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. told. From that period, professing to be come a Christian government, the properties of the beast were as it were laid aside, and it was not. Such was its character from the days of Constantine to the revelation of the rnan of sin. It might have been denominat ed the beast that was, and is not; or the late Pagan, but now Christian empire. But, notwithstanding this his profession of Chris tianity, his origin is "the bottomless pit," and his end " perdition." He may deceive the blinded multitude with his pretences of being not that which he once was ; but, as the angel informs the apostle, he yet is. He had indeed a " wound by a sword," which was thought at the time to be mortal, but it did not prove so. The corruptions of Christianity healed it, and all the properties ef the beast revived in their wonted vigor. The angel proceeds to inform the apostle more particularly concerning the "seven heads" ofthe beast, and intimates that in understanding this subject there will be em ployment for " wisdom." They are said first to be " seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." This determines the seat of the hierarchy to be Rome, well known as standing, when in its full extent, upon seven hills. They are also said to be "seven kings," or forms of government, under wliich the empire had subsisted, did subsist, or would hereafter subsist. The forms which had subsisted (as has been observed on chap, xiii.) were kings, consuls, dictators, decemvirs, and military tribunes : the form which subsisted at the time of the com mencement of the prophecy was that bf emperors ; and that which was yet to come, and to "continue a short space," seems to be that non-descript government which succeeded the overthrow of the emperors, and continued in divers forms for about three hundred years, till the establishment of that government which from the days of Charlemagne to the Reformation (a space of above seven hundred years) combined all the nations of Europe in support of the anti christian hierarchy. This. short-lived intermediate power might on some accounts be considered as the "seventh" head of the beast, and as such be distinguished from its last head, which in this view would be the " eighth : " but upon the whole it was rather to be consider ed as belonging to that in which it merged, and wliich in this view would be the seventh, or " of the seven." There is an apparent difficulty in this last head of the Roman government being de scribed as the beast iliat was and is not, as though the changes here alluded to were peculiar to that last head, when in fact they respect the beast under different heads. The answer I conceive to be this: The beast, it is true, was under his first five heads, and was -not under his sixth ; but till the last stages ofhis existence this descrip tion could not be applied to him, or become as it were his proper name. From this time he would be known as the beast which was and is not, or as the no longer pagan, but Christian empire. Ver. 12 — 18. In every description of the Roman beast, whether by Daniel or John, the ten horns are a distinguished part of it. "Ten kings," in the language of prophecy, are ten kingdoms, or governments. They were not kingdoms at the time of the vision : hence the kings are said to have " received no kingdom as yet ;" but, on the overturning of the empire by the Goths in the fifth cen tury, those nations which had before been dependent provinces} together with others that were without its jurisdiction, became independent kingdoms ; and, having em braced the religion of Rome, in process of time united in supporting it. The reign of these kings is said to be " one (or the same) hour with the beast ;" that is, with the last head of the Roman empire. They had overturned the empire in its preceding head or form ; but by agree ing together in religion they established it under a new form : and, being of the same mind with the beast in this his new form as to supporting the church, they unanimously " gave their power and strength and king doms to him," for this end. They did not subject their kingdoms to him as a secular power, for then had they not been indepen dent ; their only connection with him would , be ecclesiastical, or in his supporting the harlot. That this was the only bond of union between them is manifest from the result of things : when their love should be turned into hatred, they are not said to hate the beast, but the whore ; it was the whore therefore, and not the beast, that was the- object of their attachment. While he, caparisoned in scarlet, should carry her through all her filthy and bloody courses, they would be with him, holding up his trappings, or lending their authority to en force his measures. Such was actually the conduct of all the governments of Christendom prior to tlie Reformation, and such has been the conduct of many of them since. It is thus that they are said to have made " war with the Lamb." Their proceedings with respect to religion have been antichristian. All that has been done for more than a thousand years in invading the rights of conscience has been assuming his throne ; and all the cruel edicts against what tbey call heresy and heretics, with all the bloody executions of them, have been in direct hostility against his kingdom. " But the Lamb shall overcome them." Whosoever shall gather together against him will fall for his sake. They may ask, Who is like unto the beast, and who is able to make war with him? But the THE FALL OF BABYLON. 63 Lamb is " Lord of lords, and King of kings," and must prevail. His army, too, is a select band, "called, and chosen, and faithful," who following' their leader are certain to be victorious. The overthrow of the govern ments of Christendom does not respect them as monarchical in distinction from re publican (for one of Daniel's " ldngdoms " was a republic,) but as antichristian. Those governments that "make war with the Lamb," whatever be their form, the " Lamb will overcome them." In the progress of this war it is intimated that the kings who have supported the har lot shall have their hearts turned to " hate " her, and shall be instruments in her destruc tion. The hierarchy will become as odious in the eyes of the nations as a wrinkled prostitute is in the eyes of her paramours. This is the way in which the antichristian church is doomed to fall. It will not be from the increase of religious people who withdraw from her communion, as she has always apprehended ; but from those who have been her companions in sin, and who, when nothing more is to be expected from her, shall turn against her and destroy her. It is not by Protestantism, nor by Metho dism (as serious Christianity is now called amongst us,) but by Infidelity, that false religion will be overthrown. It may se'em strange that the powers which supported the antichristian harlot should be the instruments employed in destroying her; but so it is appointed of heaven. God, who saw the end from the beginning, intended for wise ends to permit the apostacy, and so to order it that the governments of Europe should for a time unite in supporting it. But it is only for a time : when the purposes and prophecies of God are fulfilled, he will cause a spirit of discord to separate these workers of iniqui ty, so that they shall destroy one another. Finally : That no doubt might be left as to what was signified by the woman, she is called "that great city which reigned " at the time of the vision " over the kings," or kingdoms, " of the earth." This was equal to saying, It is Rome, considered as the seat of an antichristian hierarchy, which in the latter part of her empire shall prevail, but which, like all her other forms, shall go into perdition. DISCOURSE XXVI. THE FALL OF BABYLON, AND THE MAR RIAGE OF THE LAMB. Rev. xviii. xix. 1 — 10. Ch. xviii. This is another note of illus tration ; a sacred ode, much resembling that on the fall of old Babylon.— Is. xiv. 4—23 ; xxi, 9. That which old Babylon was to Zion, the Roman hierarchy has been to the Christian church ; and the end of the one shall correspond with that of the other. Her fall being sudden, and accomplished by the " strong arm of him that judgeth her," seems to relate to her political over throw, as predicted by " the harvest and the vintage," ch. xiv. ; by the "battle of Ar mageddon," ch. xvi. ; and by " the supper of the great God," ch. xix. And as the city to be destroyed does not consist of material buildings, but is a community ex tending over many nations, so the fire by which it is consumed will doubtless be such as is suited to the object. The events of war may be that to the antichristian cause which fire is to a city. I shall barely notice the contents of the song, and remark on a few of its parts. An angel descends from heaven and proclaims the important event; and, while he pro nounces the doom of the criminal, states withal what have been her crimes. — Ver. 1 — 3. Another voice is heard from, heaven addressed to the people of God who have in different ways and degrees been connected with her, to come out of her as Lot escaped from Sodom, lest, being partakers of her sins, they receive also of her plagues. — Ver. 4. This second voice also confirms the charges exhibited against her by the first; and reiterates her doom. Ver. 5 — 8. A description is given of her overthrow under the image of a city on fire : Those who have been seduced by her wiles shall be filled with astonishment at beholding her fearful end. — Ver. 9 — 13. The criminal herself is tauntingly addressed, as having lost all that her heart had been set upon. — Ver. 14. Interested men make great lam entations on account of her. — -Ver. 15 — 19. Apostles, prophets, and martyrs are called upon to rejoice over her. — Ver. 20. Her fall is compared to the sinking of a great millstone cast into the sea. — Ver. 21. Her desolations are described by the loss of all her enjoyments. — Ver. 22 — 24. Great in terest is excited in heaven by her over throw. — Ch. xix. 1 — 6. A general joy pervades the church of God both in heaven and earth, and the Millennium quickly follows. — -Ver. 7 — 9. The song concludes with an account ofthe effect of the vision on the apostle towards his informant. — Ver. 10. By the language in ch. xviii. 6, 7, it may seem as if the servants of God would be the cautioners of his wrath upon this cor rupt community : but their being called to "reward her as she rewarded them" may only denote that the judgments inflicted upon her will be according to their testimo ny, and in answer to their prayers. It was thus that the two witnesses inflicted plagues upon their enemies. — Ch. xi. 5, 6. The visible agents employed in the work will be the governments of Christendom which will 70 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. " hate the whore, and eat her flesh, and burn her with fire." That which will greatly contribute to the fearfulness of her overthrow will be her previous security. She saith in her heart, " I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow." If she had been " the bride, the Lamb's wife," she could not have been more secure ; so much the greater therefore will be her fall. The events which to a political eye seem to occur only from the chances of war are here described as the process of the Judge of heaven and earth. The power which will be exerted will be that exercised over a condemned malefactor by a judge, at whose command the officers of justice proceed to execution. Power is the only thing that she has respected ; and by the strong arm of power she shall be brought down! — Ver. 8. We have heard of the hearts of the kings being turned to hate the whore ; yet we find here kings lamenting her overthrow. The kings or kingdoms of Europe may then be what they now are — divided into parties. One party, and that the successful, will, from interested considerations, hate and set them selves against her ; another party, from sim ilar considerations, will espouse her cause, and these, proving unsuccessful, will lament over her. — Ver. 10. The kings are joined in their lamentations by the " merchants," who seem to be those who have made a trade of religion ; which, however it may include many amongst the laity, must refer more immediately to the mercenary part of the clergy. The most notable article in the list of her commodities is " the souls of men." There is doubtless an allusion to Ezek. xxvii. 13, but " the persons of men " can there mean only slaves, whereas " the souls of men " are here distinguished from slaves. Tyre dealt only in men's bodies, but Rome in their souls. I know not what else to make of the sale of indulgences and pardons ; of the buying and selling of church livings; of confessions, prayers for the dead,, and of every other means of extorting money from the ignorant. That which will excite the most doleful" lamentations among the adherents of the antichristian church will cause the friends of Christ to shout for joy. The marks of deso lation are recounted with triumph. The sounds of music, the bustle of craftsmen, the grinding of the millstone, the light of a candle, and the joyful salutations of the l>ridegroom and the bride, are all ceased, and succeeded by the awful stillness of death. And if any ask, Wherefore hath the Lord done this? What meaneth the Jieat of this great anger ? the answer is, " In her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the .earth." The first ten verses of the nineteenth chapter, which are a part of the sacred ode, describe the effect of the fall of Babylon on the friends of God both in heaven and earth. Ch. xix, 1 — 8. The heavenly host with one voice raises the shout of " Alleluia ! Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God ; for true and right eous are his judgments : for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said Alleluia ! and her smoke rose up forever and ever." What a con trast between this and the whining lamenta tions of the merchants ! The punishment of every-community as such requires to be in this world: when therefore her smoke is said to "rise up for ever and ever," the allusion may be to a city consumed by fire. ; and the meaning is, that it shall never be rebuilt, but its over throw, like that of 'Sodom, shall be set forth for an everlasting monument of the divine displeasure. After this a voice is heard out of the throne, saying, " Praise our God all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great." The theme is acceptable to him that sitteth upon the throne, and must be encored. In answer to this call of the angel, the servants of God both in heaven and earth are described as in a state of delightful agitation. With one voice they renew the song, and expatiate on the sub ject. The sound of their voices is as that of an immense multitude of people, or as the roaring of the sea, or as continued peals of thunder, saying, "Alleluia ; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ! " God had always been omnipotent, and had al ways reigned ; but while his enemies were suffered to prevail on earth he did not appear to reign in that part of his empire as he now will. Now his right hand and his holy arm will have gotten him the victory ! But the song is not yet finished : it is ad ded, " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." The Lamb and his wife are fitly introduced in opposition to the harlot and her paramours ; namely, the beast and the kings ofthe earth. The fall ofthe one is the sig nal for the glorious appearance of the other. Such was the taking away of the dominion of the little horn to the kingdom and domin ion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, being given to the people of the saints ofthe Most High. — Dan. vii. 26, 27. This marriage of the Lamb I con' ceive is the Millennium itself. Both this and the fall, of Babylon, which precedes it, are here introduced by way of anticipation. FALL OF BABYLON, AND MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB. 71 They each come intothe song of heaven pre viously to their being actually accomplished on earth. The account ofthe one follows in the remainder of this chapter, where the beast and the false prophet are taken ; and that ofthe other in the first six verses ofthe chapter following. The accession of believers to Christ at any period is represented by the espousal of a chaste virgin to her husband ; and the whole gospel dispensation is described as a mar riage supper. What an espousal, then, and what a supper will that be, when Jews and Gentiles, from every nation under heaven, shall be brought to believe in him! The appearance of the Christian church has not been such of late ages as might have been expected of one that had Christ for her head. She has been not only scattered by persecu tion, but her beauty greatly tarnished by er rors, corruptions, and divisions, so as scarcely to sustain a visible character: but when believers all over the world shall have purified their souls by obeying the truth — when they are what they were in the days of pentecost, " of one heart and of one soul " — and when there is nothing but distance of situation to hinder their being united in one body — then will " the bride have made herself ready." The church is described as being active in putting on her robes of glory, but they are ready prepared for her. To her was "granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white." Reference may be had to the wedding garments provided, ac cording to the representation in the parable, at the expense ofthe bridegroom. It is said to be " the righteousness ofthe saints ;" yet as it respects the saints not individually but collectively, and at the millennial period, it would seem to denote a justification of the church from all things which have stood against her, analogous to that of an individual believer on his first espousal to Christ. As the perdition of the antichristian community is described in language alluding to that of individual unbelievers (Ver. 3, 20,) so tiie glo ry bestowed on the church at this period alludes to that which is conferred on individu al believers when they are " washed, and jus tified, and sanctified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Thus the church in the days of Zerubbabel, when she had been polluted among the heathen, is represented by Joshua the high priest "clothed with filthy garments," and her justification by the " taking away of his filthy garments and clothing him with change of raiment." Thus also the glory of the church at another period is expressed in lan guage applicable at all times to individual believers : — " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, and hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom deck- eth with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth with jewels." Christ's salutation will then be to her as a beautiful garment, and his right eousness as an ornamental robe. Ver. 9. A blessing was pronounced by our Lord on those who saw and heard the things which were then to be seen and heard, and a still greater blessing is in reserve for those who shall see and partake of the good here predicted. The most glorious things spoken of the church of God will then be accomplished. The success of the gospel in different parts of the world during the peri od ofthe vials will then meet as a confluence of rivers near the ocean. The tides of mer cy and judgment towards Jews and Gentiles will now find their level in the salvation of both. " In times past we believed not God, but obtained mercy through their unbelief:" now "through our mercy they also shall have obtained mercy." — Rom. xi. 30, 31. In former ages God blessed the eastern parts of the world ; of late ages the western ; but now the kingdom of Christ, like a return ing tide, shall spread over both west and east. — Isa. Ix. 1 — 11. " Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand, three hundred, and five -and- thirty days !" — Dan. xii. 12. These predictions respecting the over throw of Babylon, and the establishment of the church, are attested by the angel as " the true sayings of God." Such an attes tation would tend to strengthen the faith and hope of believers, who might otherwise, du ring the long reign ofthe antichristian beasts, be tempted to think that God had forgotten to be gracious, and would be favorable to his church no more. Here I consider the sacred ode on the fall of Babylon and the marriage ofthe Lamb as closing, with only a few words of the apos tle concerning his informant. Ver. 10. The angel here spoken of seems to be him whose voice was heard out of the throne, calling for a repetition of the song. — Ver. 5. John probably supposed him to be the Son of God himself, who had more than once in his visions appeared as an angel, and whom he was in the habit of worship ping. But the angel refuses his adoration on the ground ofhis being merely a servant, the fellow-servant of him and of his brethren, who had the testimony of Jesus. They tes tified of things concerning him which were accomplished ; as of his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and the way of sal vation by him : he revealed prophecies wliich as yet were unaccomplished. Yet their work was much the same : the theme of their testimony contained the spirit or substance of what he had imparted for prophecy. They were therefore fellow-laborers in the same cause, and must not worship one anoth er, but God. Christ himself is not an object of worship considered as man, butt as God only. That he is God as well as man, and 72 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. as such an object of divine worship, this cir cumstance of the angel's refusal fully evinces. We see in his conduct what we see in that of Paul and Barnabas at Iconium ; and every creature who fears God must fol low the example. If Jesus therefore were not God, he ought on all occasions to have refused divine worship, and certainly would have done so. His never having done this is sufficient proof of his divinity. Nor can it be justly alleged that the worship paid to Christ was mere civil respect ; for then the same might be said of John's worshipping the angel, and which he might have done without being repulsed. We learn there fore from this circumstance that Jesus is not only the theme of the gospel ministry, and the spirit or substance of prophecy, but that he is truly and properly divine. DISCOURSE XXVII. THE TAKING OF THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET. Rev. xix. 11—21. When the Israelites, full of fearful appre hension from the pursuit of their enemies, cried out for fear, Moses said unto them, " Fear not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord : for the Egyptians, whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see no more forever ! " In going over these last ten chapters we have seen and heard much of the beast and the false prophet, and of the mischiefs which they have wrought upon the earth : but this is the last account that we shall have of them. By the prophecies in these verses they are buried in oblivion, so that the church in after times shall know of them only as we know of Pharaoh and his host, namely, as matters of history. In cases wherein the parties have been assured of victory, it has not been unusual for a battle to be preceded by a song of triumph. It was thus when Jehoshaphat went forth against his enemies: singers were first appointed to praise the Lord, and then the army was led on to the engage ment. — 2 Chron. xx. And thus our Lord, when about to engage the powers of dark ness, being certain of victory, exclaimed, "Now is the judgment of this world : now shall the prince of this world be cast out! — Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him ! " — John xii. 31 ; xiii. 31. It is thus, I conceive, that the prophecy, having anticipated the victory over Babylon in a song of triumph, proceeds to describe the battle. The scene of the song was in heaven, but the battle in which the event will actually occur is upon earth. It is the same as that before described under the sixth vial, namely, the battle of Armaged don, — " the great day of God Almighty," " the supper of the great God ! " Observe the preparations for it. — " Heav en is opened, a white horse is seen, and he that sat upon it is called faithful and true, who in righteousness doth judge and make war." We can be at no loss in deciding who this great warrior is. He is doubtless the same that is addressed in Psa. xiv. 3, 4 : — " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh,, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty : and in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness: and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things." — I may add, he is the same that is described in the first six verses of the sixty- third chapter of Isaiah ; and what is here predicted by John not only alludes to that prophecy, but appears to refer to the same event. His coming up from Edom with garments stained with the blood of his ene mies appears to be justly paraphrased by Dr. Watts :— " I lift my banner (saith the Lord) Where Antichrist has stood ; The city of my gospel-foes Shall be a field of blood. Hy heart hath studied just revenge, And now the day appears ; The day of my redeemed is come, To wipe away their tears. Slaughter, and my devouring sword, Shall walk the streets around ; Babel shall reel beneath my stroke, And stagger to the ground." It may be thought that this bloody repre sentation is unsuitable to the character of the Prince of Peace ; and that the battle between him and his army on the one side, and that ofthe beast and kings on the other, is contrary to the genius of the gospel dis pensation. To solve this difficulty, let it be observed that the war here described is of two kinds, and Christ sustains a two-fold character in conducting it The first is spiritual ; and this he undertakes as the "head ofthe church." In this character he rides upon a white horse, and the armies of heaven follow him upon ivhite horses ; fitly representing the great efforts that shall be making, at tiie very period of Babylon's over throw, to spread the gospel over the whole earth. The second is providential ; and this he undertakes as " head over all things to the church." In this character he is "cloth ed with a vesture dipped in blood." In making war in his spiritual character, he does not wait to be attacked by his enemies : he goes forth in this respect conquering and to conquer. But, in so far as the war is of a. providential character, the enemies are the aggressors. The beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, " gather together to make war against him and his army." — Ver. 19. The idea conveyed by this lan guage is that while he who sitteth upon the white horse and his army are going forth, to spread the everlasting gospel in the world, the beast and his allies will gather together THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET TAKEN. 73 to oppose its progress, and will perish in the attempt. There is no necessity for supposing the armies of Christ will have literally to fight with those of the beast and the kings : but, while they are following him in spreading the gospel, He, as " King of kings and Lord of lords," may work the utter overthrow of their adversaries, by setting them at variance with one another. We have seen this ac complished in part already in the antipathies and wars which have raged between infi delity and popery; and such may be the progress of things, till, like two furious beasts of prey, they shall both be destroyed. The account itself agrees with this supposition : for, though the armies of the beast are said to _ have gathered together against the armies of him that sat upon the horse, yet there is no mention of any being engag ed in their overthrow but he himself. It is he that "smites the nations," "treads the wine-press," and has his "vesture dipped in blood." It is remarkable, too, that in the corresponding prophecy of Isa,, IxiiL 1 — 5, he is said to have "trodden the wine-press alone, and ofthe people there was none WITH HIM." These remarks may suffice for the gene ral meaning of the prophecy. Let us now attend to a few of the particulars. It is a joyful sight to see the Son of God riding forth upon the white horse. He will not wait for the fall of the antichristian powers ere he extends his spiritual kingdom. The flight of the evangelical angel was prior to the fall of Babylon ; such is still the order of things ; and it is in opposing this great and good work that the enemies of the gospel will bring destruction upon them selves. The character given to this divine warrior must not be overlooked. He is " faithful and true," as performing all his engagements to God, and fulfilling all his promises to men. "In righteousness he doth judge and make war." The cause in which he is engaged is just, and all his measures are in harmony with it. " His eyes were as a flame of fire," huming with holy indignation against his enemies. "And on his head were many crowns," denoting his great power and nu merous conquests. " And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself;" for after all that is known of the glory of his character it passeth knowledge. The "vesture dipped in blood" refers to what has been said of the destruction of his ene mies by means of wars kindled by their own malignity. "His name is called the Word of God," as being that divine person whose office it is to reveal the mind of God to men, and whose victories are accomplished by means of the gospel. "The armies of heaven on white horses " are the friends of Christ who go forth in their respective stations, and lay themselves out to promote his kingdom. " The sharp sword that goeth out of his mouth " is his truth, which is not only the means of saving believers, but of punishing unbelievers. By his word they shall be judged at the last day, and his threatenings will fall upon them even in the present world. Those who are not destroy ed by his judgments on the antichristian party will be despoiled of their power, and ruled as with a rod of iron. "And he treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." — The vine of the earth being ripe for destruction, like grapes cast into a press, he will tread them in his anger, and trample them in his fury. " And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD, OF LORDS." In this there is something especially appropriate, as it respects those kings who have opposed his gospel, and lorded it over the consciences of his subjects. He has long sustained this name in right, but henceforward he will sustain it in fact. And now comes on the decisive battle, "the battle of Armageddon," "the, great day of God Almighty," " tiie supper of the great God ! " Terrible things in righteous ness have occurred in our times ; but, by the strong language used to express this event, it seems as if it would surpass every thing which has gone before it. It is unlikely that it should consist of a single battle, but rather of a war, or succession of battles, though doubtless one must be the last. It is proclaimed by an "angel standing in the sun," whose voice would of course be heard from the rising to the going down thereof. The mode in which he announces it is by an invitation to the fowls of heaven to come as to a supper, to feast upon the carcasses of all ranks and degrees of men who shall be found on the antichristian side. The beast and the kings of the earth who make com mon cause with him, being gathered togeth er with their armies to make war against him that sitteth upon the horse and against his army, will now be utterly overthrown. Those powers which shall be found support ing the papal hierarchy, together with " the false prophet," or the hierarchy itself, after a corrupt and bloody reign of 1260 years, will be " taken and cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone." It was remarked, on chap. xvii. 7, that the corruption of the church is ascribed to her alliance with the secular beast, and it is no less remarkable that the overthrow of the secular beast is ascribed to its alliance with the church. It was "because of the great words that the little horn, spake against the Most High that the beast on whose head it grew should be slain, and his body destroy- Vol. 2.— Sig. 10. 74 EXPOSITION OP THE APOCALYPSE. ed, and given to the burning flame." — Dan. vii. 11. Let governments consider this, and tremble at such alliances. It is true that neither political nor eccle siastical bodies as such can be literally cast into a place of torment, as individual unbe lievers that compose them will be : they may, however, be cast into perdition so as never to rise any more, which may be the whole of what is intended. As the Chris tian church in her millennial glory is de scribed in language applicable to individual believers (ver. 8,) so the antichristian church is represented as a hardened sinner, arrested in a course of wickedness, and sent to his own place. Finally: It is supposed that after this terrible overthrow there will be a remnant, like the scattered remains of a defeated army, who shall still be on the side of Anti christ ; but they shall be "slain by the sword of him that sitteth upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of his mouth." As the battle" above described is the same -as that of Armageddon under the sixth vial, so "the sword proceeding out of Christ's mouth " corresponds with the spiritual judg ments under the seventh vial. They who have escaped the temporal calamities of the former will, except they repent, fall under the spiritual judgments of the latter. The threatenings of Christ's word will overtake them. Their hearts will fail within them, as did the heart of Nabal when told of the words of David. Like him they will be smitten of God and die ; and, having no successors to stand up in their place, their cause will die with them, DISCOURSE XXVIII. ON THE MILLENNIUM. Rev. xx. 1 — 6. Ver. 1 — 3. We have seen the taking of the beast and tlie false prophet, and in that the fall of Babylon: but the principal mover in the confederacy is the dragon and of him no mention was made in the battle before described. Hence, though he had not been expressly called " that old serpent the devil and Satan," we might have pre sumed that he was not of an order of beings to be crushed by the hand of man. His be ing in one place described as " a great red dragon, with the seven heads and ten horns of the Roman beast (ch. xii. 3,) can therefore only respect the form under which he at that time acted out his mischievous designs. This great red dragon that had formerly been cast out of heaven is supposed to be yet on earth, and after the taking of his agents, the beast and the false prophet, is about to rally his scattered forces, and to engage in new schemes against the Lord and against his Christ. If he be not bound, all the success against the other will signify but little ; for he will not be at a loss how to deceive the world, and to engage them anew in some antichristian enterprise. But who is able to bind him? The hand of man cannot take him. Lo, " an angel comes down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand, and lays hold on him and binds him a thousand years ! " The apprehension and imprisonment of this enemy will complete the victory. There can be no doubt who this angel is ; for we know who hath the "keys of hell and of death." To him it appertaineth, after having been manifested to destroy his works, to arrest him in his course, and to set bounds to his operations. The hand of man could not take him ; but the hand of Christ can lay fast hold of him. The dragon being cast into the bottom less pit, and shut up, and a seal set upon him to prevent his deceiving the nations for a thousand years, the kingdom of Christ shall now be established over the whole earth. Various questions have arisen concerning this millennial state, both as to its nature and duration. With respect to the fatter, the " thousand years" require, I think, in this instance to be taken literally ; for, if under stood of so many years as there are days in this period, the duration of the world would greatly exceed what we are elsewhere given to expect. The apostles seem to have con sidered themselves as having passed the meridian of time, and as drawing on towards the close of it. Such appears to be the import of the following passages : — " God hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son. — But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. — The end of all things is at hand. — The coming ofthe Lord draw- eth nigh. — Behold the judge standeth before the door. — He that testifieth these things saith, Surely J come quickly ! " But, if the thousand years were reckoned a day for a year, we are at present but upon the thresh old of time : the last judgment must in this case be at a distance of hundreds of thou sands of years. A question of more importance is that which respects the nature of this millennial reign of Christ, whether it be spiritual or personal.* Those who favor the former, consider it as a time in which the gospel * I say nothing of a third class, which might be denominated political, and which, in the delirium that prevailed a few years since, made the dragon to be "monarchy in general," the millennial thrones (ch. xx. 4) seats of magisterial authority to which the people were exalted, and the new heavens and the new earth the results ofthe Ameri can and French Revolutions ! Such are the effects of interpreting prophecy with the view of establishing a political hypothesis. THE MILLENNIUM. 75 Will be spread over the whole earth, and cordially embraced both by Jews and Gen tiles ; when those prophecies will be fulfilled which speak of the cessation of wars — of the stone cut out without hands becoming a great mountain and filling the whole earth — of the little leaven leavening tlie whole lump — of the knowledge of the Lord covering the earth as the waters cover the sea — of the first dominion coming to Zion — und of the kingdom and dominion, and the great ness ofthe kingdom, under the whole heaven, being given to the people of the saints of the Most High. Those, on the other hand, who plead for a. personal reign of Christ upon earth, con sider the Millennium as a state of immortali ty, a state subsequent to the general con flagration, wherein the righteous, being raised from their graves, shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years ; after which, the wicked dead being raised, the general judgment shall follow. Whatever respect I feel for some who have maintained the latter hypothesis, I find insurmountable objections to the hypothesis itself. First: The idea of a personal reign ap pears to me nearly to exclude that of a spirit ual one, by leaving little or no place for it. — It is clear that the pouring out of the seven vials is principally for the purpose of destroy ing the antichristian system, and that when this is accomplished the Millennium follows. No sooner are the beast and the false prophet taken under the sixth vial, and the world (like the temple after being polluted by Antiochus) purified from its abominations by the seventh, than the dragon is bound for a thousand years. If then this thousand years' reign be personal, the second coming of Christ must immediately succeed the ruin of Antichrist. But, if so, how or when are all those prophecies to be fulfilled which describe the prosperity ofthe church in the latter days ? How is war to cease in the earth, and peace succeed to it, when, as soon as tiie troubles of the earth are destroyed, the world will be at an end ? On this prin ciple Antichrist will reign till the heavens are no more. The end of the 1260 years will be the end of time, and the church will have no existence upon the present earth but "in the wilderness." Instead of the stone, after breaking in pieces the image, " becoming a great mountain, and filling the whole earth," no sooner is the image broken to pieces than the earth itself shall be burnt up. And on the destruction of the little horn (Dan. vii. 26, 27,) instead ofthe king dom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, being given to the people of the saints of the Most High," no sooner shall that horn be broken than the whole earth will be destroy ed with it ! Secondly: The jdea of a personal reign represents Christ's second coming at a thousand years' distance from the last judg ment ; whereas the Scripture speaks of the one as immediately following the other, and as being the grand object of it. " The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking ven geance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ : who shall be punished with everlast ing destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ; when he SHALL COME TO BE GLORIFIED IN HIS saints, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day." — " Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints to execute judgment upon all," &c. — " I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and kingdom." Thirdly : The idea of a personal reign represents believers as raised to a state of immortality a thousand years before the close of Christ's mediatorial kingdom; where as the Scripture represents the one as im mediately succeeding the other. Speaking of the resurrection, the apostle says, " Christ the first fruits, and afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father ; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power ; for he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Now the resurrection of the saints will itself be the destruction of death. If therefore the end then cometh, there is no place for a personal reign of a thousand years between them. Besides, if death be the last enemy, and this enemy be destroyed in the resurrection, how can there be a Gog and Magog army to be destroyed a thou sand years after it? Fourthly: Those who consider the mil lennial reign as personal confine tlie last resurrection and the final judgment, as de- cribed in the latter part of the chapter, to the wicked : but there is nothing in that account of the resurrection which requires it to be limited to them. The sea is said to give up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell (or the grave) to give up the dead which were in them ; which language equally applies to the righteous and the wicked : and as to the last judgment, which immediately follows, had it been confined to the wicked it would not have been said "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire," since on this principle they could none of them he found written in it. If the last judgment, as described in ch. xx. 11 — 15, do not include that of the right eous as well as the wicked, there is no. proof from this account of their being judged 76 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. at all. The Scriptures, however, are very express, that "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and give ac count of the deeds done in the body ; " and that " God will bring every work into judg ment, whether it be good or whether it be evil." Fifthly: The account of Satan's being loosed after a thousand years' restraint, and going forth to deceive the nations, and to gather together the armies of Gog and Magog, does not comport with a state of immortality, or with the condition ef men after their resurrection. Wicked men may rise, indeed, with the same enmity agamst God and religion as they possessed at death : but as to their being able to collect together, and to encompass the church of God in hope of destroying it, the idea is gross and inadmissible. The sea and the grave will give up their dead, not to become followers of Satan in a new enterprise, but to be judged? every man according to his works. — Ver. 13. Finally: To represent the Millennium, which precedes the last judgment, as a state of immortality, is to confound it with the New Jerusalem which follows it. The lat ter is indeed a state of immortality ; for " there shall be no more death, neither sor row, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away" (xxi. 4:) but this language itself im plies that till after the final judgment it shall not be so. For these reasons, as well as from the figurative language of almost the whole of the prophecy, I cannot think that the Millen- niuhi is to be understood of a personal reign of Christ, in a state of immortality j but of that glorious rest which the church will enjoy after the destruction of her antichris tian enemies. Under this view, therefore, I shall now attend to the description given of it. Ver. 4 — 6. These thrones correspond with the account in Dan. vii., where, after the power of the little horn is broken, it folio wsj "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, was given to the people of the saints of the Most High." Stations of importance both in the world and in the church, will be filled by righteous men. Righteousness therefore will flow as a river, and corruption and violence will recede before it The public mind will favor this course of things. Thus it is that wars and oppressions, and all other disorders, will in a great measure subside. Every thing being done on Christian principles, Christ will reign. "God's way will be known upon earth, and his saving health among all nations. The peoples shall be glad and sing for joy, for the Lord will judge them right eously." — Psalm lxvii. The " judgment given unto them, and to the souls that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus," denotes that God will now vindi cate their characters, and avenge their wrongs. This appears to be the meaning in chap. xi. 18 and xviii. 20. The vengeance poured upon the antichristian party is in the former of these passages called judging the dead, because it vindicates them and the cause in which they suffered, and avenges them on their adversaries. Thus it will be during the Millennium. The cause in which the martyrs 'have suffered will then triumph: and, while the names of their persecutors will rot in execration, their labors will be in request, and their characters embalmed in the memory of mankind. It is thus, I conceive, that the martyrs will " live and reign with Christ a thousand years." The antichristian party, on the other hand, called "the rest of the dead," or the "rem nant " that escaped from the battle in which " the beast and the false prophet were taken, were slain with the sword of him that sat on the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth." In other words, they will become as dead men during the whole of the millen nial period. They would die as a body in that they had no successors to stand up in their place, and as individuals, if any remain ed, would be unable to impede the progress of the gospel. After this their leader being let loose, and permitted to make one more desperate effort, they will then "live again," though it will be but, for a short season. "This (adds the sacred writer) is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such the second death hath no power ; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Those who consider the reign of Christ personal understand this of the resurrection of the bodies^ 0f the righteous, which they suppose will be a thousand years before that of the wicked. A "first resurrection" doubtless implies a second, as much as ai "second death" implies a first: but, as the first and second deaths are different in their nature, so may the first and second resurrec tions. I question if there be any proof of the corporeal resurrection of the righteous being prior in order of time to that of the wicked. The only passage that I recol lect to have seen alleged for itis 1 Thes. iv- 16: "And the dead in Christ shall rise first." It is not, however, in respect of the resurrection of the wicked that they are said to rise first, but of the change of the living saints : for it follows, "then we who are alive, and remain, shall be caught up," &c. The context says nothing of the wicked, or of their resurrection. The res urrection of the righteous being mentioned alone, or without that of the wicked, does; THE RESURRECTION. 77 not prove that the one will be prior to the other. If it prove any thing concerning the wicked, it would seem to be that there will be no resurrection of them : but, know ing from other Scriptures that there will be a resurrection "both of the just and the unjust," we do not draw this inference ; nor have we any ground for drawing the other. The "first resurrection" appears to me to be no other than the Millennium itself, to which all that is said of it will apply. Dur ing this glorious period, the church will have its Pauls and Peters and Johns over again. Men will be raised up who will go forth in the spirit and power of those worthies, as much as John the Baptist did in the spirit and power of Elias. Thus the apostles and martyrs will, as it were, be raised from their graves and live again upon the earth. The blessedness pronounced upon him that hath a part in it is expressive ofthe hap piness of those times. The idea is the same as that in chap. xix. 9, " Blessed are they that are called to the marriage sapper of the Lamb ;"• — and that in Dan. xii. 12, " Bless ed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five-and-thirty days f" Each of these passages refers to the same period. If a blessing was pro nounced on those who saw the early part of gospel times, much more on those who shall enjoy the latter. It were not enough however to exist in those times : to be blessed we must have " a part " in all that is going on ; and in order to this we must be " holy." Otherwise, God might work a work in our days which we should not believe, but despise it, and wonder, and perish ! The first resurrection supposes a second, and which seems to be that of the just and the unjust. In this the wicked shall be raised to die a second death ; but over the followers of Christ the second death shall have no power. As a pledge of their victo ry, they are already made priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign in spiritual prosperity from generation to generation, for the space of & thousand years. DISCOURSE XXIX. THE FALLING AWAY — THE END OF THE WORLD THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD AND THE LAST JUDGMENT. Rev. xx. 7 — 15. Ver. 7, 8. It seems almost incredible, after so long and glorious a season of grace, that Satan should so recover his influence in the world as that the number of his adherents should become " as the sand of the sea ! " Yet thus it is. What is ordinarily called the religion of a people becomes a sort of na tional habit, to which they are attached from generation to generation. But it is not thus with true religion. There is nothing in it suited to the temper of mind with which men are born into the world. If therefore the Holy Spirit be aggrieved, and withdraw his influence but from one generation, it will be like that which succeeded the times of Josh ua, that "knew not the Lord." If in such a state of things Satan be permitted to ply with his temptations, he is certain to be successful. " The four quarters of the earth " prior to this must have been evangelized by the gos pel ; but the dragon being let loose deceives them; "not by any new superstition, like that of Popery ; for, as to the beast and the false prophet, they will long since have gone to perdition. It may be by a persecuting infi delity, the spirit inspired by the dragon him self, that this last effort will be made. Hav ing seen so much of Christianity in the world, the hearts of the wicked will rise against it, and be so far " deceived " by the Wicked One as to imagine themselves capable of extirpa ting it from the earth. The name given to the enemies of Christ is borrowed from the thirty-eighth and thirty- ninth chapters of Ezekiel, where mention is made of Gog and Magog. It does not ap pear however that the prophecy of Ezekiel and John refer to the same period ; but that the language is merely allusive. Ezekiel's Gog and Magog seem to refer to a combina tion among the nations against the house of Israel, soon after their restoration to their oum land and their conversion to Christ, and which will be prior to or at the commencement of the Millennium : but the Gog and Magog army of John is " after the thousand years are expired." The meaning may be, that, like as tlie nations will combine against. restored and converted Israel, so will the whole world of the ungodly combine to ex terminate Christianity from the earth : and, as the one would issue in the utter overthrow of the assailants, so would the other. Ver. 9, 10. As there is nothing in the account which intervenes between this and the resurrection ofthe dead, the "fire that cometh down from God out of heaven" may be no other than the general conflagration itself, spoken of by the apostles Peter and Paul — " The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in the which the heav ens shall pass away with a great noise, anct the elements shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burnt up. — The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." — 2 Pet. iii, 10 ; 2 Thes. i. 8. And now the grand mover of all the mis chief which has taken place in the world is 78 EXPOSITION OF THE APOOAL5TSE. not merely bound for a season, as before, but cast into perdition, where his agents, the beast and the false prophet, are. There is no mention of their being " tormented," be cause they as political bodies were incapa ble of it ; but of him it is said he " shall be tormented day and night forever and ever." Perdition to them will be oblivion; but to him a state of everlasting punishment. Ver. 11 — 15. A more impressive descrip tion of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment, is scarcely in the power of language. The words are simple, but the sentiments exceedingly sublime. "The language is so plain (says Mr. Blackwell) as not to need, and so majestic and grand as to exceed, commentary or paraphrase." But it is not for us to stand admiring the lan guage till we overlook the event itself. Lo, the dead, both " small and great, stand before God ! " Young and old, rich and poor, all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. None are so insignificant as to be over looked ; none so mighty as to escape : the governors and the governed; the parent and the child, the master and the servant, the oppressor and the . oppressed, the preacher and the hearer, all must give an account of themselves to God ! Men, owing to the imperfection of their knowledge, and of their memories, make use of " books : " but God's infinite knowledge requires no such assistance. It is merely in allusion to human proceedings that this is spoken. His memory is itself the book from which he will judge the, world. Believing sinners are justified by grace : but both believers and unbelievers will be judged "according to their works." Those who have sinned without the light of revela tion will be judged by the light of nature. Those who have sinned against revelation will be judged by it, according to the light they had, or might have had. Believers themselves, though not dealt with according to their deserts, (for they will " obtain mercy of the Lord in that day !") yet their works will be censured or approved according to what they were. Their sinful works will be burnt up, though they themselves are saved ; and as to their good works, though there be nothing in them deserving eternal life, or furnishing the least ground for boasting, yet will they be admitted as evidences in their favor.— Matt. xxv. 31—40. There have been many days of judgment, as it were, in miniature, but this will be uni versal. Whether men have died at sea, or on land; and whatever became of their bodies, whether slain in battle, devoured by beasts of prey, or decently interred in their graves, all will rise and be judged. — Ver. 13. "Death and hell (or the grave) were cast into the lake of fire." Death and the grave. are things which belong to time, and which, as rivers are lost in the ocean, will now be swallowed up in eternity. Prior to the day of judgment the ungodly were confined un der their power as in a prison : but having received their doom they shall not be remand ed thither, but shall go away into everlast ing punishment "This is the second death." Into this dreadful abyss all will be cast, as the just punishment of their sins, excepting those whose names are " written in the book of life." An interest in the sal vation of Christ is the only security against eternal death. DISCOURSE XXX. THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, WITH THE NEW JERUSALEM. Rev. xxi. xxii. 1 — 5. Ch. xxi. We have seen, in the forego ing chapter, the end of the world and the last judgment, even that fearful issue of things described by the apostle Peter: " The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth also, ? and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up." — But as the same apostle adds, " Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, where in dwelleth righteousness ; " so in this chap ter, and the first five verses ofthe next, we find an ample description of them. .. What then are we to understand by this " new heaven and new earth," this " new Je rusalem, coming down from God out of heaven," and this " pure river of the water of life," which is supposed to flow in the midst of it ? Some have considered it as only a more particular account of the Millennium. But to this it is objected— First : The Mil lennium precedes the last judgment, whereas the new heavens and the earth follow it Secondly: The Millennium was for a limited time ; but this is " forever and ever." — Ch. xxii. 5. Thirdly : Under the Millennium the dragon is only bound for a season, and after wards loosed ; but here there is no dragon nor enemy of any kind. The devil will have been cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, to be tormented day and night forever and ever (ch. xx. 10 ;) " and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away." — Ver. 4. For these reasons others have considered it as no other than the heavenly state.* Yet it seems singular that the heavenly state should be introduced as a subject of prophecy. It is doubtless an object of promise, but prophecy seems rather to respect events in the world in which we dwell than in the world * Lo wm an — Hopkins on the Millennium, p. 48. THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH. 79 to come. Whatever is meant by the glori ous state here described, the earth, as purified by the conflagration, is the scene of it. The whole of what is said, instead of describing the heaven of heavens, represents the glory of that state as "coming down upon the earth."— Ver. 1 — 4. The truth appears to me to be this : it is a representation of heav enly glory in so far as that glory relates to the state ofthe earth on which we dwell ; which, instead of being the stew of the mother of harlots, shall become the seat of " the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." The earth will not be annihilated by fire any more than it was by water. It will be purified from sin and all its effects. The generations of a cor rupt race of creatures having terminated, it will become the perfect and perpetual abode of righteousness. The creation has long been subjected to the "vanity "of supplying its creator's enemies with the means of carry ing on their rebellion against him. Under this " bondage of corruption " it has " groaned and travailed," as it were in pain, longing to be delivered. And now the period is arrived. The liberation of the sons of God from the power ofthe grave shall be the signal of de liverance to the whole creation. — Rom. viii. 19—23. It is not the object of the Holy Spirit to tell us what the heavenly glory is, but rather what this world shall become, in opposition to what it note is. This opposition is preserved throughout the description. We have read of Babylon ; not that in Chaldea, but a new Babylon : here we read of Jerusalem ; not that in Palestine, but a new Jerusalem — of a city by whose delicacies the merchants- of the earth were made rich ; now of another city in the light of which " the nations of them that are saved shall walk, and to which kings shall bring their glory and honor " — of a troubled " sea," whence arose those mon sters which were the plagues of the earth ; now of there being " no more sea " — of the " great whore that sat upon many waters ;" now of "the bride the Lamb's wife" — of " great tribulations out of which the saints of God have had to come ;" now of " all tears being wiped from their eyes, and of death and sorrow and crying and pain having passed away " — finally, of " a golden cup full of abominations and filthiness ;" but now of the " pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out ofthe throne of God and ofthe Lamb," together with the " fruitsjof the tree of life, which bears twelve kinds of fruit, and yields its fruit every month." As the new Jerusalem is denominated " the bride, the Lamb's wife," all that is said of her as a city, from ver. 10 — 27,. though couched in highly figurative language, is de scriptive qf the church triumphant. In this, as in many other places, there is a reference to the prophecies of Ezekiel (ch. xlviii. 31 — 34,) though the events predicted are not al ways the same. The city in Ezekiel seems to be the church in a day of great spiritual prosperity ; this in a state of immortality. Her high wall denotes her complete security ; her twelve gates, on which were inscribed the names ofthe twelve tribes of Israel, de note that none but Israelites indeed, who have the seal of God in their foreheads, will enter into it ; her twelve foundations may refer to the doctrine of the apostles on which she stands ; the pearls and precious stones with which she is adorned are her spiritual riches and glory ; there being " no temple, nor sun, nor moon," denotes that there will be no need of those means of grace which we now attend upon ; what we now receive mediately we shall then receive immediate ly ; finally, the nations ofthe saved walking in the light of it may allude to the interest which surrounding nations take in a metropo - litan city, and denotes that the saved, who have been gathered from all nations, will rejoice in the honor that God will have be stowed upon his church. To complete the description of the city, and to finish the prophecy, we must consider the first five verses of the twenty-second chapter in connection with the foregoing. Ch. xxii. 1 — 5. There is doubtless an allusion in these verses to the waters of the sanctuary, and the trees of life, described in Ezekiel xlvii. 1 — 12. Both Ezekiel and John make mention of a city— of a river — of trees growing upon the banks of it — and of the fruit thereof being for meat, and the leaf for medicine. Ezekiel's waters flowed from the temple, near the altar ; those of John out of " the throne of God and of the Lamb." The city is doubtless the same in both ; but I conceive at different periods. Ezekiel's city had a temple, but that of John, as we have seen, had no temple ; for "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." The former therefore de scribes the church in her latter-day glory ; the latter in a state of perfection — and which answers to the promise in ch. ii. 7, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." DISCOURSE XXXI. ATTESTATIONS TO THE TRUTH OF THE PROPHECY, &C. Rev. xxii. 6—21. We have gone through the prophecy : all that remains consists of attestations, direc tions, invitations, and warnings concern ing it. Ver. 6. Such is the solemn attestation of the angel to the truth of all that he had 80 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. made known to the apostle. He had receiv ed it from the son of God, even the Lord God of the holy prophets, who had sent by him to signify it unto his servant John. — Ch. i. 1. Ver. 7. After the attestation of the an gel follows that of him that sent him. The ¦"coming of Christ" refers to his second appearing. His declaring that this would be "quickly" is declaring that the things which had been foretold should soon be ac complished. Meanwhile they would be a guide to the faithful, and a blessing should attend those who adhered to them. Ver. 8. This is the attestation of the writer. He not only saw and heard these things, but such was their effect qn his mind that on one occasion he conceived the angel who revealed them to him to have been the Son of God himself, and therefore fell down to worship him. Some have expressed sur prise that the apostle, after the angel had once refused his adoration, should offer it a second time : but it appears to me that what is here related is merely a repetition of what was said and done before. — Ch. xix. 10. He first tells of his having " seen " the things that were to be seen, and " heard " the things that were to be heard ; and now of his having been so overcome by them as to suppose the angel from whom they pro ceeded to be the Son of God, and of course to have fallen down to worship him. The design of the repetition is merely to add weight to the attestation. Ver. 10 — 16. He who speaketh in these verses is not the angel, but the Son of God himself, whose speech is resumed from verse 7. The eighth and ninth verses are a parenthesis, in which the writer expresses his own feelings. He who in verse 7 said, " Behold, I come quickly," here adds, " Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand." As if he should say, Do not conceal, but declare them, for they are things of immediate concern. — To this is added a solemn declaration of the near approach of that period when the characters of men should be unalterably fixed. Let the persecutors and corrupters of the gospel know that there is no change but on earth, no Saviour nor Sanctifier beyond the grave. Let the righteous know also, who have faithfully adhered to him through all the temptations and persecutions of the world, that the time draws nigh when their conflicts shall be ended, and they shall be immutably confirmed in righteousness and true holiness. And now the solemn warning of his near approach is repeated, accompanied with a declaration that "his reward is with him, and that he will give every man according as his work shall be." The character assumed by the Judge, that of " Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last," while it as certains his proper divinity, conveys an im pressive idea of the proceedings of that day. It is equal to saying, He that shall judge the world will be possessed of a divine as well as of a human nature ; and, where God is judge himself, the heavens will de clare his righteousness, — Blessed shall they be in that day who have " done his com mandments," or who, amidst the temptations and persecutions of the world, have kept his sayings. All the blessedness contained in partaking of " the tree of life," and of the glory of "the new Jerusalem," shall be theirs. — On the other hand, " dogs, and sor cerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth " and maketh a lie," are "without." Nor does this description appear to refer to ordinary sinners, of which the world is full, but rather to the enemies of the gospel, and the corrupt ers of pure religion. Thus " dogs " denote false teachers ; " sorcerers " those who have been employed in drawing away mankind by the lures of the mother of harlots ; " whoremongers " those who have commit ted spiritual fornication with her, or her daughters ; " murderers " those who have entered into her persecuting spirit ; " idola ters " those who have gone into the worship of saints and images ; and "he that -loveth and maketh a lie " is one whose heart favor ing false doctrine, has employed himself in framing and propagating it. — See chap. xxi. 8. The Lord Jesus, having from the 10th to the 16th verse addressed himself to the apostle, here turns to the churches, assuring them that all which was revealed in the foregoing prophecy was for their use. " I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches." Nor was it to those only which were then in being, but to all the churches of succeeding ages. The things contained in this prophe cy therefore are a message from Christ in his glorified state to us. And, as in refer ence to his second coming he assumed the character of " the first and the last," here he is " the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star," which names are descriptive of Him who is God in our nature, and whose coming will introduce an everlasting day of light, and joy, and glad ness. Ver. 17 — 21. Christ does not only as sume a name suited to the revelations which had been made, but draws from them the most affecting invitations and solemn warn ings ; and with these the book concludes. Reader, as if he should say, You have read of "the water of life:" you are invited to " come," and drink " freely " of it. You have read or heard of "the Spirit" that spake to the churches: he speaks also to you individually, and the sum of what he saith is, " come." You have heard of the CONCLUSION. 81 " bride," and ofthe glories prepared for her : she does not covet to enjoy these things by herself, but joins with the Spirit of inspira tion in inviting you to " come." Nay, every one that "heareth" and believeth these things is warranted to invite his neighbor. And let every one who has any regard for his own soul avoid the cup of the mother of harlots, and come to these living waters. There need be no hesitation on the score of qualifications, for it is free to all who are willing to receive it. Know also that the words of this prophecy are sacred. If any man add to them, God will add to him its plagues ; and, if any man take away from them, God will take away from him whatever he may have expected to receive of its blessings. He who testifi- eth these things saith, the third time, " Sure ly, I COME QUICKLY." To this solemn testimony of Christ the apostle adds his cordial " Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus ! " And, as he had in troduced the prophecy with an address to the seven churches, so he concludes it with the apostolic benediction : " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." CONCLUSION. The reader may ask, What are the signs of the present times ? — What judgments may yet be expected to befal the nations ? — and, What cheering prospects await the church ? If the outlines of the foregoing commen tary be just, we are now under the period of the vials, or that space of time which com mences with the sounding of the seventh angel, and terminates in the Millennium. This is a period which appears to be marked in the prophecy ; particularly in chap. x. 7, " But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." That is, in the times in which the seven vials shall be poured out the great designs of heaven concerning the overthrow of the papal Antichrist, and the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, as foretold by the prophets, shall be accomplished. This is the period in which, according to Daniel, " The thrones are pitched down, and the Ancient of days doth sit — in which they shall take away the dominion of the little horn, to consume and to destroy it unto the end." We see not yet the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ ; but we see that which is both preparatory and introductory to it. . Moreover, If the exposition of the vials by the trumpets, adopted from Dr. Gill, be Vol. 2— Sig. 11. just, we are as yet but under the second vial, which for several years has been pour ing out upon the sea, or the maritime papal nations of Spain and Portugal ; and, notwith standing what has taken place, it may be suspected that much of it is yet to come. Much has been written on the commence ment and consequent termination of the 1260 years assigned in prophecy for the con tinuance of the antichristian power. If the former could be ascertained, the latter would follow of course. Some think that they have already terminated, and others that they are on the point of doing so. But of this I think we may be certain, that unless the vials are all poured out, to which few if any will pretend, the reign of the papal Antichrist cannot have terminated, seeing they are the appointed means of its destruc tion. The finishing of "the mystery of God " (chap. x. 7) is the same as the termi nation of the 1260 years, as is evident from the corresponding passage in Dan. xii. 7, where the angel swears that it shall be for " a time, times, and a half." The pouring out of the last vial is the termination of the 1260 years : accordingly, a great voice is then heard out of the temple of heaven say ing, " It is done." — Chap. xvi. 17. It may be questioned, however, whether the precise time of the commencement and termination of this period be not purposely concealed from us. It does not appear to be the design of prophecy so to fix the time of future events as that we should know them beforehand, to a day, or a month, or a year. It deserves, moreover, to be par ticularly noticed, that those prophecies in which an exact number of years is specified are generally, if not always, covered with ob scurity in respect of the time of their accom plishment, and in some cases have appeared to have had different accomplishments. Sev enty years, for instance, were determined for the Babylonish captivity ; but, as the captives were carried away and restored at different times, it was hard to say when it began, and consequently when it ended. From the first captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, when Daniel and others were carried to Babylon, to the first restoration by the decree of Cyrus, was seventy years ; that is, from A. M. 4108 to 4178.— 2 Chron. xxxvi. 5—7, 22, 23. From the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, in the reign of Zedekiah, to the decree of Darius to restore it, was seventy years ; that is, from A. M. 4126 to 4196. — 2 Chron. xxxvi. 14 — 21, Ezra vi. And from the captivity by Nebuzaradan, which finished the desolations, to the dedi cation of the second temple, which complet ed the restoration, was seventy years ; that is, from A. M. 4130 to 4200.— Jer. Iii. 30 ; Ezra vi. 16—22. See the Tables in Pri de aux. Again, seventy weeks of years were de- 82 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. termined for the coming of Messiah ; but things were so ordered that though the weeks were well understood to mean 490 years, yet the exact time of their commence ment was not understood. A general ex pectation of him certainly did prevail about the time that he appeared, but that was all that was gathered from the prophecy, and might be all that it was intended should be gathered. Those who entertained carnal views of his kingdom were so blind as not to know it when it did appear. The phari- sees demanded of him when the kingdom of God should come. "The kingdom of God cometh (answered he) not with obser vation ; neither shall they say, Lo here ! or lo there ! for, behold, the kingdom of God is among you ! " As if he should say, The kingdom of God will not, like the kingdoms of this world, rise out of turbulence, intrigue and bloodshed, nor be accompanied with ostentation and parade. Imperceptible and gradual in its operations, it comes when you little expect it. You shall not be able to point to the place and sajL Lo it is here, or lo it is there ! Nay, little as you may think of it, it is already in the midst of you ! In some such manner as this we may look for the expiration ofthe years of Antichrist, and the coming of the kingdom of Christ in these latter days. While curiosity is gaping after wonders, and demanding, When shall these things be ? behold it will be amongst us ! The antichristian cause rose gradually, and will probably fall gradually. " They shall take away his dominion to con sume and to destroy it unto the end." Its temporal power has already been shaken and diminished; but it is reserved for the battle of Armageddon, that "great day of God Almighty," under the sixth vial, to accom plish its overthrow. And when this is done the seventh will purify the moral atmosphere of the world from its abominable principles, and so make way for the Millennium. ,When two of Christ's disciples were in quiring after the honors of his ldngdom, they were asked, "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" He would himself have to suffer before he reigned, and they must expect to suffer with him. It is true his sufferings would be but for a short time, and so might theirs ; but they required to be the immediate object of their attention. Something similar to this may b"e expected in what is before us. Some commentators have supposed the slaughter of the witnesses in ch. xi. to inti mate as much as this. I have already given my reasons for understanding that part of , the prophecy of past events : but there are other passages wliich seem to give us to ex pect that the adversary will not expire with out a deadly struggle. Thus towards the close ofthe 1260 years, in which the church is described as being in the wilderness, the dragon is represented as casting out of his mouth a " flood " after her, and as making war with her seed.— Ch. xii. 15—17. Previous ly to " the harvest and the vintage " — which synchronizing with the sixth vial, describe the utter overthrow of the antichristian powers — the patience of the saints is cele brated, and a blessing pronounced on the dead that die in the Lord.— Ch. xiv. 12, 13. Previously to tiie battle of Armageddon, the kingdoms are gathered together to fight against God.— Ch. xvi. 14. The beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, are gathered together to make war with him that sat on the horse, and against his army, and perish in an attempt to crush them. — Ch. xix. 11—21. If these events signify war between the nations, as possibly they may, yet it will be a war directed against Christ and true re ligion, and in which the church of Christ may expect a sharp persecution ; and this not merely from one, but all parties, who, like Herod and Pilate, will be made friends, and unite in such a work as this. We may think that, from the repeated blows which popery has received on the continent, it will never be able to persecute to any consider able degree again ; that from the antipathy between its adherents and the patrons of in fidelity they can never again coalesce ; and that, from the dishonor which public opin ion attaches to intolerance, persecution can never more lift up its head : but we may be mistaken in all these particulars. If the temporal power of popery has diminished on the continent, its spiritual power has in creased in Britain.* If papists and the avowed enemies of religion have fallen out, it has been chiefly on political subjects, a union in which would bring them together again. We have lived to see both whigs and tdries unite in opposing a free toleration of Christian Missionaries ; and an English writer of note, who professes to be "the enthusiastic friend of freedom," though he wishes the " Catholics the utmost degree o f religious liberty," yet proposes in respect of the evangelical party, " by well-concerted and well-applied regulations, to restrain them ! " f The spirit of the beast and the false prophet certainly can and will unite with that ofthe dragon in the war with God Almighty. It is a consolation that this persecution, or this war against religion, will be the last, and of short duration : this very effort of the enemy will prove his final overthrow : our immediate inquiry, however, seems to be, Are we able, previously to our entrance on * Recent events have also revived its temporal power. N. B. Written in 1814. f Characters of the late Charles James Fox. By Philopatris Varvicensis. Eclectic Review for December, 1809, p. 1128. CONCLUSION. 83 the millennial reign of Christ, to drink of his cup, and to be baptized with his baptism ? But, though our Lord checked the as piring minds of his disciples concerning his kingdom by presenting to them a time bf trial, yet he did not fail to cheer them with the promise of glorious things beyond it. "A woman (saith he) when she is in travail hath sorrow because her hour is come : but, as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow : but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." The glory of the Millennium will more than bal ance all the trials during the 1260 years of antichristian usurpation. Nor shall we have to wait for the Millennium, nor even for the ruin of the antichristian cause, ere we see glorious times. Two hundred years have been thought to be the utmost point to which the pouring out of the vials can extend : they may terminate in less time : but, if not, there is great encouragement for the friends of Christ in the promised progress of his cause during this period. We shall not have to wait for the Millennium, I say, ere we see glorious days in respect of the suc cess of the gospel. The seventh trumpet, though it includes the vials, and in this view is a woe-trumpet, yet is introductory of good tidings to the church. At , the same time that her enemies are bleeding under the strokes of heaven, the "kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ." The pouring out ofthe vials will be to the Millennium that which the wars of David were to the pacific reign of Solomon. The servants of Christ may have to encounter great opposition ; but, as " the Lord prospered David whither soever he went," so he will prosper them. Paganism, Mahomedism, popery, and infi delity, shall fall before them. Nor shall the obstinacy of Judaism maintain its ground. The wall shall be built, though it be in troub lous times. What short of this can he inti mated by the " angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people"- — and this before the fall qf the antichristian Babylon ? — Ch. xiv. 6" — 8. What else can be meant by the song preceding the pouring out of the vials — " All nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest ? " — Ch. xv. 3, 4. The judgments referred to are those ofthe vials, or "seven last plagues" (ch. xv. 1 ;) the effect of which on the na tions will be to induce them to " come and worship" before God. They shall so " mani festly" appear to be the judgments of God against the antichristian powers, that the nations will be deeply impressed by the conviction ; and, by the concurring influence of the Holy Spirit and the "everlasting gospel," will be subdued to the obedience of faith. To the same purpose is that remarkable passage in Isa. xxvi. 9, " When thy judg ments are in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." "The church under the gospel dispensation," says an able writer, " is in this and the preceding chapter the principal subject of prophecy. Zion is introduced singing. A song is al ways in the prophecies a symbol of the en largement of the church. Inverses 17, 18, she complains of feeble and ineffectual efforts in extending the interests and king dom of her Redeemer: 'We have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.' She receives in answer the consoling prom ise of a period when she shall make vigorous and successful exertions, and no longer complain of abortive labors ; when converts numerous as the morning dew shall join her, standard: 'Thy dead shall live.' — 'Awake and sing — thy dew is as the dew of herbs.' No season or time is particularly ascertain ed when this promise will be accomplished; but another event is foretold, and immedi ately connected with this. A judgment, a singular judgment, inflicted as the punish ment of a peculiar and enormous crime, is mentioned. The event is represented as inevitable ; the Lord's people may not pray for its removal, but are directed to fly to their chambers, and hide themselves until the indignation be overpast. ' For behold the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniqui ty : the earth also shall d'sclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain ! ' The terms here used, compared with parallel expressions in the Revelation, put it beyond a doubt that the blood of the martyrs is in tended, and the punishment predicated is the avenging of that blood. This is introduced as a coetaneous event with the enlargement of the church. Whenever that precious blood begins to be avenged, then Zion will sing of mercy as well as judgment ; then a new and prosperous ministry will arise in the church, and her borders be widely ex tended." * If the "punishment" referred to at the close of the twenty-sixth chapter of Isaiah be that which is appointed for the antichris tian Babylon for her having shed the blood of the martyrs, in which not only this writer but almost all our ablest commentators are agreed, the ninth verse doubtless refers to the same events. The pouring out of the vials are the "judgments" which while they are in the earth the inhabitants of the world * Dr. Livingstone's Sermon on Rev. xiv. 6, before the New York Miss. Soc. April 3,, 1804. 84 EXPOSITION OF THE APOCALYPSE. will learn righteousness. Many judgments have been in the earth without producing this effect ; but the Lord will in this instance accompany them with his word and Spirit, and so render them effectual to salvation. The same things in substance are taught us in Rev. xix. 11 — 19, where, prior to the last struggle with the beast and the false prophet, Christ is described as " going forth upon a white horse, and as being followed by the armies of heaven on white horses." And when their enemies, provoked by their success, shall gather together in order to oppose their progress, they themselves shall fall to rise no more. The period of the vials being a season of warfare, it is in this, rather than in the Mil lennium itself, that we are to look for the most distinguished victories over error, superstition, and irreligion. The Millennium is a reign ; but a reign presupposes posses sion of the throne, and that, in cases where it has been previously occupied by an ene my, a victory. It is in this period therefore that we are to look for the overthrow of paganism, Mahomedism, popery, and infi delity ; and towards the close of it may ex pect the malignant opposition of the Jews to give place to the gospel. The glorious millennial rest will not commence while such an enemy remains unsubdued. The marriage-supper of the Lamb must include the children of Abraham in its train. The return of this long-lost prodigal will height en the joy of the feast, and be as life from the dead. Supposing the period of the vials to have commenced within the last five-and-twenty years, let it be considered whether the aspect of the times do not correspond with what we are given to expect. It must of necessity be a period of unprecedented wars ; and, if those wars are designed of God to avenge the blood of the martyrs, it may be expected they should have a kind of special direction given them towards the countries where that blood has been principally shed. How far this is applicable to late events it is easy to judge. It must also be a period of extraordinary prayer and unprecedented exertion for the spread of the gospel. - It is during this period that " the kingdoms of the world are to be come the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ." But the accomplishment of such mighty moral changes is not to be expected by any other than the means above mention ed. When the Lord buildeth up Zion he regards the prayer of the destitute; and when his servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor her dust, then the time to favor her, even the set time, is come. — Ps. cii. 14 — 17. Had we been more importunate in prayer we might have been more successful ; but, with all our imperfections, the prayer of faith has been presented and heard! God hath given the word, and, compared with former times, great is the company of those that publish it. Can we overlook that providence which has been raising up nu merous societies and plans, some for teach ing the poor to read, and others for furnish ing them with books, especially with the oracles of God ? Ought we to overlook the translation of the Scriptures into the various' languages of the east ; or the circulation of them through the earth in such a degree as perhaps was never before known ? Can we be inattentive to the desire after evangelical preaching which prevails, not in one or two countries only, but almost every where ? If our Lord concluded, from the flocking of the Samaritans to hear the word, that "the fields were white already to harvest," are we not warranted to draw the same conclusion ? Let us observe the state of the public mind a little before the coming of Christ, and compare it with its present state. "The people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts whether John were the Christ or not." And who that is not blind to the operations of God's hand does not muse in his heart whether the extra ordinary changes which have of late years taken place in the world do not indicate something great to be pending — whether, notwithstanding the many venders of false prophecies, and mistaken comments on the true, there be not a body of genuine and important prophecies fulfilling and about to be fulfilled — whether some of the convul sions among the nations may not issue in what is foretold of the restoration of the Jews — and, finally, whether all that is going on be not a preparing the way of the Lord, and making straight his paths ? Look at the blessing already attending the various attempts to propagate the gospel. To some it may appear a " day of small things ; " but, if God does not despise it, it will increase. , Already have we been pro voked to jealousy by Hindoos and Hotten tots : nor is this all ; look at our fleets and armies : did we ever before hear of so many lovely groups of Christian people amongst them ? It would seem as if God had begun with these publicans and sinners to shame the rest of the nation. Finally : If these be not sufficient, look at the state of mind amongst the enemies of religion. Do not their hearts fail them, like those of the Canaanites before Joshua and his army ? Why do the brahmans trem ble for their gods ? and why are practical unbelievers afraid of godliness, whether in or out of the establishment ? It is pleasant to observe, while endeavouring to stigma tize it under the name of "Methodism," how despondingly they confess their inability to arrest its progress.* Surely these are tokens for good to the church of Christ. * See Edinburgh Review, No. XXII., p. 241, Art. Methodism. CONCLUSION. 85 On the period of the vials being closed, that of the Millennium will commence. "The Lord gave Solomon rest round about fkim all his enemies ; " and the Lord will now give rest to his people from theirs. It is probably in allusion to his quiet and pacific reign that that of the Messiah is denominat ed a rest — " His rest shall be glorious." — Isa. xi. 10. Then wars and oppressions will cease ; then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold of the image, being' broken to pieces, and become like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, the stone that smote it will have become a great moun tain, and shall fill the whole earth ; then the judgment having sat upon the little horn, and his dominion being taken away, " the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose Idngdom is an ever lasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. Amen." added in 1814. The above was written in 1810 or 1811, since which time the tide of human affairs has taken another turn. A mighty change has taken place in Europe, in favor of 'old establishments, and so in favor of popery We have seen the inquisition, which had been suppressed in Spain, revived ; and the pope, whose temporal power had been taken away, restored. But, as the foregoing expo sition rests not on any hypothesis formed from passing events, so it is not materially affected by them. The direction that things have taken as it relates to the liberation of nations, and their restoration to peace and independence, must needs be grateful to every friend of humanity and justice : and though the papal cause may hereby regain some of its former ascendency, yet this may be but for a short time, and that it may be destroyed for ever. These tides in human affairs may be permitted, as by a flux and reflux of the ocean, to wash away those things which it is the purpose of heaven to destroy. The antichristian power may rise and fall repeatedly before it falls to rise no more. Irrespective of prophecy, it is easy for an observant mind to perceive that, not withstanding the political advantages which have arisen from recent changes to most of the papal nations, yet they are not at ease. There remains in them the seeds of discon tent and of future wars. Look at the state of Spain, in particular. — Popery must be what it always has been, a persecuting ene my of true religion, or nothing. The prepon derating powers of Europe, by restoring its authority, and recommending it to exercise a liberal government, suited to the times, have done all perhaps that was in their power towards lengthening out its tranquillity ; but it is in vain. We would have healed Babylon, they may say, but she is no.'B HEALED ! EXPOSITION SERMON ON THE MOUNT. SECTION 1. ON THE BEATITUDES. Matt. ». 1—12. Ver. 1, 2. We have already had a gener al account of our Saviour's ministry (iv. 23;) but here the evangelist informs us of his doctrine. Of this the sermon on the mount is an important specimen. Observe, First : The occasion of this sermon — it was on see ing- the multitudes that he betook himself forthwith to a convenient place to instruct them. Christ never beheld a multitude of people without sentiments of compassion. It was on seeing the Samaritans coming down the hills to hear the word, that he told his disciples the fields were white already to har vest, and, like Abraham's servant, refused to eat bread till he told his tale. Secondly : The place — He went up into a mountain. Mountains were commonly covered, at least in part, with wood. Hence they afforded secrecy and retirement. In, or among, these mountain woods, the defeated forces of the five kings found shelter.— Gen. xiv. 10. Thither also the spies fled and hid themselves three days, when they departed from the house of Rahab the harlot- — Josh. ii. 22. The object of our Saviour was retirement. See ing multitudes of people who wished to hear him, he drew them away from the interrupt ing concerns of cities and towns, into a place where all was still, solemn, and impressive. Thirdly : The posture — He sat and taught them. This is said to have been the usual posture of eminent teachers among the Jews. It certainly was befitting the majesty of this teacher, who taught as one having authority — as a judge, rather than as a counsellor. Fourthly : He spoke in the hearing of all, but with a special respect to Ms disciples. Not that our Saviour confined his preaching to believers ; but this discourse seems to have been principally addressed to them. Having lately called his disciples, it was his intention to instil into their minds, at the outset, right sentiments. At the same time, if the multi tudes mixed faith in hearing, they would be no less profited by it than if it had been immediately addressed to him. Our Saviour begins his sermon by de claring who were blessed ; and, considering him as the future judge of the world, an ex traordinary importance attaches to his de cisions. It is observable, in general, that the characters which he pronounces blessed are not those accounted so by the world : on the contrary, they are such as the world hate, despise, and persecute. On this ac count all these beatitudes possess the air of paradox. It is also observable that it was our Saviour's manner of preaching to exhibit marks or signs of grace, and to pronounce those, and those only, who possess them, in a blessed state. The offer of salvation was made to every creature ; but the blessings were promised only to believers. Some have pretended that marks and signs are no cer tain evidences of grace ; and that this is a le gal and dangerous way of preaching, as tend ing to lead men to look into themselves for comfort ; but, so far as comfort proceeds from evidence of our interest in the divine favor, it must imply a consciousness of our being the subjects of those spiritual dispositions to wliich tiie promises are made. It is true the first genuine comfort which a soul possesses is by directly believing in Christ ; or from a view of what he is, rather than from any thing in himself: for it is impossible that he should be conscious of any good in himself, till he has believed in him. I may add, it is equally true that the richest consolations to THE BEATITUDES. 87 a believer are derived from the same source ; namely, from beholding the glory of Christ, and of salvation through his name. But there is no contradiction between this and his knowing himself to be interested in that salvation, by an habitual consciousness of his possessing those dispositions, or sustaining those characters, to which it is promised. " Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him." If our hearts condemn us of hypocrisy, much more will the all -searching eye of God : but, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. — 1 John iii. 19 — 21. Ver. 3. The first of these beatitudes is pronounced on the poor in spirit. — Many seem to think that because they are poor in circumstances, or great sufferers in this world, therefore they shall be blessed in another : but this will prove a fatal mistake. Nor is every kind of poverty of spirit that which the Lord approves. The Laodiceans were censured for being poor ; and the same censure falls on multitudes in the present day. It is, not what we are, but what we are in our own estimation, that is here intend ed ! To be poor in spirit is the opposite of being proud in spirit, or rich and full in our own eyes. He who trusts in his own right eousness, his own wisdom, his own strength, or his own inherent graces, has this lesson yet to learn : and, let me add, it is a lesson that none can learn but he that is taught of God. A lowly spirit is one of the most dif ficult things in the world to assume, where it is not possessed. — The blessing pronounced is suited to encourage them under the con tempt of the present world, and to teach them to bear it with patience. An everlast ing kingdom awaits them ; and even in the present state they have received a kingdom that shall not be moved. Ver. 4. The next blessing is on the mourner. — The mourning to which Christ promises comfort must be restricted to that which is spiritual ; as mourning on account of our own sins, or the sins of others, or for any thing by which the name of the Lord is dishonored, or his cause injured or impeded. We are hereby taught, First: The folly of measuring the profitableness of preaching by the degrees of comfort which it affords us. We may not go to hear in a condition for the gospel to comfort us. Conviction may be more necessary for us than comfort. If the gospel comfort those that mourn, that is all which it professes to do. Secondly : The connection between godly sorrow and gospel joy. We have heard much of the gospel containing comfort for the mere sin ner; and if, by the mere sinner, be meant one that has nothing to plead but the mercy of God, through the atonement, like the pub lican in the parable, it is for such, and only such, that the gospel contains consolation. But if, by the mere sinner, be meant the im penitent though distressed sinner, it has no comfort for such in their present state. Re pentance is necessary to forgiveness, in the same sense as faith is necessary to justifica tion ; for it is not possible for a sinner either to embrace the Saviour, or prize the con solations of the gospel, while insensible to the evil of sin. There is no grace in the gospel, but upon the supposition that God" is in the right, and that sin is exceedingly sin ful ; and consequently none to be perceived ox prized. Ver. 5. The next blessing is on the meek. — The word signifies gentle, humble, lowly. Every grace, however, has its semblance. There is a kind of meekness, as well as of mourning, which is merely natural or con stitutional. A lamb-like temper is a bless ing, and, however it may be despised by the hectoring spirits of this world, it is highly advantageous to society : but the gentleness of a renewed mind is a different thing, and has the promise of different blessings. Saul of Tarsus was naturally violent : but, being apprehended of Jesus, he came to him, took his yoke, and learned his spirit. This is that spirit which receives the engrafted word ; which insures our being guided in judgment ; which is an ingredient in the wisdom from above ; which submits to God under adverse providences ; which stands aloof from noise, contention, and clamor, and renders our religion still and affection ate ; wliich, in fine, is the ornament of Christians, and causes them to resemble the myrtle trees that grew in the valley, and had the Lord among them. — But how is it that such characters should have the promise of inheriting the earth ? It seems to be sup posed that in one respect they have but little of it. But, First : Meekness of spirit is connected with rest to the mind ; and this makes much of a little. The proud and restless do not inherit the earth, though it be in their hand. The humble Christian has far more enjoyment in a cottage than they can have in distressing and dividing the world. " A little with the fear of the Lord is better than great treasure, and trouble therewith." Secondly : The meek ones shall have the rule of the world in God's due time. — Dan. vii. 27. Nor need they lay aside their meekness or engage in revolu tionary schemes to accomplish it : God will revolutionize the world, by planting fear in the hearts of princes as well as subjects, and then tlie work is done ; and Christian principles will govern the nations. Ver. 6. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness," &c— It is a truth that the obedience of Jesus unto death, which is the righteousness on account of which believers are justified, is the object of their most intense desire ; but, as this is 88 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. less introduced prior to its being actually wrought than afterwards, I doubt not but that the term in this place refers to the uni versal prevalence of righteousness in the mind and in the world. Unbelievers are hungering and thirsting, but it is after car nal and worldy gratifications. Some thirst for gold, and care not much by what means they obtain it ; others may be more scrupu lous on this head, yet it is chiefly on account of their own honor. Self, in one shape or other, is the idol in the heart of every sinner. What then is true religion ? An earnest desire to do right, and to see righte ousness toward God and toward man prevail in the earth. Hence arise the heliever's desires for the spread of Christ's kingdom, his sighs for the evils among men, and his secret moans over those of his own heart. — It is a source of great joy that, while those who hunger and thirst after the world are disappointed, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. The way to have our desire is for the mind to be one with the mind of God. Ver. 7. " Blessed are the merciful," &c. — This character respects our dispositions towards men. It is that kindness and good ness which feels the miseries of others, not only as our fellow-creatures, but as God's creatures, and, it may be, the purchase of the Saviour's blood. There is a principle of compassion in that mutual affection which God has planted in all men, and even in animals towards their kind : and where it is cherished by the grace of God, or even by an enlightened conscience, it is produc tive of great and good effects to society. The true knowledge of God, as taught among the Israelites, had such an influence upon Ahab and his predecessors that, idola ters as they were, its effects were not wholly obliterated ; for the kings of the house of Israel were still known and acknowledged among the heathen as merciful kings. The same effects are seen to this day in countries where the gospel is preached, compared with those where it is not preached. This is certainly to the honor of religion, and af fords much cause for thankfulness. It must not, however, be confounded with that spirit of which our Saviour speaks. True religion may cherish natural affection, and false re ligion quench it : but its proper origin is not religion, but creation. That merciful spirit to which Christ annexes the blessing is an effect ofthe grace of God, or of love written upon the fleshly tables of the heart. Christ was full of compassion ; and, as we learn of him, we feel as he felt. An unmerciful spirit is inconsistent with true religion. — Whatever pretences we may make to or thodoxy, or to devotion, if we show no mer cy to the poor and the afflicted, we shall on a future day meet with judgment without mercy. But he who imbibes the merciful spirit of Jesus,, and acts upon the principles upon which he acted, shall obtain mercy. He shall seldom want a sympathizing friend in this world; and, what is infinitely more, shall obtain mercy of the Lord another day. Ver. 8. " Blessed are the pure in heart," &c. — The import of this phrase, I take it, is much the same as what we mean by pure intention, or godly simplicity. It is the op posite of subtilty and duplicity. Genuine Christianity lays aside, not only malice, but guile and hypocrisy. It is not enough to be pure in words, nor in outward deportment, and still less to be pure in our own eyes ; for all this' may consist with inward wickedness. True religion has its seatin the heart, whence are the issues of life. — Purity is a quality but little esteemed in the world. Men bless the subtle, rather than the simple-hearted ; but Christ judges otherwise : the one may suc ceed in his measures, and rise high in things of this life ; but the other shall see God, and stand accepted in his presence. Ver. 9. " Blessed are the peace-makers," &c. — As one of the ways in which lust op erates is by breeding divisions, contentions, strifes, wars, and the like, and thus diffusing death through every vein of society ; so one of the ways in which true religion operates is by preventing, or allaying them. The desire of such persons is not merely to avoid giving or taking offence, and to stand aloof from the quarrels of the neighborhood ; but, if possible, by a wise, temperate, and friend ly interference, to heal them at an early stage. It is a great blessing to a church, a neighborhood, or a nation, to have such cha racters among them. There is no calcula ting the mischiefs which have raged in these different departments of society, and which might have been prevented by listening to a few words from a pacific friend. — The bless edness pronounced on these characters is the honor of being called " the children of God ; " and this no doubt because they re semble him. He that seeks peace on pure and honorable principles is of God's mind, acting on the same principles as God acts in reconciling the world to himself through Jesus Christ. Ver. 10 — 12. " Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake," &c. — It is a strong proof of human depravity that men's curses and Christ's blessings should meet on the same persons. Who would have thought that a man could be persecuted and reviled, and have all manner of evil said of him, for righteousness' sake ? And do wicked men really hate justice, and love those who defraud and wrong their neighbor ? No ; they do not dislike righte ousness as it respects themselves : it is only that species of it which respects God and religion that excites their hatred. If CHARACTER OF CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIAN MINISTERS. 89 Christians were content with- doing justly, and loving mercy, and would cease from walking humbly with God, they might go through the world, not only in peace, but with applause : but he that will " live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.'" Such a life reproves the ungodliness of men, and provokes their resentments Persecu tion is not confined to those acts of violence whieh are sanctioned by law, and affect liberty, property, or life ; but extends to slanderous and reproachful language, and every other way in which enmity is ex pressed. Through the goodness of God we have been long protected from legal perse cution ; but the enmity of the serpent will find ways of expressing itself. If, from the most disinterested compassion, you warn your wicked neighbors of their danger, you will be called disturbers ofthe peace ; crimes will be imputed to you of which you are in nocent; and even your best actions ascribed to the worst motives. If you model your rehgion by the word of God, and pay no regard to human establishments any further than as they agree with it, you may expect to be represented as enemies to government, a discontented sort of people, "turning the world upside down." A view of such a state of things, to one that is weak in faith, may appear discouraging; but there is no just cause for being cast down. Only see to it that whatever you suffer be " for righteous- mess' sake," and that all the evil which is said of you be false, and for Christ's sake, and, instead of being discouraged, you will have reason to " rejoice and be exceedingly glad." Unbelievers may tell you that this is extravagant and impossible, and that no man can be happy in such circumstances ; but it is not so. The primitive Christians entered into the spirit of their Lord's doc trine, "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name's sake." When to this is added the promised "king dom," the "reward in heaven" which awaits those that overcome, miserable as your lot may be accounted by the world, it will be found to be not only preferable to that of your persecutors, but even to that of such Christians as, by yielding in a measure to the world, escape a few of its censures. You have more satisfaction, and consequently more happiness, in this fife ; and your re ward in heaven will be greatly augmented : for, if afflictions in general " work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," much more those which we have suffered for righteousness' sake. Every wodhd received in this warfare will then be a scar of honor: a seed, productive of a harvest beyond all our present conceptions. SECTION II. ON THE CHARACTER OF CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIAN MINISTERS. Matt. ». 13—16. Ver. 13. " Ye are the salt of the earth," &c. — This character, I conceive, applies to the disciples, both as Christians and as Christian ministers. There are three things observable. First : Their use as a preservative. — The world is corrupt, and, if left to itself, would in a little time work its own ruin ; but as the Lord of hosts had a seed in Israel, who other wise would have been as Sodom and Go morrah, so he has a people scattered over the towns, cities, and nations of the earth, who to them are that which salt is to a sub stance tending to putrefaction. The influ ence which a few people, who imbibe the gospel and act up to its principles, have upon the consciences and conduct of others, is much beyond calculation. Had the ruling powers of France been friendly to the ser vants of Christ in the seventeenth century, it might have prevented the horrors of a revo lution in the eighteenth; but, having de stroyed or banished them, nothing was left to counteract the torrent of infidelity; which, being natural to the carnal mind, and cherished by popery, had before risen to a great height, and now overwhelmed the country. Humble and serious Christians, though often accused of being inimical to civil government, are in reality its best friends; while those governments which persecute them are their own enemies. Secondly: Their value as consisting in their savor. — There are many things which, though useless for one purpose, yet may be very useful for another : but things which, by possessing only one distinguishing prop erty, are designed for a single specific pur pose, if that property be wanted, are good for nothing. It is thus with the vine, as to bearing fruit. If other trees were barren, yet their trunks might be applied to various uses : but, if a vine be barren, it is good for nothing but to be burnt.— Ezek. xv. 1 — 6. The same may be said of salt. Many things which have ceased to be good for food, may yet be useful for manure: but salt, if it once lose its savor, is good for nothing : it is fit for neither the land nor the dunghill. And thus if Christians lose their spirituality, or Christian ministers cease to impart the savor of the heavenly doctrine, of what use are they ? of what in the family ? — of what in the church? — of what in the world? _ _ Thirdly : Their irrecoverable condition on having lost their savor. It is true all things' are possible with God ; but where persons, after having professed the name of Christ and in some cases preached his word, turn Vol. 2.— Sie. 12. 90 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. back, or go into another gospel, there is lit tle hope of them, and indeed none from the ordinary course of things. Salt may recover .unsavory meat; but what is to recover un savory salt ? Ver. 14—16. "Ye are the light of the world," &c. — This character implies that the world, notwithstanding its attainments in science, is in a state of darkness ; and that the only true light that is to be found in it is that which proceedeth from Christ. It may seem too much for our Saviour to give that char acter to his disciples which he elsewhere claims as his own. The truth is, He, as the sun, shines with supreme lustre, and they, as the moon, derive their light from Him, and reflect it on the world. As ministers, it is for them to show unto men the way of salvation ; and, as Christians, to set the ex ample of walking in it. On this account they require to be conspicuous. There is indeed a modesty in true religion, which, so far as respects ourselves, would induce us to steal through the world, -if possible, un noticed ; but this cannot be : Christians be ing diverse from all people in their principles and pursuits, all eyes will be upon them. They are as " a city set upon a hill, which cannot be hid." Their faults, as well as their excellences, will be marked both by friends and enemies. Nor is it desirable it should be otherwise. Light is not intended to be hid, but exposed for the good of those about it. On this account we must even be concerned to let our light shine before men ; not by any ostentatious display of ourselves, but by a practical and faithful exhibition of the nature and effects ofthe gospel, by which our heavenly Father is glorified. It is not merely by words, but works, that gospel light is conveyed to the consciences and hearts of men. There is another saying of our Lord in another place, nearly akin to this, though under a different image. "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit: so shall ye be my disciples." The glory of a husbandman does not arise from his fields or vines bearing fruit, but much fruit. A few ears of corn in the one, nearly choked with weeds, or here and there a branch, or a berry, on the other, while the greater part is covered with leaves only, would rather dishonor than honor him. And thus it is in spiritual fruitfulness. A little religion often dishonors God more than none. An undecisive spirit, halting between God and the world, walking upon the con fines of good and evil, now seeming to be on the side of God, and now on that of his adversaries, causes his name to be evil spoken of much more than the excesses ofthe irre ligious. Hence we may see the force of the rebuke to Laodicea : "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." It is also intimated that without bearing much fruit we are unworthy to be considered as Christ's disciples. He was indeed a fruitful bough. His life was filled with the fruits of love to God and man. It behoves us either to imitate his example or forego the profession ofhis name. The glory of God being manifested by the good works of his children implies that they are all to be ascribed to him as their proper cause. Though we act, he actuates. A mind set on things too high for it may deny the consistency of this with the free- agency and accountableness of creatures ; but the humble Christian will turn it to a better use. " Thou wilt ordain peace for us, for thou hast wrought all our works in us." SECTION III. ON THE PERPETUITY AND SPIRITUALITY OP THE MORAL LAW. Matt. v. 17—32. Ver. 17 — 19. It might appear to some of our Lord's disciples as if he intended to set aside the religion which had been taught by Moses and the prophets, and to introduce an entirely new state of things. It was true indeed that he would abolish the ceremonial law, and explode all dependence upon the works of any law for acceptance with God, as indeed Moses and the prophets had done before him ; but it was no part of his design to set aside the law itself. Being about to correct various . corruptions which had ob tained among the Jews, he prefaces what he has to say by cautioning them not to miscon strue his design, as though he were setting himself against either Moses or the prophets, neither of whose writings were at variance with his kingdom, but preparatory to it. So far from his having any such design, he, with the most solemn asseveration, declares the law to be of perpetual obligation. Such also was his regard for it that if any one professing to be a minister in his kingdom should break the least of its precepts, and teach others to make light of it, he should be as little in the eyes of his Lord as the precept was in his eyes ; while, on the con trary, those ministers who should practise and inculcate every part of it should have his highest approbation. Ver. 20. Having made these declara tions by way of introduction (and to which we may have occasion hereafter to refer,) our Lord proceeds to denounce the system of pharisaical religion, and to exhibit in con trast with it that of Moses and the prophets, which, purified from all corrupt glosses, he recommends to his followers. In general he declares that, " except their righteous ness exceed that of the scribes and phari- PERPETUITY AND SPIRITUALITY OF THE MORAL LAW. 91 sees, they could in no case enter the kinrr- dom of heaven." This, at the time, must have been a most extraordinary and alarm ing declaration. The scribes and pharisees were the reputed models of strict religion. The common people seem to have thought that men in general could not be expected to attain the heights of purity to which they had arrived. If, therefore, any had attached themselves to Jesus, in hopes of obtaining a little more latitude than was allowed them by their own teachers, they would find them selves greatly mistaken. For not only did he inculcate an equal, but even a superior degree of strictness to that which they practised. Nor did he, by righteousness, mean that which was imputed to them for justification; but that judgment, mercy, and love of God, of which the scribes and phari sees, with all their tenacity for forms and ceremonies, were wofully destitute. In proof of the gross defectiveness of the Pharisaical system of morality, he goes on to account for it, by convicting its authors of having by their glosses, in a course of time, greatly corrupted the law : and this must have cut the deeper on account of an attachment to the law being their principal pretext for opposing him. Ver. 21, 22. The first example alleged is the sixth commandment, " Thou shalt not kill." All that the pharisees understood by this was a prohibition of the act of mur der : but our Lord insists that the command ment, taken from its true intent, prohibited not only the overt act, but every evil work ing of the mind, which led to it ; such as causeless anger, with contemptuous and provoking language. This was going to the root or principle of things. The differ ent degrees of punishment here referred to allude doubtless to the courts of justice among the Jews ; and express not merely what sin was in itself as a breach of the divine law (for in that sense all sin exposes to hell fire,) but how many degrees of evil there were, short of actual murder, which would endanger a man's salvation. Ver. 23, 24. Of this doctrine our Lord proceeds to make some practical uses, by applying it to certain cases. First, he en forces speedy reconciliation with an offended brother. — Be sure there be no enmities rank ling in thy bosom from day to day, every one of which is murder in embryo ; nor let any conduct of thine be the cause of their rank ling in the bosom of another. The best means" of preventing both is to examine thyself in thy most solemn approaches to God : for then, if ever, the conscience is tender, and likely to bring to remembrance what is wrong between thee and thy broth er. — What must I do, say you, who have offended my brother ? Must I not worship God nevertheless ? No, not in that state, for God will not accept of thy gift. What then, must I keep away ? No ; but go im mediately to thy brother, and acknowledge thy fault, or, if no offence were intended, explain matters to him, and, thus being reconciled to thy brother, then come and offer thy gift.— If the door of God's house were shut against every one who refused to comply with this direction, it would make many feel : yet the door of mercy, or divine acceptance, is shut ; which is of far greater account. It is observable that the exhor tation is given to the offender, and the term reconciled is not expressive of a con ciliatory spirit on his part, but of its effect upon his brother. The meaning of it is, Be restored to thy brother's favor. And this is the sense in which the word is sometimes used on a higher subject, namely, that of reconciliation to God. We are often told by the adversaries of the atonement that God is never said to be reconciled to us by the death of Christ, but to have reconciled us to himself by it. This is true ; but the term in this connection does not mean his appeasing our anger by offering us mercy through Christ; but his making his soul an offering for sin, and thereby restoring us to his favor. Hence God's having re conciled us to himself by Christ is alleged as a motive to our being, as to the state of our minds, reconciled to him. — 2 Cor. v. 18—20. Ver. 25. From the case of an offended brother, he proceeds to that of an adversary, recommending a speedy agreement with him also. The law of love, if truly com plied with, would promote universal peace. But a small difference, where there is little or no love to counteract it, often terminates in mutual and settled dislike ; and, being accompanied with a proud reluctance to con cession, litigations and contentions frequent ly follow, to which death only puts a period. But what is this ? It is murder ! — And wouldst thou wash thy hands from thy neighbor's blood? Go then, and be at peace with him! Human prudence would recommend a timely agreement for thine own sake : let religion, let benevolence, even to thine adversary, recommend it for his. Say not, Our differences shall be tried before legal judges, whatever be the con sequences ; but offer just and generous terms whilst thou art in the way with him, that if the breach can be healed it may, or, if not, that the fault may not lie at thy door. It were desirable that there were no strife among us, and, if we loved one another as God's law requires, there would be none : but, seeing it is otherwise, the same princi ple which in innocent creatures would operate to prevent it must in guilty crea tures operate to heal it. Ver. 27, 28. Having taken an example from the sixth commandment, and reproved the pharisaical system with respect to sins 92 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. of the mind, our Lord proceeds to the seventh, and detects the sins of the flesh. They had heard that it was said to them of old time, " Thou shalt not commit adultery ; " and they had heard the truth : but the phar isaical glosses would confine its meaning, as in the former instance, to outward actions ; whereas, in its true intent, it comprehended the inward affections of the mind, censuring the wanton look and the impure desire. The pharisees were worldly men, and the religion of such men is merely political : so far as good and evil affect society, they feel in some degree ; but, as to the honor of God, they have no concern about it. Ver. 29, 30. As Christ had turned his former decision to practical use, so he does the present one. " If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, or, if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off," &c. The word rendered offend, in this and several other passages in the New Testament, does not mean to dis please, but to cause to offend, and so it is rendered in the margin. The meaning is not, If they displease thee ; but if, by becom ing a stumbling-block or snare to thy soul, they cause thee to offend God, &c. Neither was it our Lord's design that we should literally go about to maim our bodies ; but he hereby teaches us either that we had better be without eyes or hands than to employ them in wantonness, or that we must on pain of eternal damnation give up those companions, situations, or pursuits, though dear to us as right eyes, or right hands, which prove a snare to our souls. The tremendous consequences held up to induce such sacrifices teach us that a single lust persisted in will issue in eternal ruin, and that it is necessary even for those whom the Lord may know to be the heirs of salva tion, in certain situations, to be threatened with damnation, as the means of preserving them from it Ver. 31, 32. Under the head of adultery there occurred another case, namely, that of divorce, in which the pharisaical doctrine had greatly corrupted the law. In this case our Saviour may seem to depart from the law of Moses rather than to expound it ;- and true it is that he took for his standard, in this instance, the original law of creation, to which it was his design, under the gospel dispensation, to bring his followers. This law, however, as well as the other, was given by Moses : and the difference between them he elsewhere accounts for, by alleging that Moses rather suffered divorce than required it, and that because of the hardness of their hearts. In what he now taught, therefore, he was not against the mind of Moses or of God, neither of whom approved of divorce, except in case of fornication ; but barely permitted it to prevent a greater evil. And though the law respecting mar riage, as given to Israel, was less pure than the original law of creation, yet it was much purer than it had since become in the hands of pharisaic expositors, through whom divor ces were become so common, as, in a man ner, to deluge the land with adultery. SECTION IV. ON OATHS. Matt. v. 33—37. What our Lord says of swearing may have respect to the third commandment, in which we are forbidden to " take the name of the Lord our God in vain." It had also been said, " Thou shall not swear by my name falsely ; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God." And again, " If a man vow a vow unto the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that pro ceedeth out of his mouth." To these pas sages, and to the construction wliich had been put upon them, our Lord seems to have alluded in what he here teaches. Many have supposed that oaths of ev ery kind are here forbidden, and therefore refuse in any form, or on any occasion, to take them. To determine this question, we must have recourse to the principles laid down at the outset of the sermon. " Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets ; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heav en and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the the law, till all be fulfilled," ver. 17, 18. The question is, then, whether oaths of any kind belonged to tlie law, or whether they arose from the false glosses of the elders ? If the former, it was not Christ's design to destroy tliem ; but, if the latter, it was. That they were a part of the divine law, and not of merely human au thority, is sufficiently manifest from Deut. vi. 13, " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt sioear by his name." Consequently, it was not our Lord's design to destroy them. If it be objected that, though Christ did not destroy the moral law, yet there were various precepts pertaining to tlie ceremonial and judicial laws of Israel, which, on his ap pearance, ceased to be binding, and that oaths might be of this description, — I an swer, in abolishing things which had been of divine authority, he is never known to have cast reproach on them,, or to have imputed the observance of them to evil. He could not therefore be said to have destroyed even the ceremonial law, but rather to have fulfilled it. But the oaths against which he inveighs are expressly said to come of evil ; and therefore could never have been of divine authority. To this may be added, If all oaths be un lawful under tlie gospel dispensation, some ON OATHS — ON RESISTING EVIL. 93 ofthe most solemn and impressive passages wounds: and, even in protestant countries, in the epistles of Paul must be utterly wrong, these terrible oaths are turned into exclama- "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus tions on many a trivial occasion. The word Christ, who is blessed for evermore, know- 'S blood, 'S wounds, &c, are no other than eth that I lie not — God is my witness, whom these old popish oaths minced, or contracted I serve in the gospel of his Son.? Each of by the dread of expressly naming the blood these is an oath, and that of the most solemn and wounds of Christ. Every person who kind; yet who ever thought of accusing the apostle of violating his Lord's precept ? The truth appears to be this — tiie Jews had construed the commandment merely as a prohibition of perjuri/ ; accounting that uses such language may not be apprised of the meaning ; but every thing of the kind cometh of evil. The same may be said of all such phrases as the following — Of faith, By my troth, Upon my soul, Upon my life, if they did but swear truly as to matters of Upon my honor, Upon my Mjord. By our fact, ov perform their oaths in case of prom- Lord's exposition of such language, in Matt. ise, all was right. They seem to have had xxiii. 16 — 22, all these modes of speaking no idea, or at most but a very faint one, of would be found to bear a relation to God, and sinning by swearing lightly. But, for an so to he a prof aning of his name. oath to be lawful, it required, not only that How opposite to all this profane jargon is the the affirmation were true, or the vow per formed ; but that such a mode of affirming or vowing were necessary. This is evident from the words ofthe divine precept, " Thou shalt not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God." simple and dignified language prescribed by our Lord, — " Let your communication be yea, yea ; nay, nay ; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." He that is conscious of a want of veracity may find it necessary to confirm his words with oaths ; but he'that Thousands of things are true wliich yet it habitually speaketh the truth will have no would be profaning the name of God to swear to. Here lay the sin wliich it was the design of Christ to reprove. He did not censure his countrymen for what was said before a magistrate, to put an end to strife ; but for what passed in their ordinary commu- nicatio-ks (ver. 37 :) that is, for light and un necessary oaths, by which the name of God was profaned. This was a sin so prevalent among the Jews, that even Christians, who were called from among them, stood in need of being warned against it. — James v. 12. It may appear rather extraordinary that any person who fears God should stand in need of these warnings ; and, if profane swearing wtere confined to expressly naming the name of God, they might be in general unnecessary among persons who had any claim to seriousness of character. But as both Jews and Christians have learned to occasion for resorting to such mean and pro fane expedients. SECTION V. ON RESISTING EVIL. Matt. 38—42. In the judicial law of Israel, it had been enacted as follows: — "If men strive and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow, he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband shall lay upon him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. And, if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth,, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." mince and soften their oaths, by leaving out This law, m the hands ofthe magistrate, was the name of God, while yet it is implied, equitable, and adapted to the general goodr and consequently profaned, such warnings nor was it our Lord s design to undermine cannot be considered as superfluous. We its authority. But, by the glosses of the perceive by our Lord's words that it was Jews, it had been perverted m favor of pri- oommon among the Jews to swear "by vate retaliation and revenge. Agamstthis heaven, by earth, by Jerusalem, by the tem- principle our Saviour inveighs. pie, by the altar, by their own head," &c. &c. They had also some curious distinc tions between swearing by the temple, and by the gold of the temple ; the altar, and the gift upon the altar ; but our Lord, look ing deep into the principles of things, con He did not complain of the law in the hands of the ma gistrate, nor forbid his followers appealing to it for the public good; but they must neither take upon them to judge of their own cause, nor repair to a magistrate from a principle of revenge ; but must keep in liii? UCCU 111LU LUG UilllLl '1^.^ K1L L1111JHO, K,\J1X . x .. 1 f* il a .1 . .1 , siders them all as amounting to the same view the good of the party, or at least that thing — the profanation of God's holy name Matt, xxiii. 16—22. It is thus that oaths are used among men calling themselves Christians. In popish countries, your ears are continually stunned by hearing people swear, not only by their denominate the latter; anrl that with the obvious saints, but by Jesus, by his blood and his intent of apologizing for them. But they are, ne- of the community. He does not crush any passion,* no not that of anger ; but merely *The passions are commonly confounded by in fidel writers with vicious propensities. The for mer is the name indeed by which they choose to 94 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. requires that it be not selfish, but subordi nate to the glory of God, and the good of mankind. And, however unbelievers may affect to deride this precept, it so approves itself to the judgment of men in general, that you shall rarely know an individual ap peal to justice, but under a profession, at least, of being influenced by some other motive than that of private revenge. With respect to the precept "turning the other cheek to him that smiteth thee," it certainly does not mean that we should court insult, or in all cases submit to it without any kind of resfitance ; for this was not the practice of our Lord himself. When unjust ly smitten before the high-priest, he did not invite the repetition of the indignity ; but, on the contrary, remonstrated against it. "If" said he, " I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil ; but, if well, why smitest thou me ? " In this remonstrance, however, he was not influenced by a spirit of retaliation, but of justice to his own character, which, under the form of striking his person, was assaulted ; and what he said had a tendency to convict the party and assembly. Such remonstrances are doubtless allowable in his followers. But the meaning of the precept is, that we render not evil for evil ; but ra ther suffer injury, and that injury to be re peated, than go about to avenge ourselves. It is the principle, rather than the act, which is kiculcated ; yet even the act itself would be right in various vcases ; and, instead of degrading the party, would raise him in the esteem of the wise and good. When Greece was invaded %y Persia, Themisto- cles, the Athenian general, by warmly urg ing a point in a council of war, is said to have so provoked the displeasure of Eury- biades, the Spartan, the commander in chief, that the latter lifted up his cane over his head in a menacing posture. " Strike, (said the noble Athenian,) but hear me ! " He did hear him, and the country was saved. And why may not a Christian act, or rather for bear to act, on the same principle, and for an infinitely greater end, even the eternal salvation of his enemies ? What else has been the language of the noble army of the martyrs from the beginning? Have they not practically said to an enraged world, Strike, but hear us ? Similar remarks might be made on the precept of giving our " cloak to him that would sue us and take away our coat." It is the principle that is to be regarded, rather than the act. It would be far from just in many cases to give place to the overbearing treatment of men, vertheless, perfectly distinct. The former belong to us as creatures ; the latter as sinners : the Scriptures regulate the one, but prohibit the other. Elias was a man of like passions with other men ; but, in praying for the giving or withholding of rain, he did not act under the influence of vicious pro pensity. as it must tend not only to ruin our own families, but to encourage the wicked in their wickedness. But the spirit here in culcated is of the greatest importance : it is that disposition which would rather put up with injury than engage in litigious contests. All strife for victory, or for the sake of hav ing our will of men, is here forbidden, as carnal and antichristian. The precept of going " two miles with him that would compel you to go with him one " teaches us to need no compulsion in works of benevolence ; but to be willing to do good to all men, even beyond their re quests. In harmony with this is the practice of " giving and lending to them that ask us." To suppose that Christ is here laying down a literal and universal rule of action would be supposing him to inculcate a practice which must soon destroy itself, by putting it out of our power either to give or lend. But by this language he recommends a kind and liberal spirit, ready to do good to the utmost of our power. Such was the spirit of Christ himself towards an impoverished world, and such is the spirit of his religion ; selfishness, in every shape and form, is anti christian. SECTION VI. ON LOVE TO ENEMIES. Matt. v. 43—48. It was written in the law of Moses, " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." The construction wliich the Jews put upon this precept is easily discerned by the question of the self-justifying lawyer, " And who is my neighbor ? " They excluded from that character heathens and Samaritans, and in deed all those of their own country who were unfriendly towards them ; and so con sidered the command to love their neighbors as allowing them to hate their enemies. In opposing this sentiment, our Lord did not oppose the law ; but merely the selfish gloss of the rabbin ; for the law did not al low of any such hatred as they Cherished. Yet, in comparing it with David's language in the Psalms, some Christian writers have seemed willing to concede that the Jewish gloss was really founded upon tlie spirit of the Old Testament, and have represented the doctrine of love to enemies as peculiar to the gospel dispensation. That it is more clearly taught and powerfully enforced by our Saviour, than it had been before, is al lowed ; but the notion of his opposing his doctrine to that of Moses or David is inad missible ; for this had been to "destroy the law," and to render the New Testament at variance with the Old. That good- will to men is both taught and ON LOVE TO ENEMIES. 95 exemplified in the Old Testament is mani fest from the joy expressed by David and the prophets, when predicting the conver sion of the heathen. They even prayed and taught their countrymen to pray for the blessing of God upon themselves in sub serviency to it. — See Psal. lxvii. ; Isa. xlix. Nor are the prayers of David against his enemies at variance with this principle. If they be, however, the New Testament is also at variance with it : for the same kind of language is used in Paul's Epistles as abounds in David's Psalms. " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed." — "Alexander, the coppersmith, did me much evil : the Lord reward him ac cording to his works ! " Much confusion has arisen, on these subjects, from not dis tinguishing between benevolence and compla cency. The one is due to all men, whatever be their character, so long as there is any possibility or hope of their becoming the friends of God: the other is not, but requires to be founded on character. The Old Tes tament writers, being under a dispensation distinguished by awful threatenings against sin, dwell mostly upon the latter, avowing their love to those who loved God, and their hatred to those who hated him ; the New- Testament writers, living under a dispensa tion distinguished by its tender mercy to sinners, dwell mostly upon the former : but neither of these principles is inconsistent with the other. We may bear the utmost good-will to men as the creatures of God, and as being within the limits of hope ; while yet, considered as the Lord's enemies, we abhor them. If we love others as we love ourselves, that is all that is required ; but the love which a Christian bears to his own soul is consistent with his abhorring himself as a sinner. Our. Lord exemplified both these dispositions at the same time. In denouncing the damnation of hell against the scribes and pharisees, you would think him void of every feeling but that of inflexi ble justice : yet, looking upon the same peo ple in reference to their approaching mise ries, he burst into a flood of tears. The same spirit possessed the apostle Paul towards his countrymen. When they rejected the gospel, he did not scruple to apply to them tlie awful prophecies of Isaiah, "Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive," &c, yet the same apostle solemnly declares that he had great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart on their behalf. So far from an abhorrence ofthe wicked in respect of their wickedness being inconsistent with genuine benevolence, it is necessary to it, The compassion that is void of this is not benevo lence, but the working of disaffection to God, and of criminal partiality towards his enemies. Benevolence has not, as observed before, an immediate respect to character; yet it considers its objects within the limits of hope, in respect to their becoming the friends of God. If a creature be a confirmed ene my to God, as in the case of devils and lost souls, true benevolence will cease to mourn over them, as it would imply a reflection upon the Creator. It is on this principle that Aaron was forbidden to mourn for his sons ' Nadab and Abihu, and that Samuel was reproved for mourning over Saul. — Lev. x. 6; 1 Sam. xvi. 1. Hence also we see in the benevolence of David and Isaiah towards the heathen (Psal. lxvii., Isa. xlix.) a pros pect of their future conversion: and, as this prospect was to be realized under the gospel dispensation, we perceive the reason of benevolence in it arising to its highest pitch. By the appearance and sacrifice of Christ, the glory of God was to be manifested in a way of good will to men, even to enemies ; angels therefore dwelt upon this idea at his birth, and the disciples were taught to cher ish it. But to bear good will to our enemies, to pity them that hate us, and to pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us, is, after all, a strange doctrine in the account of a selfish world. If the love of God be not in us, self-love, in one shape or other, will have possession of our souls. Hence infidels have treated this precept as extravagant, and imputed the conduct of Christians to affectation. Conscious, it seems, that self-love is the governing principle of their own actions, they imagine it to be the same with all others. The general preva lence also of this spirit leads them to expect little else from one another, and to act as if it were a law of nature for every one to love himself supremely, and all other beings only as they are subservient to him. Nor are infidels the only persons who have spoken and written in this strain : many of the ad vocates of Christianity have so formed their systems as to render self-love the foundation on which they rest. Neither God nor man is to be regarded but on our own account. On this principle, however, it would follow that there is no such thing as glorifying God as God, nor hating sin as sin, and that the gospel has no charms on account of its re vealing mercy in a way of righteousness, any more than if it had revealed it in a way of unrighteousness. If our love be directed merely " to that which, relieves us," it would be equally worthy of acceptation, in our account, let that relief come how it might ; and thus the character of God as "the just, and the. justifier of them that believe in Jesus," forms no part of the good news to sinful men : the glory of the gospel is no glory. There is much meaning in the words of the apostle John — "We are qf God: he 96 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. that knoweth God heareth us ; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." Every false system of religion originates and terminates in self. This is the charac ter ofthe spirit of error. But, if we be of God, we shall love him, and every image of him in creation. Those objects which bear his moral image, such as his holy law, his glorious gospel, and his renewed people, will occupy the first place in our esteem ; and those which at present bear only his natural image while there is any hope of their recovery to a right mind, will be the objects of our tender compassion, and their salvation the subject of our earnest prayers. It is thus that we manifest ourselves to be "the children of our Father who is in heav en ; " who, till sinners are fixed in a state of irreconcileable enmity to him and to the general good, " causeth his sun to rise and his rain to descend " upon them, whatever be their characters. If self-love be the spring of our religion, it is declared by our Saviour to be of no value, and that it will issue in no divine re ward. How should it be otherwise, when it differs not from the spirit of the world? The most abandoned men love those that love them. If this were true religion, we do not need to be taught it of God ; for it is perfectly suited to our depraved nature. But if true religion consists in being of the mind of God, or in being " perfect, as our Father who is in heaven is perfect," it is absolutely necessary that we be born again, or we cannot see the kingdom of God. SECTION VII. ON ALMS-GIVING, AND PRAYER. Matt. vi. 1—8. Our Saviour having detected various false glosses upon the law, and shown the spiritu ality of its requirements, proceeds to dis course on some of the most common and important duties of religion. Of these he instances alms-giving and prayer. Three things are observable from what is said of the former. — Ver. 1 — 4. First : It is taken for granted that the dis ciples of Christ were in the habit of giving alms ; and this notwithstanding they gener ally consisted of persons who labored for their subsistence. And would this bear to be taken for granted of the body of profes sors among us ? They might have said, We have enough to do to provide for our own hour,. 3 • it is for the rich, and not for laboring p> '"lo, to give alms. But feeling, as they did, for the afflicted and necessitous, especially for thoS'.* of the household of faith, they would deny themselves many .comforts for the snkp of being able to relieve them. True religion always teach es men to be merciful. Secondly: As, through the deceitfulness of the human heart, the most beneficial actions may arise from corrupt designs, and thereby be rendered not only void, but evil in the sight of God, we are warned as to our motives — "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them — do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do." In what concerns the relief of indi viduals this council will commonly apply in the most literal sense of the words. The liberality of vain men, having no other object than to be thought generous, is com monly either publicly proclaimed or exercis ed in a way that shall by some means come to the knowledge of the neighborhood; while that of the modest Christian, desirous only of approving himself to God, is done in secret. The words, however, do not apply in all cases. It is not so much the act as the principle, or motive, that our Lord condemns. If we understand it literally of the former, it would follow that nothing ought to be given in public subscriptions or collections for the poor ; for, in this, con cealment would be improper, if not impossi ble. The primitive Christians did not always conceal their donations ; but consulted and subscribed for the poor brethren at Jerusa lem. — Acts xi. 29, 30. Nor would privacy be consistent with other commandments ; particularly that in ch. v. 16, " Let your light so shine before men that others, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven." There is no evil in our works being seen of men, provided they be not done for this end, but for the glory of God. Secrecy itself may become a cloak to avarice: and it is a fact that many, by affecting to be very private in their dona tions, have contrived to keep their money to themselves, and at the same time to be thought very generous. The evil lies in the motive ; doing what we do from ostenta tion, or to be seen of men. The desire of human applause is a canker that eats out the charity of many gifts, and renders that which would otherwise be good and well pleasing to God a mere exercise of selfish hypocrisy. Thirdly: As every thing in this world bears a relation to eternity, we are remind ed of the final issue of things. If we give from ostentation, we have our reward : but if from love, and with an eye to the glory of God, " that which has been done in secret shall be rewarded openly." It is so ordered in the divine administration that the selfish soul shall be disappointed in the end; while he who seeks the good of others shall find his own. But how is it that the works of sinful creatures should be rewarded with eternal life ? In themselves considered they cannot ; and if any man think, by a series of ON PRAYER. 97 beneficent actions, to atone for the sins of his past life, and to obtain the kingdom of heaven, he will be awfully deceived. But, if he believe in Jesus, he is accepted in him ; and, being so, his offerings are accepted and rewarded, both in this world and that which is to come. From alms-giving our Lord proceeds to prayer. — Ver. 5 — 8. The former respected our conduct to men, the latter our approach es to God. And here also it is observable that it is taken for granted that Christ's dis ciples are praying men. What he says is not to persuade them to prayer, but to di rect them in it. Infidels may imagine that God does not concern himself with the affairs of mortals, and may excuse themselves by pretending that it were pre sumption in them to solicit the Supreme Being to do this or that ; formalists may say their prayers, and be glad when tlie task is over ; but Christians cannot live without communion with God. Prayer has with propriety been called the breath of the new creature. To satisfy Ananias that Saul was become a christian, it was enough to say, " Behold, he prayeth ! " What is said of the privacy of prayer will literally apply to that which is personal, or expressive of individual desire. The proper resort for this is the closet, or a place of re tirement from the interruptions and observa tions of men. A vainglorious professor may enjoy no freedom in this, because there is none to witness and admire his devotions : but the child of God is here at home, even in the presence of his Father, who heareth him in secret. If we have no freedom in private prayer, but live nearly if not entirely in the neglect of it, and at the same time possess great zeal and fluency in our public exercises, we ought surely to suspect that things are far from being right between God and our souls. The words of our Lord, however, must not be literally applied to all cases. Respect is had more to the principle of the act than to the act itself. To understand it of the latter would be to censure all public prayer, and standing in prayer, which was no part of the design. A good man might pray " stand ing in the synagogue," or even at " a corner of the street," on some occasions. Paul prayed with the Tyrian disciples, with their wives and children, and gave thanks to God, in the presence of a ship's company. That which Christ meant to censure was the lov ing to pray in public places in order to be seen of men. His object was not to appoint the place or the posture of prayer ; but to detect the vanity of the mind, and to direct his followers to seek the approbation of God, rather than the applauses of men. The motive with which these counsels are urged is very impressive : " Verily I say unto you, they have their reward !" God Vol. 2.— Sig. 13. will apportion our rewards according to the things we seek. If the objects of our de sire be confined to this world, this world shall be our all; but, if they extend to another, that other shall be our portion. What is said of "vain repetitions," and " much speaking," admits of similar remarks to that which goes before it. In general it is right to avoid long prayers, especially in the family, and in the church, which are not only wearisome to men, but offensive to God. A proper sense of the majesty of the great Supreme would cure this evil. " God is in heaven, and we on earth : therefore let our words be few." The contrary practice sa vors of heathenism. Let the devotees of Baal vociferate from morning till noon ; but let not the worshippers of Jehovah imitate them.* Our heavenly Father knoweth what things we need. If he require importunity in prayer, it is not because he needs to be per suaded ; but that his favors may be known, accepted, and prized. It is not our Lord's design, however, to condemn all long prayers, nor all repetitions. He himself, on some occasions, continued for a whole night ; and in Gethsemane he three times repeated the same words. They are vain repetitions which he cen sures, and the hope of being heard for much speaking. It is observable, -however, that whenever Christ or any of the apostles were long in prayer it was in private. If many who pray for an hour or longer in public, and with tedious repetitions, were equally circuitous in the closet, whether we should commend their discretion or not, we might hope well of their sincerity. But, where the reverse of this is true, it certainly has the appearance of the very spirit which it was our Saviour's intention to condemn. SECTION VIII. ON THE LORD'S PRAYER. Matt. vi. 9—15. This admirable summary of prayer, as in troduced by Matthew, would seem to be on ly for the purpose of illustrating, by example, the foregoing precepts. Luke, however, represents it as occasioned by our Saviour's being engaged in prayer at a certain place, and, when he ceased, one of his disciples say ing unto him, "Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." If in any thing we need divine instruction, it is in drawing near to God. It does not appear to have been Christ's design to estabhsh a form of prayer, nor that it was ever so used by the * Heathenism still retains the same character as it did in the days of Elijah. The Hindoos at this day, in worshipping the idc' Kreeshnu*,, or Hurry, will cry for hours together, without intermission, " Hurry bolo! Hurry l-.olo !" i.e. Kreeshnoo, speak ! Kreeshnoo, speak ! 98 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. disciples : but merely a brief directory as to the matter and manner of it. Such a direc tory was adapted not only to instruct, but to encourage Christians in their approaches to God. It was putting words into their mouths.. In supplicating divine mercy, they might plead, Thus and thus our Saviour taught us to say ; even he in whom thy soul delight eth : hear us for his sake ! Observe, First : The character under which we are allowed to draw near to the Lord of heaven and earth. — "Our Father." It has been a question, though I conceive it ought not, whether God is here to be considered as our Father in Jesus Christ, and not rather as our Creator ; and whether the prayer be not suited to all men, who are God's creatures, as well as to believers. That the prayer is free to every one who can cordially utter its sentiments there is no doubt : but, whatever others have done, Christ would never pre scribe a prayer suited _to an unbeliever. As the Scriptures inculcate no precept but what, if obeyed in its true intent, would prove us in the way to eternal life, so they prescribe no prayer but what, if offered up in its true meaning, would be heard and answered. It is true that God is the Father of all men by creation ; but, like prodigals, they are by sin alienated from him, and his love to them as a Creator is in a manner extinguished. He cannot consistently treat them as children, but as strangers and enemies. If strict jus tice had its course, he would " destroy man whom he hath created, from the face of the earth." The effect is, that, if any of the sons of men approach him as a Father, it must be through a mediator. The original relation is, as to any access tp him, or communion with him, dissolved. If any sinner be now treated as a child of God, it is as an adopted alien put among the children. — See John i. 13. It is no small proof that the privilege of approaching God as a Father has respect to the mediation of Christ that it is almost con fined to the gospel dispensation. To Israel, it is true, pertained the national adoption ; but this was only a shadow of that to which believers were predestinated through Jesus Christ. Old-Testament believers were no doubt related to God as a Father, as well as we ; but they were not ordinarily in the hab it of addressing him under that endearing character. The spirit of that dispensation was, when compared with ours, a spirit of . bondage. It was reserved for the times of the Messiah, in the spirit of adoption, to cry Abba, Father. The encouragement contained in this tender appellation is inexpressible. The love, the care, the pity, which it com prehends, and the filial confidence which it inspires, must, if we are not wanting to our selves, render prayer a most blessed ex ercise. Secondly: The place of the divine resi dence. — "Our Father, who art in heaven." As the endearing character of a father in spires us with confidence, this must have no less a tendency to excite our reverence; and both together are necessary to accepta ble worship. " As for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy : and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple." Fear without hope would sink us into despair; and hope without fear would raise us to presumption ; but, unit ed together, they constitute the beauty of holiness. It is not, however, for the purpose of inspiring reverence only that God is said to be in heaven, but to encourage us to con fide in his absolute supremacy and almighty power. He is above all our enemies, and has the direction and control of all events. What can be more consoling than the thought of having the Lord of the universe for our father ! When the heathen triumphed over the church, and sneeringly asked each other, " Where is now their God ? " It was suffi cient to answer, " Our God is in the heav ens, he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." Thirdly : The social principle which per vades the prayer. — " Our Father — forgive us," &c. Assuredly we are hereby taught not to confine our petitions to what respects ourselves, but to identify with our own cases those of our brethren* Nor is it necessary that they should be actually present to hear us, and join with us : the prayer of faith and love will embrace in its arms brethren at the greatest distance ; and not only such as are known, but such as are unknown, even the whole family of God upon earth. Nei ther is it necessary to social prayer that all who are present should be believers. Were this the case, we must restrain prayer in our congregations, and in our families. The worship of the primitive churches had in it both prayer and singing, and that in a lan guage that might be understood ; yet it was open to unbelievers, or any person who chose to join in it. — 1 Cor. xiv. 15, 23 — 25. If either prayer or praise was a positive in stitution, we might be under the necessity of refusing admission to some characters, as is the case in other positive institutions ; but, if they are immediately binding on all men, whatever be their characters, any man has a right to be present. If he can join in either, let him ; and, if not, it is to himself only. Our only concern in such cases is, not to give unbelievers to understand that they are considered differently from what they are ; and this may be avoided, without refusing to pray or praise in company with them. Paul would not have united with the ship's company in celebrating the Lord's supper, but he did not scruple to take common bread, and " give thanks " on their behalf, " in the presence of them all." Fourthly : The brevity of it. — " Use not vain repetitions, but in this manner pray ye." THE LORD'S PRAYER. 99 The prayers recorded in the Scriptures are commonly as brief as they are impressive. It is true our Lord continued in prayer for a whole night; but he was then by himself. The importunity which induces us when alone to wrestle with our heavenly Father for a blessing, and to be unwilling to retire without it, is very different from that tedious circumlocution so wearisome to families, and disgusting to the most solemn assemblies. There may be indeed an extreme on the other side. Some persons conclude their prayers ere they have well begun them, and without affording opportunity for their own hearts, or the hearts of others, to be affected in them. Prayer is the pouring out of the soul before God ; it therefore requires to be long enough to interest the mind and affec tions, and not so long as to drown them in a flood of unmeaning words. Fifthly : The order of it— Our attention is first directed to those things which are of the first importance, and which are fundamental to those which follow. Such are sanctifying and hallowing the name of the Lord, praying that his kingdom may come, and that his will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. After this, we are al lowed to ask for those things which pertain to our own immediate wants, both temporal and spiritual. This is seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. The glory of God's character, and the coming of his kingdom, stand first in all his works, and therefore must have the precedence in all our prayers. The love of God stands before the love of our neighbor, or of ourselves, in the divine law ; and the glory of God before peace on earth and good will to men, in the gospel. We must subscribe to this ere we are allowed to ask for our daily bread, or the forgiveness of our sins. To desire salvation at the expense ofthe divine honor would be direct rebellion against the majesty of heav en and earth. Self-love may induce a sin ner to regard a doctrine which relieves him, and merely on account of its relieving him ; but that which endears the gospel to a Chris tian is that it reveals a way in which " God can be just, and the justifier of him that be lieveth in Jesus." Why is it that sinners, under the preaching of the gospel, continue averse to the way of salvation ? It is not because they would not be glad to have their sins forgiven ; but, having no regard for the honor of God's name, they see no need for such an interposition as the gospel exhibits, in order to sanctify it, and render forgiveness consistent with it. Hence, like Cain, they present their offerings without an eye to the gospel sacrifice. That which some have denominated "disinterested love," or the love of God for what he is in himself, as far as I understand it, is no other than hallowing his name, which is essential to true religion. Not that we are called upon to love any thing in the divine character which is not mani fested in the work of saving sinners, nor to be unconcerned about our own salvation ; but to embrace the gospel as first glorifying God, and then giving peace on earth ; and to seek our own interest as bound up with the honor ofhis name, and as tending to promote it. We are taught to pray for even the com ing of God's kingdom, and the universal pre valence of righteousness in the world, in subserviency to the honor of his name. It is to this end that God himself pursues these great objects; to this end therefore we must pray for them. But, though they are placed after the hallowing of his name, yet they stand before any private petitions of ours, and in this order each requires to be • sought. Why is it that so little has been done, from age to age, for the general inter est of Christ ? Is it not owing to a practical error on this subject? placing our own pri vate interests before his, dwelling in our ceiled houses, while the temple of God has been in ruins, or at most seeking the pros perity of a small part of the church which happens to be connected with us, to the utter neglect of the general kingdom of the Redeemer? As Christ has taught us to pray for the coming of God's kingdom, and the universal spread of righteousness in the world, we may rest assured that these things will come to pass. Christ would not have directed us to ask for a specific object, and without any proviso, when he knew it would never be granted. Whether the kingdom of God here means the same as the Messiah's kingdom, or whether it relates to that state of things when the kingdom shall be delivered up to the Father and God shall be all in all, it makes no difference. The coming of the latter supposes the gradual completion of the former : to pray therefore for what is ul timate in the system is to pray for whatever is intermediate. At present God's name, in stead of being sanctified in the earth, is dis regarded and blasphemed. He reigns in the hearts of but few of the children of men. Instead of earth resembling heaven, as to obedience to the divine will, it bears a much nearer resemblance to hell. But it shall not be thus always. He who taught us thus to pray was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, and destroyed they will be. And, as the grand means by which this great end will be accomplished is the preaching ofthe cross, we have abundance of encouragement to persevere in that ar duous employment. As there are three petitions in respect of God's name and cause in the world, so there are three which regard our own immediate wants ; one of which concerns those which are temporal, and the other two those which are spiritual. " Give us this day (pr day by day) our dai- 100 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. ly bread." Bread comprehends all the ne cessaries but none ofthe superfluities of life. If God give us the latter, we may receive them with thankfulness, only considering them as a trust committed to us, but we are not at liberty to ask for them. Nor are we allowed to ask for what may be necessary in days to come ; but, as children on their father, must depend upon God for the bread of each day as the day occurs. Still less are we allowed to ask for the bread of others, or to covet our neighbors' goods ; but must be contented with what the Lord gives us in the way of honest industry, or by the kindness of our friends. Such is the spirit inculcated by this pe tition. How opposite to the spirit of this world ! Man as a sinner aspires to be inde pendent of God, and to raise himself out of the reach of adversity. He cannot trust God to provide for him and his children, but desires to take the charge upon himself. Unlike the sheep of Christ's pasture, who go in and out as he leads them, he emulates the wild beasts which roam through the forest in quest of prey for themselves and for their young ones. Ever anxious to accumulate, he has neither time nor inclination to think of any thing else, till, in some unexpected hour, he is arrested in his course, and is obliged to spare time — to die! Christian, canst thou envy such a character ? wilt thou learn his ways ? No, surely ! Covet not to be rich, lest it should cause thee to deny thy God, and, by treating sacred things with lightness, to take his name in vain. Is it best for thee, is it best for thy children, even in the present world, that thou shouldst emulate the beast of prey in providing for thy young ones ? Remember " the young lions do lack and suffer hunger ; but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." As bread in this prayer compre hends all the necessaries of life, so the for giveness of sin comprehends the substance of all that is necessary for the well-being of our souls. Sin is the only bar between God and man : if, therefore, this be removed, there is nothing left to impede the most am ple communications of his favor. Sins are called debts, not properly, but metaphorical ly. All that belongs to a debt will not ap ply to a crime. The former, as being a mere private obligation, may be remitted by the creditor, if he please, without any satis faction ; but the latter being a public evil, committed against God as the governor of the ' world, cannot be consistently forgiven without an atonement which shall effectually distinguish that forgiveness from connivance. There is a sufficient resemblance, however, between them to justify the use ofthe term. We owe to God as his creatures supreme love and unreserved obedience ; and, in de fault of paying it, fall under an obligation to punishment. As a rebel against the state forfeits his life, which is his all, to his injur ed country ; so, as rebels against God, we have forfeited our souls, which are our all, to his injured government. From this petition we learn four things. First : That we have daily sins to be forgiv en. It is to our shame that it should be so : but so it is. To disown it does not make it the better, but the worse. The direction of Christ contains an insuperable objection to the notion of those deluded people who ima gine themselves to have attained to a state of sinless perfection. No man that is not blinded to the spirituality of that law which requires supreme, perfect, and unabated love, can be insensible of his vast defects. The highest degree of love that we at any time attain comes immensely short of what we ought to feel, and of what we shall feel when presented faultless before the presence of the divine glory. The only reply that can be made is, that the petition may refer to past sins, and not to present ones. But is it not presented along with a petition for ¦our daily bread, and in a prayer which is supposed to be daily offered ? Secondly : That the shedding of Christ's blood as the price of our redemption is perfectly consist ent with the free grace of God, not only in providing the Saviour, but in forgiving the sinner for his sake. If we had borne the full penalty due to sin in our own proper persons, all must allow there had been no place for forgiveness. And, if the union between Christ and his elect people had been so intimate as to render the actions or sufferings of one the very actions and suf ferings of the other, the same consequence would follow. Or, if the satisfaction made by Christ in our stead had been on the prin ciple of debtor and creditor, whatever obli gation we might have been under to the surety, or to the creditor for providing him, the debt could not be said to have been for given. But as we have not borne the pen alty of sin in our own persons, and as sin itself is transferrable to another only in its effects, we must still be considered as deserv ing of death, and, whatever be the consid erations on which God proceeds in our for giveness, as being freely forgiven. We may plead the atonement as that for the sake of which wo may be forgiven, in a way glorious to the divine character, together with the invitations and promises of the word ; but this is all. We must not go as claimants, but as supplicants. Thirdly : That the perfection and perpetuity of justi fication are consistent with a jjaily applica tion to God for forgiving mercy. Itis an important truth that he that believeth in Christ " shall not come into condemnation." There is no such idea, however, held out in tlie Scriptures as the pardon of sins, past, ON FASTING, AND OTHER DUTIES. 101 present, and to come. Forgiveness invariably presupposes repentance. It is not bestowed on that account, yet it is inseparably con nected with it. As justification includes for giveness, we maybe said to be fully forgiven from the first moment that we believe in Christ ; but it is in some such way I con ceive as we are said to be glorified. The thing is rendered sure by the purpose and promise of God ; but, as in that case a per severance to the end is supposed and provid ed for, so is repentance and a continued ap plication for mercy through Jesus Christ in this. If it were true that a believer might not persevere to thg end, it would be equal ly true that he might never be glorified : and if it were possible for him to live in sin, and never repent of it, it would be equally pos sible that he would never be forgiven — but he that has promised that which is ultimate has provided for every thing intermediate. Fourthly : That we are not allowed to ask or hope for forgiveness at the hand of God while we refuse it to those who have offend ed us. It is not enough to say, we cannot expect the comfort of it: we cannot expect the thing itself. While we indulge in im placable resentment, it is presumption to ex pect any other than that we shall perish in our sins. — Ver. 14, 15. "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." The last petition respected the bestowment of the greatest good ; this, deliverance from the worst of evils. Christ teaches us to suspect ourselves. To be de livered from evil, we must not only avoid running into temptation, but pray that God in his providence may not lead us into it. Though temptation and sin be not in them selves necessarily connected, yet there is almost a moral certainty of their being so in our case. Christ indeed went into the field of contest, and came out unhurt ; but this is more than can be said with certainty of any of his followers. They have indeed been preserved from actual compliance with many evils ; but the temptation may never theless have left such impressions upon their imaginations and desires as to be a source of guilt and shame for years to come. He that carries about him inflam mable materials will do well to keep at the greatest possible distance from fire. Many a fair character, both in the world and in the church, if led into temptation, would be soon stripped of his glory. What then do we mean by courting applauses, by forming carnal connections, by plunging into unnecessary cares, or by coveting lucra tive situations ? Much of what men call the leadings of providence is in fact God's leading them into temptation, for the detect ing of their true character. Lot might no doubt have pleaded that providence led him to discover a rich and well watered plain, and he only followed its openings. Gehazi had a fine opportunity afforded him ; and he only embraced it. Moses, however, had a much greater opening than either of them ; but he declined it. The truth is, providence is no rule of duty, independent of Scripture. If the Scriptures warrant a measure, and providence open the way, we may safely walk into it : but woe to him that catcheth every opportunity that offers to aggrandize himself. Many a man would have killed Saul in the cave of Adullum, and have pleaded, as David's servants did, that " the Lord had delivered his enemy into his hand : " but so did not David, because of the fear of God. — I only add, There is no ne cessary connection between going into temptation and coming out of it. Both Ju das and Peter went in, but only one of them returned : and those who go in on a presumption of coming out again by repent ance will probably be fatally mistaken. The concluding doxology, though omit ted by Luke, and thought by some not to have been originally included by Matthew, appears to agree with the foregoing petitions, and to furnish encouragement to hope for an answer. SECTION IX. ON FASTING, AND OTHER DUTIES. Matt. vi. 16—34. Our Lord's discourse is not designed to> amuse his disciples with curious disquisitions, but to direct them as to their daily walk, partly in their approaches to God, and partly in their conversation with the world. Ver. 16. " Moreover, when ye fast," &c. Fasting is supposed to be the ordina ry practice of the godly. Christ does not make light of it, but merely cautions them against its abuses. There has doubtless been much formality and hypocrisy in some who have attended to it: but it does not follow that the thing itself should be neglect ed. It is an appendage to prayer, and designed to aid its importunity. It is hum bling, and in a manner chastising, ourselves before God. The spirit of it is expressed in the following passages— "So do God to me, and more also, if I taste bread, or aught else, till the sun be down." — " Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed ; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eye-lids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an hab itation for the mighty God of Jacob." No mention is made of the time, or how often the duty should be attended to. It seems to be proper on various occasions, especially when, as the Scripture phrase is, we "set ourselves to seek the Lord." It is only a means, however ; if rested in as an end, it will be an abomination in the sight of God. In the direction of our Lord concerning it, 102 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. respect is had to the principle of things rather than to the things themselves. A sad countenance, if it be expressive of a sad heart, and in our secret approaches to God, has nothing in it improper. The evil con sists in counterfeit sadness and ostentatious grief. Whatever be your concern of mind, make no show of it before men, but rather appear, when in company, as at other times. Let all be between thyself and thy Father, who seeth in secret. Ver. 19, 20. " Lay not up for yourselves treasures," &c. The Lord here proceeds to a variety of counsels, and all upon things in common life. The inhabitants of this busy world are taken up in accumulating something which may be called their own, and in setting their hearts upon it rather than upon God. So common is this prac tice that, provided they do not injure one another, it insures commendation rather than reproach. " Men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself." Hence we are in greater danger of this sin than of most others. In opposition to this, we are di rected to " lay up treasures in heaven." Not that the heavenly inheritance is the reward of our doings : but, believing in Christ, and setting our affections on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God, every thing we do in his name, whether it be to the poor, or any others, for his sake, turns to our account. Heavenly enjoyment accumulates, as we in this way make much of it. It is thus that, in " giving alms, we provide ourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens which faileth not." Men commonly choose a safe place to lay up their treasure. It is said that many millions, during the late depreda tions on the continent, have been placed in the English funds ; and no wonder. But still there is nothing secure in this world. If we would place our treasure in a bank where no marauder cometh, it must be " hid with Christ in God." From this passage, some have seriously concluded that it is forbidden us in any case to add to our property. To be consistent, however, they should not stop here, but go on to " sell what they have and give it to the poor : " for the one is no less expressly re quired than the other. But this were to overturn all distinctions of rich and poor, and all possession of property, which is contrary to the whole current of Scripture. To lay up "treasures upon earth" is to trust in them, or make them our chief good, in stead of using them as a means of glorifying God and doing good in our generation. This is evident from the reason given against it, that, " where our treasure is, there will our heart be also." The Lord prospered David; yet David's treasures were not in this world. On the contrary, he was dis tinguished from " men of this world, who had their portion in this life ; " declaring, " As for me, I will behold thy face in right eousness : I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness." If, however, our treasure be in heaven, we shall not be eager to lay up worldly wealth ; but rather to lay out that which God intrusts in our hands for promoting the good of his cause, and the well-being of mankind. Ver. 22—24. " The light of the body is the eye," &c. Our Lord here seems to illustrate and enforce the principle on which he had all along proceeded ; namely, the importance of pure design or right motive in every thing we do. This, to the soul, is that which a clear sight of the eye is to the body. A single eye has but one object, and this is God.* It is opposed to an evil eye. The one is expressive of that spiritu ality of mind, which, as the apostle says, " approves the excellent," Phil. i. 10. The other is a mind blinded by the love of the world, or other corrupt affections, by which the judgment, which should be the guide of the soul, becomes dark, and leads it into evil. Thus the gospel is rejected, and some false doctrine received instead of it ; and thus religion, by which men hope to find their way out of their labyrinths, serves only to bewilder them more and more, till at length they plunge into perdition. To show the importance of a single eye, it is added, " No man can serve two masters," &c. He that has his eye partly on God and partly on mammon, wishing to grasp both worlds, will deceive his soul. He may lose both ; or, if not, he will certainly lose the kingdom of God. Our minds must be supremely set on him, and the world must be sought only in subserviency to him. Two masters we can not serve. Ver. 25. " Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life," &c. This affec tionate dissuasive from worldly anxiety is supposed to be the natural consequence of what had been spoken. It is as though he had said, Seeing you cannot serve two masters, serve the Lord ; and, as you must not look two ways, let your eye be single ; keeping one great end in view, and treating every thing else as a secondary or subordinate object. The command, " Take no thought," may seem to be inconsistent with that dili gence in business which the Scriptures commend, and which is necessary to the providing of things honest in the sight of God and man. Certain it is that this cannot be done without thought : but the word here used is expressive of anxious solicitude. It does not mean every care, but the care which groweth of distrust. It bpcomes us, after using all lawful means, to be anxiously * Dr. Campbell excludes tho idea of single, rendering the word " sound," as opposed to " dis tempered :" but the context clearly favors the common translation. ON JUDGING OTHERS. 103 careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,' to let our requests be made known unto God. Ver. 26—34. To enforce the most entire confidence in our heavenly Father, we are reminded that, having done the greater, he will do the less (he has given us our lives and our bodies ; and the life is more than meat, and the body more than raiment) — that he provides for the fowls of the air, which, without anxiety, receive their food at his hand — and that all our fretfulness is unavailing ; for, however we may think to raise ourselves by it, we can accomplish nothing beyond the will of God, • any more than we can add to our stature. And as to dress, God clothes the lilies, without any soli citude on their part, so as to cause them to surpass us all in finery. To be anxious con cerning what we shall eat, what we shall drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed, is heathenism, and more suited to men who live without God in the world than to the children of the Most High. All such anx iety and distrust must proceed on the principle that God either does not know our wants, or that he eareth not for us. Let it sufiice us, therefore, to be told that "our heavenly Father knoweth that we have need of all these things." Seek those things first which are of the first importance. Take care of God's interest, and God will take care of yours. The ills of the time present are sufficient for us, without calling in those of futurity. God has promised strength for the day, but no more : the evils which we bring in from the morrow, we must bear ourselves. . SECTION X. ON JUDGING OTHERS, AND CASTING OUR PEARLS BEFORE SWINE. Matt. vii. 1—6. Ver. 1 — 5. "Judge not," &c. This pro hibition, like many others in our Lord's discourse, if interpreted in its utmost lati tude, would go to censure what is elsewhere commended. If we judge not truth and error, good and evil, we cannot embrace the one and avoid the other ; neither can we discharge the duties of our station in the world, or in the church, without forming some judgment of those about us. Paul and Silas are supposed to have judged Lydia to be faithful, ere they entered her house ; and Peter did not scruple to tell the sorcerer that he " perceived him to be in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity." We are not only allowed, but directed, even in this discourse, to judge of men, as of trees, by their fruit. — Ver. 16 — 20. It is part of our duty as ministers to declare from God's word that they who live after the flesh will die ; and that they who are carried away by strong delusions and the belief of a lie are in the utmost danger of damnation. They may be displeased with us for thinking so hardly of them, and may allege this passage as a reproof to our presumption. The judgment which Christ forbids is that which arises not from good-will and a faithful discharge of duty, but from a censorious spirit, which takes pleasure in thinking and speaking evil of those about us, puts the worst construc tion upon actions of doubtful motive, and is severe in detecting smaller faults in another, while blinded to far greater ones in our selves. It stands opposed by Luke to a forgiving spirit. — Ch. vi. 27. It is therefore the judgment of rancour, selfishness, and im placability. " All men," says Calvin on the passage, " do flatter and spare themselves ; and every man is a severe censor against others. There is a certain sweetness in this sin, so that there is scarcely a man who itcheth not with a desire to inquire after other men's faults. This wicked delight in biting, carping, and slandering, doth Christ forbid, when he saith, Judge not." It is remarkable that those who are most disposed to detect the faults of others are commonly the most faulty themselves, and therefore the least qualified for that which they are so eager to undertake. And herein lies their hypocrisy : they would seem to be great enemies to sin, whereas, if this were the case, they would begin with their own. It is therefore nothing better than selfish rancor, under the mask of zeal and faithful ness. It also deserves notice that he who is under the dominion of any sin is utterly unqualified to reprove ; but he that has first repented of his own sin shall thereby be fitted to deliver his brother from his. " When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." To deter us from this evil spirit and prac tice, we are given to expect that if we judge we " shall be judged," and that " with what measure we mete it shall be measured to us again." Such is the ordinary course of things even in the present life. A censori ous spirit towards others brings censure in abundance upon ourselves. Hence arise debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbit- ings, whisperings, swellings, tumults. Thus the sweets of society, both civil and religi ous, are embittered ; and, instead of the ills of life diminishing, they greatly accumulate in our hands. Neither is it in this life only, nor chiefly, that such things will meet with a righteous retribution. If we go on con demning in this manner till death, we must expect to be condemned at a judgment-seat from the decisions of which there is no appeal. Ver. 6. " Give not that which is holy unto the dogs," &c. This precept may have no immediate connection with the 104 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. foregoing one, and may apply to the disci ples as teachers. Though they must preach the word to all, yet it must be with due dis crimination, giving to every character that which the Scripture assigns him. Thus did Christ himself, at the beginning of this ser mon. I am inclined to think, however, that there is a connection between this precept and the foregoing one ; and that the former dissuades from evil-minded censures, and this from imprudent ones. Though we should reprove men from the purest motives, yet, if what we say be harsh or unseasona ble, instead of doing them good, we shall provoke their resentment, and do both them and ourselves harm. The conduct of Paul in his voyage to Rome (Acts xxvii.) fur nishes ' an example of the contrary. He was not so awed as to leave the company in any doubt who he was, nor yet so obtru sive as unnecessarily to draw upon him their displeasure. His behavior was such from the beginning as to procure him a courteous treatment from Julius the centurion. — Ver. 3. When danger approached, he gave them a respectful admonition, and, to excite their attention to the gospel, foretold what would be the disastrous issue of the voyage. — Ver. 10. Finding his word disregarded, he held his peace, till " all hope that they should be saved was taken away." Then, with a gen tle reproof for their unbelief, he renews his predictions, declares the ground on which he uttered them, acknowledges himself more fully the servant of God, and addresses them in encouraging language. — Ver. 21 — 25. After this he rises in their esteem, his influence among* them is extended, he takes bread and gives thanks in the presence of them all, and they are cheerful, and eat with him.— Ver. 31—36. Whether this conduct issued in the conversion of any of them, or not, it so interested the centurion, that, when the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners, he kept them from their purpose for Paul's sake. We see in it a union of zeal, which never lost sight of its object, and of discretion, which selected the best means and seized the fittest opportunities for accomplishing it. All was the effect of good will, which, wherever it prevails, either prevents the violent attacks of the wick ed, or, if they come unprovoked, enables us to bear them. SECTION XI. ON PRAYER AND EQUITY. Matt. vii. 7—12. From negative religion, our Lord pro ceeds to enforce that which is positive — prayer to God, and justice to men. We have had directions already concerning the duty of prayer,' and are now furnished with encouragements to engage in it. Observe the terms by which it is expres sed — asking, seeking, knocking. No men tion is made of what we are to ask or seek for ; but it is understood that every thing we want, both for this world and that to come, is richly provided, and that the way of access to God is opened by the Saviour. Such an invitation would not else have been given. It is also understood that what we receive is of grace, and that we must apply for it, not as haughty claimants, but as needy and unworthy supplicants. The prayer of the Pharisee had not a single petition in if . We may also perceive that true prayer is (hat by which we look out of ourselves, and seek help from* above. The formalist rests in the deed done, but the believer in Jesus thinks not of his own seekings, but of the objects sought. There is also a gradation of desire expressed in the terms. Seeking is somewhat more than asking, and knock ing more than seeking. The mind, when properly engaged in this exercise, increases in its importunity, like his who said, " I will not let thee go except thou bless me." Observe, next, the encouragements af forded us in the exercise. It is wonderful how they are heaped, as it were, one upon another. Here are first promises, " It shall be given you," &c. ; next examples, " Every one that asketh, receiveth," &c. ; and then an appeal to the feelings of a parent, argu ing thence to the compassion of our heaven ly Father. It is of great account in prayer to lay hold of the promises. It is this constitutes it the prayer of faith. It is true we may pray for temporal things which are not specifically promised, provided it be in submission to the will of God, leaving it to his wisdom to give or to withhold, as seemeth good to him. But even here we must not lose sight ofhis general promise, to withhold no good thing from them that walk uprightly. It is also true that, if there were only a possibility of success in matters of salvation, considering the urgency of our case as lost and helpless sinners, we might well supplicate mercy. Such were the reasonings of the four lepers, and of Esther the queen ; but though they have sometimes been applied to the sinner's application for mercy, yet they are not cases in point. We must not compare our hea venly Father to capricious heathens, who might have spurned their supplicants, in stead of hearing their petition ; nor an ap plication at a mere peradventure to coming on an invitation, and under a promise of acceptance. And then, with respect to examples, our Lord directs the attention of his followers to facts. " Every one that asketh, receiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth." This is like challenging them to find an instance of a poor supplicant perishing at a throne of grace, or of a single petition offered in the ON PRAYER AND EQUITY THE BROAD AND NARROW WAY. 105 faith of Jesus falling to the ground. Last ly : His appealing to the heart of an earthly parent, and arguing that " if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, much more will our heavenly Father give good things to them that ask him," is truly overwhelming. And is it possible, after all this, that we should ever feel reluctant to draw near to him? O what must be that alienation of heart which can make light of such a privilege, that guilt and shame that makes it seem almost a duty to stand aloof, and that distrust of God which gives to our approaches before him an appearance of presumption ! Ver. 13. "Therefore all things, what soever," &c. It may seem as if there could be no connection between this precept and those which preceded it. On close inspec tion, however, we may find it otherwise. It may have a connection with various other precepts which had gone before, and, so far as they related to the .duty of man to man, contain a sort of summary of the whole. Or it may well be considered as connected with what is said on prayer. All inordinate affection toward this world (which is the im petus that moves men to over-reaching prac tices) has its root in a distrust of God. Were we daily to ask for all we want of him, seeking first the Idngdom of God and his righteousness, and relying upon his promise to add other things as he sees them to be best for us, we should have no inclination to covetousness or injustice. But if, instead of depending like sheep on the care of their shepherd, we set off like beasts of prey, to forage the world for ourselves, we shall often judge it to be wise and necessary to seize on that which equity forbids. Hence arises the hateful distinction among' states men between what is right and what is poli tic, and hence all the rapacity which deso lates the earth. It will be found in the end that whatever was right was wise ; but this lesson is seldom learned till it is too late. O what a world would it be if this rule were acted upon ! What families, churches, cities, and nations, would our eyes behold ! But this is not to be expected till it shall be written in the hearts of men by tlie Spirit of God. It is remarkable that this golden rule, as we call it, is God's witness in every human breast. Every one has so much regard for himself as quickly to feel wherein he is wronged, and to pass censure on the person who has wronged him. He has therefore only to apply the principle to his own con duct, and the right and the wrong must in stantly appear. Hence no one can plead ignorance. Even the heathens, who have not the written law, "are a law unto them selves, their consciences bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." Vol. 2.— Sig. 14. SECTION XII. ON THE BROAD AND NARROW WAY; AND HOW TO JUDGE OP TEACHERS WHO DI RECT TO THE ONE AND TO THE OTHER. Matt. vii. 13—20. Ver. 13, 14. "Enter ye, &c." Our Lord now proceeds to set before his hearers life and death, exhorting them to choose life. From the whole of what he had advanced, it must appear that the way of the world was broad, and that his own was narrow, or diffi cult; but though the one might be agreea ble, to the flesh, and the other disagreeable, his counsel is "Enter ye in at the strait gate." Itis as if he had said, If you walk in the way which I have been warning you against, the entrance will be easy, and you will meet with but few obstructions in your progress. Every thing will accord with your corrupt propensities. The transition from sin to sin, and from occasional to ha bitual indulgences, will be quite easy. You will have full scope, for inclination, and free choice of the vices best suited to your birth, rank, or turn of mind. Temptations, like wind and tide, will help you on ! You will be in no want of company ; for old and young, rich and poor, learned and illiterate, walk there ; but remember " it leadeth to destruction ! " If, on the other hand, you walk in the way which I have marked out, great difficulties may present themselves at your entrance, hard struggles will attend your progress, and you may expect but few to keep you company : but it " leadeth unto life ! " Whosoever therefore chooses the broad way, " enter ye in at the strait gate ! " Ver. 15 — 20. "Beware of false pro phets," &c. As this warning was designed for Christians in every age, the term rendered prophets must here, as it often is elsewhere, be understood of ordinary teachers. There are few, if any, more dangerous temptations than those which arise from false teaching. Men are led on by one another, and by preaching more than by most other things. As the true doctrine directs to the narrow way, which leadeth unto life ; so false doc trine directs to the broad way, which leadeth to destruction. It is the characteristic of false teachers that they recommend a loose religion, a flesh-pleasing scheme, the effects of which are commonly fatal. A criterion therefore by which they may be known and avoided must needs be of the greatest im portance. It is remarkable that this criterion does not consist of any external distinction con ferred by others. Whatever may be said in favor of ordination from any order of men, it is not this that will render us true minisr ters. It is not any profession that may be made by the parties ; for they may come in 106 EXPOSITION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. sheep's clothing, and y^St^*' wolves. Loud professions of zeal and sanctity may be re sorted to merely as means of success. It is the spirit and conduct by which we are di rected to judge of men, and of the tenden cy of their ministry. " Ye shall know thern by their fruits." The principle on which this rule proceeds is this :' true teachers have imbibed the true doctrine, which is productive of good fruit both in themselves and others ; and false teachers have imbibed a false doctrine, which is productive of evil fruits both in themselves and others. There may be difficulties in applying the rule : we may be mistaken both on the favorable and the unfavorable side ; yet as a general direction for those who sit not as final judges, but merely for the prac tical purposes ofthe present life, there is none like it. Men may put on the demure and the devout for mere selfish purposes, but fol low them into private and domestic life, and they will ordinarily declare themselves. We may at least know enough of men by this medium to guide us in our choice of them ; and that is the end to be answered. There are two kinds of fruit by the pres ence or absence of which we are directed to judge of teachers; namely, good and evil. With respect to the former, every true min ister of Christ is a good tree and bringeth forth good fruit. Having believed the gos pel himself, he speaks it from the fulness of his heart. The love of Christ constrains him. The love of souls induces him to labor, and to deny himself for their salvation. He seeks not theirs, but them. And, where it is so, it will appear and approve itself to the consciences of those about him. A false teacher, on the other hand, can no more bring forth this good fruit than a thorn can bear grapes, or a thistle figs. There will be a manifest want of those fruits Of the Spirit enumerated by the apostle; namely, of "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good ness, faith, meekness, temperance." Even in those who may have maintained a fair character, as it is commonly accounted by the world, you will often perceive a shocking vacancy with respect to these things. When the pharisee, full of scorn and self-compla cency, thought ill of Christ even for his suf fering a sinner to wash his feet with her tears, he was told of his own sins. But what were they? Neither himself nor his acquaintance might know of any that could be laid to his charge. Jesus, however, was not at a loss to find them ; and they consist, not so much in what he had done, as in what he had not done. In this view, how naked does the poor creature appear, and what a disparity is there between him and the sin ner whom he had despised ! " I entered into thy house ; thou gavest me no water for my feet ; but she hath washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss ; but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet: mine head with oil thou didst not anoint ; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment." With respect to the presence or absence of evil fruit, a true minister of Christ cannot live in sin, no not in private, any more than a good tree can "bring forth evil fruit." Neither can a false teacher suppress for any considerable time the ruling propensity of his'heart, nor forbear to manifest it, though undesignedly, to those about him. " A cor rupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit." The motives which influence these differ ent characters being opposite, their effects will ordinarily correspond with them. All the labors of a false teacher originate and terminate in self. Some, under the disguise of apparent, sanctity, are seeking to gratify the foul est propensities. Others flatter their audiences either as to what human nature is, or what they are in distinction from many around them. Some are adepts at gain ing an ascendancy over the minds of the people, and so of getting possession of a con siderable part of their property. Others, less addicted to avarice, are eager after ap plause ; hence their chief study is to obtain the graces of a public speaker, or that ele gance of diction which shall render them ad- . mired. Where suchrthings are, they cannot be concealed, unless it be from those who are willingly ignorant. But how opposite to every thing of the kind is the spirit and con duct ofthe man of God! Read 1 Thess. ii. " Our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor of guile : but, as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who trieth our hearts. For neither at anytime used we flattering words as ye know, nor a cloak of covetousness ; God is witness ! nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others. Being affectionately desirous of you, we were wil ling to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us." False teachers will often be on their guard before enemies, but, when with their friends only, will throw off their disguise and indulge in iicentious free doms, under the name, it may be, of the lib erty of the gospel : but it was not so with the apostles and true ministers of Christ: " Ye are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and unhlamably we behaved our selves among you that believe." SECTION XIII. ON THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND WHAT WILL BE ACCOUNTED TRUE RELIGION IN THAT DAY. Matt. vii. 21—29. Our Lord, in drawing to the close of his discourse, is unusually solemn and impres sive. He anticipates the. last judgment, and THE ElST JUDGMENT, &C. 107 places his hearers before the great tribunal. The sum of what he says is, that mere pro fession will avail nothing, and that real prac tical godliness is the only thing which in that day will be approved. ¦ Ver. 21—23. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord," &c. The greater part of those who in that day will have to stand before him have not acknowledged him as their Lord; and not every one of them that have will be accepted. Professions, though repeated with earnestness, will avail noth ing. It is not what we say, but what we do, that will be admitted as evidence in that day. As to what we do, unless the Father's will be our will, Christ will not regard us. Such is the union between the Lawgiver and the Saviour, that each is guarantee as it were to the honor of the other. If the Father's wrath abide on all who believe not on the Son, the Son no less excludes from the kingdom of heaven all who obey not the Father. Many who in this world have said, "Lord, Lord," in a way of high profession, will in that day repeat their words with very different sensations, and with earnest impor tunity for admittance, but all in vain. They may plead their having been not only profes sing Christians, but Christian teachers, and some of them possessed of extraordinary gifts, but all in vain. Having been workers of iniquity, whatever else they have wrought, it stands for nothing. They were never known as his friends in this world, and shall be utterly disowned in the next. Nothing will avail in that day but what is holy. Ho liness is made of little account here ; shin ing talents carry the bell: but there the meanest Christian is approved; while the most distinguished preacher who has lived in sin will be cast out. Ver. 24—29. " Therefore whosoever hear eth these sayings of mine, and doeth them," &c. The regard or disregard we pay to the doctrine and precepts of Christ in this world is here compared to building a house on a good or a bad foundation, and the issue of things at the last judgment to a tempest that shall try our work. Still he presses the necessity of practical godliness. It is he that heareth his sayings and doeth them whose religion will stand the test ; while he that heareth them and doeth them not— he who has heard and talked about repentance, but never repented — has heard and talked about believing, but never believed— has heard and applauded the morality of the gos pel, but never walked by it — his building shall fall, and "great will be the fall of it! " Other losses have been repaired by time, but this will be irreparable and eternal. There are two ways, and perhaps I may say three, in which this solemn passage has been perverted. We see here, say some, that it is by doing, rather than by believing, that we shall stand approved. But though doing, in the article of justification, stands opposed to believing (Gal. iii. 10 — 12,) yet here,, being introduced as the evidence of a state of salvation, it is opposed to saying, or to mere profession, and includes believing. Faith itself is a practical persuasion of the truth of Christ's sayings, and is followed with a course of obedience to his precepts. Moreover, the doctrine of Christ's sayings is not the rock, but the building upon it. — We see, say others, that it matters but little what doctrines we believe, provided we lead a good life ; it is not by what we have believed, but by what we have done, that we shall be judged! But, if doing Christ's sayings, instead of being opposed to believing, in clude it, this remark is altogether unfounded. Finally : Others, overlooking the scope of our Lord, are from this passage continually insisting on the doctrine of justification by faith, in opposition to the works of the law, and comparing those who believe in the Saviour for acceptance with God to the wise man who built his house upon a rock ; and those who depend upon their own righteous ness to the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. But this way of treating the Scriptures betrays the truth into the hands of its adversaries, who, perceiving the force put upon them in supporting a favorite doctrine, conclude that it has no foundation in Scripture, The truth is, our Lord is not discoursing on our being' justified by faith, but on our being- "judged according to our works," which, though consistent with the other, is not the same thing, and ought not to be confounded with it. The character described is not the self-righteous rejecter of the gospel, but one who, though he may hear it and profess to believe it, yet brings forth no corresponding fruits. The impressive manner in which he who will be our Judge enforces the practice of religion reminds me of the words of that miserable man, Francis Spira, who was a fearful example of the contrary. "Take heed," said he to the spectators who sur rounded his bed, "of relying on that faith which works not a holy and unblamable life, worthy of a believer. Credit me, it will fail. I have tried ; I presumed I had gotten the right faith ; I preached it to others ; I had all places in Scripture in memory that might support it; I thought myself sure, and in the mean time lived impiously and carelessly ; and, behold, now the judgment of God hath overtaken me not to correction^ but to damnation ! " EXPOSJTORY REMARKS RELATIVE TO THE CONVERSION OF THE JEWS LETTER I. Ezek. xxxvii. To the Editor, of the Missionary Magazine. I was lately reading a book, published about eighjty years ago, in which the author reproves another for' having prayed for the conversion of the Jews, contending that they had sinned " the sin unto death ; " that there fore prayer for them was not the prayer of faith; and that there was nothing in the Scriptures whence we could conclude that they ever would be converted. I shall not trouble your readers with the author's argu ments, which appear to me to have no weight; but, having been employed of late years in a morning exposition, I have met with -several parts ofthe prophecies which have appeared to me inexplicable on any other supposition ; and, as it may furnish Cliristians with matter and motives for prayer, I will offer a few remarks on two or three passages which I conceive to relate to this subject. My present paper will be grounded on the vision of the dry bones, in the 37th chapter of Ezekiel. This vision, I allow, had its first and im mediate accomplishment in the restoration of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, who in that country were like dead men, or rather like bones of a dead man disunited and scattered, and in a manner without hope of recovery. Their restoration by Cyrus was a kind of resurrection from the dead ; and as the Assyrian power, which carried away the ten tribes, had been swallowed up by that of Babylon, and Babylon was now in its turn swallowed up by that of Media and Persia, opportunity would probably be af forded for many of the other tribes to attach themselves to Judah, and return with them. The inquiry at that time does not appear to have been, whether they were of Judah, or Benjamin, or Levi ; but whether they were of Israel. This may in some degree answer to the two sticks of Ephraim and Judah be coming one. Being governed also by princes of the house of David, he might be said to reign over them, and to be their one shep herd.— Ver. 16—24. But as it is not unusual for the same thing (the passover for instance) to refer immedi ately to one event, and remotely to another, so it is common for a prophecy to have a partial fulfilment in something at or near the time, and a more perfect one at some distant period. God's works being a whole, and the end seen from the beginning, there is often a dignified analogy between them ; 'system as it were within system ; one train of events making way for another, and furnishing an earnest of its fulfilment. Thus the kingdom of the Messiah is manifestly predicted in the seventy-second Psalm, though it is mostly under the form of the prosperous reign of Solomon. In like manner the vision in question contains a prediction of the restora tion and conversion ofthe Jews in the latter days, though it is mostly under the form of the return of their forefathers from Babylon. In proof of this, let the following particulars be considered. First: The number of the ten tribes who might return with Judah was too small to contain a full accomplishment of the prophecy which is expressly applied to " the whole house of Israel." Secondly : Those who were to return are described as an exceedingly great army, but that of Ju dah and the other tribes which returned from Babylon was very far from answering to this description : they were but a small company compared with the number which usually composed an eastern army. Ezra ii. 64. Thirdly : It is said of David, God's servant, who was to be king over them, that he should be their " prince forever." This is language which very much resembles that of the covenant with David, that "his seed should be established forever, and his throne built up to all generations, even as the sun and moon in the heavens," which is cleaily EZEK. XXXVII. 109 to be understood of the kingdom of Christ. There is also a similar phraseology in a prophecy of Hosea: "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, .and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an eph od, and without teraphim. Afterward shall the children of Israel return and seek Je hovah their God, and David their king, in the latter days." Fourthly : Though the com pany who returned'with Zerubbabel were many of them godly people, yet the history ofthe nation from that event till the coming of Christ is far from answering to what is said of them in this prophecy, that they should " walk in God's judgments, observe his statutes, and do them." Such promises also as "his tabernacle being with them, and his sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore," seem to be much too strong for the above period. Finally : It accords with the general design of this prophet, towards the latter end of his prophecies, which was, under the form of Jewish phraseology, to foretel the glory of the latter days. Hence his description of a new temple (chap. xl. xii. xiii. ;) of the glory of the God of Israel as dwelling in it (xiii. ;) of the division of the land by lot (xiv. ;) of the holy waters (xlvii. ;) and of the city whose name should be called Jehovah-shammah, The Lord is there (xlviii.) Admitting the prophecy to refer to the condition of the Jews in their last dispersion, and future return to Christ, there is some thing very impressive in the whole account Their present scattered and unconverted state is fitly represented by a number of dry bones. The allusion may be to a field of battle,where, many years before, thousands upon thousands fell by the sword, and, their bodies remaining unburied, their bones lay scattered over all the plain. Once they lived, but can they live a- gain? Israel was once a living body, and, what was more, lived to God ; yea, they were the only people who did so. But what are they now ? scattered over the face of the earth ; no longer a body, but separated bone from his bone ; no more possessed of that life and spirit which distinguished their holy prede cessors, but dry as bones which have been long dead; not only devoid of everything like true religion, like other sinners, but singularly averse to it. All unconverted sinners are dry, but they are very dry. They indeed retain something ofthe resemblance of religion; but it is that which a skull re tains of the human countenance — ugly, d.s- gusting, and horrid. Their hopeless condition is also fitly ex pressed by the question to the prophet, " Can these bones live ? " Judging by sense, the answer must have been — They cannot. There is no people so apparently hardened against conviction; none who have lived among Christians so much in vain; none who manifest such diabolical enmity and wrath when reasoned with, though it be in the meekest manner. The frequent disap pointments which we have met with in at tempting their conversion is almost enough to overcome us with despair. Even they themselves seem to have no hopes, except what are of a worthy nature. Yet, hoping in him with whom all things are possible, we may answer with the prophet, " O Lord God, thou knowest." Their restoration and conversion are no less fitly represented by a resurrection. Such is the idea given us by the apostle of this very event. " If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead ? " So extraordinary an instance of divine power and goodness could scarcely be illustrated by anything more suitable. The order in which it will be accomplished is worthy of notice. Several things, it seems, will precede their becoming truly alive to God, some of which may be prepa ratory to it. If they should be collected and combined by some occurrence in providence, previously to their conversion to Christ, it will correspond not only with the account here given of their first " coming forth out of their graves," &c, and their " having the Spirit of God imparted," but with another given by Zechariah. Jerusalem is, by him, represented as " a torch of fire in a sheaf to her enemies," and afterwards as having " a spirit of grace and supplication " given her, by which her inhabitants should "look on him whom they had pierced and mourn." Though sinners do nothing preparatory to their own conversion, yet God frequently does much in this way with them, and for them ; and many events may precede the effectual calling of God's ancient people, which may answer to. the "noise," the " shaking," and " the bones coming together, bone to his bone." Even. "the sinews and the flesh may come upon them, and the skin cover them from above," while yet there is "no breath in them." In other words, they may become a body politic, and possi bly have the form of devotion as heretofore, while yet it is only a form. But if, while the doctrine of the cross is preached, the Spirit of life from God out of heaven breathe upon these slain that they live, then shall they " know that the Son of God is come, and, having an understanding given them to know Him that is true, shall believe and be in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ."— 1 John v. 20. In two or three future papers, I may offer some remarks on a few more prophecies on this subject. At present, I only observe that God's designs of mercy towards the descendants of his ancient people are, I hope, sufficiently manifest to afford a ground for the prayer of faith. 110 CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. LETTER II. Hos. i. ii. iii. Having in a former paper considered the vision of the dry bones, I shall here offer a few remarks on some passages which I con ceive have reference to the same subject in the prophecies of Hosea. These are chiefly addressed to the ten tribes, as those of Eze kiel were to Judah. Under the form of signs and parables, as I suppose, he delivers in the first chapter some very pointed reproofs to that idolatrous people ;. but concludes with great and precious promises to their distant posterity. He is commanded to go and take " a wife of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms," and is supposed to have children by her. Such a command communicated to the peo ple would shock them as grossly indelicate. " Nay," saith the prophet, like Nathan to David, "but ye are the men ! If the Lord be a husband to you, he* must have a wife of worse whoredoms than these ! " This wife of whoredoms is supposed to bear him three children,, whose names are prophetic. The first, Jezreel, predicts evil against the government, of which this place was a seat; the second, Loruhamah, inti mates the discontinuance ofthe divine mer cy to the nation; and the third, Loammi, God's renouncing them as his people. Yet these terrible denunciations are followed (in verses 10, 11) by something not a little encouraging to the faithful, whose hearts would tremble as for the ark of God. The promises to Abraham should nevertheless be fulfilled: children should be raised up to him from the Gentiles. Nor is this all : the children of Judah and of Israel, forget ting their former enmities, should unite in the Messiah, as under a captain or leader ; and then Jezreel, from being a scene of wickedness and bloodshed, should have her day of mercy. Nor does this seem to con clude the prophecy ; the first verse of the second chapter seems properly to belong to the preceding rather than the following sub ject, and to contain an address to the faith ful of the land, directing them to look out of the then present generation for brethren and sisters, even to the latter days, and, in the name of the Lord, to greet them with the cheering names of Ammi and Ruhamdh, My people having obtained mercy ! After many cutting things in the second chapter, in which, to show the odiousness of Israel's conduct and to bring it home to their bosoms, they are again compared to an adulterous wife, who, having dissolved the marriage bond, deserved to be stripped, and, with her spurious offspring, turned out by her injured husband. They are even told that such will actually be their portion. Yet after this, from ver. 14 to the end, the most precious promises are made to their posteri ty. His " alluring her, and bringing her into the wilderness," however, seems rather to be expressive of present judgments than of future mercies. It denotes, I apprehend, not the drawings of love, but the devisings of providence to render her sin its own pun ishment.* As an injured husband makes use of the adulteries of his wife to convict and banish her; so the., Lord would cause the fondness of this people for idolatry and idolaters to draw them into the Assyrian net (ch. vii. 11, 12,) and, they should be carried away captive among the nations as into a wilderness, and for a long time be in a man ner lost, Ezek. xx. 35. Yet, as in the wil derness of old he spake kindly to their fa thers, and thence gave them the land of promise, so thence shall she again "receive her vineyards :" and as "the valley of Achor," where Achan's idolatry was punished, was to Israel " a door of hope," in that the fierce anger of the Lord was hereby turned away (Josh. vii. 26 ;) so shall it be in this case. After having made an example of many for their idolatry, his anger will be turned away, and he will comfort the survi vors. , Then shall they " sing as in the days of their youth, as in the day when they came up out of the land of Egypt." — See also Exod. xv. 1 — 21, cornpared with Isa. xi. 11 — 16, and xii. And now, being brought to believe in the Messiah, she shall be cured of her spiritual adultery and become chaste to God, no more polluting his worship with idolatrous mix tures, but cleaving to him with singleness of heart, as to the husband of her youth. — Ver. 16, 17. In that day, the whole creation, which has in a manner been at war with her, shall be at peace (yer. 18,) and he that had cast her off, saying, " She is not my wife, neither am I her husband," shall " betroth her unto him for ever in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies." Nor are these the only attributes that shall be glori fied in her recovery : " he will betroth her unto him in faithfulness, and she shall know the Lord ; " his covenant promises, made even from the days of Abraham, shall now be fulfilled, and the veil which has so long remained, on her heart shall be taken away. —Ver. 19, 20. Finally : He who had taken away his corn, his wine, his oil, and his flax, owing to their being ascribed to idols, and abused to idolatry, will now graciously restore them. God will hear, and supply the heavens with water; they the earth with rain, and the * I cannot find that nnD any where signifies to influence in a way of mercy, but properly means to entice or deceive; and thus God, in just judg ment, entices and deceives sinners, by giving them up to their own delusions. See 2 Chron. xviii. 19—22; Ezek. xiv. 9. HOS. XI. XIII. XIV. Ill fruits of it with moisture : and these the people with plenty. The earth shall yield her increase, and God, even their own God, will take pleasure in blessing them. Nor is this all : Israel shall be a blessing to the world. What the seed is to the harvest, that shall they be to the nations among whom they have sojourned. And now, in stead of " Loruhamah " and "Loammi," they are called Ruhamah and Ammi; "for I will have mercy upon her, saith the Lord, that had not obtained mercy, and will say to them that were not my people, Thou art my people ; and they shall say, Thou art my God." Thus, like friends re-united after a long separation, their communion is more in timate than ever. The third chapter contains another pro phecy on the same subject. Like tlie for mer, it is introduced under the form of a parable. The case supposed is that of a. man attached to a woman who is an adulte ress. Go, saith the Lord to the prophet, see if thou canst love such a one ; yet Suoh, if any thing, must be my love to this people. The prophet is further supposed to go and covenant with this adulteress, en gaging her to desist for many days from her lewd courses, living as it were a widow by herself, and afterwards she should become his wife. Such was the love of the Lord to the children of Israel. He loved them not withstanding their idolatry, and intended, at a future time, to take them to be his people. He would not receive them, however, in their idolatry, nor till a proper time had elapsed, in which they should live in a state of sepa ration ; but in - due season he would take them to himself as his church and people, remembering their sin no more. " The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, arid without a prince, and without a sacrifice." Never surely has a prophecy corresponded more exactly with fact. Nor is this all : The whole of the Israelitish race with whom we have any acquaintance have also been "without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim ; " that is, though mixed with the nations of the world, and in other respects wicked in the extreme, yet they have not been suffered to go into their former idola trous practices; and thus have answered to the adulteress ceasing from playing the har lot, and abiding for her husband in a state of separation many days. " Afterwards shall the children of Israel return and seek Jeho vah their God, and David their king ; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days." On this no reflection need be made, save this, that the superabundant grace of God towards them in their outcast and perishing condition shall not only fill their hearts with gratitude, but inspire them with a holy fear of offending him any more. LETTER III. Hos. xi. xiii. xiv.; Jer. xxxi. 15 — 21. In my last I offered some observations on those prophecies which I considered as re lating to God's future designs of mercy towards Israel, in the firs^ three chapters of Hosea ; in this I shall notice some others in the remaining part of that book, together with a passage from Jeremiah. The ten tribes, in this and other prophe cies, are frequently personified under the name of Ephraim. Much is said of Ephra- im's sin, and ofhis punishment; but sev eral strong intimations are also given of his being brought to repentance, and obtaining mercy. Of this we have a beautiful exam ple in ch. xi. 8, &c. : "How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ! Shall I deliver thee, Israel ? How shall I make thee as Admah ! Shall I set thee as Zeboim ? Mine heart is turned within me ; my repentings are kindled together." Half the force and mean ing of this melting passage appears to me to be lost, by twice introducing the supple mentary teimhow. So read, it contains one continued appeal of Jehovah to his own mercy and faithfulness ; but, read without it, it is an alternate appeal, first in the language of covenant mercy, addressed to himself, and then in the language of jus tice, addressed to. the conscience and other feelings of the offender : q. d. How can I bear to give thee up, Ephraim ? yet thou deservest to be delivered over to destruc tion. What sayest thou? Shall I deliver thee ? How can I bear to make thee as Admah ? Yet this is thy due. What say est thou ? Shall I set thee as a monument of endless displeasure, like Zeboim ? Ah no ! my heart revolts at the thought, my repentings are kindled together ; I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger ; I will not return to destroy Ephraim ; for I am God and not man, the Holy one in the midst of thee ; and I will not enter into the city as an avenger, but rather as a father will turn away mine eyes from thee, that I may not be provoked by thy sins. Inverses 10, 11, it is intimated that there should come a time when Ephraim should be of another mind, and the Lord would spare that generation, as well as many succeeding ones, for their sakes ; that the signal of their return to God should be some terrible event in the world, in which he would " roar like a lion," filling the minds of men with consternation and terror ; and that, in the midst of these alarms, they should come from the west, and from the south, and from the east, as trembling doves to their windows, " and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord." In ch. xiii. 14 Ephraim is considered as dead and buried ; and now what will his father 112 CONVERSION OP THE JEWS. do ? Will he lament over him, like David over Absalom? No ; his power is equal to his mercy. He will storm the castle that detains him. " I will ransom him from the power of the grave, I will redeem him from death. O death ! I will be thy plagues. O grave ! I will be thy destruction. Repent ance shall be hid from mine eyes ! " In this astonishing language, we see the anger of the father towards his disobedient son, now that he is dead, turned against death, itself that cut him off, and the grave that enclosed him, resolving to rescue him by destroying his destroyers. To the above, I think I ought to add ch. xiv. 4 — 8, as belonging to the same subject. It is, I am aware, expressive of the blessings which the Lord would have bestowed upon Israel in case of their return to him, as they were most pathetically exhorted to in the preceding verses. But, if there come a time when they shall thus return, the bless ings will then be actually bestowed. Like a field refreshed by dew, like a lily blossom ing with beauty, like Lebanon casting forth her roots, God will bless him, and he shall ' be a blessing to all about him. Nor shall this goodness be abused as heretofore, but shall heighten his abhorrence of his former courses. Ephram, being grafted into " the green fir-tree," shall answer to his name ; he shall be " fruitful " among his brethren : nor shall he, as formerly, bring forth fruit unto himself, but to him that hath had mercy upon him. I shall conclude this piece with a few remarks on a well known passage in the prophecies of Jeremiah, as belonging to the same subject. I refer to ch. xxxi. 15 — 21. The ten tribes are here, as in other proph ecies, personified under the name of Ephra im. They had, at the time of its delivery, been carried away captive more than a cen tury. Alluding to the distresses -of that period, the prophet spake as follows : " Thus saith the Lord, A voice was heard from Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel, weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children because they were not ! " Rachel was the mother of Jo seph, from whom Ephraim descended : and, by a most affecting figure of speech, she is here represented as risen from the grave, and looking about for her children ; but, finding none of them in the land of their fathers, she weeps for the loss of them with bitter lamentations. But let not Rachel, or rather the church of God whom she person ates, despair. " Thus saith the Lord, Re frain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears ; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord, and thy children shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border." But whence is this hope to be entertained by Rachel? Her children had been gone for more than a century ; and their name and memorial were in a manner perished, observe the answer, "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning him self, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; for thou art Jehovah my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented ; and, after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh : I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." This confession of Ephraim is not historic, but prophetic ; for the state of mind here depict ed is represented as taking place at a time so very distant that he should look back upon the days of his idolatry as the period of his youth. Nevertheless, when he shall return to the Lord, he shall obtain mercy. Ephraim has not only a mother to bewail him, but a father, who, as soon as he hears the voice of the prodigal, is moved with compassion, and runs to . meet him. " Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child ? for, since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." The virgin of Israel is then directed to prepare for returning home. " Set thee up way- marks, make thee high heaps ; set thine heart toward the high way, even the way which thou wentest: Turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities." But Rachel was not only the mother of Joseph, and so of Ephraim, but also of Ben jamin, whose tribe adhered to Judah ; and inasmuch as her voice was heard from Ra mah, a city of Benjamin, the prophecy would not only have a retrospective aspect to the captivity of Ephraim by Assyria, but a pro spective one to that of Judah and Benjamin by Babylon. It was in the latter that the children were carried a*way from* Ramah, which seems to have been the head-quarters of the Babylonish general after the taking of Jerusalem* and whence he disposed of his prisoners. — Jer. xl. 1 — 3. Thus both the ten and the two tribes, sustaining a re lation to Rachel, are combined in the pro phecy, as they should actually be in their restoration. Hence it follows, " How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth. A woman shall compass a man. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah, and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity, The Lord bless thee, O habi tation of justice, and mountain of holiness. And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have re- ISA. XI. XII. 113 plenished every sorrowful soul." The im port of these verses I take to be this : How long wilt thou seek deliverance from human help ? God will cause, what is contrary to all human calculation, weakness to overcome strength, and the church to be triumphant. Judah, with Ephraim, shall return; and righteousness, holiness, and peace, shall be established in their land. The prophecy being a vision, the prophet adds, "Upon this I awaked, and beheld ; and my sleep was sweet unto me." As there is nothing'in all this which inti mates the return of the ten tribes as a dis tinct nation, but in connection with Judah, so neither is there any thing which leads us to look for the fulfilment merely in the re turn of Judah from Babylon, accompanied with a few of the Israelites ; and, if we read on to ver. 31 — 34, we shall find that the blessings promised were not to be under the same covenant as that of their fathers, but " a new covenant," in which God will " put his law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be his people ;" all which determines it to have reference to gospel times. LETTER IV. Isa. xi. xii. That these chapters refer to the gospel dispensation there can be no doubt, seeing they are introduced with a prophecy "that a rod shall come forth out ofthe stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots ;" and by some passages in them they would seem to have a special reference to the lat ter part of it. The language in which peace and amity, as succeeding to a state of enmity and hostility, is described in ver. 6 — 8, seems much too strong for any thing the church has yet seen, and to accord with no period short of that mentioned ver. 9, when " the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Ver. 10 describes the great accession to the church of Christ from among the Gen tiles. "In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign to the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious." The term rest de notes an established government, succeed ing to wars and troubles, like the reign of Solomon to that of David. Such will be the government of Christ in that day, to what it has been in all former periods, during which it has been engaged in one continued strug gle. And as the reign of Solomon was ex empted from wars, and distinguished by its buildings, so shall be the reign of Christ in that day. The Lord will then build up Zion, and appear in his glory. In the midst of this glory God is represent ed as remembering his ancient people, both Vol. 2.— Sig. 15. Israel and Judah. " It shall come to pass, in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand a second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the na tions, and shall assemble the outcasts of Is rael, and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim." This second time of God's setting his hand cannot refer to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon ; for though that event mightj be so denominated in respect of their being first brought out of Egypt, yet the period ofthe whole prophecy does not answer to it. That which is here referred to is something which should be wrought for Israel under the reign ofthe Mes siah, and at a time when " the earth should be full ofthe knowledge ofthe Lord, as the wa ters cover the sea ;" and what it can be but their conversion to him, I am not able to conceive. What follows, in ver. 14 — 16, compares the return of the remnant of God's ancient people to the coming up of their fathers out of Egypt. The kingdom of the Messiah shall be enlarged, as the borders of Israel were formerly by their victories over the surrounding nations ; and as then God dried up the tongue, or bay, of the Red Sea, and caused the waters of Jordan to go backward, so now he will remove every ob struction out of their way, and bring them home to himself with a high hand and an out stretched arm. Ch. xii. is a continuation of the subject, and contains a hymn, or sacred song of praise, suited to the joyful occasion of their deliverance. It is observable that their first deliverance from Egypt was followed by a triumphant song on the shores of the Red Sea. So also was their deliverance from Babylon. — Psa. cxxvi. Their joy on that occasion was so great that what had taken place seemed to them a dream — too much to be true. Surrounding nations beheld and acknowledged "that the Lord had done great things for them ; " while their thank ful spirits echoed the acknowledgment: " The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." But neither of these deliverances was equal to that which is here celebrated. We may observe, in the first place, the use of the singular pronouns : " Thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee," &c. This may denote the unity that shall prevail among them. In their divided and scattered condition they said, " Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost ; we axe cut off for our 114 CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. parts ; " but now they are of one heart and of one soul. With respect to the matter of the sono-, they begin with praise to Jehovah for his great mercy in pardoning their sins, or re moving that fierce anger which had for so many ages burned against them. " Thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee : though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me." This is perfectly in character : true peni tents look back upon past sins with bitter ness, and thankfulness for having escaped them and the wrath of God revealed from heaven against them. The anger of God , against the Jews, for their crucifying his Son, the Lord of glory, and continuing in such bitter enmity against him, has indeed been great. It was truly said of them that " wrath was come upon them to the utter most." The calamities which befel them in the destruction of their city, the length of their dispersion, the contempt they have en dured, and, what is more than all, the judi cial blindness and hardness of heart to which they are given up, are so many expressions of divine displeasure against them, with which their former history furnishes no parallel. The remembrance therefore of this, while it fills them with the deepest self-abasement, furnishes them with the highest sensations of grateful joy. It is this compound sensa tion that is described in Hos. iii. 5, " They shall fear the Lord, and his goodness, in the latter days." The language of ver. 2, though suited to Old-Testament times, conveys the strongest ideas of joyful amazement. Behold, God is my salvation ; I will trust and not be afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation." Had this part ofthe song been expressed in New-Testament language, it might have been nearly in the words of the apostle, " I count all things but loss for the excellency ofthe knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith " — " I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Of old he had been tlie salvation of their fathers ; of late of the Gen tiles : but now " all Israel shall be saved ; as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away ungodli ness from Jacob." Such an interposition of free and great grace may well be introduced with the note of attention " behold ! " And now he will be to them a refuge. Though their sins have been great as the sea, yet, without fear, they may trust in him to heal them ; and though their builders formerly set him at nought, yet, without any appre hension of being confounded, they may rest their hopes upon him: and wherefore ? Be cause in him they shall recognise " the ever lasting Jehovah," the God of their fathers. The effect of so great a salvation must needs be a general, an exceeding, a mighty joy. Such is that described in ver. 3, " With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." It is said to have been the cus tom ofthe Jews, on the last day ofthe feast of tabernacles, to draw water in a golden pitcher from the well of Siloam, and to pour it, mixed with wine, on the sacrifice as it lay on the altar, singing all the while a part of this hymn, especially this third verse, with great rejoicings, and looking forward to that abundance of blessings which they expected in the times of the Messiah. If so it was, they were not far from the true intent ei ther of their feast of tabernacles or of the prophecy. The words of our Saviour, in John vii. 37, will hence appear peculiarly appropriate: — "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, say ing, If any one thirst, let him come unto me and drink ! " As the keeping of the feast ofthe passover was prefigurative of the joy and obedience of faith under the gospel (1 Cor. v. 8,) so was the keeping of the feast of tabernacles : hence, in the prophecy of Ze chariah, a rejection of Christ is expressed by a refusal to come up to Jerusalem to keep this feast. — Ch. xiv. 16, 19. But though some, even in the latter days, will thus stand out against the Saviour, yet the feast shall be kept by the great body of mankind, espe cially by God's ancient people the Jews. The salvation of Christ shall be to them as wells of water in a dry land, from which they shall draw in abundance. Such will be the types and prophecies of their own sacred writings ; which, though full of living water, have, through their unbelief, been of no ac count to them. The wells were deep, and they had nothing to draw with. Such also will be the doctrines and ordinances ofthe New Testament, in which they have hither to seen no beauty, but rejected the counsel of God against themselves. And now, being filled with joy themselves, they will not be able to contain it, but will feel an ardent desire to recommend the Sa viour to the Gentile nations. "In that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name be exalted. Sing unto Jehovah ; for he hath done ex cellent things ; this is known in all the earth," — Ver. 4, 5. From this and other passages, especially Rom. xi. 12, 15, it ap pears that the conversion of the Jews will be a kind of resurrection to the world. In every way, God, according to his promise, will make Abraham's seed a blessing toman- ZECH. XI., XII. XIII. 1. 115 kind. Their fall and diminution were an occasion of our riches ; but their recovery will be much more so. So great an event, "known in all the earth," will in a manner put infidelity out of countenance. Their coming over to Christ will be like Abner's coming over to David, which broke up the power of his enemies, and issued in the peaceable establishment ofhis kingdom which they should be given up after having rejected him, ver. 15 — 17. While person ating the former, the prophet speaks of him self as commissioned to feed the flock of slaughter, especially the poor of [the flock, whose possessors slew them and held them selves guiltless, ver. 4, 5. These possessors, with the great body of the nation, are given up, ver. 6. But a remnant should be saved Finally: Zion is congratulated and called from among the poor, and these'should be upon to " cry out and shout, for that God fed by the good Shepherd (ver. 7,) who will then dwell in the midst of her." — Ver. also would set himself against those who 6. I am not sure that Zion in this place is sought not them, but theirs, ver. 8, 9. By not to be understood literally of the city of the breaking of his staves, Beauty and Jerusalem. I may be mistaken in thinking Bands (the instruments of his rule as a shep that God has promised, not only to convert the great body of Abraham's descendants, but to restore them to their own country ; but I am not able, on any other supposition, to understand several passages of scripture ; especially Zech. xii. 6, and Luke xxi. 24. "Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. — They shall fall by the edge ofthe sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations ; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gen tiles be fulfilled." Whatever figura- herd,) is set forth the dissolving ofthe cove nant of peculiarity made with Israel, and the giving them up to divisions one among an other. This judgment should be so mani fest that the believing part of the nation should see the hand of God in it, and that it was his design thereby to put an end to their place and nation, ver. 1 1. The cause of these great evils is found in their con temning, rejecting, and crucifying Christ, ver. 12, 13. And now, having rid themselves, as they supposed, of him, God would, in just judgment, raise up for them a foolish shep- tive meaning may be put upon the words of herd ; denoting that they should not only be the prophet, which, however, it appears to me must be very forced ; yet there can be no figure in those of our Lord, which clearly intimate that that same Jerusalem which shall be for a time trodden down by the Gentiles deserted of God, and punished by the Roman sword, but given up to the influence of a set of blind and sordid priests, who should lead them into the ditch, and there perish with them, ver. 15 — 18. Such appears to be the shall be no lono-er so than till the times of sum of chap, xi., which is altogether against the Gentiles shall be fulfilled. But whether Zion in this passage be taken literally for Jerusalem, or figuratively for the whole church of God, both Jews and Gentiles being united in the faith of Christ, the presence and blessino- of God will be her greatest glory. the body of the Jewish nation ; but chap. xii. contains a prophecy of their restoration, and is therefore called, " The burden of the word ofthe Lord for Israel." — Ver. 1. The events of this and the foregoing pro phecy, though wide asunder as to time, yet The name of the city from" that day"shall very properly follow each other. Paul takes be called Jehovah-shammah, The Lord is but little notice of the state of the Jews there. during their long dispersion; but passing over that chasm, as included in their being " broken off," proceeds to speak of their be- LETTER V. mg " grafted in again." — Rom. xi. The prophecy finds Jerusalem" besieged" Zech. eh. xi. xii. xiii. 1. by enemies, but very differently circum- That we may perceive the connection of stanced from what she was in the foregoing the prophecy in chap. xii. it will be proper chapter. Her enemies were then avenging to observe that chap. xi. contains a predic- the cause of God and of his Christ; and tion of the overthrow of the Jewish nation therefore, whatever might be their motives, by the Romans. It is introduced by the were successful: but in this siege God is burning of the temple, composed of the wood on her side, and therefore she is a cup of " fall of some of trembling " to her enemies. Of course, this of Lebanon (ver. 1,) by the their great men (ver. 2,) and by the conster nation of others (ver. 3.) To represent the state of religion among them at this time, the prophet is directed to " take unto him the instruments ; " that is, to personate cer tain shepherds which God would raise up in the land. First, the great and good Shep must refer to the period when she shall be restored. The character which Jehovah assumes in the preface to the prophecy is worthy of notice : " Thus saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the herd of the sheep, who should now make spirit of man within him." These mighty v„ ,„™L,.ar,r-P nnnn earth ver. 4—14. works relate to the first creation of the world, SeconolTa fooUPand soS shepherd, to and the mention of them may intimate that, 116 CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. at the time of the prophecy being fulfilled, they shall in a manner be acted over again. That which he will then accomplish towards his ancient people shall be a kind of new creation. It were presumptuous to be very positive as to the meaning of a prophecy ' which is yet to be accomplished ; but, comparing it with other prophecies of the same event, the following particulars appear to be conveyed by it. First.: That the Jews shall be re stored to their own land prior to their con version: "Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem." — Ver. 6. This event may be accomplished in the ordinary course of providence, by some of the great conquerors of the world, who shall find their interest in it, and be in duced, as Cyrus was in a former instance, to favor it. Secondly : That a grand com bination will be formed against them with a view to dispossess them. — Ver. 2, 9. Third ly : That the nations engaged in this com bination will be repulsed, and sorely punish ed for their presumptuous attempt, which, after witnessing the remarkable fulfilment of prophecy towards the Jews, must be against the light of their own consciences : "Jerusalem shall be a cup of trembling (a cup as it were of poison) to those who go up against her ; a rock falling upon their heads ; a hearth of fire among the wood ; and a torch in a sheaf."— Ver. 2—6. Fourthly: That. the country and the city shall be united against the enemy. — Ver. 5 — 7. Fifthly : That they should be guarded by Providence, and strengthened to encounter the greatest difficulties: "The Lord will defend them, and he that is feeble among them shall be as David," &c— Ver. 8. Sixthly : That, after all these temporal interpositions, the Lord will pour upon them a spirit of grace and of supplications, and they shall lament over their sins, and the sins of their fathers, par ticularly in having crucified the Lord of glory. — Ver. 10. This order of things seems perfectly to agree with what is said in Ezek. xxxvii., where the process is described, first, by " a noise," then " a shaking, a coming together bone to his bone," a being covered with " sinews and flesh and skin," and last of all by their having breathed into them " the breath of life."— Ver. 7—9. To the same purpose they are described in ver. 13, 14, as first brought out of their graves, and then as knowing their deliverer. The only difficulty attending this state ment seems to arise from ver. 5, where, pre viously to the pouring out of the spirit of grace upon them, the governors of Judah are supposed to strengthen themselves, and one another, in "the Lord of Hosts, their God." But it is no unusual thing for the leaders of a people in time of war, though destitute of true religion, yet to have so much of a conviction of the dependence of all upon God as to strengthen themselves and their armies by a hope of divine assist ance. Joab could say to his brother, " Be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our God ; and the Lord do that which seemeth him good."— 2 Sam. x. 12. So Abijah, 2 Chron. xiii. A few remarks on the spiritual part of the prophecy shall conclude this paper. First: The subjects of this great change : these will be both princes and people. In the pouring out of the Spirit, on the day of Pen tecost, there were many of the latter, but few if any of the former ; but now all de scriptions of men shall bow to our Redeemer's sceptre. Secondly: The cause of it; name ly, the pouring upon them " a spirit of grace and of supplications." The spirit of true re ligion is a spirit of grace in respect of its source, and of supplications in respect of its issue, importunate prayer. Looking at the state of these people at present, we are grieved for the hardness of their hearts ; but when the Spirit of the living God shall take the work in hand, the heart of stone shall become a heart of flesh. Thirdly : The grand medium of it; namely, the remem brance of Him whom their fathers crucified, and whom they themselves have pierced by justifying them in it. A believing view of Jesus on the cross will dissolve the most ob durate spirit in godly sorrow. Fourthly: The intenseness of the grief: it shall be a great mourning, like that of a father for the loss of an only son, or like the lamentations at the death of Josiah, in the valley of Megid don. Fifthly : Its universality: the land shall mourn, and every family of every remain ing tribe. Scarcely a house shall be found, but on entering it, you shall find them weep ing over their former obstinacy and unbelief. Sixthly : The individvality and retirement of it: "Every family shall mourn apart, and their wives apart." They will not only weep together when they meet, but retire to lament in secret over their own iniquity. Scarcely a closet or private place shall be found, but some one will be watering it with his tears. Finally: The remedy to all this grief: "In that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness." By looking to Jesus they were wounded, and by looking to Jesus they are healed. The " first fruits " of this great work ap peared on the day of Pentecost, when thou sands were pricked to the heart, repented, and were baptized in that name which they had despised ; but "the lump" is yet to ap pear. " Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doth wondrous things. And hlessed be his glorious name forever : and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen ! " EXPOSITION OF THE PROPHECIES IN ISAIAH XXVI, AND ITS CONNECTION, AS RELATING TO THE TIMES OF THE MILLENNIUM AND THOSE WHICH PRECEDE IT, INCLUDING OUR OWN. [Written in the beginning of 1815.] It is very evident that the prophecies in Isaiah xxvi., and other chapters connected with it, relate to gospel timss. It must be in them that the Lord of Hosts makes a feast of fat things unto all people — destroys the face of the covering cast over all people — swalloweth up death in victory — and wipeth away tears from all faces. — Chap. xxv. 6 — 9. The only question is as to what part of the gospel dispensation this strong language can apply. Some of it appears to be too strong to agree with events which have yet occurred, and therefore has been generally understood of the latter-day glory, when Jews and Gentiles shall embrace the gospel to a far greater extent than has hitherto been seen. With this accords the language at the close of chap, xxiv., and which seems to glance at the conversion of God's ancient people. " Then the moon shall be confound ed, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Je rusalem, and before his ancients gloriously." With this also accords the whole xxvth chapter, which describes the triumphs of the church over her enemies, and to have been complete should I conceive have includ ed the first two verses of the xxvith, where the city of God is represented as having salvation for walls and bulwarks, and as throwing open her gates and inviting the faithful to enter in. But, as certain parts of the xxvth chapter refer to the conflicts which precede the tri umph, so does the remainder of the xxvith, and the first verse of the xxviith. Now it is in these prophecies, referring to times which precede the Millennium, that we shall find the events of our own times. By giv ing what appears to be the meaning of every verse, accompanied by a quotation of the verse itself, the reader will be able to judge of the justness of the application of the prophecy. Ver. 3 — 6. The faithful are encouraged to trust in the Lord in troublous times : for, before the city of God shall be encompassed with salvation, Babylon, the antichristian city, mast be destroyed ; which will be at tended with such calamities that peace will in a manner be taken from the earth, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever ; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. For he bringeth down them that dwell on high ; the lofty city he layeth it low, even to the ground ; he bringeth it even to the dust. The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. Ver. 7. The church pleading with God takes encouragement from his regard to righteousness that he will not always suffer her enemies to triumph over her. — "The way ofthe just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just." Ver. 8, 9. The grievous persecutions which she had borne during the long and dark night of antichristian domination are viewed as divine chastisements, or "judg ments beginning at the house of God ; " un der which she declares her feelings, and hopes for deliverance.—" Yea, in the way of thy j udgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee ; the desire of our soul is to'thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. With my soul have I desired thee in the night ; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early." Ver. 9, latter part. The ground of this hope is, not only that God has punishments in reserve for her enemies, but that the ca lamities which the infliction of these punish ments will bring upon the world shall be made subservient to her increase. — "For when thy judgments are abroad in the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn right eousness." Ver. 10, 11. The adherents of Antichrist 118 PROPHECIES RELATING TO THE MILLENNIUM. will not profit by these events : but, being given up to perverseness and blindness, nei ther mercies nor judgments will humble them : that, however, which was unaccom plished by forbearing goodness shall be ac complished by the strong arm of justice — they shall be humbled and consumed in fires of their own kindling. — " Let favor be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righte ousness : in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majes ty of the Lord. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see : but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people : yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them." Ver. 12. The church expresseth her con fidence that these calamities, though they should take peace from the earth, yet shall contribute to her prosperity : for all that she hath wrought, it is God that hath wrought it in and by her ; and he will not forsake the work of his own hands. — " Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us : for thou also hast wrought all our works in us." " Ver. 13, 14. She recounts her persecu tions, cleaves to Christ, and anticipates, the fall of her persecutors. — " O Lord, our God, other Lords besides thee have had dominion over us ; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live, they are deceased, they shall not rise : therefore hast thou visited and de stroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." Ver. 15, 16. After the fall of the anti christian powers the church will be increas ed, and God will be glorified ; especially by the conversion of the Jews, who- under the chastising hand of God shall be brought to pray unto him. — "Thou hast increased the nation, O Lord, thou hast increased the nation : thou art glorified : thou hadst re moved it far unto all the ends of the earth. Lord, in trouble have they visited thee : they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them." Ver. 17, 18. She laments her ineffectual and abortive labors for ages preceding in subduing the world to Christ.— " Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs ; so have we been in thy sight, O Lord : we have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind ! we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth ; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen." Ver. 19. To these complaints of the church, God graciously answers by promises of better times. — " Thy dead shall live, my deceased, they shall arise (Lowth:) awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust : for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." Ver. 20, 21, and chap, xxvii. 1. He an swers further by inviting her to retire into her chambers, as for shelter from the storm. There will be no need for her to fight in this battle, but to pray in secret : it will be soon over: the bfood of the martyrs must be avenged, and the antichristian power, that great leviathan, that piercing and crooked serpent, must be slain by the "sore, and great, and strong " sword of Jehovah. Then the church of Christ shall shine forth in all her millennial glory. — "In that day sing ye unto her, a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every mo ment ; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day ! " — Chap, xxvii. 2, 3. REMARKS ON ISAIAH XXVI. 9, IN REFER ENCE TO THE PRESENT TIMES. "When thy judgments are abroad in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteous ness." If the foregoing piece contain the true meaning of these prophecies, there can be no doubt but the words in verse 9 refer to the calamities preparatory to the overthrow of the papal Antichrist and the introduction ofthe Millennium. Some of these we have seen ; others are yet to come ; but the most interesting character pertaining to them is that under them "the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." It is not enough to understand them of what ought to be, but of what will be. The inhabitants of the world have in all ages been taught righteousness by the judgments of God ; but now they shall learn it. The same thing is foretold in Rev. xv. 4 ; where, in reference to the pouring out of the vials, it is asked " Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glo rify thy name ? For thou only art holy ; for all nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments are made manifest ?" The sense is that the judgments already found upon the earth, and those which are yet to come, will, with the word of God, which shall at the same time be spreading, be the means of effecting that great change in the moral state ofthe world which proph ecy gives us to expect. Let us observe the effects produced by < the events which have already occurred. We are informed, by a serious and intelli gent spectator, that a deep impression was made upon the continental armies by the late sanguinary contests. The Rev. Mr. Hallbeck, Moravian minister, who, in the summer of 1813, travelled through the north of Germany, while occupied by the French and Allied armies, and published a narrative of his journey, writes as follows: — "Itis impossible to describe the ardor and enthu siasm which prevailed in Prussia, as soon as the people were permitted to take up arms against their oppressors. Scarcely were the ISAIAH XXVI. 9. 119 intentions ofthe monarch known, before the Prussia, and other continental nations, have whole country was in motion, and thousands of late years been said to be remarkable for flew to arms. Counts and barons, profes- their infidelity : but infidelity at this time sors and students, masters and servants, seems to have hid its head. enrolled themselves as common soldiers, and Further, is it not deserving of notice that those who could not bear arms gave money, while some ofthe most awful judgments have The ladies sold their jewels, their gold, their been abroad in the earth, and men's minds very hair, to aid the common cause ; they have been impressed by them, an impulse left the toilet to provide for hospitals, to dig has beeri given to circulate the holy Scrip- entrenchments, &c. tures, such as was never before known ? " This enthusiasm, to which modern his- Without inquiring whence this impulse pro- tory presents no equal, was combined with ceeded, its existence and extent are mani- a religious spirit pervading the whole na- fest to every observant eye. The remarks tion. The iron time (as it is called) since 1807 had subdued the pride of the people, and the terrible judgments in Russia had opened their eyes. The soldiers were so lemnly consecrated for the war by their pa- made upon this subject in respect of Russia, in the Eclectic Review for November, are worthy of notice, and will in part apply to other nations as well as Russia. " In con templating the exertions which are made rish ministers. It was a most affecting by Christians of all denominations for the scene to see some thousands of young war riors together, receiving instructions from their minister, and the blessing ofthe church, of their parents and relatives, before they went to fight for liberty. Every heart was moved, every eye shed tears. " The same good disposition and unparal leled enthusiasm pervaded also the regular troops. They were no more the boasting self-confident Prussians of 1809 ; on the contrary, modesty, and dependence on help universal diffusion of religious knowledge, it is indeed gratifying to reflect on the pow erful influence which the Russian church, and the Russian people, may exert on the progress of divine truth among the nations. Their capabilities in this view are extremely great, nearly surrounded as they are by many numerous tribes, who are sitting in darkness, and in the land of the shadow of death ; and their zealous co-operation in the cause of revealed truth may be regarded as from above, formed the general character of one of those events which, under the guid ance of a divine agency, bear the closest relation to the propagation of the gospel, and the immortal interests of the human race." — p. 431. From what is said of the inhabitants of the world, that " when God's judgments are abroad in the earth they will learn righteous ness," we are not to suppose that this effect will be produced by the events of providence Blucher's army. With God, for our king and country, was the motto embroid ered on their standards, engraven in their hearts. Cursing and swearing, the common vices of soldiers, were seldom heard ; no songs were allowed to be sung till revised by the colonel, and approved by a clergy man. Many of these songs were of a relig ious, and all of a moral tendency. The regiments were not indeed provided with only : the word of God, and the Spirit of chaplains, but they attended divine service God, will accompany them and co-operate as often as circumstances permitted. "Eight hundred Prussians were once quartered in Herrnhut. The commanding officer had ordered the band to parade the streets as usual in the evening ; but, being told that there was a meeting for divine worship at thathour, he postponed the music, and he and all the officers and soldiers at tended the chapel. "To this modest and pious spirit was with them. Such appears to be the actual state of things already in some degree, and such we may expect will be their progress. These remarks may be thought to afford but little prospect of continued peace, but rather give us to expect a succession of judgments. I wish all success to every attempt at peace ; but, so long as popery re mains in the earth, I believe there will be no continued peace for it. " Is it peace, Jehu ? joined a bravery equally enthusiastic, of What peace, so long as the whoredoms of which itis not easy to form an idea without thy mother Jezebel, and her witchcrafts are having been a witness to it Conquer or die was a resolution legible in the counte nance of every soldier, which was not effac ed by the most adverse circumstances, and which influenced those who were naturally of a weak and timid disposition." I lay no stress on the durability of these impressions : some of them may have con tinued, others may have subsided ; but. so many ? " Prophecy apart, it cannot es cape the observation of thinking men that popery, notwithstanding its being raised by recent events to somewhat of its former greatness, is still dissatisfied. It must be a persecuting enemy of true religion or noth ing. There is not a papal nation in being, of any account, but wnat has in it the seeds .of discontent and future wars. The pre- however this be, we may see how the mighty ponderatmg powers of Europe will have to hand of God, when stretched out, can sub- say, We woidd have healed Babylon, but she due the spirits of men. The inhabitants of is not healed! EXPOSITION OF PASSAGES relating to THE UNPARDONABLE SIN The forgiveness of sin is doubtless one of the most interesting subjects to a sinful crea ture ; and if there be one sin upon which the Divine Being has thought fit to set a mark of peculiar displeasure, by declaring it un pardonable, it is worthy of the most serious inquiry to determine what it is. Perhaps the most likely method of coming at the truth will be by first taking a view of those pas sages of Scripture where it is either fully expressed or implied, and then maldng a few remarks upon them. There is no express mention of the sin against the Holy Spirit under the former dispensation. It seems, however, that there was a period in the lives of Cain and Saul, and perhaps of some others, when they were given up of God to inevitable destruction. The first, or rather the only express mention that we have of it, is in the evangelists, where it is applied to the Pharisees, on oc casion of their blasphemously asserting, " This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." Dr. Whitby thinks these passages were only designed to warn them of the sin, and that it was not possible to be actually com mitted till the pouring out ofthe Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost ; and assigns this as a reason, that Christ afterwards prayed for those very persons. But those for whom Christ prayed " knew not what they did : " they were in the same situation with Saul while a persecutor ; they " did it ignorantly, and in unbelief." This, however, was not true of all his murderers. Those who made answer to Judas, who confessed that he had betrayed innocent blood, " See thou to that," could not, I am afraid, have this plea alleged on their behalf. It is true the multitude did it ignorantly, and many of their rulers, as Peter candidly acknowledged ; but this, I should think, is more than could be said of them all. It is pretty evident that some of them acted upon the principles suggested by our Lord: "This is the heir, come let us kill him." It is no objection to this that it is said, " If they had known him, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;" for knowledge is not here put for a mere conviction that he was the Messiah, but for that spiritual discernment which is possessed only by believers, being " revealed to them by the Spirit, who searcheth the deep things of God." From certain passages of Scrip ture it appears to me that some of the Pha risees were guilty of the unpardonable sin. See John ix, 41, and xii. 42, 43. Perhaps the next intimation that is given of this sin is in Peter's address to Simon Magus : " Repent of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. It does not appear that the apostle considered the sorcerer as having certainly committed the unpardonable sin : but it seems he consider ed it as a matter of doubt, and therefore, with a view to impress upon his mind the greatness ofhis wickedness and the danger he was in, expressed himself in that doubt ful manner which he was not used to do in ordinary cases. The apostle PauFseems to have had an eye to this sin, when, speaking of Jiimself, he says, " I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief." None will suppose that Saul's ignorance, much less his unbelief, had anything m it meritorious, •which 'could induce the Divine Being to show him mercy : on the contrary it was sin ful, and that for which he reckoned himself the chief of sinners. But it was not accom panied with such circumstances of aggrava tion as to exclude him from an interest in divine mercy : it was not the unpardonable sin. In the epistle to the Hebrews there are several intimations of this sin ; particularly EXPOSITION OF PASSAGES ON THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. 121 in the following passages : " It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance ; see ing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." — " For if we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a cer tain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversa ries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses : Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood ofthe covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace ? " Peter also describes the same characters : " For if after they have escaped the pollu tions of the world, through the knowledge ofthe Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again ; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." Lastly : It must be with reference to this sin that John writes in his First Epistle ; "If any man see his brother sin a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life. — There is a sin unto death ; I do not say that he shall pray for it." — " We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not ; but he that is begotten of God keepeth him self, and that wicked one toucheth him not." The above are the principal, if not the only, passages in which reference is made to the unpardonable sin. . From these, taken al together, I shall offer the following remarks : First : When the Scripture speaks of any sin as unpardonable, or of the impossibility of those who have committed it being re newed again unto repentance, we are not to understand them as expressing any natural limitation of either the power or the mercy of God, nor yet of the efficacy ofthe Saviour's blood ; but merely of a limitation dictated by sovereign wisdom and righteousness. Secondly : It is not any one particular act of sin that denominates it unpardonable, but the circumstances under which it is com mitted. The act, in the case of the Phari sees, was uttering blasphemous language against the miracles of Christ ; in the sup posed case of Saul, it was blasphemously persecuting, and otherwise injuriously treat- Vol. 2.— Sig. 16. ing, the church of Christ; in the case ofthe Hebrews, it was apostacy from the truth ; in the false teachers described by Peter, it was not only pre verting the truth, but re turning to sensual abomination. These acts being various, the unpardonable sin could not consist in any one of them in itself con sidered, but in their being committed under certain circumstances. Thirdly : The peculiar circumstances un der which any of these acts becomes unpar donable seems to be the party being pos sessed of a certain degree of light; and that not merely objective, as exhibited in the gospel, but subjective, as possessed by the understanding. This light, which is attribu ted to the Holy Spirit, seems to afford the specific reason of the unpardonable sin be ing represented as committed against him. The distinction which our Lord makes be tween blasphemy against the Son of Man and that against the Holy Spirit, declaring the one pardonable and the other unpardon able, seems to consist in this: the former, during his humiliation, might be the effect of ignorance and unbelief; but the latter (imputing to satanic influence those be nevolent miracles which were not only wrought before their eyes by the Spirit of God, but approved themselves to their con sciences to be of God) could be no other than wilful malignity. And this would be the case especially after the pouring out of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, when such ablaze of light shone forth in confirma tion ofthe gospel: a blasphemous opposition to it at that period would, where the light was not only exhibited but possessed in the understanding, be a black mark of reproba tion. The blasphemy of Saul was accom panied with a great degree of objective light ; but it did not so possess his understanding and conscience but that he did it ignorantly and in unbelief. Had he committed the same blasphemy knowingly, or in spite of a full persuasion in his conscience that the cause he opposed was the cause of God, it is supposed, by his own manner of speaking, that it would have been unpardonable, and that he would not have obtained niercy. The case of the Hebrews turns entirely upon the same circumstance : they not only had the gospel objectively exhibited before them, but became the subjects of deep convictions, and powerful impressions. They were " en lightened," and had "tasted the heavenly gift ; " were made " partakers of the Holy Spirit ; tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come." None of these expressions, it is true, denotes that divine change which accompanies solvation, being expressly distinguished from it (and John°also, in his First Epistle, intimates that those who are "born of God" cannot be guilty of this sin,) yet they undoubtedly ex press powerful impressions, and deep con- 122 EXPOSITION OP PASSAGES ON THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. victions, together with some extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, which were common in those times. All this rendered a depart ure from the truth what the apostle, in the tenth chapter ofthe same epistle, calls " sin ning wilfully, after we have' received the knowledge ofthe truth ; treading under foot the Son of God, and doing despite to the Spirit of grace." It is also upon this circum stance oflight that the case of those apostates mentioned by Peter turns. "After they have known ihe way of righteousness, to turn from the holy commandment " is that which seals their doom. Fourthly : The impossibility of such char acters being recovered and saved arises from two causes: — 1. The only way, or medium, of a sinner's salvation is by the sacrifice of Christ ; but the nature of their sin is such that they " wilfully tread him under foot, and treat the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, as an unholy thing." Now, if the sacrifice of Christ be thus treated, there is no other way of escape : " There remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a fearful looking ¦ for of judgment." Hence itbecomes a hope less undertaking for the servants of God to attempt any thing for their recovery. What can they do ? Nothing but what they have done already in vain. The grounds which they have ordinarily to go over, in saving sin ners from the wrath to come, are, " Repent ance from dead works ; faith towards God ; baptism" of water, and in the primitive times of the Holy Spirit, accompanied with " the laying on of hands ; " exhibiting to them "the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment;" but these things have been known and rejected, have lost their force : why should they be repeated ? No, saith the apostle, " leaving these first princi ples," and those who have rejected them, in the hand of God, we will " go on " with our work " unto perfection." — " The ploughman doth not plough all day to sow " — and " bread-corn is bruised, because he will not ever he threshing it." 2. The only efficient cause of a sinner's being brought to repentance, and so to for giveness, is the almighty and sovereign in fluence ofthe Holy Spirit ; and the only hope that is left for such characters must arise from the exertion of His power, with whom all things are naturally possible : " But of him they are given up ! they have done de spite to the Spirit of grace," and he hath ut terly abandoned them to their own delu sions ! See Heb. vi. 7, 8. Fifthly : The cases which in our times ap pear to approach the nearest to this sin are those of persons who apostatize from the truth after having enjoyed great religious advantages, obtained much light, felt strong convictions, and made considerable progress in reforming their conduct. The apostacy of such characters, as of some among the Hebrews, is sometimes sentimental. Having long felt the gospel way of salvation to grate upon their feelings, they fall in with some flesh-pleasing scheme, either that of open in fidelity, or some one of those which approach the nearest to it ; and now, their conduct be coming equally loose with their principles, when reproved by their friends they keep themselves in countenance by professing to have changed their sentiments in religious matters. In them is fulfilled what was pre dicted of some by the apostle Paul : " They received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie ; — and be damned." The apostacy of others, like those describ ed in the Second Epistle of Peter, is of a more practical nature. Having long felt the yoke of religion galling to their inclinations, they burst the bonds and let loose the reins of lust ; and, to ward off reproof and keep themselves in countenance, they affect to treat all religion with contempt, raking to gether the faults of professing Christians, as an excuse for their own iniquities. Such characters are commonly the worst of all, and the most dangerous to society ; nor do I re collect any instance of their having been " re newed again unto repentance : " " twice dead," they seem doomed to be " plucked up by the roots." In them is verified what our Lord speaks, of a man' out of whom should be cast an unclean spirit, which goeth forth in search of a new habitation, seeking rest, but finding none, and at length resolves on a return to his old abode. "And when he cometh he findeth it empty, swept and gar nished. Then he goeth, and taketh with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and they enter in, and dwell there ; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." I am afraid that to the above might be ad ded a great number of characters who, in early life, were of a decent and grave deport ment ; and who, possessing promising abil ities, were encouraged by their friends to engage in the work of the ministry. Their main study being to cultivate their powers, they have at length attained the art of convey ing truth and commending virtue in a style of pleasing energy. But as they have nev er loved nor lived upon the truth which they have communicated, so neither have they practised the virtues which they have re commended. Slaves to popularity, avarice, or lust, they pass through life under a dis guise ; and, being conversant with divine things as surgeons and soldiers are with the shedding of human blood, they cease to have any effect upon them with respect to their own souls. I would not presume to pass sentence on all such characters ; but neither would I be in their situation for the whole world ! EXPOSITION OE PASSAGES ON THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. 123 The chief difficulties which attend the ac count ofthe unpardonable sin affect minis ters, in their praying for and preaching to sin ners and dejected souls, who are apt to draw dark conclusions against themselves. With respect to prayer, we have directions given us on this head. — 1 John v. 16. We are not to pray that God would forgive menthis sin, because this would be contradicting the re vealed will of God ; but, as we cannot tell ' with certainty who are the subjects of it, we may pray for sinners, without distinction, that God would give them repentance to the acknowledging ofthe truth ; always submit ting our petitions to the sovereign direction of unerring wisdom. But it may't be asked, with respect to preaching, How can a minister pro claim the mercy of God to his auditory in an indefinite way? How can he invite them to a participation of the blessings of the gospel ? How can he declare that if any one of them, even the greatest sinner among them, return to God by Jesus Christ, he will be accepted ; when, for aught he knows, there may be per sons in his presence who may be in the sit uation above described, and for whom no mercy is designed ? To this I answer, The same objection may be made against the doc trine of election ; and is made by the adver saries of that doctrine. Let a minister pur sue his work, and leave the effect to God. What he declares ofthe willingness of Christ to pardon and receive all who return to him is true ; and it might be said of any man, in truth, that if he returned to God by Jesus Christ he would be forgiven. The impossi bility, with respect to those who have com mitted the unpardonable sin, respects their repentance as well as their forgiveness ; and even that is not a natural, but a moral im possibility. With respect to dejected minds, let it be observed that no person, let his crimes have been what they may," if he be grieved at heart for having committed them, and sin cerely ask forgiveness in the name of Christ, needs to fear that he shall be rejected. Such grief is itself a proof that he has not commit ted the sin against the Holy Spirit, because it is a mark of that sin to be accompanied with a hard and impenitent heart. Such characters may feel the remorse of a Cain, a Saul, or a Judas ; but a tear of godly sor row never dropped from their eyes. EXPOSITORY NOTES VARIOUS PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE ON THE EXTRAORDINARY APPEARANCE TO ELIJAH AT MOUNT HOREB. 1 Rings xix. [Written in 1799.] Elijah lived in a time of great apostacy. His history is more particularly related than that of most of the other prophets,' and is very interesting. The most distinguishing event of his time was a sore famine. For three years and six months the heavens were shut up. Of this Ahab was previously warned ; and, to prove that it was a visitation from God for sin, he was assured by Elijah that, as the Lord God of Israel lived, there should be neither dew nor rain, but according to his word. Hitherto he preserves his character, not only as a man, but as a man of God. We admire his magnanimity also, when, to wards the close of this afflictive period, he looked Ahab in the face and reproved bim. Still more do we admire him when, singly by himself, he braved the host of Baal's ad herents, and confounded them before the people. But alas, what is man ! After all this he is intimidated by the threatenings of Jezebel, and flees for his life. After going a day's journey into the wilderness, he sits down under a juniper tree, and requests for himself that he may die. Hence he arose and went to Horeb, the mount of God. En tering into a cave, he was there interrogat ed by him whose cause he had seemed to desert, What dost thou here, Elijah ? He at tempts to excuse himself by accusing Israel. He had been very jealous for the Lord God of Israel : but they had digged down his altars, and slain his prophets with the sword ; he only was left, and they sought his life. Thus, according to his account, it seemed time for him to flee But, that which is worse than all, in excusing himself, he does not barely accuse Israel, t. .it seems tacitly to re flect upon the Loid himself, as though he had done little or nothing to vindicate his own name, and what then could his poor ser vant do there alone ? Jehovah could no doubt have confounded the complaining prophet; but forbearing, like himself, when dealing with erring crea tures, he makes him no answer, but calls him forth to appear on the top of the mount. Here he is made to witness a very extraor dinary scene. — " The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks ; but the Lord was not in the wind : and after the wind an earthquake ; but the Lord was not in the earthquake : and after the earthquake a fire ; but the Lord was not in the fire : and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." " The Lord was not in the wind : " — that is, he did not answer Elijah out ofthe whirl wind as he did Job ; nor out of the earth quake, nor out of the fire. These awful ap pearances were only harbingers which pre ceded the voice of Jehovah. On hearing the still small voice, like the seraphim on the appearance of the divine glory, he wrapped his face in his mantle, and retired to his cave. The interrogation, " What dost thou here, Elijah ? " is repeated, and Elijah re peats his answer. The Lord replies, by di recting him to go on his way to the wilder ness of Damascus ; to anoint Hazael to be lung over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel, and Elisha to be a prophet in the place of himself. This was an answer to Elijah's tacit reflection. It was saying, I have judgments enough in reserve, both temporal and spirit ual, to vindicate my name, and Israel shall feel them in due time ; for " it shall, come to pass that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay, and him that esca peth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay." But is all Israel gone off from God ? Is it EXTRAORDINARY APPEARANCE TO ELIJAH AT HOREB. 125 as Elijah supposes, that he only is left ; and is it all wrath and terror that is revealed against them ? No ; there is a heart-reviv-"' ing exception at the end: "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the names which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." These great events undoubtedly bear a near resemblance to the extraordinary ap pearances on the mount ; and it seems pro bable, if not more than probable, that the one was designed to represent the other. If so, the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, would refer to those dire calamities with which God was about to punish Israel for their apostacy ; and the still small voice to the mercy and peace which should follow. Particularly, first, by the great and strong wind that rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks, understand Hazael's wars, by which " the strong holds of Israel were set on fire, their young men slain with the sword, their children dashed, and their wo men with child ripped up : " by these means God punished the common people. Second ly, by the earthquake understand the revo lution of Jehu, who " smote the house of Ahab, and avenged the blood of the pro phets, and of all the Lord's servants, at the hand of Jezebel ; " by this God punished the royal family. Thirdly, by the fire under stand Elisha's trying prophecies, and the judgments which accompanied them: by these it is probable the idolatrous priests and false prophets were confounded. Fourthly, by the still small voice understand the mer cy and goodness which followed these dire calamities. It was doubtless soothing to Elijah's mind to be told of seven thousand faithful men in reserve ; and while they re mained in the nation a reserve of mercy in its favor might be expected, notwithstand ing all their transgressions. And this was actually experienced under the reigns of Jehoahaz the son and Joash the grandson of Jehu. The former "besought the Lord, and the Lord hearkened unto him : for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. — Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz ; but the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet ; so Hazael king of As syria died, and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead." As there appears to be a resemblance in the wind, the earthquake, the fire, and the still small voice, to the events which suc ceeded, so there is something in the order of these things analogous to the general tenor of the divine proceedings. It is common for the still small voice to succeed the wind, the earthquake, and the fire; or, in other words, for the blessings of mercy and peace to be preceded by terrible things in righte ousness. When God revealed his word unto Mo ses, and by him to Israel, the terrors of mount Sinai were preparatory to other things of a different nature. Many of the appear ances on that solemn occasion resembled those on the present ; and indeed there ap pears a manifest allusion in the account of Elijah to that in the nineteenth chapter of Exodus. Nor does the still small voice which terminated the one less resemble the declarations of mercy which followed the other. Jehovah proclaimed himself, "the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth ; " promising also " to raise up un to them a prophet from the midst of them, like unto Moses, to whom they should hearken." The dispensations of providence have generally moved in a similar order. Many terrible judgments have fallen on the world ; but they have been commonly followed with peace and mercy to the church. The plagues of Egypt, and the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, termi nated in the joyful deliverance ofthe people of God. The same was true of the over throw of Babylon by the Persians. Thus it was that by terrible things in righteousness God answered the prayers of his people. The great calamities with which the world was afflicted by the successive struggles of the four great monarchies of Babylon, Per sia, Macedon, and Rome, terminated in the peaceful empire of the Son of God. The diadem was overturned, overturned, and overturned again, till he came whose right it was, and to him it was given. Similar observations might be made on the Lord's proceedings in the dispensation of his grace. As the thunders of Sinai pre ceded the blessings of Zion, so the terrible is still seen in many instances to go before the peaceful. Deep conviction may produce fearful expectation of eternal ruin ; but, if it terminate in a well-grounded peace, we do not regret the pain of mind, because it renders the hope of the gospel more wel come. Finally : Is there not reason to hope from these things that the present convul sions of the world will be followed with peace and prosperity to the church ? The fall of ancient Babylon was followed by the liberation of the people of God ; and it is intimated in prophecy that the fall of the New-testament Babylon shall be followed by the " marriage-supper of the Lamb." The present maybe the tine of whirlwinds, earthquakes, and fires, iuin God as the God of grace may be in none ,f them ; but they may be preparatory to > ¦ ... still small voice of truth and peace, in this God will be 126 EXPOSITORY NOTES. present, and will be heard. Then "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be es tablished in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all na tions shall flow unto it." Should this be the issue of the present convulsed state of the nations, afflictive as it may be, it will be more than compensated,' and serve as a foil to heighten the glory that shall follow. thee for his prey. He that has seduced thee into sin now asks permission of God to de ceive thy prophets, that he may plunge thee into destruction ; and God has granted him his desire. And that which Satan is doing for his own ends God will do for his. There is as much of the judicial hand of God in a lying spirit having misled thy prophets, as of readiness in the evil one to entangle and seize thee as his prey. THE LYING SPIRIT PERSUADING AHAB. 1 Kings xxii. 21—23. When Ahab sent for Micaiah, there was evidently no sincerity in his request. Like many others, who ask counsel of their friends, and even seek direction of God, not with a view to be influenced, but in hope of being countenanced by it, he was determined to go against Ramoth-gilead, let Micaiah say what he might. The messenger sent to call Micaiah seems to have been furnished with a secret message ; and tried what he could do at tampering with the prophet. Hence it appears evident that Ahab did not desire to know the mind of God, but chose delu sion. Micaiah came, and Ahab thus accost ed him : " Micaiah, shall we go against Ra moth-gilead to battle or shall we forbear ? " Micaiah answered in a strain of irony (which might be very evident from his tone and manner of delivery) " Go and prosper. The Lord will doubtless deliver it into the hand of the king : " for who can hesitate on the truth of that which has the testimony of four hundred prophets to confirm it ? Ahab felt the irony, and conjured him to be serious. Micaiah then assumed another tone, and told him the truth without reserve ; and which amounted to nothing less than that he should lose his life in the battle. Ahab, full of rancour, appealed to Jehoshaphat, that he had told him beforehand what would be the effect of sending for this man. Micaiah, like a man of God, now looked the very monarch in the face, and said, " Hear the word of the Lord ! " It may be thought incredible that I only should be right, and four hundred prophets in the wrong : I will relate a vision that will perfectly account for it : — I beheld the Lord, the great disposer of all events, sitting upon his throne, surround ed by the host of heaven. Fully acquainted with the whole of thy ungodly life, and viewing thee as ripe for destruction, he de termined to destroy thee : and seeing that, in this instance, thou hast preferred flattery to tiu'J., he has determined to destroy thee by iriL^ns of flattery. Know then, Ahab, that hell olid all its agents, delusion and ali its instruments, are under his control : they go and come at his bidding. That spirit to whom thou hast sold thyself to work wicked ness in the sight of the Lord now desires THE MYSTERY OF PROVIDENCE. Job xii. 6 — 25. The great controversy between Job and his friends respected the system of provi dence. They maintained that God govern ed the world upon the principle of minute retribution, rendering to every man in the present life according to his works. When, therefore, great calamities befel an individ ual, they concluded that he was more wick ed than other men. He, on the contrary, maintained that the system of providence proceeded on no such principles, but on a large scale, full of inscrutable wisdom ; and that good and evil came alike to men, wheth er they were righteous or wicked. In proof of this, he appeals to the follow ing things : — First: The success which often attends the worst of men, even in the worst of caus es : " The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure, into whose hand God bringeth abundantly." Secondly : The large proportion which wicked men possess of the earth and its productions : " But ask now the beasts^ and they shall teach thee ; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee ; or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee ; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee." As if he should say, Ask them to whom they belong. Is it to good men only, or chiefly ? Is it for the righteous few that the animals breed, or the productions of the earth vege tate ? Is it not also, yea principally, the proud and the luxurious ? Thirdly: Adverse providences towards individuals and families, which are dispensed alike to good and bad, which there is no withstanding, and from which there is no escaping : " Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again : he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening." Fourthly: Public calamities, which also come alike to all ; such as drought and*con- sequent famine at one time ; and desolating inundations at another: "Behold, he* with- holdeth the waters, and they dry up ; also, he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth." Fifthly : The absolute and supreme con trol of God over all the devices and intrigues of men. Instead of preserving the weak, THE WISDOM PROPER TO MAN. 127 and punishing the mighty, according to the minute rules of retributive justice, he in this world lays his mighty hand on both, and causes each to subserve his infinitely wise • " With him is strength and wis- deceived and the deceiver are purposes dom ; the his." Lastly : He appeals to those events which agitate the world, and involve the overthrow of nations ; in which calamities come alike to all, without respect to character. It is a very affecting picture which is here drawn, from the 17th verse to the end of the chapter, of the overthrow of a nation by invasion. It is described as follows : — The great advisers of public measures are driven from their seats, and the adminis trators of government are like men beside themselves, not knowing what measures to take : " He leadeth counsellors away spoiled, and maketh the judges fools." The strong band of power which kept all orders of the state in subjection is dissolved, and the sovereign himself becomes bound with the cord of a captive : " He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle." Governors of provinces are led captive, and the commanders of armies defeated in bat tle: "He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty." The patriotic orator, whose eloquence has so often charmed a nation, and whose coun cil has been frequently resorted to in a peril ous hour, is heard no more ; the wisdom also of the most experienced statesman is nonplussed : " He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the under standing of the aged." The most illustrious characters are strip ped of their excellency, and those whose words made nations tremble, having lost their influence,, are become weak as other men : " He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneththe strength of the mighty. " On such an awful occasion, a darkness supernatural seeins to have burst upon the world ; as though the shades of death had found their way from beneath, and had cov ered the face of the earth, so that men are bewildered and lost in their pursuits: "He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death." Such an event has an influence 911 sur rounding nations. Like a mountain sinking into the sea and agitating the waters, it puts every thing out of place. Some are in creased by its spoils, others ruined by its overthrow, and even the same nation is by turns both sunk and raised, contracted and enlarged : " He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them : he enlargeth the nations, and straiteneth them again." Finally: Those great characters of the land who have escaped the hands of the conqueror, yet, having lost all spirit to resist or to stand their ground, betake themselves to flight. Wandering up and down the world, like men who have lost their way in a wilderness, they become intoxicated with grief and dismay, and know not what mea sures to take to retrieve their losses ; or, if they did, have no resolution to pursue them : " He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man." O my soul! can I meditate on such a ca tastrophe without feeling for others, or fear ing for my native country ? Yet, if such should be its lot, it is a part of that great system of providence that directs all human suffering, and will ultimately issue in the greatest good. Meanwhile, "having receiv ed a kingdom that cannot be moved," may I have grace that I may serve God accepta bly with reverence and with godly fear. THE WISDOM PROPER TO MAN. Job xxviii. In the warm disputes between Job and his friends, the great question was, Whether the providence of God towards men, in a way of prosperity or adversity, afforded any criterion of character. They contended it did ; and therefore concluded from the sore calamities which had befallen him that he was a, wicked man. He, on the contrary, contended that it did not ; and that there is a depth in God's ways which surpasseth mortal scrutiny. Such is the drift of his argument all through this chapter; in which' he allows that man had dug deep, but con tends that it was not deep enough for this : that this was wisdom peculiar to God, and that the wisdom which was proper to man was of another description. Man, he allows, had found out many things ; he had not only surveyed all that was visible on the face of the earth, but had gone into the bowels of it in search of hid den treasures. By carrying artificial light intothe mineral regions, he had in a manner contracted the reign of darkness. Subter ranean floods had yielded to his control. Leaving far behind him that part of his spe cies who obtained bread by cultivating the surface, he had descended in search of the sparkling ore and the brilliant gems. He had tro'dden a path unoccupied by either bird or beast. By applying his skill to the massy rocks, though so deep as to form as it were the roots of mountains, he had piece by piece fairly overturned them. Being in commoded by waters, he had for the purpose of drawing them off, and for washing away 128 EXPOSITORY NOTES. the rubbish, that the precious objects of his pursuit might become visible, made channels at the bottom of the mine like rivers ; and, lest they should rise and overflow him, he had contrived by the use of machinery to diminish and thereby to confine them with in proper bounds. In short, by his skill and perseverance he had brought forth the pre cious articles to light. See him walking upon the earth in triumph ! Who can deny him their applause ? After all these deep and successful re searches, however, one question remained unanswered — "Where shall wisdom be found ; and where is the place of under standing ? " The vein, or mine, where wis dom grows, was yet unexplored. The depths of providence were still beyond mi ni an reach. Industry could not discover it, nor all its precious treasures purchase it ! You may search, not the earth only, but the ocean, and still the question will return, " Whence cometh wisdom ; and where is the place of understanding ? " It is hid from the eyes of all living, even from the most soaring minds. Death or futurity may throw some light upon it; but even that will be partial. A perfect comprehension of it is the prerogative of God only. He only who made all things can comprehend his own designs. There is, however, a species of wisdom within the province of man ; and let him attend to that as his own proper concern. Unto man he said, " The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart from evil is understanding." From the whole, we see there are three species of wisdom : — The first is the wisdom of this world, which is common among men ; — the next is the wisdom peculiar to God, but to which men too frequently as pire ; — and the last is the wisdom from above, which is proper to man. With respect to the first, there is much to admire. The extent to which human ingenuity will go, in accomplishing worldly objects, is astonishing. The energies here in exerted are worthy of a better cause. What self-denial, what resolution, what con trivance, what application, what patience-, what perseverance ! There is scarcely a danger, but men will encouuter it ; or a difficulty, but they will surmount it. .That which strength cannot effect at once, art and application will accomplish by degrees. But alas !, the prize for which all these en ergies are exerted is perishing, and will shortly be of no account. " Where then is wisdom ; and where is the place of under standing ? " Surely it is not here ! With respect to the second, it is not Job's friends only that have intruded into things which they have not seen. " It is well," said a great writer, " for man to know the length of his tether." Our Saviour was asked, " Whether there were few that should be saved?" But he refused a direct an swer ; and there are hundreds of questions started in divinity, which, I believe, Christ and his apostles would have treated in the same manner. I have seen attempts to as certain how God exists in three persons, — how divine predestination consists with hu man agency and accountableness, — how a pure creature came to entertain the idea of casting off the government of his Creator ; and many other things of the kind : but they always seemed to me to darken coun sel with words without knowledge. We find the solution of no such question in the word of God ; and we find Moses warning the Israelites that " secret things belong un to the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever." We also hear David declaring, " Lord, my heart is not haugh ty, nor mine eyes lofty ; neither do I exer cise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother ; my soul is even as a weaned child." Let vain men on this account go on to speak ofthe Scriptures as not adapted to "any high perfection in knowledge,:" — let them charge the sacred writers, and even their Lord himself, with ignorance ; * but let not serious Christians aim to be wise above what is written. When we see a writer of this description discussing subjects too high for him, and concerning which the Scriptures are silent, however we may re spect his character or his talents, we must needs say to him as Job does to the miner, " Where is wisdom ; and where is the place of understanding ? " It is beyond the limits of thy researches. The third and last kind of wisdom is that which is proper to man. " Unto man he said, The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart from evil is understanding." ' It is practical, and not merely speculative. All speculative knowledge is either in itself in jurious, or, through the corruption of the human heart, dangerous : but this directly tends to humble, and so to profit the soul. The very words are of a humbling nature : it is the language of a wise master to a weak but conceited servant, charging him to keep to that employment which he has set him about, and not to neglect it by interfer ing in what does not concern him. It is language that abases the pride of science ; for in fearing the Lord, and departing from evil, the unlearned and learned stand upon the same ground. Science, it is true, is in many ways friendly to religion ; but, to ren der it truly profitable, it is necessary that, amidst all its acquirements, a man should * Lindsey's Apology, Chap. II. Priestly on Necessity, p. 133. INWARD WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 129 "become a fool that he may be wise." Fi nally : the language implies that man is so sunk and entangled in evil that there is work enough for his understanding, during the short space allotted him in this world, to de part from it. Instead of perplexing himself with things too high for him, let him ask, " Wherewith shall a young man cleanse his way?" How is the love of evil to be con quered ? What principle is that which will raise my soul from the bondage of corruption ? Where is the good way, that I may walk in it, and find rest for my soul ? " Here is wis dom, and here is the place of understanding," at least, that which is proper to man. INWARD WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT, OR GOD SPEAKING PEACE TO HIS PEOPLE. Psal. Ixxxv. 8, xxxv. 3. The meaning of these passages requires to be ascertained from the context. The former appears to have been written after the captivity, and, on account of the Jews having fallen into sad declensions, which had brought on fresh troubles. In the fore going part ofthe Psalm, the writer acknow ledges God's great goodness in their resto ration ; and on this grounds a plea that he would again turn them from their sins, and cause his anger to cease. And having of fered up his petition, " Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation," he sets himself as it were upon his watch-tower, to receive an answer, which his confidence in the divine goodness presumed would be an answer of peace. The word " shalom," in the Old Testament, commonly signifies pros perity. This was the object for which he had been praying : and when he says, " God will speak peace unto his people," he means, I take it, that he will bestow prosperity upon them. For God to speak peace is the same thing as to bestow it ; he speaks, and it is done ; he commands and it stands fast. The meaning of the other passage is much the same. It is a prayer of David, that God would save him from his enemies ; as if he should say, Speak but the word, "I am thy salvation," and all my enemies will be disappointed. Concerning believers of the present day, the question amounts to this : In what form or manner does God communicate peace to our minds, and the knowledge of our interest in his salvation ? There is no doubt but that true Christians do possess, though not without interruption, peace of mind, joy in the Holy Ghost, and a solid well-grounded persuasion of their in terest in eternal life : and some have repre sented these enjoyments as conveyed to the heart by immediate revelation from heaven, or by the suggestion of some passage of Scripture to the mind, the import of which Vol. 2.— Sig. 17. seems to include the happy intelligence. Suppose, for example, a person to be under great dejection and fear respecting his in terest in Christ, and while he is poring over his case the passage above alluded to is sug gested to his mind, " I am thy salvation ; " some would suppose this was no other than the voice of God speaking peace to his soul, and that for him to question the good ness of his state after this would be un belief. If this be God's way of manifesting him self to his people, then revelation is .not perfect ; but God is making new revelations, and revelations of new truths continually ; for as to the interest that any individual has in spiritual blessings, be it ever so much a truth, it is nowhere directly revealed in the Scriptures : nor is there any possible way of proving it thence, except by inference. There is not a passage in the Bible that says, concerning any one of us, " I am thy salvation." The Scripture speaks only of characters ; and, if we answer to these char acters, we can prove that the things pro mised belong to us, but not otherwise. I own that I consider all such suggestions, wherein it is not the truth contained in the passage itself, but a presumption of its be ing immediately sent from God to the party, that affords the comfort, as real enthusiasm, and as destitute of all foundation in the word of God. I do not deny that many godly people have been carried away by such things ; but I have seen evils, more than a few, which have arisen from them. Those persons who ground their evi dences for heaven on impressions of Scrip ture on their minds are generally favored, as they suppose, with many other revela tions, besides those which relate to their in terest in eternal life. They are often direct ed as to present duty, and informed of fu ture events. If in a state of hesitation as to the path of duty, they pray to the Lord ; so far they do well. But in addition to this, instead of inquiring into the mind of God as revealed in his word, they expect some immediate suggestion from him. And if, while they are thinking of the conduct in question, such a passage as that occur to their minds, " This is the way, walk ye in it," they immediately conclude that this is a direction from God to follow that particular course which at the time occupied the mind, and which generally if not always proves to be the course to which their hearts were previously inclined. By such means many have been deluded into great errors, to the dishonor of God and the ruin of their future peace. By the same means others have been led to suppose themselves in the secret of God concerning future events. They have been praying, it may be, for the conversion of a favorite child, and some such passage as this 130 EXPOSITORY NOTES. has been suggested to their minds, " I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord." Hence they have concluded that the child would some time be converted and saved. And this their confidence has been commu nicated till the child himself has heard of it; and, being willing to catch at any thing that might buoy up his vain hope, he has pre sumed upon a future conversion while living in a course of sin. At length, however, the parent has witnessed the death of the child, and that without any signs of a change. The consequence has been despondency, and calling in question his own personal re ligion. If, says he, this promise did not come from God, I have no reason to think , any other did ; and so all may be delusion. This is not the worst. Godly persons are not the only characters who have passages of Scripture impressed upon their minds, and that " with power," as it is often termed. The most abandoned sinners, if they have been used to read and hear the word of God, can talk of such things as these. I have seldom known persons of this descrip tion but who have some such false hope, by which they quiet their minds amidst a ca reer of iniquity. Twenty or thirty years ago, they will tell you, they were under strong convictions, and they had a promise ; and have ever since had some hope that they should at last be saved, though they must confess that their life has been very far from what it should have been. But the question will again be asked, In what way does God speak peace to his people, or say unto a soul, I am thy salvation? If I were to answer, By bestowing gospel peace upon them, or enabling them to dis cern and approve the gospel way of salva tion, it would be a just application of the passages where these expressions are found, and would accord with other Scriptures. The Lord directs poor sinners, saying, " Ask for the good old way, and walk there in, and ye shall find rest for your souls." — Jer. vi. 16. Our Lord takes up this lan guage, and applies the good old way to him self, saying, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, and ye shall find rest to your souls."— Matt. xi. 28, 29. Thus it is by an approving view of God's way of salvation, such a view as leads us to walk in it, that we may obtain peace : and thus it is that God speaks peace to the soul, and says, " I am thy salvation." It is very indifferent by what means we are brought to embrace the gospel way of salvation, if we do but cordially embrace it. It may be by silent reflection, by reading or hearing the word, or by some suitable part of Scripture occurring to the mind, by means of which the soul is led to see its lost condi tion and the only door of hope opened by the gospel. There is such a harmony in di vine truth that a proper view of any one branch of it will lead on to a discovery of others ; and such a connection that we can not cordially approve of a part, but that the whole will follow. And no sooner is the gospel in possession of the heart than joy and peace will ordinarily accompany it; for if we behold the glory of God's way of saving sinners, and approve of it, we must, in a greater or less degree, be conscious of it ; and, knowing that the whole tenor of the New Testament promises eternal life to be lievers, we cannot but conclude ourselves interested in it. Believing on the Son of God, we are justified ; and, being thus justi fied, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. — Rom. v. 1. passages in the book or proverbs. Chap. xii. 1, "Whoso loveth instruc tion loveth knowledge ; but he that hateth reproof is brutish." He and he only that loves the means, loves the end. The means of knowledge are " instruction " in what is right, and " re proof" for what is wrong. He who is an enemy to either of these means is an enemy to the end : and, whatever he may pretend to, he deserves not the name of a man, but of a " brute." Ver. 3, " A man shall not be established by wickedness ; but the root of the right eous shall not he moved." Men are apt to think of gaining their ends by wicked means, but they shall not suc ceed. In the end their building shall fall ; but righteousness will stand at last, when all is said and done. Ver. 5, " The thoughts of the righteous are right ; but the counsels of the wiriked are deceit." A righteous man, in taking counsel, does not merely consult what will be for his worldly interest, but whether the thing itself be right in the sight of God and man : and as to those who never take this into consider ation, though they think they have advan tage of an upright man, in that they are not scrupulously confined to rule as he is, yet it is all self-deception. They shall either be disappointed of their ends, or disappointed in them. " Do they not err that devise evil ? But mercy and truth shall be to them that de vise good." — Ch. xiv. 22. Chap. xiii. 11, "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished ; but he that gathereth by labor shall increase." Lightly come, say we, lightly go. What is ill-gotten is commonly ill-spent Yea, not only wealth obtained by injustice, but that also which is obtained by mean and niggard ly actions. Ver. 14, " The law of the wise is a foun- PASSAGES IN THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. 131 tain of life,sto depart from the snares of death." Place a wise man in fhe seat of govern ment, and the "law " he enacts will not be such as shall be grievous to the people, but, rather such as shall be a blessing to them, and like a fence to guard the traveller from falling into a pit. Ver. 19, "The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul ; but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil." The accomplishment of desire is essential to happiness ; this is only to be expected in the way of righteousness : but it is abomina tion to fools to depart from evil. Chap. xiv. 2, " He that walketh in his up rightness feareth the Lord : but he that is perverse in his ways despiseth him." All our actions, in some respects, have God for their object. Real uprightness is fearing God ; and perverseness, by dis regarding his authority, is a contempt of God. Ver. 6, " A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not : but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth." The state and disposition of the heart de termine our success in the pursuit of truth. If our inquiries be influenced by a spirit of pride and self-sufficiency, we shall stumble at every thing we meet with : but he who knows his own weakness, and conducts his inquiries with humility, shall find knowledge easy of attainment. "The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way." — Psal. xxv. 9. Ver. 7, " Go from the presence of a fool ish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge." Silence is the best answer to some per sons : disputing with them will be of no use. Ver. 23, " In all labor there is profit : but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury." Tell me not of those who talk most, but of those who do most. Chap. xxx. 24 — 28, " There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise. The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer : the conies* are a feeble flock, yet make their houses in rocks : the locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them by bands : the spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces." Man is here sent to four of the most di minutive parts of the creation, to learn wis dom from their instinctive sagacity. Each of them is " little, but exceeding wise." Vain man would be wise,-but it cannot be. Ere he can be wise, he must become a fool. Man is naturally more diminutive in the sight of God than the smallest insect can be in our sight ; and by sin has rendered himself of little account indeed in a moral view. Child of man ! Know thine insignificance, * The word by some is rendered mountain mice. and follow the example of these little crea tures, who are placed before thee to furnish thee with instruction. Go to the ants, and know in this thy day the things which belong to thy peace, ere they be forever' hid from thine eyes. Go to the rabbits, and learn to trust not in thine own strength, but in the power of om nipotent grace. Go to the locusts, which, without Idng or commander, preserve the strictest order ; and be ashamed that the best laws, human or divine, are insufficient to prevent thy dis cords, or preserve moral order in the world. Go to the spider, and observe the slender curtains by which she is surrounded. Hail, rain, or wind, would sweep them all away ; beasts of the field would tread them under foot ; birds ofthe air would seize the inhab itant for their prey. But she avails herself of the abodes of the lord of the creation for a shelter, and even of the sumptuous buildings of the most exalted characters. Learn hence, feeble and despicable as thou art, to trust for safety where alone it can be found ; aspire to the heaven of heavens, and lay hold of eternal life. MEDIOCRITY IN WISDOM AND VIRTUE SAT IRIZED. Eccles. vii. 15 — 19. There have been various opinions on the advice of the wise man, " Be not righteous overmuch," &c. Great numbers have pro duced it with a view to censure religious zeal, and in favor of a spirit of indifference. Others, who would abhor such an abuse of it, have yet thought it directed against in temperate zeal. Others have thought right eousness and ivisdom here to mean a spirit of self-righteousness, and a being wise in our own eyes. Others have thought the verses to be a caution against presumption on the one hand and despair on the other. And some have considered the whole book as a dialogue between a libertine and amoral philosopher ; and that the above passage is the language of the former. It is not my design to find fault with any except the first ; though I ac knowledge they have none of them afforded me satisfaction. The following paraphrase is submitted to the judgment of the intelli gent reader. Suppose Solomon to be addressing himself to a young man, which he frequently does, under the character of a son, not only in tlie Proverbs, but in this book also. — Chap. xi. 9 ; xii. 1, 12. And suppose verses 16 and 17 to be an irony, or a cutting sarcasm upon the unrighteous and foolish taste of the world. Ver. 15, " All things have I seen in tlie days of my vanity : there is a just man that 132 EXPOSITORY NOTES. perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness." I have lived to see many strange things in my life time ; things that have made me lose all liking to the present state.' I have seen uprightness, instead of promoting a man in the esteem of those about him, only serve to bring him to ruin. I have also seen wickedness, instead of exposing a man to the loss of life or estate, often go unpun ished, yea, and even be the means of his pro motion. Ver 16, " Be not righteous overmuch,nei- ther make thyself over- wise : why shouldest thou destroy thyself ? " My son, if you wish to go through the world with applause, hearken to me. You must not be very righteous, I assure you ! nor yet very wise. A man whose con science will stick at nothing will get promot ed before you ; and a vain, confident fool will gain the popular applause, while you, with your sterling but modest wisdom, will be utterly neglected. Be not overmuch wise nor righteous, my son : why should you ruin yourself? Ver. 17, "Be not overmuch wicked; neither be thou foolish : why shouldest thou die before thy time ?" Only take care you be not too much wick ed ; for, however mankind are averse to ten derness of conscience, they do not like an arrant villain. If you play too much at that game, you may lose your life by it. Neither must you be too much of a fool ; for how ever mankind are not fond of sterling wis dom, yet barefaced folly will not always go down with them ; if you would please the world, and get honor among the generality of men, you must be neither a sterling wise man nor a stark fool. As it is the distinguishing mark of an irony to close seriously, and as such a close gives it its edge and force, (See 1 Kings xxii, 15, 17 ; Eccles. xi. 9 ;) so now it is supposed the irony ends, and the serious style is resumed. Ver. 18, "It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this ; yea, also from this with draw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all." As if he should say, But hearken, my son ; another word before we part. Notice what I say to you, and abide by it. Let the world say what they will, and let things go as they may in the world, righteousness and wisdom shall be found best at last ; and he that feareth God will not dare to sacrifice these excellences to obtain a few tempora ry honors : he will sooner live and die in ob scurity. Ver. 19, "Wisdom strengtheneth the wise, more than ten mighty men which are in the city." A consciousness of his being in the right, too, will wonderfully sustain his mind ; far more than any popular applause could do, or even the rewards and honours ofthe great. If the above be the sense of the passage, then, it may be observed, how foreign as well as foolish is that sense which some have put upon it, as if it were intended to recom mend a kind oi mediocrity of virtue and vice; whereas this is the very thing intended to be satirized! A sensualist might as well plead for his practices from chapter xi. 9, "Rejoice O young man in thy youth," &c, as a lukewarm professor use this passage to plead for his indifference. THE ZEAL OF THE LORD OF HOSTS PLEDGED FOR THE FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY. Isaiah ix. 7. Prophecy is with great propriety called " a light that shineth in a dark place." There is not only a general darkness at tending the present state, under which the light of revelation is as a lamp to our feet ; but a more particular one with respect to the events of futurity, into which the light of prophecy, and that only, can penetrate. We are not to indulge an idle curiosity to pry into things which God hath been pleased to conceal ; but neither ought we to neglect those things which are not concealed, but rather to search them out. To the " sure word of prophecy we do well to take heed." The context contains a glorious predic tion of the coming and kingdom of the Messiah, a part of which we have already seen accomplished. We can now say in the language of history, what was then said only in the language of prophecy, " Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." We have seen the " government upon his shoulders," and acknowledged him under all those ex pressive names by which he is there describ ed, "Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." — There is one part of the prophecy, however, which yet remains to be fulfilled, and an im portant part too ; so important as to interest the very heart of God. If Lowth's version be just, " the greaves of the armed warrior, and the garment rolled in much blood, shall be for a burning, even fuel for the fire, " (and it certainly agrees with what follows of the government of the Prince of Peace,) this remains at present to be accomplished. Nor is this all : there is an increase in the gov ernment of the Messiah which has not yet . been carried to its full extent. We have seen him sitting upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, ,to order it, and to establish it, with judgment and with justice ; but we have not yet seen judgment sent forth unto victory. Christ has yet to con quer a large portion of heathen superstition, FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY. 133 Mahomedan delusion, Popish corruption, Jewish obstinacy, and Deistical malignity. But it is not my design to insist so much on the specific objects of prophecy, as on the ground of assurance that we possess of its being accomplished ; much has already come to pass, and the zeal of the Lord of hosts is pledged for the fulfilment of what remains. Zeal, as it respects the disposition of creatures, is an ardent affection ofthe mind. It comes from a word that signifies to burn. But this does not sufficiently distinguish it from other affections ; for the same may be said of love and anger. Among other things, it is distinguished from these affections by "its object. Love and anger commonly ter minate on persons ; but zeal on a thing or things. Zeal is that ardor of mind which prompts us to pursue a course or undertak ing with earnestness and perseverance, and to encounter every difficulty that may stand in the way of attaining our object. To ren der it justifiable, it requires that the object be good ; that it be a good proportioned in magnitude to the effort ; and that it be itself not a mere momentary passion, but ah abid ing principle. Each of these ideas is in cluded in the words of the apostle to the Galatians, " It is good to be zealously affect ed always in a good thing : " and each will apply to the zeal of God, as well as to that of creatures. It may be questioned by some whether zeal is properly applied to the Divine Being, any more than anger and repentance. The reason why the latter, when applied to God, are interpreted figuratively, is, if I mistake not, that taken in their literal sense they, in their own nature, imply imperfection ; but I know not that this can be said of zeal, any more than of love ; and we are certainly not to conceive of God as [void of pleasure or displeasure, or imagine that he is uncon cerned with the affairs of his creatures. We might as well deprive him of existence as reduce him to a stock. We have the full est evidence that his heart is deeply and in variably interested in his own cause ; and it is fit it should ; it is a cause which embraces every thing great and good, and therefore worthy of it. The strength of zeal is estimated by the degree oi attention which it excites. Where we see the thoughts absorbed in an object, the mind rejoicing in the contemplation of it, and other things pursued only in subservien cy to it, we ascribe great zeal to the party. And thus it is, or nearly thus, that the Scrip tures represent the Divine Being as engaged in the establishment of his own cause. It occupied his thoughts before the worlds were made. His infinite wisdom was ex ercised concerning it; "rejoicing in the habitable part of the earth ; and its delights were with the sons of men." All his other works have beep pursued in subserviency to this. The work to be accomplished by Christ is that great work to which all others are preparatory ; for all things were created not only by him, but for him. The strength of zeal is estimated also by the efforts used and the expense bestowed in carrying it into execution. It was the plea sure of God to exert his power to the utter most at any period, but to accomplish his designs by slow degrees, that creatures at every step might perceive and admire ; yet, from the day that war was first declared against the kingdom of Satan, never did he lose sight of his grand object, which was to establish another kingdom upon its ruins, or, as the Scriptures express it, " to send forth judgment unto victory." For this he called Abraham, blessed and increased him, watch ed over his posterity, and made of them a great nation ; — for this they were brought out of Egypt with a high hand, preserved in the wilderness, planted in Canaan, and every nation punished that set themselves to op pose them ; — for this Jehovah condescended to become their legislator, gave them a body of laws, set up,his worship amongst them, pre served them amidst the hatred of surrounding nations, and raised up his servants the proph ets to bear testimony in their day, and to commit to writing the lively oracles of truth. If God interpose by a series of miracles, we may be assured it is for some great object, and something that lies near his heart. . He would not turn the established laws of na ture out of their course, for the accomplish ment of little things. If the great exertions of Divine power in Egypt, in the wilderness, and through the whole history of Israel, had terminated in the events of those times, — if the Divine Being had no other object in view than taking part with one nation against a number of others, — we might well be sur prised, and almost question, as some on this account have done, whether the religion of the Old Testament was a religion worthy of God. But if those divine interpositions, un important as some of their events, unconnec ted with other things, may appear, were so many parts of one great design, they were worthy of him who is great in council and mighty in working. We have no reason to think the Divine Being would have made such sacrifices, as of Eo-ypt, and the seven nations of Canaan, wicked as they, were, but for the sake of some greater good that should result from it. To them it was a just punishment for their iniquity : but to the world, in its succeeding generations, as well as to Israel, it was a proceeding full of wisdom *>nd ... ~j , ;ind, while we speak of the efforts ir;d sacrifices which the Lord hath made in oanying this great cause into execution, the labors and sufferings ofhis servants must come into ac count. Their tears have not escaped his 134 EXPOSITORY NOTES. notice, and their blood has been precious in his sight ; nor would he have suffered mil lions of them to have fallen in a contest the issue of which would not more than make amends for all. But why do I speak of the sacrifice of nations, or of the blood of mar tyrs? He hath given his only begotten Son, and given him to be made a sacrifice. For this purpose was the Son of God mani fested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Now if such has been the zeal of Jeho vah's mind in the fulfilment of this great cause : if it has occupied his thoughts before the worlds were made — if he rejoiced in the contemplation of its issue — if all his- other works were pursued in subserviency to it — and if the greatest sacrifices have been made to accomplish it — may we not hence form a judgment of the force of that sacred pledge that is given us for every part of it being in due time carried into execution ? The zeal of the Lord of Hosts, under whose banner we fight, ought, undoubtedly, to stimulate ours. It is the distinguishing character of a Christian to be of one heart with God and with Christ: this was the ob ject of our Saviour's intercessory prayer, that we all might be one. If he, who in righteousness doth judge and make war, is de scribed as riding on a white horse, the armies of heaven must also follow him upon white horses. Can we conceive of any encourage ment to christian activity equal to this ? The zeal of prophets, apostles, and martyrs ani mates us: the efforts to spread the Gospel among all denominations of serious Chris tians provoke us ; and the disinterested love of those who have left all to bear the name of Christ amongst the heathen excites in us a lively hope that some good fruits will follow ; but what is all this to the zeal ofthe Lord of hosts ? The great cause in which we are engaged lies nearer his heart than ours. Our little fires were kindled at his altar, and are fed by him continually. We are damp ed by difficulties and dismayed by repeated disappointments, but he is not dismayed. What are Hindoo castes, Otaheitan volup tuousness, African barbarism, Popish preju dice, Jewish obstinacy, or Deistical malig nity ? Who will set the briars and thorns against him in the day of battle ! He will go through them ; he will burn them up to gether. Finally : It is a truth that ought to sink deep into our hearts, that though God is pleased to honor us with being instruments in promoting his cause in the world, yet it is not because he stands in need of us. His cause will go on whether we help or hinder. If we are wicked, we may perish in our wickedness, but we cannot impede his de signs. If through weakness, fickleness, or unbelief, we go not up to possess the land ; if missionary societies fail in their undertak ings, and missionaries themselves be dis couraged through want of success ; the work will nevertheless go on. Deliverance. will arise. When our carcasses are dead in the wilderness, our children will renew the con test and succeed. The promise of Jehovah is pledged. The sacrifice ofhis Son will be rewarded. The souls under the altar will be heard. the burden of dumah. Isa. xxi; 11—12. In offering an exposition of a difficult pas sage of Scripture, which has so much divided interpreters, it doubtless becomes us to be diffident ; yet I hope no apology need be made for attempts to elucidate any part of the sacred oracles. There are three distinct prophecies in this chapter, and they are all termed burdens, as containing heavy judgments. The first re spects Babylon, called " the desert ofi the sea," whose overthrow by the Medes and Persians is predicted in the first ten verses ; the next Dumah, Idumea, or Edom, inhabit ing mount Seir ; and the last Arabia. The fall of Babylon by the Medes and Persians is announced under the form of a watchman stationed to discover approaching objects, with orders to declare what he saw, ver. 6 — 9. It was an event peculiarly inter esting to Judah. Babylon was the floor oh which Judah was to be threshed, till the ref use should be separated from the grain. The event which destroyed the one deliver ed the other. It was on account of this in terest which the people of God had in the fall of this oppressive city that the Scriptures deign to notice it, as is intimated in that pathetic address in ver. 10, " O my threshing, and the corn of my floor : that which I have heard of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Isra el, have I declared unto you." The fall of Babylon was interesting to other nations as well as Judah ; particularly to the Idumeans or Edomites, who were re duced to servitude by its arms within a few years after the taking of Jerusalem. Now, seeing that Judah had received a favorable report, Edom must needs inquire of the watchman (like Pharaoh's baker of Joseph, after he had announced good tidings to the butler) whether there were nothing equally favorable for them. The answer is nothing ; but, on the contrary, the lot of Judah's ene mies, " a burden." The revolution would indeed, for a time, excite the joy ofthe conquered nations: all the trees of the forest would triumph on that occasion ; saying to Babylon, " Since thou art fallen, no feller is come up against us : " but the Edomites should meet with a disappointment. To them a change of government should be only a change of masters. The fair morning of their hopes APPLICATION OF ABSOLUTE PROMISES. 135 should issue in a long and dark night of des pondency. In the day of Babylon's fall, according to the prayer ofthe captives, when every prisoner was lifting up his head in hope, Edom was remembered, as excepted from an act of grace, on account of his sin gular atrocities. — Psa. cxxxvii. 7 — 9. The Edomites were very impatient under the Babylonish yoke, and very importunate in their inquiries after deliverance ; reiterating the question, "What of the night? watch man, what of the night ? " When will this dark and long captivity be ended ? And, now that their hopes are repulsed by the watchman's answer, they are exceedingly unwilling to relinquish them. Loth to de part with an answer so ungrateful, they lin ger, and inquire again and again, in hopes that the sentence may be reversed. But they are told that all their lingering is in vain. " If ye will inquire, inquire ye, re turn, come " again ; yet shall your answer be the same. And what was the crime of the Edomites that should draw down upon them this heavy burden, this irresistible doom ? Their in veterate hatred of the people of God. " For thy violence against thy brother Jacob, shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off forever." — Obad. x. Perhaps there was no nation whose treatment of Israel was so invariably spiteful, and whose enmity was accompanied with such aggravating cir cumstances. They were descended from Abraham and Isaac, and were treated by Is rael, at the time they came out of Egypt, as brethren; but as then they returned evil for good (Numb. xx. 14 — 21,) so it was ever af terwards. Their conduct, on the melancho ly occasion of Jerusalem's being taken by the Chaldeans, was infamous beyond every thing. They rejoiced in it, joined the plun derers, insulted their afflicted brethren, and stood in the cross ways to cut off, or deliver up, those of them that had escaped. — Obad. 10—16. The passage affords a tremendous les son to ungodly sinners, and especially to those who, having descended from pious pa rents, and possessed religious advantages, are, notwithstanding, distinguished by their enmity to true religion. The situation of the Edomites rendered it impossible for them to be so ignorant as other heathen nations of the God of Israel ; and their hatred ap pears to have been proportioned to their knowledge. Such is the character of great numbers in the religious world. They have both seen and hated the truth. The conse quence will be, if grace prevent not, they will flatter themselves a while with vain hopes ; but, ere they are aware, their morning will' be changed into endless night. Edom was once addressed in the language of kindness and brotherly affection; but, having turned a deaf ear to this, all their inquiries after deliverance are now utterly disregarded. Such will be the end of sin ners. " When once tlie judge hath risen up, and shut the door, they may begin to knock, may inquire and return, and come again, but all will be vain : a night of ever- during darkness must be their portion. The passage also, taken in its connec tion, holds up to us the different situation of the friends and enemies of God under pub lic calamities. It is natural in such seasons for all to inquire, " What of the night ? watchman, what of the night? Each also may experience a portion of successive light and darkness in his lot. But the grand dif ference lies in what shall be the issue of things. God's people were threshed on the floor of Babylon ; and, when purified, were presently restored. To them there arose light in- darkness. Weeping continued for a night, but joy came in the morning. Not so with Edom : their night came last. Such will be the portion of God's enemies : they may wish for changes, in hope of their cir cumstances being bettered ; but the princi pal thing wanting is a change in themselves. While strangers to this, the oracles of heav-. en prophecy no good concerning them. A morning may come ; but the night cometh also. APPLICATION OF ABSOLUTE PROMISES. Such as Isa. xliii. 25. The sense of this passage, like most oth ers, requires to be ascertained from the con text. God is addressing Jacob, or Israel, as a nation, and reminding them of their great depravity : whence he asserts that all the mercy exercised towards them must be free or unmerited. God often spared them as a nation, when he might utterly have destroyed them, and must have done so had he dealt with them according to their sins ; and his thus re mitting the punishment of their iniquity was a kind of national pardon. — Numb. xiv. 19, 20. Such a pardon was bestowed of God, for his " own name's sake ; " or, as he often reminds them, out of regard to the covenant which he had made with Abraham-, Isaac, and Jacob ; and was extended equally to the godly and ungodly among them. To fulfil the promise which he had made to the patri archs, of preserving their posterity in being as a nation, till Shiloh the Messiah should come, it was necessary that many such na tional remissions should be bestowed; though multitudes among them were uninterested in such a pardon as is connected with eternal life. If the forementioned passage include any thing more than the above, if it comprehend such a forgiveness of sins as implies the spe cial favor of God, it could belong to none but the godly among them. The truth taught in the passage will doubtless apply 136 EXPOSITORY NOTES. to them, and to all other godly persons ; namely, that the forgiveness of their sins is wholly owing to the free grace of God. It is not for any thing in us, but for his own name's sake," that he savelh and calleth us, forgiveth and accepteth us. As to naming this an "absolute promise," all promises of spiritual blessings are in this sense absolute, though made to characters of a certain de scription ; yet it is not on account of any goodness in them, but for his own name's sake, that every blessing is conferred. Where promises are addressed to particular characters, as in 1 John i. 9, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins," they are designed to point out the subjects interested in them, and to exhibit encouragements to return to God. Where no character is described which is of a spiritual nature, as in the passage in question, the design is to point out the cause of salva tion. But the Scriptures ought to be taken together, and not in detached sentences. No perscn has a warrant to conclude himself interested in a promise, wherein God merely teaches the cause of forgiveness, unless he possess that contrition which leads him to " confess and forsake his sins ; " for this would be to have fellowship witb him while we walk in darkness. — 1 John i. 6; Prov. xxviii. 13. Still it is inquired, What use may the people of God in all ages make of those promises and declarations of Scripture which were made to particular persons on spe cial occasions ? " As thy day is, so shall thy strength be " — " The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" — "I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee " — " When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee." — Deut. xxxiii. 25, 27 ; Josh. i. 5 ; Isa. xliii. 2. I answer, examine the truth contained in each of the promises, and try whether it fairly applies to your particular case, as well as theirs to whom it was originally address ed. General truths, or truths of general use, are often delivered in Scripture to par ticular persons, and on special occasions. If the above passages were originally ad dressed to men considered as the people of God in the highest sense, that is, to the truly godly among the Israelites, they are equally applicable to the people of God in all ages of time, when placed in similar circumstan ces. Or if otherwise, if they had an imme diate reference to God's providential care over Israel as a nation, still it is just to rea son from the less to the greater. Dear as that nation was to God, yet " Israelites in deed," the spiritual children of Abraham, are still more so. That, therefore, which to them would contain only blessings of an earthly nature, to the others would include blessings spiritual, heavenly, and without end. There is nothing in any of these pas sages, that I recollect, but what in other < parts of Scripture is abundantly promised to all the people of God in all ages of time. It is therefore consistent with the whole tenor of God's word that Christians, through patience and comfort of such promises of Holy Scripture, might have hope. I shall add one thing which may afford assistance to some who are desirous of know ing whether they have an interest in the di vine promises. If the blessing contained in any promise of a spiritual nature be such as to meet your desires ; if you be willing to receive it in the way that God bestows it; if you would prefer this blessing, could you but obtain it, above any thing and every thing of ,a worldly nature, it is undoubtedly your own : for every one that thirsteth is wel come to the waters of life. FINAL DESTRUCTION OF MYSTICAL BABYLON. Isa. lxiii. 1 — 6. It is not uncommon, I believe, to under stand this sublime passage of tbe coming of the Messiah, to shed his blood for the salvation of his people ;* but it is evidently the design of the Holy Spirit to describe the apparel of the conqueror, not as red with his own blood, but with that of his ene mies. The event described is not any per sonal appearance of the Messiah, but a tre mendous carnage among the wicked, which he would accomplish by his providence, and which should issue in favor of his church. The dreadful overthrow of Jerusalem, and that of the Roman heathen empire, are each represented by " the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven ; " each being a day of judgment, as it were, in miniature. — Luke xxi. ; Rev. vi. 12 — 17. The objects of his vengeance are described under the name Edom, the ancient enemy of Israel, in much the same way as Rome is called Baby lon, as being another Babylon to the church of God. The period to which the prophecy refers may, I think, be collected with a good de gree of certainty, partly from the context and partly from the nineteenth chapter of the Revelation of John, where many things ap pear to be borrowed from this passage. The foregoing chapter, namely, the sixty-second, is manifestly prophetic of glorious times yet to come ; times when " the righteousness of the church shall go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth " — when she shall be " a crown of glory in the hand of her God " — when she shall be called Hephzi-bah, and her land Beulah ; * This erroneous idea is countenanced by a mis print in some editions of Dr. Watts's Hymns (28, 1 B. line 20) where the pronoun " my " is substi tuted for their. EZEKIEL'S VISIONS, 137 for the Lord will delight in her, and her land shall be married" — and when "God himself shall rejoice over her, as a bride groom rejoiceth over his bride." The last three verses seem to have an allusion to the taking of old Babylon, and to the consequent deliverance of the church from her captivity, in which Cyrus and his armies, though messengers of death to the former, were to the latter the harbingers of life and peace. And, while they should be " going through and through the gates," the friends of Zion are commanded to "prepare the way, and to lift up the standard." Analogous to this shall be the overthrow of mystical Babylon. Her gates, which have long been barred, must be thrown open. At them destruction shall enter to her, but salvation to those whom she has op pressed and persecuted: and, while this is going on by instruments that " mean not ' so," let the friends of Christ be active in their proper sphere, "preparing the way," removing obstructions, and " lifting up the standard" of evangelical truth. Lo, then " cometh the salvation of Zion : behold his reward is with him, and his work before him ! " The issue is : the church shall be come " a holy people, the redeemed of the Lord: and she shall be called, Sought out, a city not forsaken." It is thus that the sublime passage un der consideration is introduced. It is not enough to say, the salvation of Zion will come ; but we are presented, as it were, with a sight of Him, glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength, , declaring to his admiring people that the day of vengeance is in his heart, and the year of his redeemed, the jubilee of the church, is come ! Then follows a penitential confession of the Jewish church, which is supposed to be overwhelmed and melted into repentance by his great goodness and the multitude of his loving kindnesses towards them, amidst all their disobedience and rebellion against him. Hence it is not difficult to perceive that the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. But another source of evidence of the same thing may be taken from the nineteenth of the Revela tion, where many things, as already noticed, are borrowed from this passage. As in Isai ah, so here, we see a glorious personage in warlike attire : " His name is Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. He is clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, and treadeth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." The fowls of heaven are called together "to eat the flesh of kings, and of captains, and of mighty men, and of horses, and of them that sat on them, and of men both free and bond, small and great." The issue of this dreadful war is, that the beast and the false prophet are taken, Satan is bound, and Christ reigns. But little if any doubt, I think, can be entertained of the events in these two pas sages being the same, and of their being designed to describe the tremendous wars by which the great Head of the church ac complishes the ruin of Antichrist. " Behold, he cometh as a thief: blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." EZEKIEL'S VISIONS. Ezek. i. and x. These visions seem very obscure. Most expositors consider the " living creatures " to be angels : but they appear to be the same as the " four beasts," or living crea tures, in Rev. v. 8, 9. And these are re deemed men ; for they sung, " thou hast redeemed us." Others interpret them by the four beasts in the Revelation, under standing both of gospel ministers. But what relation had gospel ministers with the visions of Ezekiel, or the prophecies that follow ? Probably the following observations may cast some hght upon the subject. 1. It was not unusual for the prophets, when they first received their commission, to be favored with some extraordinary vis ion. — Isa. vi. ; Rev. 1. 2. These visions had something in them suited to the occasion. The year that king Uzziah died, Isaiah had a vision of Jehovah " sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." The great high priest of the church, " walking among the seven golden candlesticks," denoted the interest he took in the affairs of the church, to which the prophecies of the Revelation referred. We may therefore expect to find something in Ezekiel's visions suited to the state of things at that time. 3. They may therefore be understood in general as a representation of the God and King of Israel, with a glorious retinue, in a moveable position, as ready to take leave of Jerusalem. God had been used to " dwell between the cherubim " in the temple : this was the character under which he was often addressed. — Psal. lxxx. 1. The cherubim formed, as it were, the retinue or attendants ofthe God and King of Israel. _ While he divelt in Zion, they were stationary ; but now he was about to depart from his abode, and therefore his retinue are represented as in a moveable position, connected with a kind of wheel chariot, or moveable vehicle. This accords with the glory of God depart ing from the temple, and standing upon tlie threshold. — Ezek. x. 4. This also would render the exclamation " Oh wheel ! " very affecting, as the sight of a chariot ready to Vol. 2.— Sig. 18. 138 EXPOSITORY NOTES. take away your dearest friend. — Ch. x. 13. 4. This retinue may perhaps be interpret ed by a reference to the " living creatures " in the Revelation, who, as we have noticed, appear to be redeemed men. Who then amongst men were the attendants of God ? The priests and prophets under the Old Testament, and evangelical ministers under the New. By the " living creatures " there fore, in Ezekiel, may be understood those servants of God who' attended him in that day, of which the cherubim in the temple were emblematical ; and, by those of John, the ministers of the gospel who attended him under that dispensation, and took the lead in the worship and progress of the church. The stationary situation of the cherubim in the temple might afford a constant lesson to the servants of God. Their figure and position would point out to them their duty. And the appearance of them to Isaiah and Ezekiel in vision would impress them with a lively sense of the importance of that office they were going to assume. Perhaps, after all, the retinue of the God and King of Israel included not only the priests and prophets, but the holy angels. The seraphim in Isaiah's vision seem most easily applied to them ; and, an allusion to the stooping posture of the cherubim over the ' ark and mercy-seat in the temple, the angels are said to " look into " the things of the gospel. — 1 Pet. i. 12. DANIELS CONFLICT WITH THE PERSIAN COURT. Dan. a. 13. This vision is said to be in the third year qf Cyrus, that is, two years after the procla mation for Judah's return. — Ezra i. That we may understand it, it is necessary to re view the situation of persons and things at the time. Daniel himself did not return with the other captives into Judea, but remained in Persia till his death, which was in a few years. As they were still dependent on the Persian government, they needed a friend at court to counteract the machinations of enemies, which would certainly be at work against them; it was therefore wisely or dered that he should remain where he was. He would serve the interests of the church more by this than by going. But, though absent from his brethren in body, he was present with them in spirit. The welfare of Jerusalem lay near his heart. Previously to the vision which he saw, he is said to have "mourned three full weeks." What could be the cause of this mourning ? The first four chapters of the book of Ezra, I conceive, will furnish an answer. It was the state of things in Judea, which was not unknown to Daniel, that afflicted him. His eye and heart had followed ' Sheshbazzar and his goodly company in some such man-. ner as ours have followed those disinterested servants of Christ who have gone forth to proclaim the word of life among the heathen. The pious Jews set out under favorable auspices: prophecy encouraged them, the royal proclamation was on their side, their brethren blessed and prayed for them, and the hand of God was with them. No sooner had they arrived at Jerusalem than they " set up the altar," and prepared to rebuild the temple. In the second year of their coming to Jerusalem, that is, in the third year of Cyrus, things were in such a state of forwardness that the foundation ofthe Lord's house was laid ; and though the old men, who had seen the glory ofthe former house, lamented the disparity, yet, upon the whole, it was a time of great joy. But alas, when all were filled with expectation of seeing the temple erected, the adversaries of Judah were suffered to retard the work! First, they endeavored to weaken the hands ofthe builders : and, when this could not be accomplished, they "hired counsellors" against them at the court of Persia; and, strange as it may seem, Cyrus himself ap pears to have been influenced by them in such a degree as to discourage the work which he had begun to patronize ; for we are told that they frustrated the purposes of the builders all the days of Cyrus, even until the reign of Darius (Hystaspjs,) king of Per sia, a period of about fifteen years. Now as this council, which operated in the Persian court and put a stop to the build ing of the temple, could not be unknown to Daniel, who was upon the spot, we may easily perceive tlie cause of his mourning " three full weeks, eating no pleasant bread," and " setting his heart to chasten himself before his God."— Ver. 2, 3, 12. Hence, also, we may understand the seasonableness of the visions which are recorded in the tenth and eleventh chapters, respecting the oppositions the church should meet with, and the help that should be afforded her. After three weeks' mourning and chasten ing himself, the prophet, being by the river Hiddekel, saw a vision. A great personage appeared to him, who, by the description given of him (verses 5, 6,) could be no other than the Son of God. — See Rev. i. 13 — 15. At first he seems to have been awake, and heard the words which were spoken to him ; but afterwards was cast into a deep sleep, with his face to the ground. While asleep, an angel, who seems to have accompanied this august personage, touched him, and set him upon his feet ; and, as he stood tremb ling, thus addressed him: — " Fear not, Dan iel; for, from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But THE ROYAL TRIBE. 139 the prince of the kingdom of Persia with stood me one-and-twenty days ; but lo, Michael, the first of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befal thy people in the latter days." It may appear strange that the heavenly messenger should be with stood by the prince of Persia, and detained for one-and-twenty days. But the language, I apprehend, is figurative and prophetic. Under the form of the prince of Persia op posing the angel, who was commissioned with words of peace to the prophet, is signi fied the opposition which should be made for a time by the Persian government to the rebuilding of the temple. The prince of Persia does not mean, perhaps, any one of its kings in particular, but the power or government of Persia, as in other parts of this prophecy a king is put for a kingdom or government. — Ch. vii. 17. The Persian government, which was heathen, was under the influence of the god of this world, and therefore had a natural tendency to oppose the kingdom of God. The conflict which is here described, between the angels and the power of Persia, represents the influence of invisible agents upon the counsels of princes. While Satan, by means of the Samaritans, was blowing up the envy, jealousy, and am bition of this court, and thereby provoking it to oppose the church, the holy angels were employed in counteracting these machina tions. Without doubt it is in allusion to this language, and expressive of the sam e truth, that the papal persecutions carried on against the Christian church are described "as a war in heaven; Michael and his angels fighting agamst the dragon and his angels." — Rev. xii. And as, during the detention ofthe angel, the prophet " mourned and chastened himself; " so, during the obstruction of the work of God, the church should have to do the same. Finally : As the angel came at length to the prophet with words of peace and comfort, so the people of God, after a while, should be relieved from their afflic tion, and be permitted to resume their labors. And, with respect to more distant times, though exposed to various hardships and cruel persecutions, during the wars, in trigues, and struggles of the surrounding nations, to which they would be subject; yet Michael, their prince, would stand up on their behalf, and bring all things to a glorious issue. From the whole, we see in this account, how much the holy angels are interested in the welfare of the church on earth, and the promotion of true religion. We know so little of the invisible world that we should not have supposed an angel could have said what he did to John : " I am thy fellow ser vant, and of thy brethren that have the tes timony of Jesus." Though we might have admitted that these glorious intelligences are "fellow servants," employed by the same Lord and Master, yet we could scarce ly have imagined that they were employed about the same work as ourselves, the pro motion of the gospel. The young man who was with Elisha would not have supposed that they were surrounded with "horses and chariots of fire," to protect them from the wrath of the Syrians : yet so it was. As suredly it affords a source of great encour agement that, though principalities and powers are engaged against us, yet princi palities and powers are also engaged for us ; and that in all our efforts to promote the gospel they are our fellow-laborers. Who can tell how much we are indebted to their suggestions to the minds of leading charac ters for the warding off of persecutions, and the concessions which of late ages have been made to the rights of conscience. When we read accounts of the perils and hair-breadth escapes which those servants of Christ have experienced that are gone forth among the heathen, we tremble and rejoice. To us it often seems as if the con tinuance of their labors, and in some cases of their lives, has depended on the humor of individuals : but events which to us may appear merely casual may have been influ enced by invisible agency. A single turn of thought in some leading character has given a favorable turn to their affairs ; and that thought might be suggested by an an gel, who was all intent on their preservation and the progress of their undertaking. Nor is it merely from the ministry of an gels that we are here encouraged: "Mi chael, our prince, standeth for us ! " What ever they effect, it is owing to his holding with them, in these things. If, instead of fears and distrustful hesitations, we lived under the influence of these important truths, much more would be done for God than is done, and that which was done might be expected to be followed with a much greater blessing than that which we ordi narily perceive. We should think of noth ing, in order to determine our conduct, but what is duty ? and be always ready to die, if called to it, for the name of the Lord Jesus. THE ROYAL TRIBE. Zech. a. 4. "Out of him," namely, Judah. Judah had all along been a favored tribe, whence proceeded their governors, who were, as "cornerstones" in the building; as "nails," on which was suspended the. glory of the nation; as " battle-bows " for annoying the enemy, and preserving order at vii signifies Isa. xxii. 23, 24. The word home.— See to oblige to perform work, or to pay money, 140 EXPOSITORY NOTES. either by right or by power. Here it mani festly denotes a legal exaction, and there fore ought not to have been rendered " op pressor." Out of Judah also should proceed the Messiah, the greatest of all rulers, in whom all these characters are united ; and it seems to be of his reign that the passage speaks, and out of regard to him that God would visit his ancient flock, and have mercy upon them, and cause them to be as though he had not cast them off. ON THE LATTER DAYS. Mai. iii. 18. The conduct of God in the administra tion of his providence, however dark and mysterious it may have appeared at particu lar seasons, even in the eyes of his own people, has always been the result of infi nite and unerring wisdom ; and not the least event has at any time taken place, whether in the history of nations or that of individ uals, which has not been designed of God to illustrate and promote the glory of his own name. His path indeed has often been in the sea, and his footsteps in the mighty waters ; and men have been ready to ex claim in beholding the triumph of the un godly, or the depression of those who fear ed the name of the Lord, " Surely, God seeth not, neither doth the God of Jacob re gard ; " but the event has shown, or assured ly will show ere long, that, as the ears ofthe Lord are always open to the cry of his peo ple, so his face is uniformly set against all those who do wickedly. In the ages that are past the Lord in his dealings towards men has, for the most part, reserved the wicked for the day of wrath. In the pre sent life they have hitherto been the most prosperous, and their success in unhallowed enterprises has oftentimes been ready to stumble the minds of the Lord's own dear children ; but, when they went into the sanctuary and viewed their end — when God drew aside the veil, and showed them their misery in the eternal state — O ! how were their minds impressed with solemn awe ! how did they exclaim, " Surely Lord, thou didst set them in slippery places, and in a moment thou castedst them down into de struction : they are utterly consumed with terrors ! " The ungodly, however mighty and exalted in power, now appear to them objects ofthe greatest pity. They perceive that their triumphing is but for a moment, and that, though for a while they may exult as princes, their latter end is that they pe rish forever. The firm persuasion of this truth has a suitable effect upon the minds of the people of God. It completely cures them of their envy of sinners, and they de sire rather to suffer affliction for the name of Jesus, than to enjoy those pleasures, if such they may be called, which are low and debasing in their nature, temporary and un certain in their duration, and assuredly lead ing to destruction in their issue. But still, with regard to the bulk of men, the charm remains. Not only do the honors, riches, and pleasures of a present life attract their notice, but also the characters of those that enjoy them. These they behold living with out God in the world, openly despising his authority, and casting all his commandments behind their backs ; and, as sentence against their evil works is not executed speedily, therefore the hearts of multitudes are fully set in them to join their evil and ungodly courses. One generation thus passeth away, and another succeeds in the same round of wickedness and carnal security, and God endureth with much long-suffering those vessels of wrath who are thus fitting themselves for signal and everlasting de struction. But the long-suffering and forbearance of God appear to have their limits, even in a present life. There seems, from the predic tions of the word of God, to be a time com ing when such a distinction of character shall be made as shall serve to impress the minds of men with a solemn conviction that God will not be mocked, and when the dis criminating nature of his judgments shall enable them to discern between the right eous and the wicked, between him that serv eth God and him that serveth him not This is not an inference drawn from a doubt ful or solitary passage of Scripture. It ap pears to be predicted in explicit language by many of the prophets, and, if the writer do not mistake, some characters of the period are given so plainly as to enable them that believe to ascertain when it is drawing nigh. A reference to the prophets themselves will afford the best illustration of this remark In the 2d chapter of Isaiah's prophecy, we read of God " arising to shake terribly the earth." " The day of the Lord," it is said, " shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and he shall be brought low ; and the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day ; and the idols shall be utterly abolished." In the 34th chapter of the same book, it is said, " The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their ar mies ; " and it is styled, " tlie day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recom penses for the controversy of Zion." It is abundantly manifest that the first prediction yet remains to be accomplished ; and others of the prophets will equally show that the latter refers, nor to any period prior, but subsequent to the destruction of the Jewish state. In the 23d chapter of the prophecy of Jeremiah, at verse 19, it is said, " Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in ON THE LATTER DAYS. 141 fury, even a grievous whirlwind; it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord shall not return till he have executed and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart. In the latter days " (a phrase uniformly applied to express the times of Christianity) "ye shall consider it perfectly." In the 30th chapter the same declaration is repeated ; and, to mark the period, it is said, chap. xxxi. " At the same time will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people." The whole ofthe 25th chapter seems to be a pre diction respecting the same time : at verse 30 it is said, " The Lord shall roar from on high ; he shall shout against all the inhabit ants of the earth. He hath a controversy with all nations. He will plead with all flesh, and will give them that are wicked to the sword. Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth." Dan- niel seems to point to the very same time, when he says, in chap. xii. of his prophecy, " There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was, since there was a nation, even to that same time. " That this has not yet taken place is plain from his immediately adding, " at that time thy people shall be de livered ; " evidently referring to the return of the Jews in the last days. It is in this awful manner, it would seem, that God means to arise and plead his own cause. It is in this awful manner that Mes siah intends to arise and assert his right to universal empire, and to introduce his glori ous and peaceful government among all the nations of the habitable earth. And what if he be already risen up ? the inquiry is not only important, but it is the indispensable duty of every professing Christian, lest that denunciation should apply to him, " Because they regard not the operation of the Lord, therefore will he destroy them, and not build them up." In connection with the passages formerly quoted, there is a very striking one in the book ofthe prophet Zephaniah, which states in the most unequivocal manner that the uni versal spread of truth and of righteousness shall be preceded or accompanied by univer sal judgment. In chap. iii. 8. " Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determina tion is to gather the nations, that I may as semble the kingdoms to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth shall be devoured by the fire of my jealousy : For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord with one consent, from beyond the rivers of Ethi opia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering." This passage serves as a key to the others, inasmuch as it shows that the period predicted shall be coincident with God's turning to the nations a pure language ; and the others at the same time serve to show that, though the judgments of God shall be universal, yet they shall be discriminating — that they shall chiefly fall on the heads of tlie wicked. It is too plain that all the kingdoms of the earth have been guilty of much sin ; and therefore all of them are to suffer exemplary punishment. This, it would appear, God in tends to employ as a means of awakening men every where to call upon his name. If they- refuse to repent and turn to the Lord, " they shall be devoured with the sword, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." The purpose of God, in regard to the period re ferred to, seems to be that men shall either be saved by the gospel or destroyed by judg ments, and thus the earth shall be cleansed, in order to its becoming a quiet resting-place for the servants of Jesus : " There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation." Our Lord uses similar lan guage respecting the destruction of Jerusa lem. Like many declarations in the proph ecies, this may be considered as having both a primary and. a plenary accomplishment. In both views, it may be capable of a con sistent interpretation. The sufferings ofthe siege of Jerusalem may probably have been greater in their nature than any that ever have been or shall be ; but, in respect of the universality of their extent, the judgments of God which shall be poured out in the last days may render the language of the prophecy equally and exclusively applica ble in that sense. That this time has already passed will not be proved, until it be shown that all nations have already united in calling upon the Lord with one consent, as prophesied by Zephaniah. When, however, in obedience to the com mand of Christ, we mark the signs of the times— when we behold the Lord putting it into the hearts of his people to commiser ate the state ofthe heathen, and messengers going forth to gather them unto Jesus — and when at the same time we mark the judg ments of God extending from nation to na tion — surely we discern enough to incite to holy watchfulness, lest the day of the Lord should come upon us at a moment when we are not aware. " Behold I come as a thief," says Jesus, " blessed is he that watch- eth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and men see his shame." Let sin ners in Zion be afraid : let them seek the Lord now while he is to be found, and call upon him while he is near, lest suddenly wrath should come upon them to the utter most. 142 EXPOSITORY NOTES. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN FORCED. Matt. xi. 12, 13. There is no doubt, I think, that the ques tion sent by John to Jesus — " Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another ? " — must have arisen from a misconception of the design of his appearance, probably of the same kind with that which occupied the mind of Christ's disciples, as to the nature of his kingdom. It has been a question wheth er John himself was the subject of this mis conception, or some of his disciples, whom he personated. There is certainly an air of reproof contained in the answer, ver. 4 — 6. First : In its being indirect. Jesus would not say whether he was the Messiah or not ; but left it for his works, and their correspon dence with prophecy, to determine the ques tion. Secondly: In its implying that his outward meanness had proved an occasion of offence. Whether it were John or his disciples, some must have been offended, and sinfully too, else such language would not have been used. It may be thought that John himself, like the disciples of Christ, might be infected with the notion ofthe kingdom of Christ be ing a temporal kingdom ; that, on his being cast into prison, he expected Christ would publicly assume his throne, and release him ; and that hearing of nothing more than of his being followed up and down by a num ber of poor people, and by few if any of better condition, he was stumbled, and knew not what to make of things. But on review- the chapter, and comparing it with other things spoken of John, it seems more natur al to think that the doubt belonged to his disciples. Two reasons may here be men tioned for this. First : There appears to have been a greater degree of gospel light in the mind" of John than in any of Christ's disciples prior to his resurrection. They never seem to have understood the doctrine of his putting away sin by the sacrifice of him self till the thing was accomplished; but he pointed his disciples to the Saviour as the " Lamb of God that should take (or bear) away the sin of the world." And, when an attempt was made to excite his jealousy (John iii. 25, 26,) his answer contains an exhibi tion of the person and work of Christ, wor thy of an evangelical minister. " The Fa ther loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he that be lieveth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." He was a burning and a shining light, while as yet darkness covered their minds. He was not allowed to enter into the gospel rest ; but he had a Pisgah's view of it beyond any of his contemporaries. Secondly : Jesus, on the departure of the messengers, vindicated him before the multitudes, and that from be ing " a reed shaken with the wind," as the message which had been sent by him would seem to represent him. The chief design of our Lord, however, in this his vindication of John, was to estab lish his -ministry, and former testimonies, and and by consequence his own Messiahship. These, by the message recently sent, were in danger of suffering in the esteem of the peo ple. It is in respect of this his ministry, as the Messiah's harbinger, rather than of his personal qualities, that he is declared to be "more than a prophet," and yet "less than the least in the Idngdom of heaven." Thus it is that Jesus continues magnifying his own spiritual Idngdom, and describing the interest which it had already excited from the time that John had proclaimed it. The Pharisees and lawyers indeed refused to en ter in, and did all they could to hinder oth ers ; but the common people and the publi cans "justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John." — See Luke vii. 18 — 30. By comparing this passage with that in ques tion, it is manifest that this was the violence which the kingdom of heaven suffered. As the two blind men, when rebuked by the multitude, and charged to hold their peace, cried the more a great deal, and pressed to wards the Saviour, so the publicans and sin ners were not to be deterred by the rebukes of their leaders ; but, on hearing of the king dom of God, " pressed into it." To account for the mighty effects of John's ministry, on those who believed it, and to show the inexcusableness of those who dis believed it, his preaching is contrasted with that of Moses and the prophets. They spake of things as at a distance, but he of things as at hand. There seems to be an elipsis in ver. 13, which requires to be supplied as follows. " All the prophets and the law prophesied until John," but he did more than prophecy. He declared that the Messiah was now among them, and that his kingdom was at hand. Hence, the door be ing opened, there was a pressing into it ; it was taken in a manner by force. THE DUTY OF CHRISTIAN FORGIVENESS. Matt, xviii. 23, and following verses. The manifest design of the parable is to impress upon us the duty of forgiveness one to another, from the consideration of God's freely forgiving us. That in the parable, I imagine, which struck the querist* as incon sistent with Calvinistic principles, was the supposition of a man being given up to the tormentors whose sins had been forgiven. Some expositors, in order to solve this diffi culty, suppose the punishment to mean his being given up to church censures ; others to temporal calamities, and the accusations * This article first appeared in the Evangelical Magazino, in reply to the inquiries of a corres pondent. PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD. 143 of a guilty conscience. But it appears. to me that this is altogether foreign from the design of Christ. Our Lord certainly meant to suggest to all the professors of Christian ity, all the subjects of his visible kingdom, that unless they forgave men their trespasses they themselves should not be forgiven, but should be cast into endless torment. The true solution of the difficulty I take to be this : It is common with our Lord in his para bles to address men upon their own principles: not according to what they were in fact, but what they were in profession and expecta tion. For example : " There is joy over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repent ance. — The whole need not a physician, but they that are sick : I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Not that there were any among mankind who were righteous, whole, and needed no repen tance, in fact, but merely on their own ac count. The elder son in the parable, in Luke xv., is doubtless intended to represent the scribes and pharisees, who at that time drew near and murmured at Christ's receiv ing sinners. — Ver. 1, 2. And yet this elder son is allowed to be very obedient (at least he is not contradicted in this matter) and to have a large interest in his father's inher itance ; not because it was so in fact, but as reasoning with them upon their own prin ciples. But what is nearer still to the case in hand is the parable addressed to Simon the pharisee. Our Lord here supposes that Si mon was a little sinner, and a forgiven sin ner ; and yet in fact he was neither. No set of men were greater sinners in reality than the Pharisees ; and this man gave proof of his being in an impenitent and unforgiven state. But Christ reasoned with him upon his own principles ; q. d. You reckon your self a little sinner, and that what few failings you have will doubtless be forgiven you: well, be it so ; this woman is a great sinner, and so accounts herself: I forgave her all her trangressions, and therefore you need not wonder at her conduct; her love to me is greater than yours, even allowing, for argu ment's sake, that your love is sincere. Thus, in the parable under consideration, our Lord solemnly warns all the members of his visible kingdom, who professed to be the people of God, and who had their expecta tions of being forgiven of him, without de termining whether their professions were sincere or their expectations well founded, that, if they forgave, not men their trespas ses, neither would his heavenly Father for give them their trespasses. Whether they were sincere or not, made no difference as to the argument : If a person lays his ac count with being forgiven of God, and is un forgiving to his brother, his conduct is in consistent and wicked ; for, being under the power of self-deception, his motive is the same as if it had been otherwise. There are some subjects on which I feel myself incapable of throwing any fresh light. Where this is the case I think it my duty to decline them. Under this description I must reckon the questions of a correspondent who signs himself A Berean : and another who has addressed me under the signature of Candidus, concerning the decrees of God. I feel difficulties upon those great subjects, on which, at present, I had rather pray than write. ON THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST STEWARD. Luke xvi. 1 — 12. It will not be expected that we should affix a distinct idea to every term in a para ble. There are some parts of almost every composition of this kind which belong to what may be called the drapery of it ; and, were we to aim at a minute explication of them, we should presently feel ourselves lost in mazes of folly and impertinence. The first and chief object in the exposition of parables is to find out the leading design of the speaker. The leading design in this parable is manifestly to expose the sin of covetousness. So it was understood by the pharisees, who, as the sacred writer observes, (ver. 14,) " were covetous," and who, " when they heard these things, derided him." They perceived the parable was aimed at a sin in which they lived ; but, instead of being reproved and humbled, they affected, like the same kind of people in the present day, to carry it off with a high hand, and treated the reprover with derision. To show the evil of the sin of covetous ness, our Lord represents every man in the possession of worldly property as a steward under God, and intimates that a time will come when we must give account of our stewardship, and be no longer stewards. From the supposed case of one of the " children of this world," who, on being summoned to give account of his steward ship, took measures to ingratiate himself with his lord's tenants, our Saviour takes occasion to reprove the folly of avarice, and to enforce the practice of charity and liberality ; by which that worldly proper ty which had hitherto been unjustly detained from the necessitous, and which therefore was in danger of proving injurious to the souls of its possessors, might be turned to their everlasting advantage. "The chil dren of this world," he observed, " are wiser in their generation than the children of light." The expedient supposed to be used by one of the former is introduced in order to shame the latter, and to provoke them to be as wise for their souls as the others are for their bodies. 144 EXPOSITORY NOTES. The want'of integrity in the unjust stew ard does not appear to consist in his giving back a part of the rents to his lord's tenants, but in his having embezzled and misapplied his property. The abatements which he is supposed to have made seem to have been, whatever might be his motive, but an exer cise of justice towards those whom for his own private interest he had oppressed. In oppressing the tenants and defrauding his lord, the unjust steward fitly represents the conduct of those who at the same time withhold what is meet from the poor and from the Lord, appropriating what Provi dence puts into their hands to merely selfish purposes. Worldly riches are called " the mammon of unrighteousness," not because it is un righteous to be rich, nor, as I am inclined to think, on account of their having been ob tained by unrighteous methods ; but rather because of their being unrighteously detain ed from the poor and needy. Our riches may have been righteously obtained with respect to men, and yet unrighteously de tained with respect to God, and with respect to the poor, who are his tenants, his repre sentatives in this world. Such an unright eous detention of our worldly wealth is tantamount to the conduct of the unjust steward, who " wasted his lord's goods." That which is not applied to the purposes for which it was entrusted in our hands is embezzled and misapplied in God's account. In this view the most covetous persons are the greatest wasters; and every one who possesses more than he ought, by hav ing detained it from the poor and needy, is in possession of unrighteous mammon, is an unjust steward, and must shortly have to give account of his stewardship ! But, if the mere detention of our property beyond what is fit and right constitute it the mammon of unrighteousness, who then is innocent? Who that is in possession of wealth can wash his hands, and say, " I am clear in this matter ; I owe nothing to reli gion, nothing to the poor ? " Alas, every one must feel self-condemned ! The preva lence of this sin may account for our Lord's speaking of riches in general, in ver. 11, as the unrighteous mammon. There is per haps a part at least of every man's property that, if all had their dues, would not be his. And what is to be done with this overplus, this unrighteous mammon ? The answer is, Apply it to the uses to which it ought to have been applied before ; not only communicate liberally of your substance to all those pur poses for which you are entrusted with it, which ought to be your general course, but, like Zaccheus, pay up your arrears. This will be "making friends of," or by, "the mammon of unrighteousness; laying up treasure in heaven ; laying up in store for ourselves a good foundation against the time to . come, that we may lay hold on eternal life." It is true, the mere communication of relief to the needy, if unaccompanied by love, will avail us nothing ; and, even if it spring from love, there is nothing in it that can, strictly speaking, merit the kingdom of God ; yet, God having graciously promised eternal life as the reward of those who give but a cup of cold water to a disciple of Christ because he belongs to him, a compli ance with the one affords a foundation to expect the other. As God graciously re wards even his own work in this world, so it - will be in that to come : those who have sown sparingly here will reap sparingly hereafter ; while those who have sown plentifully shali reap plentifully. We may as truly be said, by laying out ourselves for God, to lay up treasures in heaven, as if eternal life were literally the reward of human merit ; and though when we have done all we are un profitable servants, having done no more than was our duty to do, yet, through the super- . abounding goodness of God, we may be said by these means to make to ourselves friends, who will bear such witness in pur favor as that we shall be received into everlasting habitations. To enforce the exercise of liberality, our Lord holds up the disparity between earthly and heavenly riches ; the one as little, the other as much ; the one as unrighteous, de ceitful, or false mammon, the other as the true riches ; this as pertaining to another man, of which we are only stewards, that as being properlyBwr own, an inalienable and eternal inheritance ; seriously warning us, at the same time, that if we continue unfaith ful in the one we can never expect to be put in possession of the other. ON THE CASE OF THE CONVERTED THIEF. Luke xxiii. 39—43. It is an opinion entertained by some who imbibe what is called rational Christianity that character being formed by habits, and habits by a series of actions, sudden conver sions are impossible. It would seem to be in support of this hypothesis that doubts have been suggested as to tiie previous character ofthe converted thief, as whether his crime might not consist in some affair of a political nature, which, being accounted seditious, affected his life ; and whether he might not, upon the whole, have been a good character notwithstanding. There is noth ing however, in the story, that countenances such a notion. He is called a malefactor, or evil-doer ; and the term here rendered a thief signifies as much as a robber. It is the same word that is used of Barabbas, who was a robber and murderer. Besides, he condemns himself; who then shall go about to justify him? THE CASE OF THE CONVERTED THIEF. 145 Those who imbibe this opinion could have nothing to say to a condemned malefactor, unless it were to examine him as to the reality and heinousness ofhis crimes, hoping to find him less guilty than was alleged. If on inquiry they find he has been a bad char acter, they must give him up as to any change being effected in this life. The gospel which they preach will not reach his case. He must die, therefore, in his sins, and whither the Saviour is gone he cannot go! Some that have not carried matters to this length have yet considered the conversion of bad characters as every thing but hopeless. They do not say it is impossible, but con ceive it to be exceedingly improbable ; as if the probability of a sinner's conversion depended on his previous character, and was influenced by it. Jesus, however, commis sioned his disciples to "preach repentance and remission of sins, in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem," the crimes of whose inhabitants, in crucifying the Lord of glory, were such that, compared with them, those of ordinary malefactors are but little follies. The doctrine of grace to the chief of sin ners never seems to be guarded in the Scrip tures in the manner we sometimes see it in human writings. The salvation of a great sinner is not there held up as a singular in stance, which we are not to expect to see repeated ; but rather as a proof that no sin ner need despair on accountof the magnitude of his sins. — "For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter beheve on him to everlasting life." The way in which the Scriptures guard the doctrine of grace is not by limiting its opera tions, but by insisting upon its effects. They put no questions to a sinner coming to Jesus for mercy, as to the magnitude of his sins ; but they declare without reserve that, " if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are passed away ; behold all things are become new." On this principle let us carefully inspect the case of the converted thief, and apply it as we go along to cases in our own times. First : He frankly acknowledges his guilt and the justice of his condemnation. — " We, indeed, justly ;" — "we receive the due re ward of our deeds." The sinner who palli ates or prevaricates as to any part of his conduct is not a new creature, and therefore is not in Christ. It is possible, however, that a convict may, through the fallibility of the most upright judge and jury, be condemned to die for a crime of which he is not guilty, although he has been guilty of many other crimes ; while, therefore, he acknowledges the justice of God in his condemnation, he cannot in re-" Vol. 2.— Sig. 19. spect of the proceedings of man say, with the dying thief, I suffer justly. Such a case as this may occur, and where it does it is doubtless right for the party to speak the truth. But, before he is entitled to credit, the credibility of the evidence against him requires to be carefully and impartially con sidered. Truth also is consistent, and very rarely devoid of evidence. Before he is en titled to credit, in the denial of what has been legally proved against him, it should be considered also that he may have an interest in trying to persuade those about him of his innocence in respect of the crime for which he is condemned to suffer, as it is by this only that he can hope for an application be ing made on his behalf for the mitigation of his punishment. When a compassionate minister attends a convict in such circum stances, and hears him confess how great a sinner he has been in other things, though as to the crime for which he is about to suffer he is innocent, he may be induced to beheve him, -and this the convict will quickly per ceive, and will go on by every means in his power to work up his feelings. The convict may even exaggerate his other crimes for the sake of producing a belief of his inno cence of the crime for which he stands con demned. But it ought to be considered that, for the crimes which he confesses, he lies under no indictment, and therefore they do not affect his life : but, for the crime which he denies, he stands not only indicted but condemned : — this therefore affecting his life, he is under the strongest temptation that can be conceived to deny it. The sum is, that, when a person is found guilty by a humane judge and an impartial jury, it may be laid down as a general rule that he is guilty, and no professions of repentance while he continues to deny it can be sincere : and though there are particular exceptions to this rule, yet no convict ought to be con sidered as one of them on his own bare word, unaccompanied with evidence, especially when he is under the greatest possible temp tation, though he were guilty, to wish to be thought innocent. Secondly : The few things uttered by the dying thief had no bearing on his temporal interest, but were the pure dictates of truth and righteousness. — In condemning his own conduct, he justified his countrymen as to their treatment of him ; yet at the same time he condemned them as to their treatment of Jesus. If, by the former, he might be sup posed to conciliate them, and induce them to make interest for his being taken down from the cross, the latter would have a contrary effect. His words, therefore, taken together, must have arisen from a regard to what was true and right. Thirdly : His repentance toward God was accompanied with "faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ." — The prayer that he offered 146 EXPOSITORY NOTES. was that of faith, and, considering his circum stances, of great faith. A man of his habits cannot be supposed to have been much ac quainted with the prophecies or the miracles of Christ. Excepting the general notion, which may be considered as common to every Jew, that the Messiah would come, he would probably know little or nothing of religion. It is not unlikely that, till he saw Jesus in the hands of the rulers, he knew nothing of him ; and, now that he saw him, it was under every circumstance of weakness and dis grace : his enemies were triumphing over him, his friends had mostly forsaken him, public opinion was against him, and his very crucifixion was deemed inconsistent with his Messiahship. The lowliness ofhis con dition from the beginning was a great stum bling-block to the Jews, and the circumstan ces of his death must render it more, espe cially to one who had never seen him but in this situation. Even those who had believed in him were made to doubt by his crucifix ion. Yet under all these disadvantages he had the fullest conviction of his Messiahship, or he could nothave offered the prayer which he did, "Lord remember, me when thou comest into thy kingdom ! " By the request to be remembered, he must have meant as much as if he had asked to be saved, which implies his belief in Jesus as the Saviour. Indeed he must have believed him to be the Saviour even of the chief of sinners, or he would not have hoped to be remembered by him. A self-righteous spectator would have cried shame on such a petition ; and, had he himself been influenced by that spirit, he might have suppressed it, as being unworthy of so great a favor.. He must also have be lieved that this Jesus, though now expiring upon the cross, would shortly be in posses sion of a kingdom in the heavenly world. In this again he was before the apostles, whose notions of an earthly kingdom blinded their minds. Finally, it would seem as if he be lieved that in that blessed kingdom Jesus would "make intercession for transgress ors ; " why else did he ask to be remembered by him? This is certain, that, if he had possessed the clearest views ofthe interces sion of Christ, he could not have expressed himself better. How full and appropriate was the term which his heart dictated. It is as if he had said, Think of me when it shall be well with thee.— He might have said, pardon me, save me, bless me ; but the words " remember me " include them all. An interest in Christfs heart will comprehend an interest in all his benefits. Nor was the term less appropriate to the condition ofthe petitioner; an outcast from society, who will remember him? The public would think no more of him; his friends would be glad to forget him, as hav ing disgraced the family ; but there is one with whom he ventures to lodge a petition, "Lord, remember me ! " How shall we account for so large a por tion of faith and spiritual understanding in one circumstanced as he was, and in so short a time ? Without divine influence it cannot be accounted for, but with it that which he saw and heard was sufficient for every pur pose. When led to the place of execution, he heard the answer of Jesus to the women who lamented him, — " Daughters of Jerusa lem, weep not for me, but weep for your selves, and for your children : for behold the days are coming in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us ; and to the hills, Cover us : for, if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry ? " He had also heard the prayer for his enemies, when they were nailing him to the cross, " Father, forgive them ; for they know not what they do." To a heart which the Lord had opened, these sayings would be more than so many sermons. Nor was this all : he would gather from the very jeers of his enemies that Jesus professed to be Christ, the Son of God, and the Saviour of men. Even the impenitent thief knew this, and joined in reproaching him for it. The su perscription written over him, " This is the king of the Jews," was equal to saying, This is the Messiah ; and so contained a testimony for him, on which account the Jews wished to have it altered. He would also perceive the spirit ofthe sufferer and that ofhis persecu tors. Altogether, he saw that he had done nothing amiss ; and his mind, being open to conviction, would quickly admit the conse quences — He must be what he professes to be, Christ, the Son of God, and the Saviour ofthe world. From this conviction proceeded his peti tion to be remembered by him ; and, consid ering the well-known character of Christ, " it was not surprising that it should be heard and answered. He had declared in his dis courses, "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out ; " and he acted up to it — "Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in para dise." Of the reproaches that were cast upon him by his enemies he took no notice ; but the prayer of the contrite and believing sinner arrested his attention. At a time when he was grappling with the powers of darkness, and sustaining the load of human guilt, we should have thought he might have been excused from attending to indi vidual applications ; but a sinner can never come to him in an unacceptable time. He gives him an answer of peace, and that without delay. There was a case in which he held the petitioner a. while in suspense, al leging, " It is not meet to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs ; " but this was an urgent case. In a very little time the spark of life would be extinguished. The THE CASE OF THE CONVERTED THIEF. 147 word must be nigh him, or it will be una vailing. Had he been required to ascend to heaven or to descend into the deep for the blessing, it had been utterly out of reach. Had it been necessary for him to possess a set of virtuous habits, each acquired by a series of virtuous acts, the way had been too circuitous for him : but the word of faith was nigh him, and he laid hold of it ; with his heart believing unto righteousness, and with his mouth making confession unto sal vation. As' the request to be remembered includ ed much, so did the answer. To be with Christ in paradise, not only supposes that his soul would exist when separated from the body, but intimates the forgiveness of his sins, and all that was necessary to salva tion. It exceeds all that he asked or thought: he asked to be remembered by him ; and is told he shall be with him : he asked to be remembered at a future time, he knew not when; and is assured that, before the day should end, they would be .to gether in paradise. And, lest it should seem too much to be true, Jesus prefaced the as surance with the solemn asseveration, "Ve rily I say unto thee." The dying man, no doubt, believed him, and rejoiced in hope of eternal life. But Fourthly : Though assured of being with Christ in paradise, there is no mention of his making this a part of his confession, or telling, the spectators that he was going to heaven. — What was said on this subject was by Christ, and not by him. Is it unnatu ral to suppose that the circumstances under which he died would induce him to suppress things which might have been proper in oth er circumstances ? Had he been a martyr to the truth, he might have declared, with great propriety, that, though they had cast him out, God would receive him ; or had he died in his bed, hke other righteous men, he might have said with an apostle, " If the earthly house of this tabernacle were dis solved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the hea vens ; " but, dying as a malefactor, whatever were his hopes, or joys, he would not be for ward to speak of them. If, in cases where men are "buffeted for their faults," the most exemplary patience loses its glory and thank- worthiness, much more where they are exe cuted for their crimes. It must appear to the dying thief, and I think to any true peni tent in his situation, that the expressions of a lively hope would have no glory, but must rather appear incongruous and disgusting. In such circumstances, therefore, he would rather choose to steal out of the world in silence. Duty required him to acknowledge his sin, and he did so, without prevarication or reserve. Let the world think ill of his conduct ; the more they do this, the better ; but, as to their thinking well of his future state, he discovered no concern about it. Besides, except his acknowledgment of the justice of his sentence, he had no claim to the credence of the spectators for the sincerity ofhis repentance. Unless his life had been prolonged, he could give no proof of it : what right then had he to expect to be credited as to his future happiness ? The testimony of a single witness was not ad mitted in certain cases under the Mosaic law : whatever, therefore, such a witness might know, he would not be forward to ut ter, and still less to claim cfedit for the truth of that of which he could produce no legal proof: so the truly penitent convict, knowing that he has no such means of prov ing his sincerity as he would have if his life were prolonged, will not be eager in proclaiming it. The above remarks are submitted to the serious consideration of those ministers or private Christians who are called to attend persons under sentence of death. Let the case of the dying thief have all its weight in encouraging us to use means for their conversion ; but let us not hastily flatter our selves, and still less the unhappy convict, that we have succeeded. If his supposed penitence be attended with an eagerness to proclaim his own sincerity, and his certain expectation of future happiness, it should be strongly suspected ; and if with a denial of what has been clearly proved against him, or a disposition to palliate or prevaricate, ut terly discredited. The boasting language so common among convicts who profess to repent and believe the gospel, in our times, has caused some to ask whether the gallows was not the surest way to heaven. There certainly are principles, apart from religion, which account for much that in such circumstances passes for conversion. Besides what has been observed under the first remark, of men being induced to pro fess repentance for their other sins while they deny that for which they are to suffer, in hope of saving their lives, there may be strong feelings respecting a future state, while yet there is no true repentance. When a man has received the sentence of death, and knows he must shortly stand before his Maker, is it surprising that his heart fails him1} And if, when his charac ter and condition are faithfully stated to him, he weeps, is it any wonder? I add, if when the hope of salvation by Jesus Christ is held up to him he catches at it with eagerness, . as his only refuge against terror, and if a gleam of hope be thus kindled in his mind and he be encouraged to think well of his state, it does not require the supernatural influences of the Holy Spirit to cause him to weep for joy. And this in the account of a good minister, whose desires are ardently drawn forth for his salvation, will render him an object of hope. But, after all, should the convict be pardoned, the minister, if he 148 EXPOSITORY NOTES. be wise as well as good, will have many painful apprehensions lest the event that terminates his terrors should also terminate his religion ! If only one in ten of those for whom hope is entertained in the hour of terror should, on their lives being prolonged, prove truly religious characters, it is sufficient to en courage the utmost efforts for the conver sion of such unhappy men, but not to justi fy our pronouncing on every one, who dies with apparent contrition, that he has gone to heaven. JOHNS TESTIMONY OF JESUS AS THE MESSIAH. John iii. 22—36. While John and Jesus were both baptiz ing at a little .distance from each other, there arose questions between some of the disciples of the former and the Jews about purifying. Whether they conceived of bap tism as a mode of purifying and thought they had enough of this already, or what ever they thought, they were manifestly disposed to set John at variance with Jesus, by endeavoring to work upon his jealou sies. Probably the objection was first made by the Jews to some of John's disciples ; and they, being staggered by it, came with it to their master : " Rabbi," say they, " he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold the same baptizeth, and all men come unto him." If John had been under the influence of such principles as govern the greater part of mankind, this poison must have taken effect. Its import was nothing less than this: This Jesus whom you exalt is become your rival, and draws away your disciples after him, Can he be the Messiah ? John, instead of being fired with jealousy, feels indignant at the attempt Co place him in competition with his Lord, and rejects the idea with "great force of language. " A man," saith he, " can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven ; " and be assur ed it was never given me from heaven to be a competitor with the Saviour ofthe world, ver. 28. "Ye yourselves bear me witness that I said I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him," ver. 26. And, as to " all men coming to him," it is as it should be. Instead of un dermining the proof of his Messiahship, it establishes it: for "he that hath the bride" (i. e. the people who believe in him) " is the bridegroom." Envy not, I beseech you, therefore for my sake. It is enough for me to be "the bridegroom's friend." I have seen him, and heard his voice, and this to me is joy unspeakable, ver. 29. That of which you complain is the course in which things will continue to move : " for he must increase and I decrease," ver. 30. Nor ought any to desire it to be otherwise ; for " he that cometh from above (as Jesus doth) is above all: he that is ofthe earth (as I am ) is earthly, and speaketh of ^he earth : he that cometh from heaven is above all," and ought not, therefore, to be compared with a worm of the dust, ver. 31. Having thus commended his person, he proceeds to commend his doctrine, and like an evangelical minister to exhibit him as the only author of salvation. He describes his testimony as different from all others, in that it consists of things which he had "seen and heard " in heaven, as being privy to all the divine counsels: whereas those who were of the earth could only believe and therefore speak. But, though he spoke as never man spoke, yet men in general reject ed his testimony; those however who re ceived it, as there were some that did (ver. 32,) in so doing not only did him just honor, but subscribed to the veracity of God in ali the promises and prophecies of his word ; while those who rejected it, however they might make their boast of God, treated his oracles as lies, and himself as a .liar, ver. 33. The reason given for his thus identifying the testimony of Christ and the truth of God is that God had " sent him and he spake the very words of God ;" and this not only as hav ing been privy to all his counsels, but as par taking of his Spirit without measure, ver. 34. He proceeds to warn them of the danger of being found fighting against God. " The Father," saith he, " loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hands." Will you set yourselves against the mind and purpose of God? He is his chief delight. His heart is set on honoring him. To him he hath committed all the great concerns ofhis mor al empire, that he may restore it to order, and carry into execution all his designs of mercy and judgment. Be ye therefore of God's mind, ver. 35. If ye believe on the Son, everlasting- life is yours: if ye believe not the Son, you will never see life ; but " the wrath of God " revealed from heaven against you, in all the curses of his righteous law, will be bound forever upon you! — ver. 36. Let the reader seriously consider this testimony of John. Let him remember that it is as applicable to us in these days as it was to the parties immediately addressed. It is the same doctrine as that which our Lord himself delivered to Nicodemus, in verses 14 — 18, and is that word by which we shall be judged at the last day. " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not per ish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to con demn the world ; but that the world through THE TRIAL OF SPIRITS. 149 him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned ; but he that believeth not is condemned already ; because he hath not believed in the name of the only begot ten Son of God." ON THE TRIAL OF SPIRITS. John iv. 1. The predicted enmity between the seed of the woman and of the serpent has been peculiarly fulfilled in the times of the gos pel. No sooner was the Christian church established, by the preaching of the cross, than it began to be assailed by a flood of false doctrine. Christ had his ministers in every quarter, and Satan had his. It is in this way that the devil has wrought his greatest achievements. The persecutions ofthe first three centuries accomplished but little in his favor, but the corruptions of the fourth introduced a species of apostacy which has deluged the Christian world for more than a thousand years. The design of God in permitting these things may surpass our comprehension : we are told, however, that " it must needs be that offences come," and that " there must be heresies among us, that they who are approved may be made manifest." The existence .of such things, therefore, should neither vex nor surprise us, but merely ex cite in us that circumspection which is neces sary in walking among pits and snares. Such was the temper of mind which the apostle John aimed to excite in the primitive Christians. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God ; because many false prophets are gone out into the world." If such caution was necessary for the primitive Christians, unless we could depend on the floods of false doctrine having of late ages subsided, or on our having better securities against them than those who were contemporary with the apostles, it must be necessary for us. As neither of these suppositions can be admitted, I may be allowed to apply the warning language of the apostle to our own times. The spirits which are to be tried seem to refer not so much to persons as to things ; things which are presented for belief, or doctrines. The " spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh " ap pears to be the same thing as the doctrine that is opposed to that great truth.* This doctrine may be called a spirit, not only as professing to come from divine inspiration, but on account of its energies. False doc trines are described as contagious winds, * The three unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon, of the beast, and of the false prophet (Rev. xvi. 13,) may be no other than delusive and destructive principles. that waft poison into the minds of men ; a pestilence that walketh in darkness, insinuat ing its malignant influence in so insensible a manner that the work of death is effected ere the party is aware. Beloved, believe not every doctrine that is proposed to you, whatever may be the pre tensions or the confidence of the proposer. Error seldom or never goes abroad undis guised. Believe not every doctrine that comes to you in a rational garb. There is nothing in true religion repugnant to sound reason ; but a system that hangs upon subtle reason ing is not the gospel. There is no cause but what may be made to appear plausible by ingenious men ; of this any one may satisfy himself who listens but a few hours to the speeches of the bar or the senate. For a doctrine to be of God, it must not only be conveyed in plain language, such as with out any force put upon it naturally suggests the idea to a humble and intelligent reader, but must quadrate with the whole word of God, and be productive of effects similar to that of Christ and his apostles. The same divine oracle which teaches us to " incline our ear unto wisdom, and apply our heart to understanding," directs to " cry and lift up our voice for it, to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and not to lean to our own under standing." Believe not every doctrine that comes to you in a holy garb. That the gospel is holy, and of a holy tendency, cannot be doubted by one who believes it : but holiness itself is capable in a degree of being assumed. The false teachers, who corrupted the Corin thians, found it necessary, in order to accom plish their ends, to " transform themselves into the apostles of Christ ; and no marvel," saith Paul, "for Satan himself is transform ed into an angel of light." It is no uncom mon thing for the gospel to be undermined by a pretended zeal for morality. The phar isees were wont to be considered as almost the only friends to good works; alleging against Jesus that he kept company with sinners, and ate with them. Yet they were denounced as hypocrites. If an evangeli cal minister among us be called to contend for the purity, spirituality, and perpetual authority of the divine law, or for any par ticular branch of practical godliness ; it is not unusual for others, who are very differ ently affected to evangelical truth, to claim kindred with him, and to wish to have it thought that all the suspicions that had been entertained of them were merely owing to their zeal for holiness. But there are few men who are farther off from the holiness of the New Testament than those who urge the duty to the neglect of the principles from which it rises. We must both " rebuke and exhort," but it must be with " all long- suffering and doctrine." 150 EXPOSITORY NOTES. Believe not every doctrine that comes to you in an evangelical garb. Nothing can be truly evangelical but it must be of God ; but, under the pretence of this, some of the most pernicious errors have been introduced. That species of religion which by the pro fessed adherence to faith " maketh void the law " is chiefly under the disguise of exalt ing grace. Of this kind was the religion of those of whom James writes, whose " faith was dead, being alone." Of this kind was the religion of those awful characters described by Peter and Jude. " Speaking great swelling words of vanity, alluring through the lusts of the flesh and much wantonness those who were clean escaped from them who live in error, promising them liberty, while they themselves were the ser vants of corruption." Finally : Of this nature appears to have been " the doctrine of the Nicolaitans," which led to unholy deeds, and which the Lord hated. Believe no doctrine in matters of religion but what is of God. This is the criterion by which we are directed to try the spirits. For a doctrine to be of God, it must be expressive of the mind of God as revealed in his word. If we lose sight of this we shall soon be lost in the mazes of uncertain ty. " We are of God," saith the apostle ; " he that knoweth God heareth us ; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error." The doctrine of- the apostles being itself of God was a test by which to try the spirits, and such it still continues. We see in their writings the very mind of God on all the great subjects pertaining to his character, government, and gospel. If they write of God, it is with the profoundest reverence, as of him who is " blessed for ever ; " if of his law, it is "holy, just, and good;" if of sin, it is " exceeding sinful ; " if of sinners, they are " under the curse ; " if of Christ, " as concerning the flesh, he was of the seed"of David;" but, as concerning his original na ture, " the Son of God, over all, God blessed forever ; " if of salvation, it is " of grace, through faith, and that not of ourselves, itis the gift of God." Finally: If they describe the end for which Christ gave himself for us, it was that he might "redeem us from all .iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." This doc trine is of God ; and he that knoweth God heareth it. But that which begets high thoughts of ourselves, low thoughts of God, light thoughts of sin, and mean thoughts of Christ, is not of ' 'od and it is at the hazard of our salvation to receive it. Lastly: Thai which is of God will lead us to side ioil'> Hod in the great controversy between him and hi.' apostate creatures. The spirit of apostacy has always been complain ing of the ways of the Lord as unequal. His precepts are too rigid at least for a poor fallen creature ; his threatenings are too severe ; it is hard to punish with everlasting destruction the errors of a few years : it had been hard if he had not sent his Son to save us ; and is still hard if, after doing all we can, we must stand upon the same ground as the chief of sinners : surely he does not mean, after all, to punish unbelievers with eternal punishment. — Such are the workings of an apostate mind, and every false system of religion favors them. But that which is of God will take a different course. While it teaches us to seek the salvation of our fellow sinners, it will never suffer us to pal liate or excuse their sin. Its language is, "I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right ; and I hate every false way. — Thou art holy in all thy ways, and righteous in all thy works. — Behold I am vile ; what shall I answer thee ? I will lay mine hand ¦ upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer ; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. — Thou shalt be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou judgest. — If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall stand ? — God be merciful to me a sinner." on Christ's washing the disciples' feet. John xiii. This significant action, so full of kindness and condescension on tbe part of our Sa viour, is recorded for our example. Happy shall we be, if we truly copy it. Here is no affectation of humility, but humility itself; nor is it performed as a mere ceremony, but to teach us " in love to serve one another." Its being done at a time when " Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father," renders it additionally impressive. It was the same night in which he was betrayed ; a night in which it might have been thought his own approaching trials would have engrossed his whole attention: yet then he was fully em ployed in behalf of others ; setting an ex ample of brotherly affection, ordaining a standing memorial of his death, fortifying, by a speech full of unparalleled consolation, the hearts of his disciples, and commending them to the care of God his father. " Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows," not only in making his soul an of fering for sin, but in every step that led onto thatawful crisis. Lying aside his garments, he took a towel, girded himself with it, poured the water into a basin, and went from one to another, per forming the work of a menial servant When it came to Peter's turn, his feelings re volted at the idea. "Lord," saith he, view ing his dignity on the one hand and his own insignificance on the other, " dost thou wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "What I do ON CHRIST'S WASHING THE DISCIPLES' FEET. 151 thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know hereafter : " intimating that he had a reason for so doing which, though it might not 'be manifest at present, would at a future time be rendered plain. " Nay," saith Peter, almost indignantly, "thou shalt never wash my feet ! " As though he had said, — This is too much, and what I can never submit to ! Jesus answered him, " If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." What ! If he washed not his feet ? No, his soul, from the pollution of sin. Transitions like this, from things natural to things spiritual, were usual with our Saviour. Thus, when he had healed a blind man, he took occasion to observe, " For judgment I am come into this world, that they who see not may see ; and that they who see may be made blind." The answer in the present instance was to this effect, — Dost thou account it too great a stoop for me to wash thy feet? Let me tell thee, I must stoop lower than this, or woe be to thee ! I must cleanse thee from a defile ment much more loathsome than this, or thou canst have no part with me in my kingdom. Peter, perceiving now that he spoke of the purifying of his soul from sin, suddenly changed his tone. " Lord," saitb he, " not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." q. d. If this be thy meaning, I know that I need to be cleansed throughout. Jesus saith unto him, "He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit ; and ye are clean, but not all." As it is sufficient for persons who have bathed their bodies in the stream to wash off the defilement attached to their feet by walking on the shore, so they that have believed in Christ shall never come in to condemnation, and need not the repetition of a passing from death to life, but merely an application for the pardon of their daily sins. Such was the character of all the disciples, except Judas, who, notwithstanding his pro fession, was yet in his sins. From this interesting conversation, we are taught several important truths. First: We may sin against Christ, under a show of modesty and reverence for his name. There is no doubt but that Peter's ' first objection sprang from these motives ; and, had he yielded to the first answer, per haps he had been blameless ; but, to resist after he was assured that his Lord had a good reason for what he did, though he at present did not comprehend it, was setting up his own wisdom and will against his. Nor was this the first instance in which Pe ter was guilty of so doing. When our Sa viour spoke of going up to Jerusalem, and of suffering many things, and being killed, and rising again the third day, he rebuked him, saying, " Be it far from thee, Lord ; this shall not be unto thee." In all this he " sa vored not the things that were of God, but the things that were of men." There is much of this spirit in our self- righteous objections to the grace of the gospel, and self-willed oppositions to Christ's revealed will. One pleads that salvation by mere grace is dishonorable to God's moral government : but let him know, from the ex ample of Peter, that there may be a regard to Christ's honor which he doth not require at our hands ; and that we should act much more becoming by acquiescing in his will, than by obtruding our own conceits in oppo sition to it. Another alleges, It is too much for a sinner so unworthy as I am to hope for so great salvation.— But can you do with less ? and is it the comparatively worthy that mercy delighteth to honor ? True wis dom will fall in with that way of honoring God which is revealed in the gospel ; and genuine modesty will not dispute with the Saviour, but humbly take him at his word. And the same spirit that receives his grace without hesitation will obey his precepts without delay ; not asking why or wherefore the Lord requireth this, but accounting it our meat to do his will. Secondly : A cordial and practical acqui escence in the way of salvation through the blood of Christ is necessary to a participa tion of his benefits. It may seem rather sin gular that Christ should suspend his blessing on his own act— " If I wash thee not," &c, but that act supposes the concurrence of the party. He stood ready to wash Peter, and stands ready to wash the foulest of sinners. If therefore they be not washed, it is owing to their preference of pollution, or their self- righteous objections to the way of being cleansed. To feel ourselves entirely pollu ted, and ready to perish — to despair of being cleansed by any thing that we can perform, or work ourselves up to' — to place no depen dence on prayers or tears, on our bitterest repentance or most unfeigned faith, consid ered as acts of holiness — and to repair, al together vile as we are, to the blood of Je sus, as to a fountain set open for sin and for uncleanness — this is the hinge of true reli gion, without which we shall have no inter est with him in his benefits, nor portion with him in his heavenly kingdom. If we come not to him as polluted sinners to be washed, our iniquities are still upon our head ; and, if we die in this state, they will go down with us to the grave, rise with us at the res urrection, be found upon us at the judgment, and forever bar against us those gates through which nothing unclean can enter. In this case, so far as we are - oncerned, the Saviour might as well have u^ver come into the world, nor have laid do to :us life : nay, better; for, if our filthiness be found upon us at the last day, it will be the bitterest of all aggravations that i\--i kJnc-dom of Christ has been nigh unto us. Thirdly : Though ihe believer, who hath passed from death to life, shall never 152 EXPOSITORY NOTES. come into condemnation ; yet he standeth in need of continual cleansing from his daily defilements. The notion that it is inconsist ent for a believer to pray for the pardon of his sins is contrary to the express directions of Christ, and to the example of the godly in all ages. It belongs to a "life of faith on the Son of God ; " and without it, whatever self-flattering ideas we may entertain, we are dead while we live : and in whatever degree we come short of such a life, wearing away our transgressions by forgetfulness in stead of washing them away by repeated ap plication to the blood of the cross, we incur the displeasure of Christ and forsake our own mercies. ON FINAL RESTITUTION. Acts iii. 21. Of all the sentiments advanced in the re ligious world, there are few perhaps that are likely to have a greater spread than that of final and universal salvation, or the release of wicked men and devils, at some unknown pe riod after the day of judgment. It is not sup posed that this sentiment is attended with such convincing evidence as must bear all before it : far from it ; but it is a sentiment suited to the corrupt passions and prejudices of men ; and we know the propensity of our minds to believe a thing to be as we would wish to have it. It is one presumptive argument, however, against the sentiment referred to, that itis destitute of real utility. Admitting it to be true, of what use is it? Who are encou raged by "it ? Not the upright ; they are safe without it. It is the ungodly sinner, if any. He is encouraged, it is true ; not how ever to forsake his sins, or to flee to* the remedy ; but to conclude that he shall have peace at last, " though he walk after the im agination of his heart, to add drunkenness to thirst." If it be a truth, it seems to be of such a nature that the world would be much better without the knowledge of it than with it. On the other hand, admitting it to be an error, it must be allowed to be tremendous in its consequences. Nothing ought more to be dreaded than that which tends to de ceive the souls of men, and that in matters of everlasting consequence ! The following thoughts are not offered as a discussion of the subject, but merely as what may throw some light upon one par ticular passage of Scripture upon which it is frequently grounded. This passage is in Acts iii. 21, " Jesus Christ — whom the hea vens must receive until the times of restitu tion of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." On this passage I would offer the three following observations. First : The times of restitution cannot mean any time or times beyond those ofthe resurrec tion and the last judgment. This is evident from the passage itself compared with va rious other Scriptures. The heavens have received Christ, and will retain him till the times of restitution of all things — but the whole tenor of Scripture declares that the heavens will no*t retain Christ beyond the times of the resurrection and the last judg ment — therefore the times of restitution cannot be beyond that period. Christ's being retained in the heavens till the times ofthe restitution of all things is said to have been " spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began." This, if applied to the kingdom ofthe Mes siah terminating in the resurrection and the last judgment, is true ; for from Enoch to Malachi this was a subject to which all the prophets bore witness. But if applied to some future period after the final judgment, when wicked men and devils shall be releas ed, it is not true, the abettors of this notion themselves being judges. What evidence can they pretend to, supposing the thing itself were a truth, that God by the mouth of all his holy prophets said any thing about it? Much less that Christ should be re tained in the heavens till the arrival of this supposed period. On the contrary, by the mouth of all his holy prophets he hath said just the reverse. He hath all along repre sented Christ's second coming as being im mediately before and in order to the last judg ment, and not after it. — Jude 14, 15. Job xix. 25, 26. Psa. 1. 3, 4 ; xcvi. 13 ; xcviii. 9. Joel iii. 13. Secondly : The times of the resurrection and the last judgment are with peculiar pro priety called the times of restitution of all things, because that is the period when the moral disorder qf the creation shall come to an end. By the introduction and prevalence of moral evil, every thing in creation has been disjointed and thrown into a state of anarchy and confusion. God's authority has been set aside, his just revenue of glory withheld, and even the creatures, which were all designed to»r.omote righteousness, order, and happiness, m-e abused, and made to sub serve the gratifications of brutaf appetite. Th? sun emits his rays, and tlie clouds let fall their showers, the mountains abound with cattle, and the valleys with corn ; and all to furnish, man with what he subverts to the vilest purposes. All this is unnatural to the creation. The grand end of every be- ' ing, intelligent or unintelligent, was to sub serve the Creator's glory. If the creatures of God are made to promote the cause of iniquity, it is unnatural. It is a vanity to which they are unwillingly, as it were, made subject, and under which, as under a burden, "they groan and travail in pain," longing for the " glorious liberty of the sons of God," which shall arrive at the resurrection. The empire of sin shall then be utterly destroyed, THE HONOR CONFERRED ON CHRIST'S WEAKER DISCIPLES. 153 order fully restored, and peace and righte ousness flow in their ancient channels. But nothing of all this implies the restora tion of wicked men and devils to their origi nal state. If a rebellion break out in the dominions of an earthly king, which is car ried to such a height that the laws are set aside, the royal authority disregarded, and all the productions of that part of his domin ions appropriated to purposes of hostility ; if after this the king should crush the con spiracy, reinstate himself upon his throne, and call the offenders to justice ; if he should pardon some, punish others, and restore law, peace, and order, to his whole dominions ; this might be termed a restitu tion of all things : but who would imagine that this implied the restitution of all the rebels to their ancient dignities and hon ors? Thirdly : The times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and the times of resti tution qf all things, appear to be the same ; and a share in both is held up as a motive to repentance and conversion. The apostle, in the text, says, " Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preaehed unto you ; whom the heavens must perceive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." This, if applied to the times of the resurrection and the last judgment, is all rational and beautiful ; but if applied to some period after those times, when devils and wicked men shall be released, it is ab surd and contradictory. Is it possible to suppose Peter's meaning should be to the following purpose : — Repent and be convert ed, that your sins may be blotted out, when these times of refreshing and restitution shall come ; though, after all, your sins shall then be blotted out, whether you repent and be converted or not ? THE HONOR CONFERRED ON CHRISTS WEAKER DISCIPLES. 1 Cor. xii. 24. Among other disorders in the church at Corinth, they were lifted up with their gifts. Hence this whole chapter is spent on the subject. Indeed the same spirit is noticed at the outset of the epistle (ch. i. 12,) where, though he mentions his own name, and those of Apollos, &c, as the idols of their admira tion, yet it was only in a figure (ch. iv. 6,) that he might with a better grace pull them down. Probably the objects of their idola try were neither Paul nor Apollos, but their own false teachers. In order to impress a true sense of things upon their minds, he Vol. 2.— Sig. 20. represents them under the form of a human body, composed of many members, insinua ting that it was no less absurd for invidious distinctions and divisions to take place on account of different gifts than it would be for certain members of the body to be exalt ed, and the rest set at nought. The apostle first addresses himself to the inferior members, who were in danger of being discouraged : " If the foot should say, Because I am not the hand I am not of the body ; is it therefore not of the body ? " And, afterwards, to the superior members who were in danger of discouraging them : " And the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee : nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." Final ly : he notices the peculiar honor which we confer upon those parts of the body which are least comely, or honorable : " And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor, and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness." And he inti mates in the text that God does the same to his church. Consequently we ought to follow the example, giving more honor, rather than less, to the feeble members of Christ's body. What is this ? What is the peculiar honor which God has conferred on the less splendid members of the church, rather than the other ? First : That which distinguishes the ordi nary members of Christ's body is of far greater importance than that which distin guishes the extraordinary, or gifted ones. The one is grace, the other gifts. This idea is held up in the text. After speaking of apostles and prophets, and pastors and teach ers, &c, he allows them to covet the best gifts. " Yet," says he, " show I unto you a more excellent way." And what was this but charity, or love ? Hence he goes on to contrast gifts and tongues with charity in ch. xiii., giving the decided preference to the latter. Now this was giving honor to the part that lacked; making that which was common to Christians, even the mean est, of infinitely greater account than that which was possessed by a few of the gifted among them. Secondly : The most gifted members of Christ's body, in a -proper state of mind, when they have expressed their strongest desires, and the objects in which they have gloried, have never selected those things which were peculiar to them as gifted, but those which are possessed by good men in common. The highest object of David's desire was that which was possessed by the meanest good man. " One thing have I desired of the Lord ; that will I seek after ; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." That in which Paul gloried was not his 154 EXPOSITORY NOTES. greatness, but his infirmity, and the " cross of Christ : " and that which he desired was to be " found in him, not having his own righteousness." Thirdly : The greater is subordinate to the less, and not the less to the greater. Churches are not for ministers, but minis ters for churches. The poor, the feeble, and the afflicted, are not ordained to honor a splendid orator, by attending upon him and admiring him : but the most accomplished orator, or even apostle, to be " their servant for Jesus' sake." As the eye and the hand are subservient to the body, so, " whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas, or life, or death, all are yours." The greatest of all must be the servant of all: "And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evan gelists, and some pastors and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ : till we all come in the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Fourthly : In their vocation God has con ferred peculiar honor upon the poor, and the weak; and the feeble, in taking the generali ty of his people from among them. " God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. — Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." Fifthly : All the consolations and promises of God are addressed to us, not as gifted, but as gracious. God speaks encouraging words to both rich and poor ; but mark the difference : "Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted; but the'rich in that he is made low ; because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away." See also the beatitudes. Sixthly : That which distinguishes the gifted members of Christ is only for time, and is found in hypocrites ; but that which is common to the weak is " a well, spring ing up unto eternal life." — " Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from me, ye that work iniquity." This subject may be applied to the sup pression of vanity, and the removal of de- • spondency. Gifts and knowledge puff men up now as well as formerly. A poor or feeble-minded Christian is in danger of being overlooked, and men are valued by the splendor of their appearance or talents. Ministers also, of less splendid abilities, are often despised by those who have itching ears and curious minds. But these things ought not so to be. We have seen that God does not proceed on any such principle. If ye say, I am for this great man, and I for that, " Are ye not car nal ? " And, if any one set himself above his brethren, let him know that he could not do without them. " The eye," beautiful and piercing as it is, " cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee." The greatest of Christian ministers, such as Paul, felt his need of his brethren. Hence he frequently in treats their prayers for him. The influ ence which the early attendance, lively attention, and affectionate reception of the word in common Christians has upon a minister's heart, is indescribable. O what a difference do we feel in preaching to a hum ble, spiritual, and affectionate congregation, to what we do when addressing a haughty, worldly, and unfeeling people! The uni form demeanor of serious Christians in life recommends the doctrines delivered from the pulpit ; yea, it has been known to carry conviction where the gospel itself has been preached without effect. Listen, ye wives ! " Be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may, without the word, be won by the con versation of the wives." And as some are puffed up in these times, as well as formerly, so others are consequent ly cast down. Many a poor Christian, be cause he is poor, thinks himself a dry tree, of little or no use, like the strangers, or eunuchs (Isa. Ivi ;) and many a feeble-mind ed low-spirited Christian, whose words are few, feels the same. Yea, many a worthy minister of less splendid talents, being over looked by others, feels his heart sink with in him, and is as if he were not of the body. " But if the foot say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body ? " &c. Assuredly it is a necessary part of it. "Nay, much more, those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary." And, as God has put more abundant honor upon the part which lacked, let them not be discour aged. That one question, " Is it not ofthe body ? " is full of meaning. It denotes that you are connected with Christ your head, and par takers ofhis fulness, even all that is common to the body. Particularly you have an in terest in Christ's love : " For we are mem bers of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." In his salvation : " For the husband is the head ofthe wife, even as Christ is the head of the church : and he is the Saviour of the body." In all that is communicated from him, you have a part : " But, speaking VINDICATION OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. 155 the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things which is the head, even Christ; from whom the whole body, fitly joined to gether, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, ma keth increase ofthe body, unto the edifying of itself in love." Yea, you are necessary to his relative fulness, the fulness of him that filleth all in all : " Which is the body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." If the least member were gone, it would not be a full, or perfect body. VINDICATION OF THE APOSTLE PAUL. 2 Cor. xii. 16. This passage is so far from being friend ly to the exercise of guile, that it is a mani fest disavowal of it. It is an irony. The apostle does not describe what had actually been his conduct, but that of which he stood accused by the Corinthian teachers. They insinuate that he was a sly crafty man, go ing about " preaching, persuading, and catch ing people with guile." Paul acknowledges that he and his colleagues did indeed " per suade men," and could not do otherwise ; for "the love of Christ constrained them." — Chap. v. 11, 14. But he indignantly repels the insinuation of its being from mercenary motives. "We have wronged no man," says he ; " we have corrupted no man ; we have defrauded no man." — vii. 2. Having de nied the charge, he shows the absurdity of it. Mercenary men, who wish to draw people after them, have an end to answer: and what end, says Paul, could I have in view, in persuading you to embrace the gospel ? Have I gained any thing by you ? When I was with you, was I burdensome to you ? No : nor, as things are, will I be burden some. " Yet, being crafty," forsooth " / caught you with guile ! " Oh, said the accusers, he affected great disinterestedness at first, that he might the more easily take you iri afterwards. He de clined taking any thing with his own hands, with the intention of sending others to col lect it for him at a more convenient season ! " Did I then make a gain of you," replies the apostle, " by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother : did Titus make a gain of you ? Walked we not in the same spirit ? walked we not in the same steps ? " — Chap. xii. 17, 18. Nothing is more evident than that "all guile and hypocrisy were laid aside " by the primitive ministers. " Our rejoicing is this," says the apostle, " the testimony of our con science, that in simplicity and godly sincer ity, not in fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you ward." —Chap. i. 12. EVANGELICAL TRUTH THE GRAND OBJECT OF ANGELICAL RESEARCH. 1 Pet. i. 12. It is a truth allowed by all Christians that the dispensation under which we live af fords us far greater advantages for spiritual ity and heavenly enjoyment than any other which preceded it. To us life and immor tality are brought to light. The spirit that properly belongs to it is not a spirit of bond age, but of adoption ; crying, " Abba, Fa ther." The happiness attainable under it approaches nearer to that of the heavenly world ; so nigh does its land border as it were upon it, that believers in the present state are said to be " come to mount Sion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the innumerable company of angels, to the spirits of the just made per fect," &c. Yet it is not less true that the greater part of professing Christians live as though they stood upon no such ground, and possessed no such opportunities. We pos sess an Old-testament spirit amidst New-tes tament advantages. A promise is left us of entering into rest ; but we seem, at least, to come short of it. How is this ? Is it not owing, in a great degree, to the neglect of the gospel ? Having assented to a system of doctrines, we fancy we know almost the whole that is to be known upon this subject, and have nothing more to do than to hold them fast against the errors of the times, and take heed that we do not dishonor them by inconsistency of conduct. Hence what is called rehgious conversation seldom turns upon the gospel, unless any part of it be called in question ; but either upon our own want of spirituality, or the pleasures that we have formerly experienced, or perhaps upon the talents of this or that popular preacher. When a company of Christians meet to gether, and feel a wish for improving conver sation, letone of them take a bible and read, and, as he reads, let him frequently pause, and let any one who can make a remark, or ask a serious question, so as upon the whole to promote the understanding of what is read. This would draw off the attention from less profitable things ; and the blessing ofthe Lord attending it would, ere we are aware, produce those holy pleasures which, while poring over our own barrenness, we shall sigh after in vain. To comfort the primitive Christians, who were " in heaviness through manifold temp tations," Peter took no other method than that of declaring unto them the glorious truths ofthe gospel, and the vast advantages which they had over all others of former ages, in possessing the knowledge of them. Three things in particular he holds up to then- consideration : 1. That the prophets were ministering servants to us : " Not unto them selves, but unto us, did they minister things 156 EXPOSITORY NOTES. which are now reported." They sowed that we might reap. 2. That the things which they foretold, and which we possess, were the objects of their own most intense research : " Of which salvation the proph ets have inquired and searched diligently ; searching what, and what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify, when it testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." 3. That such is the excellence and glory ofthe gospel as not only to be the study of prophets, but of angels : " Which things the angels desire to look into." It is generally supposed, I believe, that the phrase "look into "* alludes to the cher ubim which were placed bending over the mercy-seat, and looking as it were with in- tenseness at it. Thus Mary stooped, and looked into the sepulchre, in hope of dis covering her Lord ; and thus believers are described as looking into the perfect law of liberty, or the gospel of Christ. In former ages, the angels employed their capacious powers on other themes. At first, the display of the divine perfections in crea tion furnished them with matter for praise and gladness. " The morning stars sang to gether, and the sons of God shouted for joy." Afterwards, the providence of God, in the government ofthe world, enlarged their men tal boundary. " One cried to another, say ing, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts : the whole earth is full of his glory ! " But since the coming of the Son of God in our nature, and the laying down of his life, they appear to have been so engaged on this sub ject as to be comparatively indifferent to ev ery other. In the other works of God, they had seen sometimes one perfection glorified, and sometimes another ¦; but here all unite their beams, and form one general blaze. These are the things, therefore, which now they " desire to look into." The powers of angels are far superior to those of men. Then means of instruction al so, and long experience of divine things, must render them far more capable of understand ing the gospel than we. Yet, with all their advantages and discoveries, such is the ful ness of the subject, that they are at an infi nite distance from comprehending it: all that is said of them is that they desire to look into it. Angels were doubtless acquainted with the general design of salvation, from its first discovery to man ; but the particular way in which it should be accomplished appears to have been, in a great measure, hidden from tKiiJ. It was a way so much above what any creature would have expected that though there were hints of it under tlie Old Testament, and some very plain intimations, yet it was far from being clearly comprehend- * nxpttxwn-a, to bend or stoop, ed. The prophets, as we have seen, did not fully understand their own prophecies, but diligently searched into the meaning of them : neither did the apostles, with all their advantages, prior to the event ; neither did evil' angels, with all their subtilty ; for, if Satan had known that from the death of Christ his cause would receive so deadly a wound, it is scarcely conceivable that he would have stirred up Judas and the Jewish rulers to accomplish it. He appears to have entertained a kind of forlorn hope, that, by getting him put to death in the most igno minious form, and by the only religious na tion upon earth, he should be able to stamp everlasting infamy upon his name, and that all future generations would be ashamed to own him. The disappointment and unexpected shock that he and his adherents met with on this occasion seem plainly intimated by our Saviour's having " spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, tri umphing over them on his cross: " and, though the holy angels might be supposed to under stand much more than the fallen ones, yet were they not equal to this subject till events made it manifest. Hence it is said " from the beginning of the world to have been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers it might be known by the church (that is, by the redemption of the church) the manifold wisdom of God." When the event transpired, therefore, it was like a flood of light bursting forth upon them. The resurrection of Christ filled all heaven with transport. Hence, perhaps, we may account for the question of the angel to Mary, " Wo man, why weepest thou ? " q. d. Did you but know all, you would not weep ! It is not you that should weep now, but your ad versaries ! The cross of Christ, instead of issuing in disgrace, is followed with glory. His friends learned to glory in it ; yea, and to glory in nothing else : and well they might. It was glorious to see the powers of darkness strip ped naked, as it were, to their shame ; to see Satan foiled by the woman's seed, and his schemes exposed to the derision of the universe ; to see him taken in his own net, and falling into the pit that himself had dig ged. It was glorious to contemplate the numerous and important bearings of this one great event. By this the divine displeasure against sin is manifested in stronger lan guage than if the world had been made a sacrifice ; — by this a way is opened for the consistent exercise of mercy to the chief of sinners ; — by a believing view of this, peace arises in the mind, and at the same time purity in the heart ;— for this he is crowned with glory and honor in the heavens, princi palities and powers being made subject to him. This is the only hope of a lost world, the only medium of acceptance with God, REGENERATION BY THE WORD OF GOD. 157 and the only admissible plea in our ap proaches before him. This it is which will put every grace in exercise in this world, and impart all the happiness in that to come of which created minds are susceptible. These are a few of the bearings of the doctrine of the cross. Is it any wonder that angels should desire to look into it ? Rather is it not matter of wonder and shame that we, who are more immediately interested in it than they, shuold be so far behind ? How is it that we should be the last to bring back the king, who are his bone and his flesh ! Our Redeemer took not upon him the nature of angels ; yet they love him, and the gospel of salvation by him ; and wherefore ? They love God, and therefore rejoice in every thing that glorifies him in the highest ; — they love men, and therefore rejoice in that which brings peace on earth and good-will to them; — they rejoice in every instance ofthe prosperity of Christ's kingdom, and in being themselves made subject to him. Had we but their love, with our interest, we should not only emulate but exceed their highest praise. While they, in innumerable myri ads, were saying with a loud voice, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing," we should not only say, " Amen ; " but add, " Thou art worthy ; for thou wast slain, and hast re deemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and na tion ! " REGENERATION ET THE WORD OF GOD. 1 Pet. i. 23. The incorruptible " seed," by which, ac cording to this passage, we are born again, alludes to the first principle, not in vegeta bles, but in animals ; and what this is in generation the word of God is allowed to be in regeneration. This I apprehend is giving all the scope to the passage which can reasonably be desired. That there is a divine influence in this change which is immediate, or without any instrument whatever, is supposed in a former communication ; * but I do not consider this as expressive of the whole change denoted by the term regeneration. I admit regeneration to be by the word of God, and that this truth is taught us by the passage in question, and also in James i. 18 ; nor does this concession appear to clash with the above position. * On the Power and Influence of Truth. Vol. V. See When God created man, he breathed into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And in procreation, unless we maintain that souls are generated by human instrumentality, there is an immediate divine agency, very similar to that in creation, and which is expressed by " forming the spirit of man within him." Now as this is consistent with man's being brought into existence by the instrumentality of man, why should not an immediate influence from Him who " quickeneth all things " be consistent with the instrumentality ofthe word in regenera tion ? Regeneration has frequently been distin guished from conversion; and I have no doubt but the terms are of different signifi cation, as are also the terms creation and resurrection, by which the same divine change is indicated. I am inclined to think that these terms are not designed to express the different stages of God's work upon the soul, but the same divine work under dif ferent ideas or representations. It has been said that regeneration expresses that part of the change wherein we are passive, and con version that wherein we are active ; but the idea of passivity, as well as activity, is in cluded in conversion. God turns us ere we turn to him. Sinners are said to be convert ed, as well as to convert. On the other hand, the idea of activity, as well as passivi ty, is included in regeneration. Whatever may be said of the generation of an ani mal, we can form no conception of the change in the temper of a rational soul, or, as the Scriptures express it, of " renewing the spirit of our minds," without the mind being in exercise. It is passive with respect to the agency of the Holy Spirit in produ cing the change, so as to contribute nothing towards it ; but the very nature ofthe change itself, being from a state of enmity to love, implies activity of mind. It does not there fore seem perfectly accurate to say we are first endued with spiritual life, and then we become active ; no otherwise, at least, than as by the order of nature, seeing that ac tivity is of the very essence of spiritual life. Now, considering regeneration as expres sive of that entire change by which we enter as it were a new moral world, and possess a new kind of being (and in this sense I think it is always to be understood in the New Testament,) it is as proper to say we are re generated hy the word of God, as it is to say that " Abraham begat Isaac ; " though in Isaac's coming into the world he was the subject of a divine agency in which Abraham had no concern. EXPOSITION PASSAGES APPARENTLY CONTRADICTORY. " And ye are not willing to come to me that ye might have life." — John v. 40. " No man can come to me except the Father, who hath sent me, draw him. * * * It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto ine." " Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not : and he said, Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me ex cept it were given unto him of my Father." — John vi. 44, 45, 64, 65. Admitting the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, their harmony ought not to be called in question ; yet it must be al lowed by every considerate reader that there are apparent difficulties. Nor is it unlawful, but laudable, to wish to see those difficul ties removed, and to aim at a perception of the particular beauty of God's word, as well as a general persuasion of its harmony. My thoughts on the above passages will be comprised in the seven following obser vations : — First : There is no way of obtaining eter nal life but by Jesus Christ. This observa tion is fully implied in the first passage, and I suppose may stand without any further confirmation. Secondly: They that enjoy eternal life must come to Christ for it. Coming is not an act of the body, but of the mind and heart. It is a term which in the New Testament is commonly used as synonymous with believ ing in Christ. In common speech we fre quently apply it to the yielding of a per son's mind who has heretofore been in a state . f enmity or variance. When we see a change in his views of things, his proud spirit begin to subside, his prejudice give way, the high tone of his expressions low ered, and his heart inclining towards a re conciliation, we say, He is coming. Thirdly: It is the revealed will of Christ that every one who hears the gospel should come to him for life. This position, I should think, is equally evident from the text in question as either of the above. Our Lord would not have complained of the Jews for not coming to him, nor have imputed it to the obstinacy of their will, if the contrary had not been their duty, as well as their highest interest. Every one who hears the gospel must either feel willing to be saved in God's way, or unwilling, or neither the one nor the other. If we are willing, we are true believers ; if unwilling, we are what the Scriptures style disobedient, like these Jews, and like tbem fall under the dis pleasure of Christ. But may we not be neutral ? That a being positively unwilling to be saved in God's way is sinful seems to be almost self-evident : but is there no such thing as a medium ? To which I answer, If there be a medium between a being wil ling and unwilling, it must consist in that state of mind wherein a person feels indif ferent; that is, neither for Christ nor against him. But this is declared to be impossible : " He that is not against us," said Christ, " is on our side." If a person could feel indif ferent in this case, that indifference would be deemed disloyalty. As the curse fell upon Meroz for his not coming forth to tlie help of tlie Lord against the mighty, so an Anathema Maranatha is denounced against any man that loveth not our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. It is inconsistent with the perfections of God to allow any sinner who hears the gospel of Christ to feel either aversion or indifference towards him. Fourthly: The depravity of human nature is such that no man, of his own accord, will come to Christ for life. This position, it may be objected, is not sufficiently evident from Christ's words in the first of these pas- john v. 40; vi. 44, 45, 64, 65. 159 sages ; seeing it does not follow that be cause the Jews would not come to him therefore none else would. To this it is re plied, Be it so ; it is sufficiently evident from this passage, taken in connection with other Scriptures, and even with those two with which it is here attempted to be reconciled. To come to Christ for life is to feel the dan ger of our situation, and be in real earnest after escape ; in such earnest as one that was fleeing to the city of refuge, with the avenger of blood in pursuit of him. But men are naturally at ease, or, if awakened by the alarms of providence or conscience, are disposed to fly to any refuge rather than Christ To come to Christ for eternal life is to feel and acknowledge ourselves desti tute of every claim on his favor, and worthy of eternal death ; but this is too humiliating to human pride. To come to Christ for life, in short, is to give up our own righteousness, and be justified by his ; our own wisdom, and be guided by his ; and our own will, and be ruled by his : it is to receive him as our all in all : but man by nature is unwilling to part from his idols ; he had rather hazard his soul's eternal welfare than give them up. Fifthly : The degree of this depravity is such as that, figuratively Speaking, men can not come to Christ for life. It is not here sup posed that they would come to Christ but cannot ; nor that they could not come if they would. It is true, when the word cannot is used in its literal and proper sense — that is, when it is applied to a natural inability — this idea is always implied : " Abijah could not see, by reason of his age." — " The king of Moab would have broken through the hosts of his enemies, but he could not." — " The mariners rowed hard to bring the ship to land, but they could not." In each of these cases there was properly a want of power, which denominated the parties una ble, though they were, or might be suppos ed to be, ever so willing. But it is usual, both in Scripture and in common speech, to express the state of a person under the do minion of an exceedingly strong propensity by the terms cannot, unable, &c. " They that are in the flesh cannot please God." — " Why do ye not understand my speech ? Because ye cannot hear my word." — " Hav ing eyes full of adultery, and cannot cease from sin." — "Joseph's brethren could not speak peaceably to him." — " How can ye, being evil, speak good things ? " — " How can ye believe, who receive honor one of anoth er ? " Now, when the word is used in this sense, it would be a contradiction to sup pose a willingness, or an incapacity in case of willingness, seeing it is the want of willingness wherein the incapacity con sists. That the term cannot, in John vi. 44, de notes the strength of evil propensities, and not any natural and excusable hindrance, is evident from the cure here mentioned; namely, the Fathers drawing. When we are drawn by divine influence to come to Christ, it is a drawing of the heart towards that to which it was before averse ; conse quently it was the aversion of tlie heart where in the inability consisted. It has been usual with writers to express the difference between these two different kinds of inability by the terms natural and moral. To this it has been objected "that the Scripture knows of no such distinction." If by this is meant that the Scripture does not expressly make such a distinction, it is true ; but, if this be a proof that the Scrip ture knows nothing of the thing, it will at the same time prove that the Scripture knows nothing of the doctrines of the tri nity, divine providence, the satisfaction of Christ, with many other acknowledged truths of the last importance. After all, terms are not worth disputing about, provid ed the ideas included under them are admit ted. That the ideas in this case are scriptu ral is sufficiently evident from the forecited passages. Every person of common under standing, whether he will or not, must of necessity perceive a difference between the inability of the mariners recorded in Jonah and that ofthe adulterers mentioned by Pe ter ; and that the one rendered the parties excusable, and the other constituted them the more highly culpable. Let this differ ence b,e but admitted, it matters not what terms are used, provided they do but suffici ently express it. Sixthly : A conviction of the righteousness of 'God's government, of the spirituality and goodness qf his law, the evil of sin, our lost condition by nature, and the justice of our condemnation, is necessary in order to our coming to Christ. I think each of these ideas is included in the phrase ."learned of the Father." Without this, there can be no solid conviction of the need of a Saviour. The sinner will be whole in his own ac count; and they that are whole need not a physician. A knowledge of the Father, as the lawgiver of the world, must precede a hearty reception of Christ as a Saviour. It is " through the law we become dead to the law, that we may live unto God. The law is our schoolmaster, to bring us to Christ." It is therefore very unreasonable, as well as unscriptural, for any, under the pretence of knowing Christ, to decry the law of God, seeing it is by learning at that school we are prepared to come to Christ. Lastly : There is absolute necessity of a special divine agency in order to our coming to Christ. "No man can come unt--i me ex cept the Father, who s^nt me, draw him." Those who deny the grp.ce of God to be in vincible in its operations, understand this, and other passages, of what is sometimes called, I think, moral influence ; that is, such 160 APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS. influence as men may have upon the minds of each- other in a way of persuasion. And so they suppose the sense of the text is, that no man can come to Christ unless he have the gospel preached unto him. But it ought to be considered that "drawing," in verse 44, is tantamount to having " learned of the Father, in verse 45, where it is declared that " every man that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto Christ." But it is not every one that hath been objectively instructed by the preaching of the gospel who comes to Christ : it must therefore be such an instruction and drawing as is pecu liar to true believers; such a drawing as that whereon our coming certainly follows : and thus we believe " according to the work ing of his mighty power." Upon the whole, we see from these passa ges taken together, first, if any man is lost, whom he has to blame for it — himself ; secondly, if any man is saved, whom he has to praise for it — God. " It repented the, Lord that he had made man'on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." — Gen. vi. 6. " The Lord is not a man that he should repent." — 1 Sam. xv. 29. The seeming contradiction in these pas sages arises from the same term being used in the one metaphorically and in the other literally. It is literally true that repentance is not predicable of the divine nature, inas much as it implies mutability and imperfec tion in knowledge and wisdom, neither of which can be applied to the infinitely bless ed God. But, in order to address himself impressively to us, he frequently personates a creature, or speaks to us after the manner of men. It may be doubted whether the displeasure of God against the wickedness of men could have been fully expressed in literal terms, or with any thing like the ef fect produced by metaphorical language. To evince this, I shall take the liberty to in troduce a few brief expository notes which I have by me on the six preceding verses in Genesis :— This chapter gives us an account of the corruption which preceded the flood, and which moved an infinitely good and merciful Being to bring it upon the earth. We may notice, 1. The occasion oi this corruption; viz. the increase of population : it was " when men began to multiply on the face of the earth" that they began to corrupt one an other. Population is itself a good: but it often becomes the occasion of evil ; because men, when numbers of them assemble to gether, excite and provoke one another to sin. Hence it is that sin commonly grows rankest in populous places. We are origin ally made to be helpers of one another: but sin perverts the course of things, and renders us tempters of one another. We draw and are drawn into innumerable evils. "Oh, draw me not with the workers of iniquity ! " 2. The first step towards this corrupt state of things was the, mixing of the church and the world in marriages. " The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair ; and they took them wives of all whom they chose." The " sons of God " were those of the family of Seth, of whom we read lately that they "called upon the name of the Lord." — iv. 16. "The daughters of men" were of the race of Cain, whose parents, having gone forth "from the presence of the Lord," or turned their back on religion, were a kind of atheists. This was a con junction between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, which must needs be unnatural and mischievous. The object of a good man's choice should be a " help meet." We need to be helped in our way to heaven, and not hindered and corrupted. Hence God forbad all such alliances with idolaters (Deut. vii. 3, 4;) and hence also Christian marriages were limited to those " only in the Lord" (1 Cor. vii. 39:) the ex amples which we have seen to the contrary have, by their lamentable effects, fully justi fied these restrictions. They corrupt and ruin many a promising character: and we see by this history that they were the first cause ofthe ruin of a world! 3. The great offence which God took at this conduct, and what grew out of it. " The Lord said, my Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh ; yet his days shall be a hundred and twenty years." Had the sons of God kept themselves to themselves, and preserved their purity, God, it may be supposed, would have spared the world for their sakes : but they mingled to gether, and became one people. This he considered as a heinous crime. The name by which they are called is worthy of notice — man. Seeing the sons of God have become one people with the daughters of men, they have lost their honorable distinction, and are called by the common name ofthe species. The special notice taken of the conduct of professors, rather than of others, is likewise observable. He also, or they also, as some read it, namely, the sons of God, are flesh ; viz. they, as well as others, are become cor rupt By the Spirit of God is meant the Holy Spirit in the prophets, by which he preached and contended with the wicked. — See Neh. ix. 30 ; 1 Pet. iii. 19, 20. But now, seeing the professedly righteous, who should have stood firm, had, as it were, joined the standard of the enemy, God resolved to give them all up together, or to decline any farther strivings with them. " The plough man will not plough all day to sow — bread- corn is bruised, because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen." Yet amidst all this displeasure there is great 1 cor. x. 33 ; gal. i. 10. 161 long-suffering. "His days shall be a hjtiif- dred and twenty years." God would wait that time ere he brought the flood upon them.— 1 Pet. iii. 20. All this time God did strive or contend with them; but, that prov ing ineffectual, they were at last given up. 4. Observe the fruits of these unlawful mixtures ; a sort of monstrous beings, whose figures were but emblems of their minds. They seem to have been fierce and cruel men. The word giants signifies fellers, or men who caused others to fall before them like trees before an axe. So far as respects character, this was the natural effect of such intermarriages : family religion is subverted ; and the fear of God has a greater connec tion with a proper regard to man than many are willing to allow. 5. Observe the estimate which God makes of things. " God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that eve ry imagination of [the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Such is the case when the church is gone and lost in the world. There were some hopeful ap pearances when the " sons of God began to call upon the name of the Lord : " but now, a very few excepted, they are all gone. What a picture is here given of what the world naturally is ! It is evil ; without mix ture — only evil : without cessation — evil con tinually: from the very fountain-head of action — " the thoughts of the heart : " and all this is not the exaggerated language of creatures — "God saw it! " 6. Notice the amazing displeasure of God against sin. " It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart ! " — Was ever such language uttered ! What words, besides them, could convey to us such an idea of the evil of sin ? It is true we are not to understand them lit erally : but they convey to us an idea that the sin of man is so heinous, and so mis chievous, as to mar all the works of God, and to render them worse than if there were none. So that, if God had not counteracted it, there had better have been no world! Any created being, on seeing all his works thus perverted, would repent, and wish he had never made them. Oh, the exceedingly provoking nature of sin ! What must be that grace which could give his only-begotten Son to die for it, and could find in his heart, for his sake, freely to forgive it ! Be it our great concern that, like Noah in the ark, we may be found in him. are exceedingly diverse ; no less so than a conduct which has the glory of God and the good of mankind for its object, and one that originates and terminates in self. The for mer of these passages should be read in connection with what precedes and follows it : ver. 31 — 33, " Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God ; even as I please all men in all things; not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." Hence it appears plain that the things in which the apostle pleased all men require to be restricted to such things as tend to their " profit, that they may be saved." Whereas, the tilings in which, according to the latter passage, he could not please men and "yet be the servant of Christ," were of a contrary tendency. Such were the objects pursued by the false teachers whom he op posed, and who desired to make a fair show in the flesh, lest they should suffer persecu tion for the cross of Christ. — Ch. vi. 12. The former is that sweet inoffensiveness of spirit which teaches us to lay aside all self-will and self-importance ; that charity wliich " seeketh not her own," and "is not easily provoked;" itis that spirit, in short, which the same writer elsewhere recom mends from the example of Christ himself: "We then, who are strong, ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. — Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification : for even Christ pleased not himself ; but, as it is writ ten, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me." But the latter spirit referred to is that sor did compliance with the corruptions of hu man nature of which flatterers and deceiv ers have always availed themselves, not for the glory of God or the good of men, but for the promotion of their own selfish designs. " I please all men in all things." — 1 Cor. x. 33. " If I yet pleased men, I should not be the ser vant of Christ."— Gal. i. 10. Though both these kinds of action are expressed by 'one .term, to please, yet they " While the earth remaineth, seed time and har vest shall not cease." — Gen. viii. 22. " There are five years in which there shall be neither earing nor harvest." — Gen. xiv. 6. The former of these passages contains a general truth or rule, which, as is common with general rules, has its particular excep tions. And yet it hardly amounts to an excep tion ; for there never was a year since the flood in which there was no harvest through out the world. To understand the promise of God's engaging never to afflict any particu lar' nation, or number of nations, with fam ine, is to make it universal as to place, as well as uninterrupted in respect to time ; and this would go to insure a harvest to the sluggard who refuses to sow. Vol. 2.— Sic. 21. 162 APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS. " Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him." — Prov. xxvi. 4. " Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit." — Prov. xxvi. 5. A " fool," in the sense of Scripture, means a wicked man, or one who acts con trary to the wisdom that is from above, and who is supposed to utter his foolishness in speech or writing. Doubtless, there are different descriptions of these characters ; and some may require to be answered, while others are best treated with silence. But the cases here seem to be one : both have respect to the same character, and both re quire to be answered. The whole difference lies in the manner in which the answer should be given. The terms " according to his fol ly," in the first instance, mean in a foolish manner, as is manifest from the reason giv en, " lest thou also be like unto him." But, in the second instance, they mean in the man ner which his folly requires. This also is plain from the reason given, "lest he be wise in his own conceit." A foolish speech is not a rule for our imitation ; nevertheless, our answer must be so framed by it as to meet and repel it. Both these proverbs caution us against evils to which we are not a little addicted ; the former, that of saying and doing to oth ers as they say and do to us, rather than as we would they should say and do ; the latter, that of suffering the cause of truth or justice to be decried, while we, from a love of ease, stand by as unconcerned spectators.. The former of these proverbs is exempli fied in the answer of Moses to the rebellious Israelites; the latter in that of Job to his wife. It was a foolish speech which was addressed to the former : " Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the Lord ! And why have ye brought up the congregation of the Lord into this wilder ness, that we and our cattle should die there ? " Unhappily this provoked Moses to speak unadvisedly with his lips ; saying, "Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock ? " This was answer ing folly in a foolish manner, which he should not have done ; and by which the servant of God became but too much like them whom he opposed. It was also a foolish saying of Job's wife, in the day of his distress-; " Curse God and die ! " — Job answered this speech, not in the manner of it, but in the manner it required. "What, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ?" — In all the answers of our Saviour to the scribes and pharisees, we may perceive that he never lost the possession of his soul for a single moment ; never answered in the manner of his opponents, so as to be "like unto them ; " but neither did he decline to repel their folly, and so to abase their self- conceit. " By the works of the law shall no flesh living be justified."! — Gal. ii. 16. "Was not Abraham, our Father, justified by works." — James ii. 21. Paul treats of the justification ofthe un godly, or the way in which sinners are accept ed oi God, and made heirs of eternal life. James speaks of the justification of the god ly, or in what way it becomes evident that a man is approved of God. The former is by the righteousness of Christ; the latter is by works. The former of these is that which justifies : the latter is that by which it appears that we are justified. The term justification, in the former of these passages, is taken in a primary sense : in the latter, it is taken in a secondary sense only, as in Matt. xi. 19, and in other places. 44 1, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visit ing the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." — Exod. xx. 5. " The soul that sinneth, it shall die : the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son." — Ezek. xviii. 20. Neither of these passages appears to be applicable to men as the individual subjects of God's moral government, and with respect to a future world, but merely as members of society in the present life. Nations, and other communities, as such, axe considered in the divine administration as persons. That which is done by them at one period is visited upon them at another ; as the histo ry of the children of Israel and of all other nations evinces. The effects of the conduct of every generation not being confined to it self, but extending to their posterity, would, in proportion as they were possessed of natural affection, furnish a powerful motive to righteousness ; and, to them who sinned, prove an aggravation of their punishment. This part of divine providence was object ed to in the times of Ezekiel as unjust " The fathers," said they, " have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge : the ways of the Lord are not equal." To this objection two things were suggested in reply : — 1. That though it was so that the sins from the times of Manasseh fell upon that generation, yet there was no injustice in it ; but, on the contrary, much mercy : for what they bore was no more than what their own sins deserved ; and its not having been in flicted before was owing to divine forbear ance. God might have punished both their fathers and them. Hence, " As I live, saith the Lord, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel." — " The soul that sinneth, it shall die ! " Which is as if he had said, I will no more forbear with you as I have done, but will punish both fa- gen. xiii. 17; xxiii. 17, 18; gen. xxxii. 30; &c. 163 ther and son, instead of the son only. — Ezek. xviii. 1 — 4. 2. That, if the sins of the fathers fell upon tlie children, it was not witiiout the chil dren having adopted and persisted in their fathers' crimes. The visiting ofthe iniqui ty of the fathers upon the children, unto tlie third and fourth generation, is only of them that hate him ; that is, where the fa thers hate him, and the children tread in tlie fathers' steps. If Judah in the times of Eze kiel had been righteous, they had not gone into captivity for what was done in tiie times of Manasseh. " Arise, walk through the land, for I will give it unto thee." — Gen. xiii. 17. " And the field of Ephron, which was in Mach pelah, the field and the cave which was therein, and all the trees which were in the field, that were in all the borders round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession." — Gen. xxiii. 17, 18. " He gave him none inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on : yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him." — Acts vii. 5. The first of these passages is the lan guage of promise : the last intimates that tiie promise was not performed to Abraham, but reserved for his posterity. It is true he purchased a burying-ground of the sons of Heth, according to the second passage : but that could hardly be called ground to set his foot on, which expresses an idea different from that of a place to lay his bones in ; and much less, an inheritance of God's giving him to set his foot on. His having to purchase even a grave was rather a proof that he was considered as a stranger than ofhis being a native of the soil. An inheritance given of God he had not : that only was such which his posterity enjoyed without purchase, the inhabitants of the land being driven out be fore them. " I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." — Gen. xxxii. 30. " Thou canst not see my face ; for there shall no man see me and live." — Exod. xxxiii. 20. The difference here seems to arise from the phrase " face of God." In the one case it is expressive of gi-eat familiarity, com pared with former visions and manifestations of the divine glory : in tlie other, of a ful ness of knoioledge qf this glory, which is incompatible with our mortal state, if not with our capacity as creatures. What Jacob said of himself, that he had seen God " face to face," is repeatedly spoken of Moses, and as that by which he stood distinguished from other prophets.— Deut. xxxiv. 10. Even in the same chapter wherein it is said he could not see his face and live, it is said that Jeho vah spake unto him face to face.— Exod. xxxiii. 11, 20. He whom Jacob saw had at least the appearance of a man, who conver sed and wrestled with him till day-break. Yet, before they parted, he was convinced that he was more than man, even God ; who on that, as on other occasions/assumed a visible and tangible form to commune with his servants, as a prelude of his future in carnation. The face which was seen on this occasion was human; though belonging to one that was divine. Jacob said, " I have seen God face to face." Thus, also, that which was beheld by Moses is called " the similitude of Jehovah " (Numb. xii. 8) or a glorious divine appearance ; of which, though we are unable to form an adequate idea, yet we may be certain that it came short of what he was afterwards told he " could not see and live." Though, in com parison of other dark speeches and visions, it was seeing him face to face ; yet, when compared with a perfect knowledge of the glory of God, it was but seeing what among creatures would be called the shadow, or at most the back parts of a great personage. " The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them, to say, Go number Israel and Judah." — 2 Sam. xxiv. 1. " And Satan stood up against Israel, and provok ed David to number Israel." — 1 Chron. xxi. 1. The English translators consider the pronoun he in tlie former of these passages as relating not to Jehovah, but to Satan, re ferring in the margin to tlie latter passage as a proof of it. But this seems to be a forced meaning; for not only is the name Jehovah placed as the immediate and only antecedent to tlie pronoun, but also a reason why he did it. 1. It is certain that God did not so move David to sin as either to partake of it, or to become his tempter; for "he cannot be tempted of evil, neither tempteth he any man." It was Satan that tempted David to sin, not Jehovah. 2. It is equally certain that tlie providence of God was concerned in this affair ; and that, Israel having offended him, he deter mined in this way to punish them. 3. God is said to do that which is done upon the minds of men by the ordinary influence of second causes, wliich causes would not have been productive of such effects but for their depravity. The hardness of clay, no less than the softness of wax, is ascribed to the sun ; yet the sun's producing this effect is entirely owing to the qualities of the object on which he shines. God hardened tlie heart of Pharaoh by so ordering things by his providence that considerations should present themselves to his mind, when placed under certain circumstances, which (he be ing righteously given up of God) would be certain to provoke his pride and resentment, and to determine him to rim all risks, for the 164 APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS. sake of having his will. In other words, God led him into temptation ; and there, in just judgment, left him to its influence. With respect to David, it is probable his mind was previously lifted up with his great successes in war. It is after the relation of these that the story is introduced, both in Samuel and the Chronicles. The Lord therefore led him into temptation, and right eously left him in it; the certain issue of which was that which actually took place. If it be observed that this is ascribing sin to God indirectly, though not directly, I an swer, It is no otherwise ascribing it to God than as any man is willing to have it ascrib ed to himself. The conduct of a good father may, through the disaffection of a son, cause him to go on worse and worse. His threatenings may harden, and his kind est entreaties and promises excite nothing but contempt. What then ? Is this to the father's dishonor ? Certainly not. It were strange if God must cease from doing what is right, lest sinful men should be induced by it to become more sinful. The best use for us to make of such a doctrine is, not curiously to pry into things too high for us, but when we pray, to say, " Our Father — lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil ! " " Ask, and it shall be given you : seek, and ye shall find : knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh, receiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." — Matt. vii. 7, 8. " Strive to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." — Luke xiii. 24. Some have supposed a difference in the latter passage between seeking and striving: as though it were not enough to seek, with out striving, even to an agony. But this does not reconcile the two passages ; for seeking in the one is connected with finding, whereas in the other it is not. The distinction appears to lie in the time and nature of seeking. Seeking, in Matthew, refers to the application for mercy through Jesus Christ, in the present life : but, in Luke, it denotes that anxiety which the workers of iniquity will discover to be admitted into heaven at the last day. The strait gate in this latter passage does not mean an intro duction to the kingdom of grace, but of glo ry ; and striving, or agonizing, to enter in at it, does not describe an exercise of mind which is necessary to conversion, but to final salvation. The striving here exhorted to is the life's work of a Christian, in order that he may enter into the kingdom of heav en at last All this is manifest from the context, which determines it to refer to what shall take place at the great day " when the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and sinners shall begin to stand without, to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us ; and he shall an swer and say unto them, I know you not whence you are, depart from me all ye work ers of iniquity." There is therefore no contradiction what ever in these passages. Every one that seeketh mercy in the name of Jesus, while the door is open, succeeds : but he that seeketh it not till the door is shut will not succeed. " Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." " Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips." — Prov. xxvii. 2. " I laboured more abundantly than they all. — In nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles." — 1 Cor. xv. 10 ; 2 Cor. xii. 11. So near is the resemblance of good and evil, with respect to their outward expres sions, that the one is very liable to be mis taken for the other. Vices pass for virtues, and virtues for vices. Thus indifference is taken for candor, bitterness for zeal, and carnal policy for prudence. The difference in these things may frequently lie, not in the expression or action, but merely in the motive, which, being beyond human cogni zance, occasions their being so often con founded. It is thus that a just and necessary vindi cation of ourselves, when we have been unjustly accused, is liable to be construed into self-applause. That which was con demned by Solomon, and that which was practised by Paul, were far from being the same thing ; yet they appear to be so with respect to the outward act or expression. A vain man speaks well of himself; and Paul speaks well of himself. Thus the branches intermingle. But trace them to their respective roots, and there you will find them distinct. The motive in the one case is the desire of applause ; in the other, justice to an injured character, and to the gospel which suffered in his reproaches. The apostle, in defending himself, was aware how near he appro/fched to the lan guage of a fool, that is, a man desirous of vain glory, and how liable what he had written was to be attributed to that motive. It is on this account that he obviates the charge which he knew his adversaries would allege. "Yes," says he, "I speak as a fool .... but ye have compelled me." This was owing that, as to his words, they might indeed be considered as vain glorying, if the occasion were overlooked : but, if that were justly considered, it would be found that they ought rather to be ashamed than he, for hav ing reduced him to the disagreeable neces sity of speaking in his own behalf. MATT. v. 16 ; matt. vi. 1 ; matt. ix. 30 ; MARK v. 19 ; &c. 165 " Let your light so shine before mon that they Saviour, and go home to his friends, and tell may see your good works, and glorify your Father how great things the Lord had done for him, who is in heaven." — Matt. v. 16. a u j i. j • i>- T„i„tn and had had compassion upon him. Luke tells rake heed that ye do not your alms before us that he published it throughout the whole 3n to be seen ol them; otherwise ye have no re- ;.. Chin viii 19 men ward of your Father who is in heaven." — Matt. vi. 1. This is another of those cases in which the difference lies in the motive. It is right to do that which men may see, and must see ; but not for the sake of being seen by them. There are, indeed, some duties, and such are prayer and the relief of the needy, in which a truly modest mind will avoid being seen ; but in the general deportment of life no man can be hid, nor ought he to desire it. Only let his end be pure, namely, " to glorify his Father who is in heaven," and all will be right. " Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it." — Matt. ix. 30. " Jesus said unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee." — Mark v. 19. The foregoing remarks may be of some use here. Our Saviour did not wish his miracles to be utterly unknown ; for then God would not have been glorified, nor the end of establishing the truth of his Messi ahship answered: but neither did he wish to make an ostentatious display of them. First: Because he had no desire of vain glory about him. Secondly: He did not wish to give any unnecessary provocation to his enemies, which might have hindered him in the execution of his work. Thirdly : Where there was no danger from enemies, yet such was the eagerness of the people to see his miracles that they flocked together from all parts of the country, thronging and hindering him in preaching the gospel. To the two former of these causes the injunc tion of secrecy seems to be attributed in Matt. xii. 13 — 20 ; and to the last in Mark i. 4, which is the case in question, as related by Mark. We are there informed that, ow ing to the leper having " blazed abroad the matter, Jesus could no more openly enter into the city ; but was without in desert places," which was a serious injury to that work which his miracles were intended to subserve. But in the country of the Gadarenes the case was different. He was there in no dan ger of being hindered from his great work by the thronging of the people : on the con trary, they were afraid, and " prayed him to depart out of their coasts ; " and he did depart. In such circumstances let not the story ofthe destruction of the swine be the only one in circulation : let the deliverance of the poor demoniac also be told ; and let him be the person who should tell it. Let him leave these people who wanted to get rid of the city. — Chap. viii. 39. " This is Elias, who was to come." — Matt. xi. 14. " Art thou Elias 'i And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet 1 Andhe answered, No. " — John i. 21. John the Baptist was not literally the person of Elias ; and it was proper for him to say he was not, in order to correct the gross notions of the Jews on that subject. Had he answered in the affirmative, and had they believed him, he would have confirmed them in a gross falsehood. Yet John the Baptist was that Elias of whom the prophet Malachi spoke (ch. iv. 5 ;) that is, as Luke expresses it, he came " in the spirit and power of Elias" (ch. i. 17;) and so it was, as it were, another Elias. " This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance." — Matt. xxi. 38. *' Which none of the princes of this world knew; for, had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." — 1 Cor. ii. 8. It is difficult to decide whether the Jew ish rulers acted directly against the light of their consciences in crucifying the Lord of glory, or whether they did it ignorantly and in unbelief, as Saul persecuted the church. Several passages seem to favor the former of these hypotheses. They who took coun sel to put Lazarus to death, because that through him many believed in Jesus (John xii. 10, 11) — and they who replied to Judas, " What is that to us ? see thou to it (Matt xxvii. 4) — do not seem to have acted igno rantly. The counsel of Caiaphas, to which the rest agreed, did not proceed upon the ground of Christ's being an impostor, but merely that of expediency. — John xi. 50. That is, policy required that he should be made a sacrifice ; for the Jewish church was in danger. With this agrees the former of the above passages ; "This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours." With this also agrees tlie intimation that some of them had committed the sin against the Holy Spirit, which should never be forgiven, by ascribing his casting out devils to Beelzebub, the prince of devils, when in their consciences they knew better. — Matt. xii. 24 — 32. Finally : perhaps with this also agrees such language as the follow ing : — " If I had not come and spoken to them, they had not had sin ; but now they have no cloak for their sin." — " He that hateth me, hateth my Father also." — "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin : 166 APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS. but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father." On the other hand, there are several pas sages which seem to maintain the contrary. Among these, some have reckoned the latter of the above passages, namely, 1 Cor. ii. 8, " Had they known, &c." But I apprehend the term " known," in this passage, is put for that spiritual discernment which is pecu liar to true Christians. The knowledge which the princes, or great ones, of this world, had not, is said to be revealed to be lievers by the Holy Spirit, which proves it to be spiritual. Had the murderers of our Lord been possessed of this, they would not, they could not, have crucified him. But, whatever light they had in their consciences, they were blind to the real glory of his character, and such is every unregenerate sinner. But, though this passage be easily recon ciled with the foregoing hypothesis, yet there are- others more - difficult ; particularly the words of Peter in Acts iii. 17, and of Paul in Acts xiii. 27 : " And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers " — " For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of their prophets, which are read every Sabbath-day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him." I know of no way to reconcile these things but by supposing, what indeed is very pro bable, that there were some of each descrip tion ; and that the former passages refer to the one and the latter to the other. " He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and ofhis kingdom there shall be no end." — Luke i. 33." Then cometh the end, when he shall have de livered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when he shall have put down all rule, and all au thority, and power." — 1 Cor. xv. 24. When the kingdom of Christ is said to have " no end," it may mean that it shall never be overturned or succeeded by any rival power,- as all the kingdoms of this world have been, or shall be. Such is the interpretation given of the phrase in Dan. vii. 14, " His dominion is an everlasting do minion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." But this need not be alleged in order to account for the phraseology, which will be found to be literally true. The end of which Paul speaks does not mean the end of Christ's kingdom, but of the world, and the things thereof. " The delivering up ofthe kingdom to the Father " will not put an end to it, but eternally establish it in a new and more glo rious form. Christ shall not cease to reign, though the mode of his administration be different. As a divine person, he will al ways be one with the Father ; and, though his mediatorial kingdom shall cease, yet the effects of it will remain forever. There will never be a period in duration in which the Redeemer of sinners will be throwninto the shade, or become of less account than he now is, or in which honor, and glory, and blessing, will cease to be ascribed to him, by the whole creation. " Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see." — Luke x. 23. " Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." — John xx. 29. The former of these passages pronounces a blessing upon those who saw the fulfilment of what others have beheved; the latter up on those who should believe the gospel upon the ground of their testimony, without having witnessed the facts with their own eyes. There is no contradiction in these blessings ; for there is a wide difference be tween requiring sight as the ground of faith, which Thomas did, and obtaining it as a completion qf faith, which those who saw the coming and kingdom of the Messiah did. The one was a species of unbelief, the other was faith terminating in vision. " If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true." — John v. 31. " Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true." John viii. 14. Our Lord, in one of these passages, ex presses what was to be admitted as truth in the account of men ; in the other, what his testimony was in itself. Admitting then- laws or rules of evidence, his testimony would not have been credible ; and, therefore, in the verses following he appeals to that of John the Baptist, and the works which he had wrought in his Father's name, which amounted to a testimony from the Father. But, though he in a manner gave up his own testimony, yielding himself to be tried even by their forms of evidence, yet would he not so far concede as to dishonor his character. He was in fact, whatever they might judge of him, the Amen, the faithful, and the true witness; and, as such, he taught many things, prefacing what he delivered with that peculiar and expressive phrase — " Veri ly, verily, I say unto you ! " " Who through faith— obtained promises." — Heb. xi. 33. " And these all — received not the promise." — Heb. xi. 39. The promises which were obtained by faith refer to those which were fulfilled du ring the Old-testament dispensation. It was promised to Abraham that he should have a son ; to Israel, that they should possess the john xx. 17; xx. 27; rom. ii. 14; eph. ii. 3; &c 167 land of Canaan for an inheritance ; to David, that they should return from the Babylonish captivity, &c, and by faith each of them in due time obtained the promise. But there was one promise which was of greater importance than all the rest ; namely, the coming of the Messiah. In the faith of this the fathers lived and died ; but they saw not its accomplishment. To see this was re served for another generation. Hence the words of our Saviour to his disciples : — "Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." It is thus that God has wisely balanced the advantages of different ages. The fa thers obtained much, but not all. In respect of the blessings of Messiah's kingdom, they sowed, and we reap ; they labored, and we enter into their labors. Thus it is ordered that "they without us should not be made perfect." The fulfilments of our times must come in to answer the faith and complete the hopes of those who have gone before us. do not imagine that _ u J \.- ¦ i Christ We any right to the name of faith, ™} required that he should prove his saint- it must be a truth, and a trulh capable of being S™P before he applies for mercy, though it is proved by Scripture evidence at the time. before he claims an interest in gospel bless- WALKING BT FAITH. 175 ings. All that is necessary here is that he be sensible of his being a vile and lost sin ner; and that is not to be considered as**a qualification, giving him a right to come, but as astate of mind essential to the act itself of coming. Many a Christian has found sweet rest to his soul by such a direct application to Christ; and surely it would be much better for Christians who go almost all their life in pain ful perplexity, lest they should be mistaken at last, if,' instead of perpetually poring on past experiences, they were to practise more in this way. This would furnish them 'with present evidence, which is much the best, and what God best approves ; for he loves to have us continue to exercise our graces, and not barely to remember that we have exer cised them some time or other heretofore. This in some sort may be called walking by faith and not by sight ; and, in this case, faith may in some sense be opposed to spirit ual sight. It is opposed to that discernment which we sometimes have of being true Christians, from a review of past experiences.* But then this is ever attended with present spiritual discernment of Christ's excellence, and a longing desire after interest in him; and herein essentially differs from what we have been opposing. Confidence in the one case is nothing else but carnal security, tend ing to make men easy without God : con fidence in the other is an actual venture of the soul afresh on the Lord Jesus, encou raged by his gracious testimony. The sub ject of the one considers himself as an es tablished saint ; the other as a poor lost sinner, and deals with Christ for salvation, just as he did when he first applied to him. To the one we say, " Be not high-minded, but fear : " to the other, " Fear not, thou shalt not be ashamed ; none ever trusted in him, and was confounded." In what sense then do we walk by faith, and not by sight? I answer in general, Walk ing by faith is a going forward in the WATS OF GODLINESS AS INFLUENCED, NOT BT SENSIBLE, BUT BT INVISIBLE OBJECTS — OBJECTS OF THE REALITY OF WHICH WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE BUT THE TESTI MONY of God. But perhaps faith may be considered as opposed to sight more particu larly in three senses ; namely, to corporal sight, to the discoveries of mere reason, and to ultimate vision. 1. To walk by faith is opposed to walking by corporal sight. In this sense we shall find it plentifully used in the eleventh chap ter to the Hebrews, concerning Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and others. Thus Abel, by faith, offered a more excellent offering than Cain. God had said in effect, once for all, that he would never speak nor be spoken to in a way of friendship by any of the hu man race, but through a mediator. This was intimated partly by man's being debar red from all access to the tree of life, partly by the promise of the woman's seed, and partly by the institution of sacrifices. Cain overlooked all these, and approached God without an expiatory sacrifice ; as if there had been no breach between them, and so no need of an atonement. This was an in stance of daring unbelief. Abel, on the contrary, took God at his word, perceived the evil of sin and the awful breach made by it, dared not to bring an offering without a victim for atonement, had respect to the promised Messiah, and thus, by faith in the unseen Lamb, offered a more excellent offer ing than Cain. Thus also it is said of Noah, " By faith he, being warned of God oi things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house ; by the which he con demned the world," &c. No doubt the world were ready to despise Noah, while building his ark, as an enthusiast whose faculties were probably deranged, who put himself to a deal of trouble, and wanted to put other people to as much, merely through a notion that ran in his head that the world should be drowned. Why, was there any thing in the world that looked like it, or seemed to portend such an event ? Noth ing at all : all things seemed to continue as they were from the creation. What then could induce Noah to do as he did ? Noth ing but the testimony of God which he credited, and acted accordingly. So also it is said of Abraham, when call ed to go into another country, " by faith he obeyed, and went out, not knowing whither he went." A pretty errand it would seem to his friends and neighbors! It is possible that some of these, observing him preparing for a journey, might inquire whither he was going. — Going ? I am going to a land which the Lord is to show me. — And have you ever seen this land ? — No : I neither know the country nor a step of the way to it. — A fine tale, indeed ! but, seriously, what in the world can move you to such an un dertaking ? — I rely upon the testimony qf God. He hath said, " Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, unto a land that I will show thee : " I take him at his word, and act accordingly. These were cases in point for the apostle to quote. The Hebrews seemed hardly contented with an unseen High-priest, an invisible religion. They had been used to priests and sacrifices that they could hear, and see, and handle, with their bodily sen ses. Like their fathers by Moses, therefore, they were ready to say of Jesus, — We know not where he is gone ; come, let us make us a captain, and return to Judaism. — Judaism ! says the apostle — methinks true Judaism would condemn you. All your forefathers acted upon a principle which you seem about to abandon. They walked by faith, 176 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. not by sight. They lived, they died, in the faith, even in the faith of that very Mes siah of whom you make so light. In this sense, it is easy to see, faith and sight are to be taken in our Lord's rebuke to Thomas, when he says, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believ ed." It is as if he had said, — You think you have acted very prudently ; but what must the Christian world do in after ages, if they act upon your principle ? Christianity in the whole of it will depend upon testimony ; whoever receives it after your death, yea, in your life-time, besides yourselves, must re ceive it upon your testimony. Blessed are they that shall cordially so receive it ; and blessed had you been, Thomas, to have set them the example, by believing the testimo ny of your brethren. 2. Faith may be considered as opposed to the discoveries of mere reason unassisted by revelation. In this sense it seems to be used in reference to Sarah. " Through faith she received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." How Sarah should have a son was not only indiscernible by the corporal eye, but by an eye of reason ; since it must be, if at all, entirely beside the common course of nature. She had nothing to rely upon in this case but the promise of God. We do not suppose faith and right reason to be opposites : that be far from us. On the contrary, nothing is more evident than that Christianity is entirely a rational sys tem ; and it is its glory that it is so. We should never have been required to give a reason for the hope that is in us, if there had been no reason to be given. But, though nothing in revelation be contrary to right reason, yet there are many things which our reason could never have found out, had they not been made known by the Supreme Intel ligence. The plan of redemption by Jesus Christ, in particular, contains a tet of truths which the eye had never seen, nor the ear heard, nor had they entered the heart of man to conceive, had not God revealed them to us by his Spirit. For all the pleasure that we enjoy, brethren, in contemplating these glorious truths, we are wholly indebt ed to the testimony of God. Indeed, so far are they from being discoverable by mere reason, that every blessing contains in it abundantly more than men or angels could have asked or thought! It staggers our reason to receive it, even now it is told us. At every pause we must stand and wonder, saying, " Is this *the manner of man, O Lord!" Not only was our reason incapable of finding out many truths before they were revealed ; but, even now they are revealed, they contain things above our comprehen sion. It is one thing to say that Scrip ture is contrary to right reason, and another thing to say it may exhibit truths too great for- our reason to grasp.* God must have ' told us nothing about his own existence and infinite perfections, if he had told us nothing but what we could fully compre hend. In this case, it becomes us to know our littleness, and to bow our understand ings to the Supreme intelligence. It is the most rational thing in the world so to do. If God has said any thing, we ought to rest assured that so it is. In these cases, we ought to trust his eyes, so to speak, rather than our own, and be content to walk by faithj not by sight. 3. Faith may be considered as opposed to ultimate vision. The saints in glory are described as " seeing Christ as he is," as " knowing even as they are known," and as being citizens of a city where there shall be " no night," and where they shall need "no candle, neither light of the sun, nor light of the moon, for the Lord God shall be the light * May not the great disputes which have taken place concerning faith and reason, as if the one were opposite to the other, have arisen, in a great de gree, from using the term reason without defining it 1 The word reason, like the word understanding, has two senses. 1. It signifies the fitness qf things. So the apostles used it, when they said, "It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables : " that is, it is not Jit or proper. 2. It signifies our power or capacity of reasoning. So it is said of Nebuchadnezzar that his reason returned to him : that is, his power or capacity of reasoning. Now, it is easy to see that these are two essentially different ideas : the one is perfect and immutable, re maining always the same ; the other is shattered and broken by sin, and liable to a thousand variations through blindness and prejudice. No divine truth can disagree with the former ; but it may be both above and contrary to the latter. If people were to talk, in matters of science and philosophy, as some have affected to talk in religion, they would be treated as fools, and deemed un worthy of attention. A philosopher, for instance, tells an unlettered countryman that it is generally thought that the earth turns round, every day, upon its own axis, and not the sun round the earth. The countryman replies, " I don't believe it." " Very likely," says the philosopher, "but why not 1 " " It is contrary to my reason." " Contrary to your reason ! that may be ; but I hope you do not think that every thing contrary to your reason is contrary to right reason ! " Were men of the greatest un derstanding but to consider that there is a far greater disproportion between some truths respecting the ex istence of a God and their capacities than between any truths of human science and the capacity of the most ignorant rustic, they would be ashamed to dis believe a truth because it is not according to their reason. It is right, and stands commended in Scripture, to apply our hearts to understanding ; but it is wrong, and stands condemned in Scripture, by the same pen, and in the same page, to lean to our own understanding. So, I appreTiend, it is right to ad here to right reason, and to use all means to find out what it is ; but it is wrong and presumptuous to set up our reason as a standard competent to decide what is truth, and what is error ; for that is the same thing as supposing that our ideas of fitness and unfitness always accord with the real fitness of things. WALKING BY FAITH. 177 thereof" Our knowledge of things there will be immediate and intuitive, and not, as it is here, through the medium of the word and ordinances. The sacred Scriptures are to us (with reverence be it spoken) like a letter from a distant friend ; but, when we come face to face, ink and paper shall be needed no more. However, for the present, it is otherwise. We are yet in the body ; and while such, as the apostle observes in the verse preceding the text, " we are ab sent from the Lord," and must be glad of these helps. Let us make much of this letter, and be thankful that we can walk by it through this world, as by a "light in a dark place," till we come to a better, where we shall no more walk by faith, but by sight. Thus far I have dwelt chiefly upon the terms ; but, that we may obtain a more com prehensive view of the thing itself (namely, of a Christian's walking by faith,) let us take a view of a few of those circumstances and situations through which he has to pass during the present life. It is in these that faith, as well as every other grace, is exer cised. Allow me, then, to request your at tention, brethren, to four or five observations on the subject 1. There are many dark seasons in God's pr-ovidential dealings with us, in which we can see no way of escape, nor find any source of comfort, but the testimony of God. God's friends are not distinguished in this world by an exemption from trying provi dences ; he views that, methinks, as too trifling a badge of distinction. They shall be known by what is far more noble and advantageous ; namely, by patience, obedi ence, submission, and divine support under them. Moreover, as we profess to be friends of God, and to trust the salvation of our souls, with all our concerns, in his hands, he sees it proper to prove the sincerity of our professions and the stability of our hearts. He brings us into such circumstances, there fore, as shall try us, whether we will confide in him or not. Christ has told his followers, once for all, that " all power in heaven and earth is in his hands ;" that he is " head over all things to the church;" that he "will surely do them good ; ".that, however things may seem, " all things shall work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose ; " that, as to temporal things, let them but " trust in the Lord, and do good, and they shall dwell in the land, and verily they shall be fed ; " and, as to eternal things, if they have a few light afflictions, they shall last but for " a moment," and shall "work for them a far more exceed ing and eternal weight of glory." These promises seern easy to be believed, when things are smooth and pleasing ; and it is very natural for us, in a day of prosperity, to talk of these things, and try and comfort Voi. 2.— Sig. 23. those with them who are laboring in adver sity. But the greatest trial is when it comes home to ourselves. Then it is well if we fall not under the reproof of Eliphaz, " Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees : but now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest ; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled." Then, if ever, is the time for us to walk by faith, and not by sight. We create to ourselves darlings, and place much of our happiness in their enjoy ment. God not unfrequently takes these first away, as being most his rivals. If one child is more beloved than all the rest, if he must be clothed with a coat of many colors, the coat must quickly be returned without the owner ; yes, the period must soon ar rive when it shall be said, Joseph is not! These, with a few more strokes of the kind, will try Jacob's faith to the uttermost ; and he will find it hard work to reconcile pro mises with providences. " Thou saidst I will surely do thee good: " but " all these things are against me." Ah, he fails! He fails, like Asaph in a similar condition, who could not see how God could be " good to Israel," when " waters of a full cup were wrung out to them." The Shunamitish woman will set us a better example than either the pa triarch or the prophet. " Is it well ? " said Elisha's servant, when her child lay dead in her house. She replied, " Il is well." This was, in effect, saying, — Whether I can see it, or not, I know he doth all things well. — This is believing when we cannot see, tak ing God at his word, against all the rebellion of sense and feeling. This is what Jacob should have done ; but O that Jacob had failed alone ! If to resemble him, in this instance, would constitute us Israelites, we should most of us be Israelites indeed! We are often very thrifty in devising plans for futurity, and apt to promise our selves great degrees of happiness, when they are accomplished. Here it is common for God to throw confusion upon our schemes, and cause things to run in a different chan nel from what we expected. Job, while in prosperity, sat, like a bird in her well-feath ered nest, and thought within himself,— I shall live to enjoy numerous years of unin terrupted prosperity, to see children's child ren, and then go down to the grave in peace ; or, as he himself afterwards, in the bitter hour of reflection, expressed it, " I said, I shall die in my nest, I shall multiply my days as the sand ! " Well, so he did at last ; but there was a melancholy chasm in his life, which he never expected. Such there are, more or less, in all our lives ; and,. in such situations, it is well if we do not think hard of our best friend. Some have been ready to ask, Is this love ? Is this his doing who has said, I will surely do thee good ? Yes, and you shall see it in the end, 178 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. as Asaph did ; who, after he had been to God's sanctuary, and saw things as they were, went home, it seems, and penned the seventy-third Psalm, beginning it all in ec- stacy, saying, " Truly God is good to Isra el ! " Christians, how criminal, how cruel, that he that never failed us at any time should be so mistrusted as he is ! It should seem to suggest as if he were such a God that we cannot trust him out of sight ! How amiable is that spirit, how happy is that heart, that, in every situation, places unbounded confidence in Jehovah's word ! Such may be hedged up on every side, and encompassed, like Israel at the Red Sea, with seemingly insurmountable difficulties ; yet, even here, they will follow Israel's ex ample, they will cry unto God, and rely upon his mercy. If means can be used, they will use them ; if not, they will " stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." " Speak unto the children of Israel," said the Lord, " that they go forward." Go forward ! they might have replied, what, leap at once into the jaws of destruction ! But nothing of this. At first, indeed, their faith seemed to fail them, but they soon recovered them selves. " Speak unto the children of Israel," said the Lord, ." that they go forward " — they went — a way was made in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters. Well may it be said, By faith Israel passed through the Red Sea. Minds thus disposed might defy the united sources of worldly sorrow to ren der them unhappy. Let poverty stare them in the face, let pinching want stretch over them her miserable sceptre, they have been known, even here, by faith, to break forth into songs of praise. Thus sang good Ha bakkuk (and this evidently appears to be his situation, and not a state oi spiritual declen sion,) " Although the fig-tree shall not blos som, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and no herd in the stalls ; yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Thus also sang the church, even in her captivity, when her country was laid waste, Jerusalem rased to the ground, and the temple burnt to ashes : " The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him ! " 2. In all our approaches to, and fellowship with Christ, it is by faith in the account that God has given of him in his word. Christ's excellence, undertaking, and benefits, are the joy, .and even the life of our souls, if we are true Christians. But what evidence have we of all or any of these ? Yea, what evi dence have we that there is, or ever was, such a person as Jesus Christ ? or, if there was, that he was the Messiah, the Son of God ? We neither saw him alive, nor die, rise again, nor ascend to heaven. We never saw the miracles he wrought, nor heard the voice from the excellent glory, saying, " This is my beloved Son, hear ye him." We speak of his personal excellences, divine and hu; man ; of his love, zeal, righteousness, meek ness, patience, &c. ; but what know we of them ? We rejoice in his being constituted our surety, to obey the law, and endure the curse in our stead ; but how know we that so indeed it is ? We glory in the imputation of his righteousness, and exult in the hope of being found in him, and being forever with him, faultless before his throne, to serve him day and night in his temple ; but on what do we rely for all this ? If our expec tations are but just, truly they are noble ; but, if groundless, extravagant. Are they, then, well founded ? Yes, the testimony of God is the rock whereon they rest He has told us by the mouth of his servants, the in spired writers, all that is necessary for us to know, of the character, conduct, and errand ofhis Son; of every office he sustained, and every end for which he came into the world. To all this he has added that " whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." So they have preached, and so we have believed. We have, through grace, ventured our everlasting all in his hands ; nor is it in the hands of we know not whom : " we know whom we have trust ed, and are persuaded that he is able to keep that which we have committed to him against that day." For, though none of these things are invisible to our mortal eye, yet, having evidence that God has said them, we are sat isfied. We would as soon trust God's word as our own eyes. Thus we walk, like Moses, " as seeing him who is invisible ; " and thu s answer to that description, " Whom having not seen ye love, in whom, though now ye see him not, yet, believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." In all our applications to Christ, we have to rely merely upon the testimony of God. Here is a poor, self-condemned sinner, who comes pressing through the crowd of dis couraging apprehensions, that he may, so to speak, touch the hem of the Redeemer's garment and be made whole. As he ap proaches, one set of thoughts suggests, How can such a monster hope for mercy ? Is it not doubtful whether there be efficacy enough in the blood of Christ itself to par don such heinous crimes? — I know my crimes are heinous beyond expression, re plies the burdened soul, and I should doubt less give up my case as desperate, but that I have heard of him that " he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him." I will go, therefore ; who can tell ? — As he goes, other objections assail him, questioning whether Christ can find in his heart to accept of such a one ? — I should think not, indeed, rejoins the poor man ; but he has said, " Him that cometh to me I will in nowise cast out." I know, were I to con- WALKING BY FAITH. 179 suit nothing but my feelings _and only to fix my eyes on the enormity of my sin, I should utterly despair; but, encouraged by his word, I will go forward; I will walk by faith, not by sight : O, I hear him say, " Come unto me all ye that labor, and are heavy laden — and ye shall find rest unto your souls ! " This, this is what I want ! Depart from me, all ye that vex my soul ; I will go in the strength of the Lord God ! 3. We have to give up many present en joyments, for Christ's sake, wherein we have no visible prospect of recompense, none of any kind, but what arises from the pro mise of God. Self-denial is one of the ini tial laws of Christ's kingdom. Far from enticing people into his service by promises of wealth, ease, and honor, he set out with this public declaration, "Whosoever will be my disciple must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." But who would enter upon these terms ? Who would give up houses, lands, friends, and reputa tion, and expose himself to hardships, perse cution, and death, for nothing ? Yet many followed him, and that to the day of their death ; yea, and upon these very terms too : "they left all and followed him." What then induced them ? Did not they act irra tionally ? Prophets, apostles, and martyrs ! what mean ye ? Have ye no regard for yourselves ? What ! are you destitute of the feelings of men ? — No such thing : we " have respect unto the recompense of re ward." — Reward ! what can that be ? noth ing surely below the sun, unless it were every thing the reverse of what is agreea ble to human nature ! — True ; but our Lord has declared, "Whosoever shall forsake houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundred-fold, and inherit everlasting life." We rely upon this, and this supports us. God's friends, in all ages, have forsaken sensible for invisible enjoyments. Encourag ed by considerations like these, Ruth for sook her father and her mother, and the land of her nativity, and came to a people whom she knew not. It was this that determined her to go forward, when, as Naomi told her, there were no earthly prospects before her. It was this that made her resolve not to go back with Orpah, but to cast in her lot with the friends of the God of Israel. "The Lord recompense thy work," said Boaz to her afterwards, " and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust ! " The same things influenced Moses, it seems, to refuse a crown. It has been thought that, in virtue of his adoption, he might have been king of Egypt ; but that throne not only, like other thrones, exposed him that sat thereon to numberless snares, but probably was inaccessible to any but those who would continue the system of idolatry and oppression. In that case Moses, in order to become king of Egypt, must have sacrificed a good conscience, despised a crown of glory that fadeth not away, and united in persecuting his own and the Lord's people. Moses seems fully to have weighed this matter. The result was, he "refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season ; esteeming even the re proach of Christ greater riches than the treas ures in Egypt." He, therefore, freely leaves the life of a courtier ; avows himself the friend of the poor despised captives; and dares to retire into Midian, to lead the life of an obscure shepherd. I say, he dared to retire ; for it required a greater degree of courage thus to deny himself, than to stand in the forefront of a battle, or to face the mouth of a cannon ! But " by faith he for sook Egypt, and went and lived a stranger in a strange land ; for he endured as seeing him who is invisible ; " yes, " he had respect unto the recompense of reward." In short, through this, the holy tribes of martyrs, in all ages, loved not their lives un to the death. By faith in invisible realities, as the apostle to the Hebrews largely proves, they bore all manner of cruelties, not accept ing deliverance itself upon dishonorable con ditions ; suffered all kinds of deaths with un remitting fortitude, and, in some sort, like their glorious Leader, triumphed over prin cipalities and powers, when they fell. Indeed, every man in the world may be said to walk either by faith or by sight. There is not only a giving up sensible for invisible enjoyments, by actually parting with them, but by not sitting our hearts upon them, as our chief good. This may be done where there is no call actually to give them up, and is done by all real Christians in the world. Men whose chief good consists in the profits, pleasures, or honors of this life, live by sight ; they derive their life from ob jects before their eyes, having neither pa tience nor inclination to wait for a portion in the world to come. But good men, as well the rich as the poor, derive their life from above, and so live by faith: their "life is hid with Christ in God." Perhaps here, as much as any where, is required the peculiar exercise of faith. For one actually divested of earthly good to look upward, and set his heart on things above, is faith ; but for one still possessed of this — one on whom Providence smiles, prospering him in all he sets his hand to, blessing him with wife and children, houses and lands, in abundance — for him to exercise such a de gree of indifference to all theso as to derive his chief happiness from invisible realities, this is faith indeed ! This seems to have been exemplified in Abraham, and other 180 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. patriarchs. Of him it is said, " By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country." How is this? We do not wonder, that when he and Sarah went into Egypt, on account of a famine, he should consider himself a sojourner there ; but how is it that he should do so in Canaan, the land of promise, his own estate, as it were ? The next verse informs us : " for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and "maker is God." So Ja cob, when before Pharaoh, called his whole life a pilgrimage, though the far greater part of it was spent in the land of promise ; and " they that say such things," adds the apostle, " declare plainly that they seek a country." Though God had given them the good land, they would not make it their chief good. They could not be contented with this Ca naan, but longed for another. Noble souls ! bid them lift up their eyes eastward, and westward, and northward, and southward, and tell them all they can see is their own ; still they will not live by sight, but by faith : " they will desire a better country, that is a heavenly." 4. There are many low and distressing seasons to which the church qf God is sub ject, in which there is little or no visible ground of encouragement, scarcely any but what arises from the promise of God. The whole church of God, as individuals, has, in all ages, had its day of adversity set over against the day of prosperity. Israel, after their deliverance from Egypt and settlement in Canaan, enjoyed pretty much prosperity, especiaUy in the days of David and Solomon. But afterwards, by a series of provocations, they procured to themselves the Babylonish captivity. At that melancholy period, those amongst them that feared the Lord must be supposed to be all in darkness. Jerusalem laid waste ; the temple burnt with fire ; Ju dah carried captive : ah, what becomes of God's interest in the world ! The " founda tions " of his visible kingdom seemed to be " laid in the holy mountains " round about Jerusalem ; if these are destroyed, what can the righteous do ? They had long sighed and cried for the idolatrous abominations of their countrymen, and prayed, and hoped, that mercy might be lengthened out: but now all seems over. For their idolatry, they must go, and have enough of idolaters: they that feared the Lord must also go with them. By the rivers of Babylon they must go and sit down. Those that had been used to sound the high praises of God in Zion must now hang their harps upon the willows, as having no use for them ! Nor is this the worst ; they must be taunted, and their God derided, by their insulting lords : " Come," said they, " sing us one ofthe songs of Zion : " as if they had said, Now see what your reli gion has availed you ! This was your favor ite employ, and these were the songs where with you addressed your Deity, in whom you confided to deliver you out of our hands : what think you now ? Poor Zion ! " She spreadeth forth her hands, but there is none to comfort her. The Lord hath commanded that her adversaries should be round about her : " her captive sons can only remember Jerusalem and weep ! Alas, " how can they sing the Lord's song in a strange land ! " But is there no help from above ? Is there no physician there? Yes, the God whom Babel derides, but Judah adores, looks down, and sees their affliction. To his disheartened friends, in this situation, he addresses him self, saying, "Who is among you that fear eth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and*hath no light ? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." As if he should say, For a season you must walk by faith, and not by sight ; but, trust me, that season shall soon be over. Seventy years, and Babylon shall fall, and Judah return ! By these declarations the church was encour aged in her captivity, and furnished with an answer to her insulting foes: yea, and, what is wonderful, breaks forth into one of the Lord's songs ufa strange land ! (Hearken, O Babel, to " one of the songs of Zion ! ") " Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy : when I fall, I shall arise ; when I sit in dark ness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation ofthe Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me : he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God?" This is encouraging to us as churches, and as ministers. We have, in many cases, to walk in darkness, and have no light, and to go on in our ministrations, in a great degree, like the prophet Isaiah, lamenting that there are so few who have believed our re port, so few to whom the arm of the Lord has been revealed. When death removes worthy characters, we must sometimes live, and lament to see their places unoccupied by others of the like character : and, what is worse, instead of increase by Christ's con quests, we must sometimes live to see a de crease by the conquests of the evil one ! Many a faithful minister has had to preach, year after year, till, either by public scandals or private disgusts, many of his people have gone off, and walked no more with him. But let him then remember the testimony of God : " Him that honoreth me I will honor." Let him go on, and faithfully discharge his duty, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear : let him, and those that are with him, walk by faith, and not by sight It oft en proves that, after such a night of weep ing, comes a morning of rejoicing. Let us WALKING BY FAITH. 181 not be discouraged ; better breath than ours has been spent apparently in vain. Our Lord himself seemed to labor in vain, and to spend his strength for nought ; but he com forted himself in this (herein leaving us an ex ample,) " Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength." This may encourage and direct us in larger concerns ; concerns which respect the whole interest of Christ in the world. If we compare the present state of things, or even the past, with the glorious prophecies of the word of God, we cannot think, surely, that all is yet accomplished. By these prophecies the Christian church is encour aged to look for great things at some pe riod or other of her existence. She is taught to look for a time when " the earth shall be full ofthe knowledge ofthe Lord, as the wa ters cover the sea;" when "a nation shall be born at once ; " when " the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of o;ir Lord and of his Christ ; and he " shall reign from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." But surely, for the present, though great things, upon the whole, have been done in the world, yet nothing like this has ever come to pass. Instead of the world being conquered, what a great part yet continues to stand out against him. Heathenism, Mahomedism, popery, and infi delity, how extensive still their influence ! In all probability not a single country, city, town, village, or congregation, has ever yet been brought wholly to submit to Christ! Nay, is it not very rare to find, in any one of these, so many real friends as to make even a majority in his favor ? May not the Christian church then, for the present, adopt that language, " We have been with child, we have as it were brought forth wind, we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen ? " What then, shall we de spair? God forbid! "The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie : though it tarry, wait for it, hecause it will surely come, it will not tarry ; " and, meanwhile, " the just shall live by faith." Let us take encouragement, in the present day of small things, by looking forward, and hoping for better days. Let this be attend ed with earnest and united prayer to him by whom Jacob must arise. A life of faith will ever be a life of prayer. O, brethren, let us pray much for an outpouring of God's Spirit upon our ministers and churches, and not upon those only of our own connection and denomination, but upon "all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours ! " Our hope of a better state, when this is over, is built on faith in God's testimony. We have no sort of evidence, but this, that any such state exists. We cannot see anything of the kind, or aught from which we can in fer it. We cannot learn it from any of our senses. Reason itself could never have found it out. Reason might have taught us the idea of a future state, but not of a future state of bliss. Though much might be ar gued from the fitness of things, to prove that man is not made barely for the present life, yet nothing could thence be drawn to prove that rebels against the Supreme Beino- should live in a state of eternal felicity ; no, for this we are wholly indebted to the word of promise. Hence faith is said to be " the substance, ground, or foundation of things hoped for." Supported by that, we sustain our heaviest losses ; and, attracted by these, we come up out of great tribulations, follow ing the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, till we shall overcome, and " sit down with him in his throne, as he also hath overcome, and is set down with his Father in his throne." II. We will now add a few words on the importance ofsuch a life. If, all things considered, it would have been best for us tb have always seen our way before us, — to have been guided, so to speak, with our own eyes, and not to have implicitly followed the directions of God, — no doubt so it would have been ordered. But he who perfectly, and at once, saw the beginning and end of all things, judged otherwise. With the high est wisdom, no doubt, he formed the resolu tion, " the just shall live by faith." It may be impossible for us, in the present state, to find out all the reasons for this resolution ; but two or three seem to present themselves to our view. 1. Such a life brings great glory to God. Confidence is universally a medium of hon or. To confide in a fellow-creature puts honor upon him in the account of others, and affords a pleasure to himself; especially if he be a wise and upright character, as it gives him an opportunity of proving his wis dom and fidelity. Though the great God cannot be made more honorable than he is, by anything we can do, yet his honor may, by this, be made more apparent. We hon or him, so far as we form just conceptions of him in our own minds, and act so as to give just representations of him to others. God is graciously pleased to declare that " he takes pleasure in those that hope in his mercy ; " and why ? surely, among other things, because it gives him occasion to dis play the glory of his grace. And, as he takes pleasure in those that hope in his mer cy and rely upon it, so he takes pleasure in ordering things so that we may be put to the trial, whether we will rely on him or not. It was this which induced him to lead Israel through the wilderness, rather than by the ready road to Canaan. He knew they would be, in fact, dependent upon him, let them be where they would ; but they would not be 182 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. sensible of that dependence, nor have so much opportunity of entirely trusting him, in any way as in this ; and so it would not be so much for the glory of his great name. He therefore would lead a nation, with all their little ones, into an inhospitable desert, where was scarcely a morsel of meat to eat, and, in many places, not a drop of water to drink ; " a land of deserts and of pits, of scorpions- and fiery flying serpents:" here, if any where, they must be sensibly depend ent on God. They must be fed and pre served immediately from heaven itself, and that by miracle, or all perish in a few days ! Here God must appear to be what he was — here mercy and truth must appear to go with them indeed ! What an opportunity was afforded them to have walked these forty years by faith! what grounds for an entire confidence ! but, alas, their faithless hearts perverted their way, and, in the end, proved their ruin ! Ten times they tempted God in the desert, till at length he swore, concerning that genera tion, that, for their unbelief, they should die in the wilderness, and never enter his rest. Few, if any, besides Joshua and Caleb, would dare to trust him, notwithstanding all his wonders and all his mercies ! They, how ever, for their part, took hold of his strength, and thought themselves able, having God on their side, to encounter any thing ! Their spirit was to walk by faith, and not by sight ; and herein it is easy to see how they glorifi ed God. O, brethren, let the glory qf God lie near our hearts ! Let it be dearer to us than our dearest delights ! Herein consists the cri terion of true love to him. Let us, after the noble example of Joshua and Caleb, " follow the Lord fully." Let us approve of every thing that tends to glorify him. Let us be reconciled to his conduct, who " suffers us to hunger, that we may know that man lives not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." If he should bring us into hard and difficult situa tions, situations to an eye of sense impossible to be endured, let us remember that it is that he may give us an opportunity of glorifying him, by trusting him in the dark. The more difficult the trial, the more glory to him that bears us through, and the greater opportunity is afforded us for proving that we can indeed trust him with all our concerns — that we can trust him when we cannot see the end ofhis present dispensations. Those very much dishonor God who pro fess to trust him for another world, but in the common difficulties of this are perpetu ally murmuringf( peevish, and distrustful. How different was it with Abraham, in offer ing up his son Isaac. Y What, offer up Isaac ! my son, my only son.of promise ! Why, is not the Messiah to spring out of his loins ? What are to become of all the nations ofthe earth, who are to be blessed in him ? How natural and excusable might such questions have seemed! much more so than most of our objections to the divine conduct Sense, in this case, had it been consulted, must have entered a thousand protests. But the father of the faithful consulted not with flesh and blood, not doubting but God knew what he was about, if he himself did not. (O that we may prove ourselves the children of faith ful Abraham !) Against hope, in appearance, he believed in hope oi divine all-sufficiency ; fully persuaded that what God had promised he was able to perform, he stretched forth his obedient arm ; nor had he recalled it, had not heaven interposed : he was " strong in faith, giving glory to God." 2. It is productive of great good to us. The glory of God and the good of those that love him (thanks be to his name !) always go together. It is equally to their benefit as to his honor, for instance, to lie low be fore him, and feel their entire dependence upon him. It is essential to the real happi ness of an intelligent creature to be in its proper place, and take a complacency in be ing so. But nothing tends more to cultivate these dispositions than God's determining that, at present, we should walk by faith, and not by sight. Faith, in the whole of it, tends more than a little to abase the fallen creature ; and to walk by faith (which is as much as to acknowledge that we are blind, and must see with the eyes of another) is very humbling. The objects of our desire being frequently for a time withheld, and our being at such times reduced to situations wherein we can see no help and thus obliged to repose our trust in God, contribute more than a little to make us feel our dependence upon him. Agur saw that a constant ful ness of this world was unfriendly to a spirit of entire dependence upon God ; therefore he prayed, " Give me not riches ; lest I be full and deny thee." Whatever tends to humble and try us tends to " do us good in the latter end." Great and wonderful is the consolation that such a life affords. In all the vicissi tudes of life and horrors of death, nothing can cheer and fortify the mind like this. By faith in an unseen world we can endure in juries without revenge, afflictions without fainting, and losses without despair. Let the nations ofthe earth dash, like potsherds, one against another ; yea, let nature herself ap proach towards her final dissolution ; let her groan as being ready to expire, and sink into her primitive nothing; still the believer lives ! His all is not on board that vessel ! His chief inheritance lies in another soil ! " His hand the good man fastens on the skies, And bids earth roll, nor feels her idle whirl ! " 3. It will make vision the sweeter. It af fords a great pleasure, when we make a ven- CHARACTER AND SUCCESS OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER. 183 ture of any kind, to find ourselves at last not disappointed. If a considerate man embark his all on board a vessel, and himself with it, he may have a thousand fears, before he reaches the end of his voyage ; yet should he, after numberless dangers, safely arrive, and find it not only answer, but far exceed his expectations, his joy will then be greater than if he had run no hazard at all. What he has gained will seem much sweeter than if it had fallen to him in a way that had cost him nothing. Thus believers venture their all in the hands of Christ, persuaded that he is able to keep that which they have com mitted to him against that day. To find at last that they have not confided in him in vain — yea, that their expectations are not only answered, but infinitely outdone — will surely enhance the bliss of heaven. The remembrance of our dangers, fears, and sor rows, will enable us to enjoy the heavenly state with a degree of happiness impossible to have been felt, if those dangers, fears, and sorrows had never existed. My hearers ! We all of us live either by faith or by sight ; either upon things heaven ly or things earthly. If on the former, let us go on, upon the word of God ; everlasting glory is before us ! But, if on the latter, alas, our store will be soon exhausted ! All these dear delights are but the brood of time, a brood that will soon take to themselves wings, and, with her that cherished them, fly away. Oh, my hearers ! is it not common for many of you to suppose that those who live by faith in the enjoyments of a world to come live upon mere imaginations ? But are ye not mistaken ? It is your enjoyments and not theirs that are imaginary. Pleas ures, profits, honors, what are they ? The whole form only a kind of ideal world, a sort of splendid show, like that in a, dream, which, when you wake, all is gone ! At most it is & fashion, and a fashion that pass eth away. To grasp it is to grasp a shadow ; and to feed upon it is to feed upon the wind. O that you may turn away your eyes from beholding these vanities, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the substantial re alities beyond the grave, for your never-fail ing portion ! But if not, if you still prefer this world, with its enjoyments, to those which are heavenly, how just will it be for the Lord Jesus to say to you, at the last great day, Depart! Depart, you have had your re ward! you have had your choice ; what would you have ? You never chose me for your portion : you, in effect, said, of me and my interest, " We will have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Jesse : see to thyself, David." Ah, now, see to thyself, sinner ! Christians, ministers, brethren, all of us ! let us realise the subject. Let us pray, and preach, and hear, and do every thing we do with eternity in view ! Let us deal much with Christ and invisible realities. Let us, when ever called, freely deny ourselves for his sake, and trust him to make up the loss. Let us not faint under present difficulties, but consider them as opportunities afforded us to glorify God. Let us be ashamed that we derive our happiness so much from things below, and so little from things above. In one word, let us fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life ! SERMON II. [To the Rev. Robert Fawkner, at his ordination, at Thorn, Bedfordshire, Oct. 31, 1787.] THE QUALIFICATIONS AND ENCOURAGE MENT OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER ILLUS TRATED BY THE CHARACTER AND SUCCESS OF BARNABAS. " He was a good man, and full ofthe Holy Spirit, and of faith ; and much people was added to the Lord." — Acts xi. 24. My dear Brother, It is a very important work to which you are this day set apart. I feel the difficulty of your situation. You need both counsel and encouragement ; I- wish I were better able to administer both. In what I may of fer, I am persuaded you will allow me to be free ; and understand me, not as assuming any authority or superiority over you, but only as saying that to you which I wish to consider as equally addressed to myself. Out of a variety of topics that might afford a lesson for a Christian minister, my thoughts have turned, on this occasion, upon that of example. Example has a great influence upon the human mind : examples from Scrip ture especially, wherein characters the most illustrious in their day, for gifts, grace, and usefulness, are drawn with the pencil of in spiration, have an assimilating tendency. Viewing these, under a divine blessing, we form some just conceptions of the nature and importance of our work, are led to re flect upon our own defects, and feel the fire of holy emulation kindling in our bosoms. The particular example, my brother, which I wish to recommend to your attention is that of Barnabas, that excellent servant of Christ and companion of the apostle Paul. You will find his character particularly given in the words I have just read. Were we to examine the life of this great and good man, as related in other parts of Scripture, we should find the character here given him abundantly confirmed. He seems to have been one of that great company who, through the preaching of Peter and the other apostles, submitted to Christ soon after his ascension : and he gave early proof of his love to him, by selling his possessions, and 184 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. laying the price at the feet of the apostles for the support of his infant cause. As he loved Christ, so he loved his people. He appears to have possessed much of the ten der and affectionate, on account of which he was called "Barnabas — a son of consola tion." Assiduous in discovering and en couraging the first dawnings of God's work, he was the first person that introduced Saul into the company of the disciples. The next news that we hear of him is in the pas sage which I have selected. Tidings casne to the ears ofthe church at Jerusalem of the word of the Lord being prosperous at Anti och, in Syria. The church at Jerusalem was the mother church, and felt a concern for others, like that of a tender mother to wards her infant offspring. The young con verts at Antioch wanted a nursing father ; and who so proper to be sent as Barnabas ? He goes ; and, far from envying the success of others, who had labored before him, he "was glad to see the grace of God" so evidently appear; "and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord." As a preacher, he does not seem to have been equal to the apostle Paul ; yet so far was he from caring about being eclipsed by Paul's superior abilities that he went in search of him, and brought him to Antioch, to assist him in the work of the Lord. It may well be said of such a character that he was a " good man, and full of the Holy Spirit, and of faith." 0 that we had more such ministers in the church at this day ! O that we ourselves were like him ! Might we not hope, if that were the case, that, according to God's usual manner of working, more people would be added to the Lord? There are three things, we see, which are said of Barnabas in a way of commendation : he was " a good man, full ofthe Holy Spirit, and of faith." Thus far he is held up for our example : a fourth is added, concerning the effects which followed : " and much peo ple was added unto the Lord." This seems to be held up for our encouragement. Per mit me, my dear brother, to request your candid attention, while I attempt to review these great qualities in Barnabas, and by every motive to enforce them upon you. 1. He was a good man. It were easy to prove the necessity of a person being a good man, in order to his properly engaging in the work of the ministry: Christ would not commit his sheep but to one that loved him. But on this remark I shall not en large. I have no reason to doubt, my broth er, but that God has given you an under standing to know him that is true, and a heart to love him in sincerity; I trust, there fore, such an attempt,, on this occasion, is needless. Nor does it appear to me to be the meaning of the evangelist. It is not barely meant of Barnabas that he was a re generate man, though that is implied ; but it denotes that he was eminently good. We use the word so in common conversation. If we would describe one that more than or dinarily shines in piety, meekness, and kind ness, we know not how to speak of him bet ter than to say, with a degree of emphasis, He is a good man. After this eminence in goodness, brother, may it be your concern, and mine, daily to aspire ! Perhaps, indeed, we may have sometimes heard this epithet used with a sneer. Per sons who take pleasure in treating others with contempt will frequently, with a kind of proud pity, speak in this manner : Aye, such a one is a good man ; leaving it im7 plied that goodness is but an indifferent qualification, unless it be accompanied with greatness. But these things ought not to be. The apostle Paul did not value himself upon those things wherein he differed from other Christians ; but upon that which he possessed in common with them — charity, or christian love. " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mys teries, and all knowledge ; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove moun tains, and have not charity, I am nothing." My dear brother, value the character of a good man in all the parts of your employ ment ; andj above all, in those things which the world counts great and estimable. More particularly, 1. Value it at home in your family, li you walk not closely with God there, you will be ill able to work for him elsewhere. You have lately become the head of a family. Whatever charge it shall please God, in the course of your life, to place under your care, I trust it will be your concern to recommend Christ and the gospel to them, walk circum spectly before them, constantly worship God with them, offer up secret prayer for them, and exercise a proper authority over them. There is a sort of religious gossiping which some ministers have indulged to their hurt ; loitering about perpetually at the houses of their friends, and taking no delight in their own. Such conduct, in a minister and mas ter of a family, must, of necessity, root out all family-order, and, to a great degree, family- worship ; and, instead of endearing him to his friends, it only exposes him to their just censure. Perhaps they know not how to be so plain as to tell him of it at their own houses ; but they will think the more, and speak of it, it is likely, to each other, when he is gone. I trust, my brother, that none of your domestic connections will have to say when you are gone, He was loose and careless in his conduct, or sour and chur lish in his temper ; but rather, He was a good man. CHARACTER AND SUCCESS OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER. 185 _ 2. Value this character in your private re tirements. Give yourself up to " the word of God, and to prayer." The apostle charged Timothy, saying, " Meditate on these things, give thyself wholly to them ; " or, " be thou in them." But this will never be, without a considerable share of the good man. Your heart can never be in those things which are foreign to its prevailing temper ; and, if your heart is not in your work, it will be a poor lifeless business indeed. We need not fear exhausting the Bible, or dread a scarci ty of divine subjects. If our hearts are but kept in unison with the spirit in which the Bible was written, every thing we meet with there will be interesting. The more we read, the more interesting it will appear ; and the more we know, the more we shall perceive there is to be known. Beware al so, brother, of neglecting secret prayer. The fire of devotion will go out if it be not kept alive by an habitual dealing with Christ. Conversing with men and things may bright en our gifts and parts ; but it is conversing with God that must brighten our graces. Whatever ardor we may feel in our public work, if this is wanting, things cannot be right, nor can they in such a train come to a good issue. 3. Value it in your public exercises. It is hard going on in the work of the ministry, without a good' degree of spirituality ; and yet, considering the present state of human nature, we are in the greatest danger of the contrary. Allow me, brother, to mention two things in particular, each of which is di rectly opposite to that spirit which I am at tempting to recommend. One is, an as sumed earnestness, or forced zeal, in the pul pit, which many weak hearers may mistake for the enjoyment of God. But, though we may put on violent emotions — -may smite with the hand, and stamp with the foot — if we are destitute of a genuine feeling sense of what we deliver, it will be discerned by judicious hearers, as well as by the Search er of hearts, and will not fail to create dis gust If, on the contrary, we feel and realize the sentiments we deliver, emotions and actions will be the natural expressions ofthe heart ; and this will give weight to the doc trines, exhortations, or reproofs which we inculcate ; what we say will come with a, kind of divine authority to the consciences, if not to the hearts of the hearers. The other is, being under the influence of low and selfish motives in the exercise of our work. This is a temptation against which we have especial reason to watch and pray. It is right, my brother, for you to be diligent " in your public work ; to be instant in season and out of season ; to preach the gospel not only at Thorn, but in the surrounding vil lages, wherever a door is opened for you : but, while you are thus engaged, let it not be from motives of policy, merely to increase your auditory, but from love to Christ and the souls of your fellow-sinners. It is this only that will endure reflection in a dying hour. .The apostle Paul was charged by some ofthe Corinthian teachers with being crafty and with having caught the Corinthi ans with guile : but he could say, in reply to all such insinuations, in behalf of himself and his fellow-laborers, "Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world." 4. Value it in the general tenor of your be haviour. Cultivate a meek, modest, peaceful, and friendly temper. Be generous and hu mane. Prove by your spirit and conduct that you are a lover of all mankind. To men in general, but especially to the poor and the afflicted, be pitiful, be courteous. It is this, my brother, that will recommend the gospel you proclaim. Without this, could you preach with the eloquence of an angel, you may expect that no good end will be answered. 5. Prize the character of the good man above worldly greatness. It is not sinful for a minister, any more than another man, to possess property ; but to aspire after it is un worthy of his sacred character. Greatness, unaccompanied with goodness, is valued as nothing by the great God. Kings and em perors, where that is wanting, are but great " beasts, horned beasts," pushing one at an other. When Sennacherib vaunted against the church of God, that he would " enter the forest of her Carmel, and cut down her tall cedars," the daughter of Zion is com manded to despise him. God speaks of him as we should speak of a buffalo, or even of an ass : " I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou earnest." Outward greatness, when accompanied with goodness, may be a great blessing; yet, even then, it is the latter and not the for mer that denominates the true worth of a character. Once more : — 6. Value it above mental greatness, or greatness in gifts and parts. Itis not wrong to cultivate gifts ; on the contrary, it is our duty so to do. But, desirable as these are, , they are not to be compared with goodness. " Covet earnestly the best gifts,"- says the apostle, " and yet show I unto you a more ex cellent way : " viz. charity, or love. If we improve in gifts and not in grace, to say the least, it will be useless and perhaps danger ous both to ourselves and others. To im prove in gifts, that we may be the better able to discharge our work, is laudable ; but, if it be for the sake of popular applause, we may expect a blast. Hundreds of min isters have been ruined by indulging a thirst Vol. 2.— Sie. 24. 186 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. for the character of the great man, while they have neglected the far superior charac ter of the good man. Another part of the character of Barnabas was that II. He was full of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit sometimes denotes his ex traordinary gifts, as in Acts xix., where the apostle Paul put the question to some be lievers in Christ whether they had receiv ed the Holy Spirit ; but here it signifies his indwelling and ordinary operations, or what is elsewhere called "an unction from the Holy One." This, though more common than tbe other, is far more excellent. Its fruits, though less brilliant, are abundantly the most valuable. To be able to surmount a difficulty by Christian patience is a great er thing in the sight of God than to remove a mountain. Every work of God bears some mark of godhead, even a thistle, or a nettle ; but there are some of his works which bear a peculiar likeness to his holy moral char acter : such were the minds of men and an gels in their original state. This will serve to illustrate the subject in hand. The extra ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit are a com munication of his power ; but in his dwelling in the saints, and the ordinary operations of his grace, he communicates his own holy na ture ,- and this it was of which Barnabas was full. To be full of the Holy Spirit is to be full of the dove, as I may say ; or full of those fruits of the Spirit mentioned by the apostle to the Galatians; namely," "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good ness." To be sure, the term full is not here to be understood in an unlimited sense ; not in so ample a sense as when it is applied to Christ. He was filled with the Spirit without mea sure, but we in measure. The word is doubtless to be understood in a comparative sense, and denotes as much as that he was habitually under his holy influence. A per son that is greatly under the influence of the love of this world is said to be drunken with its cares or pleasures.. In allusion to something like this, the apostle exhorts that we " be not drunken with wine, wherein is excess ; but filled with the Spirit." The word "filled," here, is very expressive; it denotes, I apprehend, being overcome, as it were, with the holy influences and fruits of the blessed Spirit. How necessary is all this, my brother, in your work ! 0 how ne cessary is " an unction from the Holy One ! " 1. It is this that will enable you to enter into the spirit of the gospel, and preserve you from destructive errors concerning it. Those who have an unction from the Holy One are said to " know all things ; and the anointing which they have received abideth in them, and they need not that any man teach them, but as the same anointing teacheth them all things, and is truth, and is no lie." We shall naturally fall in with the dictates of that spirit of which we are full. It is for want of this, in a great measure, that the Scriptures appear strange, and foreign, and difficult to be understood. He that is full of the Holy Spirit has the contents of the Bible written, as I may say, upon his heart ; and thus its sacred pages are easy to be un derstood, as " wisdom is easy to him thatun- derstandeth." It is no breach of charity to say that, if the professors of Christianity had more of the Holy Spirit of God in their hearts, there would be a greater harmony among them respecting the great truths which he has re vealed. The rejection of such doctrines as the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the total depravity of mankind, the proper deity and atonement of Christ, justification by faith in his name, the freeness and sovereignty of grace, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, may easily be accounted for upon this prin ciple. If we are destitute of the Holy Spirit, we are blind to the loveliness of the divine character, and destitute of any true love to God in our hearts ; and, if destitute of this, we shall not be able to see the rea sonableness of that law which requires love to him with all the heart ; and then, of course, we shall think lightly of the nature of those offences committed against him; we shall be naturally disposed to palliate and excuse our want of" love to him, yea, and even our positive violations of his law ; it will seem hard, very hard indeed, for such little things as these to be punished with everlasting de struction. And now, all this admitted, we shall naturally be blind to the necessity and glory of salvation by Jesus Christ. If sin is so trifling an affair, it will seem a strange and incredible thing that God should become incarnate to atone for it : and hence we shall be very easily persuaded to consid er Christ as only a good man who came into the world to set us a good example ; or, at least, that he is not equal with the Father. The freeness and sovereignty of grace also, together with justification by imputed right eousness, will be a very strange sound in our ears. Like the Jews, we shall " go about to establish our own righteousness, and shall not submit to the righteousness of God." It will seem equally strange and incredible to be told that we are by nature utterly un fit for the kingdom of God ; that, therefore, we must he born again ; that we are so bad that we cannot even come to Christ for life, except the Father draw us ; yea, and that our best doings, after all, are unworthy of God's notice. It will be no wonder if, in stead of receiving these unwelcome and hu miliating doctrines, we should coincide with those writers and preachers who think more favorably of our condition, and the condition of the world at large ; who either deny eter nal punishment to exist, or represent men CHARACTER AND SUCCESS OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER. 187 in general as being in little or no danger of it. And, having avowed these sentiments, it will then become necessary to compliment their abettors (including ourselves in the number) as persons of a more rational and liberal way of thinking than other people. My dear brother, of all things, be this your prayer, "Take not thy Holy Spirit from 'me ! " If once we sink into such a way of performing our public work as not to depend on his enlightening and enlivening influences, we may go on, and probably shall go on, from one degree of evil to ano ther. Knowing how to account for the operations of our own minds, without impu ting them to a divine agency, we shall be inclined, in this manner, to account for the operations in the minds of others ; and so, with numbers in the present age, may soon call in question even " whether there be any Holy Spirit." 2. Being full of the Holy Sphit will give a holy tincture to your meditation and preach ing. There is such a. thing as the mind b.eing habitually under the influence of di vine things, and retaining so much of a sa vor of Christ as that divine truths shall be viewed and expressed, as I may say, in their own language. ' Spiritual things will be spiritually discerned, and, if spiritually dis cerned, will be spiritually communicated. There is more in our manner of thinking and speaking upon divine truth than perhaps, at first sight, we are aware of. A great part of tho phraseology of Scripture is by some accounted unfit to be addressed to a modern ear; and is, on this account, to a great degree laid aside, even by those who profess to be satisfied with the sentiments. Whatever may be said in defence of this practice, in a very few instances, such as those where words in a translation are be come obsolete, or convey a different idea from what they did at the time of being translated, I am satisfied the practice in gen eral is very pernicious. There are many- sermons, that cannot fairly be charged with untruth, which yet have a tendency to lead off the mind from the simplicity of the gos pel. If such scripture terms, for instance, as "holiness, godliness, grace, believers, saints, communion with God, &c, should be thrown aside as savoring too much of cant and enthusiasm, and such terms as morality, virtue, religion, good men, happiness of mind, &c, substituted in their room, it will have an amazing effect upon the hearers. If such preaching is the gospel, it is the gospel heathenized, and will tend to heathenize the minds of those who deal in it. I do not mean to object to the use of these latter terms, in their place ; they are some of them scriptural terms : what I object to is putting them in the place of others, when discoursing upon evangelical subjects. To be sure, there is a way of handling divine subjects after this sort that is very clever and very ingenious ; and a minister of such a stamp may commend himself, by his inge nuity, to many hearers : but, after all, God's truths are never so acceptable and savory to a gracious heart as when clothed in their own native phraseology. The more you are filled, my brother, with an unction from the Holy One, the greater relish you will possess for that savory manner of convey ing truth which is so plentifully exemplified in the Holy Scriptures. Farther, 3. It is this that will make the doctrines you preach, and the duties you inculcate, seem fitted in your lips. I allude to a say ing of the wise man : " The words of the wise are pleasant, if thou keep them within thee ; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips." It is expected that there should be an agree ment between the character of the speaker and the things which are spoken. " Excel lent speech becometh not a fool." Exhorta tions to holiness come with an ill grace from the lips of one who indulges himself in in iquity. The opposite of this is what I mean by the doctrines and duties of religion being fitted in your lips. It is this that will make your face shine, when you come forth in your public labors, like the face of Moses when he had been conversing with God in the holy mount. 4. It is this that will give a spiritual savor to your conversation in your visits to your friends. Though religious visits may be abused ; yet you know, brother, thejaeces- sity there is for them, if you would ascer tain the spiritual condition of those to whom you preach. There are many faults also that you may discover in individuals which it would be unhandsome, as well as unfriend ly, to expose in a pointed manner in the pulpit, which nevertheless ought not to be passed by unnoticed. Here is work for your private visits ; and, in proportion as you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will possess a spirit of love and faithfulness, which is absolutely necessary to successful reproof. It is in our private visits also that we can be free with our people, and they with us. Questions may be asked and answered, difficulties solved, and the concerns of the soul discussed. Paul taught the Ephesians, not only publicly, but " from house to house." Now it is being full of the Holy Spirit that will give a spir itual savor to all this conversation. It will be as the holy anointing oil on Aaron's garments, which diffused a savor on all around him. 5. This will also teach you how you ought to behave yourself in every^department you are called to occupy. It wilkserve instead of ten thousand rules ; and. all rules without it will be of no account. "¦ This it is that will teach you to be of a meek, mild, peaceful, humble spirit. It will make such a spirit be 188 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. natural to you. "As touching hrotherly love," said the apostle to the Thessalonians, " ye need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." 6. In short, it is this that will denominate you the man of God. Such was Barnabas, and such, my brother, was your predecessor, whose memory is dear to many of us ;* and such, according to all that I have heard, was his predecessor, whose memory is equally dear to many here present.f Each, in his day, was a burning and shining light ; but they shine here no more. May you, my brother, and each of us, be followers of them, as they also were of Christ! Another part of the character of Barna bas is, III. He was full of faith. It may be difficult to ascertain with precision the real meaning and extent of this term ; but, I should think, in this connection it includes, at least, the three following ideas : — having the mind occupied with divine sentiment ; being rooted and grounded in the truth of the gospel, and daily living upon it. The first of these ideas distinguished him from those characters whose minds are void of principle ; the next, from such as are always hovering upon the borders of scepticism ; and the last, from those who, though they have no manner of doubts about the truth of the doctrines of the gospel, yet scarcely ever, if at all, feel their vital influence upon their hearts and lives. Let us review each of these a little more particularly. 1. His mind was well occupied, or stored, with divine sentiment. How necessary is this to a gospel minister ! It is to be feared that many young men have rushed into the work of the Lord without any decided prin ciples of their own ; yea, and have not only begun in such a ¦ state of mind, but have continued so all through their lives. Alas ! what can the churches expect from such characters ? What can such a void pro duce ? How can we feed others with knowledge and understanding if we our selves are destitute of them ? To say the least, such ministers will be but " unprofita ble servants." But this is not all ; a min ister that is not inured to think for him self is constantly exposed to every false sentiment, or system, that happens to be presented to him. We sometimes hear of a person changing his sentiments; and, doubt less, in many cases it is just and right he should change them : but there are cases in which that mode of speaking is very im proper ; for, in reality, some persons have no sentiments of their own to change ; they have only changed the sentiments of some one great man for those of another. * The Rev. David Evans. t The Rev. William Butfield. 2. He had a firm persuasion of the truth of that gospel which he preached to others. He was rooted and grounded in the gospel. The great controversy of that day was whether the gospel was true ; whether Je sus was the Messiah ; whether he, who so lately expired on the cross, was the Son of God ; and whether his death was the way to obtain eternal life. There were great temp tations for a person who should view things through a medium of sense to think other wise. The popular opinion went against it To the Jews it was a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness. Those who ad hered to the gospel, thereby exposed them selves to cruel persecutions. But Barnabas "was full of faith ;" he was decidedly on the Lord's side ; he " believed on the Son of God," and had the "witness" ofthe truth of his gospel " within himself." Preaching the gospel is bearing a testimo ny for God ; but we shall never be able to do this to any good purpose, if we be always hesitating and indulging a sceptical disposi tion. There is no need of a dogmatical over-bearing temper : but there is need of being rooted and grounded in the truths of God. "Be not carried about," said the apostle to the Hebrews, " with strange doc trines : it is a good thing that the heart be established witii grace." But he elsewhere condemns the character of those who are " ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 3. That gospel which he preached to others he himself lived upon. "The word preached," we are told, "did not profit some, because it was not mixed with faith in them that heard it." This will equally hold gooil in the case of the preacher as of the hearer. If we mix not faith with the doctrine we deliver, it will not profit us. Whatever abilities we may possess, and of whatever use we may be made to others, unless we can say, in some sort, with the apostle John, " That which we have seen with our eyes, and looked upon, and our hands have han dled of the word of life — that declare we unto you," our own souls may, notwith standing, everlastingly perish! This is a very serious matter, and well deserves our attention as ministers. Professors in the age of Barnabas might be under greater temptations than we are to question whether Jesus was the true Messiah; but we are under greater temptations than they were of resting in a mere implicit assent to the Christian religion, without realizing and living upon its important truths. The studying of divine truth as preachers rather than as Christians, or, in other words, studying it for the sake of finding out some thing to say to others, without so much as thinking of profiting our own souls, is a temptation to which we are more than ordi narily exposed. If we studied divine truths CHARACTER AND SUCCESS OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER. 189 as Christians, our being constantly engaged in the service of God would be friendly to our growth in grace. We should be " like trees planted by the rivers of waters, that bring forth fruit in their season," and all that we did would be likely to " prosper." But, if we study it only as preachers, it will be the reverse. Our being conversant with -the Bible will be like surgeons and soldiers being conversant with the shedding of hu man blood, till they lose all sensibility con cerning it. I believe it is a fact that, where a preacher is wicked, he is generally the most hardened against conviction of any character whatever. Happy will it be for us if, like Barnabas, we are " full of faith " in that Saviour whom we recommend — in that gospel which it is our employment to proclaim. IV. We now come to the last part of the subject, which is held up by way of encour agement: And much people was added unto the Lord. When our ministry is blessed to the conversion of sinners, to the bringing them off from their connection with sin and self, to a vital union with Christ ; when our congregations are filled, not mere ly with professors of religion, but with sound believers ; when such believers come forward and offer themselves willingly for communion, saying, " We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you ; then it maybe said that "much people is added unto the Lord." The connection between such additions, and eminency in grace and holiness in a minister, deserves our serious attention. I think it may be laid down as a rule, which both Scripture and experience will confirm, that eminent spirituality in a minis ter is usually attended with eminent useful ness. I do not mean to say our useful ness depends upon our spirituality as an effect depends upon its cause ; nor yet that it is always in proportion to it. God is a sovereign ; and frequently sees proper to convince us of it, in variously bestowing his blessing on the means of grace. But yet he is not wanting in giving encouragement to what he approves, wherever it is found. Our want of usefulness is often to be as cribed to our want of spirituality, much oftener than to our want of talents. God has frequently been known to succeed men of inferior abilities, when they have been eminent for holiness, while he has blasted others of much superior talents, when that quality has been wanting. Hundreds of ministers, who, on account of their gifts, have promised to be shining characters, have proved the reverse ; and all owing to such things as pride, unwatchfulness, carnality, and levity. Eminency in grace, my brother, will con tribute to your success in three ways : — 1. It will fire your soul with holy love to Christ and the souls of men ; and such a spir it is usually attended with success. I be lieve you will find that, in almost all the great works which God has wrought, in any period of time, he has honored men of this character, by making them his instruments. In the midst of a sore calamity upon the murmuring Israelites, when God was inclined to show mercy, it was by the means of his servant Aaron running with a censer of fire in his hand, and standing between the living and the dead! The great reformation that was brought about in the days of Hezekiah was by the instrumentality of a man " who wrought that which was good and right and truth before the Lord his God ; " and then it follows, " and in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it ivith all his heart and pros pered." There was another great reformation in the Jewish church, about the time of their return from Babylon. One of the chief in struments in this work was Ezra, " a ready scribe in the law of his God " — a man who had " prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments " — a man who " fast ed and prayed at the river Ahava," previous ly to his great undertaking — a man who was afterwards " sorely astonished, and in heavi ness, and would eat no meat, nor drink water, but fell upon his knees, and spread out his hands unto the Lord his God, on account of the transgressions ofthe people." Another great instrument in this work was Nehemi ah, a man that devoted himself wholly to the service of God and his people, laboring night and day, and was not to be seduced by the intrigues of God's adversaries, nor yet in timidated by their threatenings ; but perse vered in his work till it was finished, closing his labors with this solemn prayer and ap peal, " Think upon me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people." Time would fail me to speak of all the great souls, both inspired and uninspired, whom the King of kings has delighted to honor: of Paul, and Peter, and their com panions ; of Wickliff, and Luther, and Cal vin, and many others at the reformation ; of Elliot, and Edwards, and Brainerd, and Whitefield, and hundreds more whose names are held in deserved esteem in the church of God. These were men of God; men who had great grace, as well as gifts ; whose hearts burned in love to Christ and the souls of men. They looked upon their hearers as their Lord had done upon Jerusalem, and wept over them. In this manner they de livered their messages ; " and much people were added unto the Lord." 190 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. 2. Eminency in grace will direct your ends to the glory of God, and the welfare of men's souls ; and, where this is the case, it is usually attended with a blessing. These are ends which God himself pursues ; and, if we pursue the same, we are "laborers to gether with God," and may hope for his blessing to attend our labors ; but, if we pur sue separate and selfish ends, we walk con trary to God, and may expect God to walk contrary to us. Whatever apparent suc cess may attend the labors of a man whose ends are evil, all is to be suspected : either the success is not genuine, or, if it be, it is not in a way of blessing upon him, nor shall it turn out, at last, to his account. It must be an inexpressible satisfaction, brother, to be able to say as the primitive ministers and apostles did : " James, a. servant of God — Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ — We seek not yours, but you." 3. Eminency in grace will enable you to bear prosperity in your ministry without be ing lifted up wilh it ; and so contribute to wards it. It is written of Christ, in prophecy, " He shall build the temple of the Lord, and shall bear the glory." He does bear it in deed ; but to bear glory without being ela ted is no easy thing for us. I am often afraid lest this should be one considerable reason why most of us have no more real success in our work than we have ; perhaps it is not safe for us to be much owned of God ; perhaps we have not grace enough to bear prosperity. My dear brother, permit me to conclude with a word or two of serious advice. First, " Watch over your own soul, as well as the souls of your people. Do not forget that ministers are peculiarly liable, while they keep the vineyard of others, to neglect their own. Farther, " Know your own weakness, and depend upon Christ's all-sufficiency." Your work is great, your trials may be many ; but let not your heart be discouraged. Re member what was said to the apostle Paul, " My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness;" and the re flection which he makes upon it, " When I am weak, then am I strong." Finally, Be often looking to the end of your course, and viewing yourself as giving an account of your stewardship. We must all appear be fore the judgment-seat of Christ, and give account of the deeds done in the body. Per haps there is no thought more solemn than this, more suitable to be kept in view in all our undertakings, more awakening in a thoughtleSs-hour, or more cheering to an upright heart. I have only to request, my dear brother, that you will' excuse the freedom of this plain address. ¦' I Have not spoken so much to instruct you in Ihings which you know not, as to remind and impress you with things which you already know. The Lord bless you, and grant that the solemnities of this day may ever be remembered with sat isfaction, botlrby you and your people ! SERMON III. [Preached at a Ministers' Meeting, held at Clip- stone, April 27, 1791.] THE instances, the evil nature, and THE DANGEROUS TENDENCY OF DELAY, IN THE CONCERNS OF RELIGION. " Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.? — Hag. i. 2. When the children of Judah were deliv ered from their captivity, and allowed, by the proclamation of Cyrus, to return to their own land, one of the principal things which at tracted their attention was the rebuilding of the house of God, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians. This was a work which Cyrus himself enjoined, and upon which the hearts ofthe people were fixed. It was not, however, to be accomplished at once ; and, as the worship of God was a matter of im mediate and indispensable concern, they set up an altar, on which to offer sacrifices and offerings, till such time as the temple should be built In the second year after their return, the foundation of the Lord's house was laid : but opposition being made to it, by the adver saries of Judah and Benjamin, the work ceased all the days of Cyrus, until the reign of Darius, commonly distinguished by the name of Darius7Hy staspis. During this pe riod, which seems to have been about four teen years, the people sunk into a spirit of indifference. At first they desisted from necessity ; but afterwards, their attention being turned to the building and ornament ing of houses for themselves, they seemed very well contented thai the house of the Lord should lie waste. For this their tem per and conduct the land was smitten with barrenness ; so that both the vintage and the harvest failed them. God also raised up Haggai and Zechariah to go and remonstrate against their supineness ; and the efforts of these two prophets were the means of stir ring up the people to resume the work. The argument which the people used against building the house of God was that the time was not come. It is possible they waited for a counter order from the Persian court; if so, they might have waited long enough. A work of that nature ought to have been prosecuted of their own accord ; at least they should have tried. It did not follow, because they were hindered once, that therefore they should never succeed. Or perhaps they meant to plead their present weakness and poverty. Something like this ON DELAY IN RELIGIOUS CONCERNS. 191 seems to be implied in the 4th verse, where danger is viewed at a greater distance, the they are reminded that they had strengtii sinner, by degrees, recovers himself from enough to build and ornament houses for his fright, and dismisses his religious con- themselves. It looks as if they wished to cern, in some such manner as Felix did his build, and lay by fortunes for themselves and reprover, " Go thy way for this time, when I their families, and then, at some future time, have a convenient season I will call for they might contribute for the building ofthe thee." house of God. It is thus with the ardent youth ; in the There is something of this procrastinating hour of serious reflection, he feels that reli- spirit that runs through a great part of our gion is of importance ; but his heart, still life, and is of great detriment to us in the averse from what his conscience recom- work of God. We know of many things mends, rises against the thought of sacrifi- that should be done, and cannot in con- cing the prime of life to the gloomy duties science directly oppose them ; but still we find excuses for our inactivity. While we admit that many things should be done which are not done, we are apt to quiet our- of prayer and self-denial. He does not re solve never to attend to these things ; but the time does not seem to be come. He hopes that the Almighty will excuse him a few selves with the thought that they need not years, at least, and impute his excesses to be done just now : " The time is not come the time that the Lord's house should be built." In discoursing to you upon the subject, brethren, I shall take notice of a few of the most remarkable cases in which this spirit is discovered ; and then endeavor to show its evil nature and dangerous tendency. I. In RESPECT TO THE CASES, OR IN STANCES, IN WHICH IT IS DISCOVERED. A small degree of observation on mankind, and youthful folly and imbecility. It is thus with the man of business : there are times in which he is obliged to retire from the hurry of life ; and, at those times, thoughts of another life may arrest his attention. Con science at those intervals may smite him for his living without prayer, without reflection, without God in all his thoughts ; and what is his remedy ? Does he lament his sin, and implore mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ ; No, nor so much as promise to for- of reflection upon the workings of our own sake it immediately : but this he promises, hearts, will furnish us with many cf these ; that when this busy time is over, and that and convince us of its great influence on favorite point is gained, and those intricate every description of men, in almost all their affairs are terminated, then it shall be other- religious concerns. wise. It is thus with persons in single life : 1. It is by this plea that a great part of they will be better when they get settled in mankind are constantly deceiving themselves the world. It is thus with the encumbered in respect to a serious attention to the concerns parent : she looks forward to the time when of their souls. These are, doubtless, of the her family shall get off her hands. It is last importance ; and there are times in thus with the drunkard and the debauchee : which most men not only acknowledge this wearied in their own way, they intend to truth, but, in some sort, feel the force of it. lead a new life as soon as they can but shake This is the case, especially, with those who off their old connections. In short, it is have had a religious education, and have thus with great numbers in all our towns, been used to attend upon the preaching of and villages, and congregations: they put the gospel. They hear from the pulpit that off the great concern to another time, and men must be born again, must be converted, think they may venture at least a little longer, and become as little children, or never enter till all is over with them, and a dying hour into the kingdom of God. Or the same just awakens them, like the virgins in the things are impressed upon them by some parable, to bitter reflection on their own fa- threatening affliction or alarming providence, tal folly. They feel themselves at those times very 2. This plea not only affects the uncon- unhappy ; and it is not unusual for them to verted, but prevents us all from undertaking resolve upon a sacrifice of their former any great or good work for the cause of sins, and a serious and close attention in fu- Christ, or ihe good of mankind. We see ture to the affairs of their souls. They think, while under these impressions, they will consider their ways, they will enter their closets and shut to the door, and pray to the Lord that he would have mercy upon them ; but, alas ! no sooner do they retire from the house of God, or recover from their affliction, many things that should be done ; but there are difficulties in the way, and we wait for the removal of these difficulties. We are very apt to indulge a kind of prudent cau tion (as we call it,) which foresees and mag nifies difficulties beyond what they really It is granted there may be such things than the impression begins to subside, and in the way of an undertaking as may render then matters of this sort become less wel- it impracticable ; and, in that case, it is our come to the mind. They must not be utter- duty for the present to stand still: but it be- lv rejected; but are let alone for the present, comes us to beware lest we account that As conscience becomes less alarmed, and impracticable which only requires such a 192 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. degree' of exertion as we are not inclined to give it. Perhaps the work requires expense ; and Covetousness says, Wait a little longer, till I have gained so and so in trade, till I have rendered my circumstances respecta ble, and settled my children comfortably in the world. But is not this like ceiling our own houses, while the house of God lies waste ? Perhaps it requires concurrence ; and we wait for every body to be of a mind, which is never to be expected. He who through a dread of opposition and reproach desists from known duty is in danger of be ing found among the "fearful, the unbe lieving, and the abominable." Had Luther and his contemporaries acted upon this principle, they had never gone about the glorious work of the Reformation. When he saw the abominations of popery, he might have said, These things ought not to be ; but what can / do ? If the chief priests and rulers in different nations would but unite, something might be effected ; but what can I do, an individual, and a poor man ? I may render myself an object of per secution, or, which is worse, of universal contempt; and what good end will be an swered by it? Had Luther reasoned thus — had he fancied that, because princes and prelates were not the first to engage in the good work, therefore the time was not come to build the house of the Lord — the house of the Lord, for any thing he had done, might have lain waste to this day. Instead of waiting for the removal of diffi culties, we ought, in many cases, to consider them as purposely laid in our way, in order to try the sincerity of our religion. He who had all power in heaven and earth could not only have sent forth his apostles into all the world, but have so ordered it that all the world should treat them with kindness, and aid them in their mission; but, instead of that, he told them to lay their accounts with persecution and the loss of all things. This was no doubt to try their sincerity ; and the difficulties laid in our way are equally de signed to try ours. Let it be considered whether it is not owing to this principle that so few and so feeble efforts have been made for the propa gation of the gospel in the world. When the Lord Jesus commissioned his apostles, he commanded them to go and teach "all. nations," to preach the gospel to " every creature ; " and that notwithstanding the difficulties and oppositions that would lie in the way. The apostles executed their com mission with assiduity and fidelity; but, since their days,, we seem to sit down half contem.ed that the greater part ofthe world should still remain in ignorance and idolatry. Some noble efforts hive indeed been made ; hut they are small ir number, when com pared with the magnitude of the object. And why is it no ? Are the souls of men of less value than heretofore ? No. Is Christianity less true or less important than in former ages ? This will not be pretend ed. Are there no opportunities for socie ties, or individuals, in Christian nations, to convey the gospel to the heathens ? This cannot be pleaded so long as opportunities are found to trade with them, yea, and (what is a disgrace to the name of Christians,) to buy them, and sell them, and treat tbem with worse than savage barbarity ! We have opportunities in abundance : the im provement of navigation, and the maritime and commercial turn of this country, furnish us with these ; and it deserves to be consid ered whether this is not a circumstance that renders it a duty peculiarly binding on us. The truth is, if I am not mistaken, we wait for we know not what ; we seem to think " the time is not come, the time for the Spirit to be poured down from on high." We pray for the conversion and sal vation of the world, and yet neglect the ordi nary means by which those ends have been used to be accomplished. It pleased God, heretofore, by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believed; and there is reason to think it will still please God to work by that distinguished means. Ought we not then at least to try by some means to convey more of the good news of salva tion to the world around us than has hither to been conveyed? The encouragement to the heathen is still in force, " Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved ;\hut how shall they call, on him in whom they have not believed ? and how- shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard ? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach ex cept they be sent?" Let it be farther considered whether it is not owing to this principle that so few and so feeble efforts are made for the propaga tion ofthe gospel in places within our reach. There are many dark places in our own land — places where priests and people, it is to be feared, are alike destitute of true re ligion, " all looking to their own way, every one for his gain from his quarter." Were every friend of Jesus Christ to avail himself of that liberty which the laws of his country allow him, and embrace every opportunity for the dissemination of evangelical princi ples, what effects might we hope to see ? Were every true minister of the gospel to make a point of preaching as often as pos sible in the villages within his reach ; and did those private Christians who are situated in such villages open their doors for preach ing, and recommend the gospel by a holy and affectionate behavior, might we not hope to see the wilderness become as a fruit ful field ? Surely, in these matters, we are too negligent. And, when we do preach to the unconverted, we do not feel as if we ON DELAY IN RELIGIOUS CONCERNS. 193 were to do any good. We are as if we knew not how to get at the hearts and con sciences of people. We cast the net, with out so much as expecting a draught. We are as those who cannot find their hands in the day of battle, who go forth not like men accustomed to conquest, but rather like those inured to defeat. Whence arises all this ? Is it not owing, at least a consider able degree of it, to a notion we have that the time is not come for any thing considera ble to be effected ? 3. It is this plea that keeps many from a public' profession of religion by a practical ac knowledgment of Christ. Christ requires of his followers that they confess his name be fore men ; that they be baptized, and com memorate his dying love in the ordinance of the supper. Yet there are many who con sider themselves as Christians,' and are con sidered so by others, who still live in the neglect of these ordinances. I speak not now of those who consider themselves as having been baptized in their infancy, but of such as admit the immersion of believers to be the only true baptism, and yet , do not practise it, nor hold communion with any particular church of Christ. It is painful to think there should be a description of pro fessed Christians who live in the neglect of Christ's commands. What can be the mo tives of such neglect? Probably they are various : there is one, however, that must have fallen under your observation ; that is, the want of some powerful impression upon the mind, impelling them, as it were, to a com pliance. Many persons wait for something of this sort ; and, because they go from year to year without it, conclude that the time is not come ; or that it is not the mind of God that they should comply with those ordi nances ; at least, that they should comply with them at present. Impressions, it is al lowed, are desirable, provided it be truth or duty that is impressed ; otherwise they de serve no regard : but, he they as desirable as they may, the want of them can never justify our living in the neglect of known duty. Nor are they at all adapted to show us what is duty, but merely to excite to the performance of that which may be proved to be duty without them. We might as well wait for impressions, and conclude, from the want of them, that the time is not come for the performance of other duties as those of baptism and the Lord's supper. Some are kept from a public profession of Christ's name by mere mercenary motives. They have relations and friends that would he offended. The fear of being disinherit ed, or injured, in some sort, as to worldly circumstances, has made many a person keep his principles to himself, till such time as the party whose displeasure he fears shall be removed out of the way. This is wick ed ; as it amounts to a denial of Christ be- Vol. 2.— Sig. 25. fore men, and will, no doubt, expose the party, if he die without repentance for it, to be denied by Christ before his Father at the last day. " Lord," said one, " I will follow thee, but let me first go and bury my father" — " Let me first go and bid them farewell who are at home," says another: "Jesus answered, Let the dead bury their dead, fol low thou me." — "No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." 4. It is this plea that keeps us from a thorough self-examination and self-denial. The importance of being right in the sight of God, and our liability to err, even in the greatest of all concerns, render a close and frequent inquiry into our spiritual state ab solutely necessary. It is a dangerous, as well as an uncomfortable life, to be always in suspense ; not knowing what nor where we are, nor whither we are going. There are seasons, too, in which we feel the importance of such an inquiry, and think we will go about it, we will search and try our ways, and turn from our sins, and walk more closely with God. Such thoughts will occur when we hear matters urged home upon us from the pulpit, or when some affecting event draws off our attention from the present world, and causes us to reflect upon our selves for our inordinate anxiety after it We think of living otherwise than we have done ; but, when we come to put our thoughts into execution, we find a number of difficul ties in the way, which too often deter us, at least/or the present. — Here is an undertaking that must first be accomplished, before I can have time ; here is also a troublesome affair that I must get through, before I can be com posed ; and then here are such temptations that I know not how to get over just now : if I wait a little longer, perhaps they may be removed. — Alas ! alas ! thus we befool ourselves ; thus we defer it to another time, till the impressions on our minds are effaced, and then we are less able to attend to those things than we were at first. As one who puts off the examination of his accounts, and the retrenchment ofhis expenses, till, all on a sudden, he is involved in a bankruptcy; so do multitudes, in the religious world, neg lect a close inspection into the concerns of their souls, till, at length, either a departure from some ofthe great principles ofthe gos pel, or some foul and open fall, is the con sequence. 5. It is this principle that keeps m from preparedness for death, and thus being ready when our Lord shall come. There is nothing that Christ has more forcibly enjoined than this duty : " Be ye also ready, for at such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." — " What I say unto you I say unto all, watch." Why do we not immediately feel the force of these charges, and betake ourselves to habitual watchfulness and 194 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. prayer, and self-denial, and walking with God? Why are we not as men who wait for the coming of their Lord ? Is it not from a secret thought that the time is not come ? We know we must die, but we consider it as something at a distance ; and thus, imagin ing that our Lord delayeth his coming, we delay to prepare to meet him, so that when he cometh, he findeth us in confusion. In stead of our loins being girt, and our lights burning, we are engaged in a number of plans and pursuits, to the neglect of those things which, notwithstanding the necessa ry avocations of life, ought always to en gross our supreme attention. Let us next proceed to consider II. THE EVIL NATURE AND DANGEROUS TENDENCY OF THIS PROCRASTINATING TEM PER. I need not say much to prove to you that it is a sin. The conscience of every one of you will assist me in that part of the work. It is proper, however, in order that you may feel it the more forcibly, that you should consider wherein its evil nature consists. 1. It is contrary to the tenor qf all God's commandments. All through the Scriptures we are required to attend to divine things immediately, and without delay. "Work while it is called to-day ; the night cometh when no man can work." — " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." — "While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light." — " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." God not only requires us, in general, to do what we do quickly, but calls us to serve him particularly under those temptations or afflictions which we find placed in our way. The terms of discipleship are, " Deny thy self, take up thy cross, and follow me." He does not call upon us to follow him barely when there are no troubles nor difficulties to encounter, nor allow us, when those diffi culties occur, to wait a fairer opportunity ; but to take our cross, as it were, upon our shoulders, and so follow him. It would be of use for us to consider every situation as a post in which God has placed us, and in which he calls upon us to serve and glorify him. If we are poor, we are required to glorify God by contentment ; if afflicted, by patience ; if bereaved, by submission ; if persecuted, by firmness; if injured, by for giveness ; or, if tempted, by denying our selves for his sake. Nor can these duties be performed at other times ; to put them off, therefore, to ar other opportunity, is the same thing, in effec^. as refusing to comply witti them at all. 2. To put off things to another time im plies a lurking dislike to the things themselves. We do not ordinarily do so, except in things wherein we have no delight. Whatever our hearts are set upon, we are for losing no time till it is accomplished. If the people of Judah had " had a mind to work," as is said of them on another occasion, they would not have pleaded that the time was not come. Sinful delay, therefore, arises from alienation of heart from God; than which nothing can be more offensive in his sight. But, farther, it is not only a sin, but a sin oi dangerous tendency. This is manifest by the effects it produces. Precious time is thereby murdered, and valuable opportuni ties lost, and lost beyond recal ! That there are opportunities possessed, both by saints and sinners, is plain from the Scriptures. The former might do abundant ly more for God than they do, and might en joy much more of God and heaven than they actually enjoy; and no doubt it would be so, were it not for that idle, delaying- temper, of which we have spoken. Like the Israelites, we are slothful to go up to possess the good land. Many are the opportunities, both of doing and enjoying good, that have already passed by. O! what Christians might we have been before now, had we but availed ourselves of all those advantages which the gospel dispensation and the free exercise of our religion afford us ! Sinners also, as long as life lasts, have op portunity of escaping from the wrath to come. Hence, they are exhorted to " seekthe Lord while he may found," and to " call upon him while he is near." Hence, also, there is a " door " represented as being, at present, " open ; " which " the master of the house will," one day, " rise up and shut." The " fountain " is described as being, at present, "open for sin and for uncleanness;" but there is a period approaching when it shall be said, "He that is filthy, let him be filthy still ! " It seems scarcely in the power of language to express the danger of delay in terms more forcible and impressive than those which are used in the above passages. Nor is there anything in the idea that clashes with the scripture doctrine of decrees. All allow that men have opportunity, in natural things, to do what they do not, and to obtain what they obtain not; and if this can be made to consist with a universal providence, which "performeth the things that are ap pointed for us," why should not the other be allowed to consist with the purposes of him who does nothing without a plan, but " work eth all things after the counsel of his own will ? " A price is in the hands of those who have no heart to get wisdom. O thoughtless sinner ! trifle no longer with the murder of time ; time, so short and uncertain in its duration; the morning of your existence ; the mould in which you re ceive an impression for eternity ; the only period in which the Son of man bas power to forgive sins ! Should the remaining part BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 195 of your life pass away in the same careless manner as that has which 'has already elaps ed, what bitter reflection must needs fol low ! How cutting it must be to look back on all the means of salvation as gone for ever ; the harvest past, the summer ended, and you not saved ! Suppose a company, at the time of low water, should take an excursion upon the sands near the sea-shore : suppose yourself of the company : suppose that, on a presump tion ofthe tide's not returning at present, you should all fall asleep : suppose all the company, except yourself, to awake out of their sleep, and, finding their danger, en deavor to awake you, and to persuade you to flee' with them for your life : but you, like the sltfggard, are for "a little more sleep, and " a little more slumber : " the consequence is, your companions escape, but you are left behind to perish in the waters, which, re gardless of all your cries, r;se and overwhelm you ! What a situation would this be ! How would you curse that love of sleep that made you refuse to be awaked — that delay ing temper that wanted to indulge a little longer ! But what is this situation compar ed with that of a lost soul ? There will come a period when the bottom ofthe ocean would be deemed a refuge ; when, to be crushed under falling rocks and mountains, instead of being viewed with terror as here tofore, will be earnestly desired ! Yes, de sired, but desired in vain ! The sinner who has " neglected the great salvation " will not be able to " escape," nor hide himself " from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne," nor from "the wrath ofthe Lamb ! " My dear hearers ! Consider your condi tion without delay. God says to you, To day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. To-day may be the only day you have to live. Go home, enter the closet, and shut to the door ; confess your sins ; im plore mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ ; • " Kiss. the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him ! " SERMON IV. [Preached at Kettering, at the funeral of Mr. Beeby Wallis, April, 1792.] THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD WHO DIE IN THE LORD. "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying un to me, Write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth : yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them." — Rev. xiv. 13. It is usual with us, on the death of our friends, to improve the mournful event by a sermon on the occasion. I feel a difficulty, in the present instance, on account of my near and intimate connection with the deceased. However, as well as I can, I will endeavor to comply with the general expec tation. Our dear deceased friend made no mention of any particular part of Scripture which he would wish to have improved ; I have, there fore, selected the above, as being the most suitable to the present occasion of any that has occurred to my thoughts. The original design of the passage seems to have been to support the afflicted followers of Christ in times of persecution. Nothing could be better adapted to arm the holy martyrs against the terrors of death than the senti ment here exhibited. It does not seem, however, to be applicable to martyrs only ; but is rather to be considered as a general truth, which, though applied to a particular case, is not to be confined to that case, but extended to every other particular compre hended within the general design. A few introductory observations may throw some light upon the text, and lead us on to the principal subjects on which I mean to dis course. First: Let us observe the character de scribed — those " who die in the Lord." The Scriptures make frequent mention of believers, as being united to Christ, or one with him. If we be true believers in Christ, we shall feel a union of heart with him ; our principles, affections, and pursuits, will, in a measure, be the same as his : his cause will be our cause, his people our people, his service our delight, and the gospel of salva tion through his death our daily bread. The union between Christ and his people is fre quently compared to the marriage union: as they who were twain become " one flesh, so they who are joined to the Lord are one spirit ; " and as in that case there is not only a mental but a legal union, each becoming interested in the persons and possessions of the other, so in this we, with all we have, are Christ's, and Christ, with all he has, is ours. Hence the language of the apostle : " Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." Hence, also, arises the desirableness of being " found in him, not having our own right eousness, which is of the law ; but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." A union like this will render us blessed even in death ; death itself shall not be able to dissolve it, but shall rather/introduce us to the full enjoyment of him whom our soul loveth. It is farther supposed, of those who die in the Lord, that they have abounded in good works ; for it could not otherwise have been said that they should follow them. Those 196 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. whose only hope and reliance for acceptance with God have been upon Jesus Christ, and who have, therefore, disclaimed all depend ence upon their own works, have often been charged with being enemies to morality ; or, at least, it has been said that their prin ciples, if pursued to their just consequences, would render them so : but I trust the prac tice of these persons, in all ages, has not been such as to justify the charge. Per haps, on the contrary, if we could survey the spirit and manners of mankind with an impartial eye, we might find that they who thus believed in Jesus were the most careful to maintain good works. Yea, and if we would search the Scriptures with an unpre judiced mind, we should find that, without a union with Christ, it were a vain thing to expect good works (truly so called) — as vain as to expect fruit from a branch that should be separate from the vine. Secondly : The blessedness of the dead who die in the Lord was declared by a voice from heaven. If the apostle had hearkened to the general voice of mankind, he would have heard a very different sound. The world reckons him blessed that liveth — that liveth in prosperity. So natural is this to man, that we all feel a kind of pity for our departed friends ; but surely pity is never more unnecessary : the voice from heaven, whatever be the voice from earth, pronoun ces, " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Thirdly : The apostle was commanded to write it. A mere voice passeth away, but a writing endureth. In this we see God's tender regard for his faithful servants, not merely in that age, but for ages to come. Fourthly: Their blessedness is declared to he from henceforth. I do not see how this can be understood as referring to the time ofthe Spirit's speaking ; for that would imply that, before that time, those who died in the Lord were not blessed. It seems, I think, plainly to refer to the time of their departure from the body, and is one of the many pas sages of Scripture in which we are taught the doctrine of a separate state. Lastly : The blessedness which awaits those who die in the Lord consists partly in a rest from their labors, and partly in a glo rious reward, expressed by their works follow ing them. It is on this last observation I shall prin cipally enlarge, in this discourse, as the most important ideas ofthe text seem to be here included. Let us first take a view of the heavenly state under the ideas here given, and then consider the uses that such a pros pect is adapted to promote. I. Let us view the heavenly state UNDER THE IDEAS OF A REST FROM LABOR and a reward for it. The term labor does not convey the idea of simple exer cise ; for we shall never cease from that, but rather increase it. The inhabitants of heaven are more active than ever they were upon earth. They are represented as " serving God day and night in his tem ple ; " yea, and as though all our services in this world were unworthy of the name, it is said, " There his servants shall serve him." Nor is the rest here spoken of to be under stood of a mere cessation from exercise in the grave ; for that would afford no blessed ness. The term labor conveys the idea , of painful exerciser weariness, or fatigue. The same word is used in 2 Cor. xi. 27, where the apostle speaks of being in weariness and painfulness. A great part of the Christian life consists in an opposition. He that would gain the heavenly prize must oppose " the course of this world," — must strive against the stream of false principles and wicked practices, against the evil customs and manners of the age and place in which he lives. It has been observed that mankind go through the world in a body ; that they draw one another on, in their principles and manners; that, like the drops of water which compose a tide, they acquire strength and influence by their number; and that whatever general direction they take, that is, for the time be ing, " the course of this world." Like the tide, it is ever rolling, though not in the same direction. In former ages, it was a course of pagan idolatry ; in later ages, of popish superstition and cruelty ; and, in the present age, it is a course of infidelity and profaneness. To oppose this current is labor. It was no small matter for the glorious tribes of martyrs, in every age, to hold fast the faith of the gospel. They had not only to encounter their adversaries, but their own natural feelings. They were men, and men of like passions with ourselves. They had wives, and children, and friends, and the va rious endearing ties of human nature ; each of which would cry in their ears, Spare thy self! Think, brethren, what labor it must have been for them to encounter the hard ships and cruelties to which a faithful ad herence to God exposed them ! Nor is it any small matter to set ourselves against the temptations of the world. There is a fashion in every thing, even in religion ; and it requires fortitude of mind to withstand its influence, and to adhere to the dictates of Scripture, let them be stigmatized as they may. Nor does it 'require less fortitude to withstand the current of evil customs, by which we may be certain, in many cases, to expose ourselves to scorn and contempt These things, I say, are labor; labor from which those who die in the Lord are at rest. The course of this world has no longer any influence on them ; they are arrived in the desired haven, where neither tide nor tem pest can affect them. BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 197 Again : Our services for God, in the pres ent state, may very properly be called labor, on account of the natural infirmities and af flictions which here attend us, especially in the last stages of life. The most active Christian, whose delight in his Lord's work has been such as to render it its own reward, will soon find the years draw nigh in which he shall say, I have no pleasure in them. It is then that the strength is labor and sorrow. It is then that the spirit is often willing when the flesh is weak. Our dear deceased friend experienced much of this, during the last few years of his life. Reading and prayer, and every other religious duty, was a labor ; but the tabernacle in which he groaned is now dissolved — he is now at rest from his labors. Once more : The greatest and most griev ous struggle of all is owing to our own na tive depravity. It is this that forms the most dangerous stream against which we have to strive. We may withdraw ourselves from the world, but not from this ; this will ac company us in all our retirements, and in all our efforts. He that is contented to serve the Lord with mere bodily exercise may feel no manner of difficulty from this quarter; but he that would worship God in spirit and in truth, that would meditate, pray, praise, preach, or hear, as he ought, will find it the great burden of his life. A mind prone to forget God, and wander in forbidden paths ; a heart unaffected with the great things of God, flying off from him, and fixing upon things that do not profit ; these are matters which made an apostle exclaim, " O wretch ed man that I am ! " It is these which ren der our life a labor. To be at rest from these is heaven indeed ! But another idea afforded us of the hea venly state is that of a reward. Those who die in the Lord, not only rest from their la bors, but " their works do follow them." It has been a common observation on this pas sage, and for aught I know a just one, that their works are not said to go before them as a ground of justification, but to follow them as witnesses in their favor. I apprehend, however, they will not only follow them as witnesses, but will have place among the intermediate causes of their felicity. It is true, they will constitute no part of our title to eternal life ; that is the " free gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord ; " but, a title to admission being thus conferred, they will contribute to augment our bliss. The Scrip tures every where teach us that the ser vices and sufferings ofthe faithful shall meet with a divine reward; which, though not of debt, but of grace, is nevertheless a reward ; which it could not be if what was enjoyed in the life to come had no relation to what was done in the present life. God will reward his servants, at the last day, with his public approbation before an assembled world. " The king shall say unto them on his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visit ed me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me." Nor shall their works stop here, but shall follow them into the heavenly state it self, and furnish matter of joyful recollec tion forever, affording a kind of measure ac cording to which their reward in heaven will be conferred. The whole current of Scrip ture appears, to me, to teach us that there will be degrees of happiness, as well as of misery, in the future state ; and that those who have served the Lord with the great est fidelity and zeal in this world will enjoy the greatest portion of mental bliss in the world to come. If the labors which we here endure have a tendency to meeten us for the heavenly rest — if present bitters will render future sweet the sweeter — and if itis thus that our " light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceed ing and eternal weight of glory " — it must then follow that there will be some propor tion between our present labors and our fu ture enjoyments. I mean, it cannot be sup posed that those who have labored but little for God will enjoy an equal portion of feli city with those who have labored much. Upon no other principle, that I can see, can we understand those passages of Scrip ture which exhort us to " lay up treasure in heaven ;" to "lay up in store for ourselves a good foundation against the time to come ; " which encourage us under reproaches and persecutions for the name of Christ, saying, " Great is your reward in heaven ; " and which warn us, saying, " Be not deceived, God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption : but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlast ing." — " He that soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly ; but he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully. For we must all ap pear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." We see, here, that laying out ourselves for God is laying up treasure in heaven, and that everlasting life is a harvest that will grow out of the seed sown to the Sphit Some serious people have demurred upon this subject, lest it should affect the doctrine of salvation by grace, and encourage boast ing. Indeed, if those works which follow us into the heavenly state were to be ascrib ed to us as their first cause, and were con sidered as the proper meritorious ground of 198 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. our reward, there would be weight in the objection; but if it be the Lord who has wrought all our works in us, and if the re ward with which he is pleased to crown them be a matter of grace and not of debt, where then is boasting ? It is only God's gracious ly rewarding his own work. If ten thousand crowns were placed upon the Christian's head, he would cast them immediately at his Redeemer's feet, saying, " Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name give glory ! " It is through the intimate union between Christ and believers that they are not only accepted in him, but what they do for Christ is accepted also, and rewarded for his sake. "The Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." We are not only " accepted in the beloved," but our " sacrifices " be come " acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." As there is no sin so great but God, for Christ's sake, can forgive it ; no blessing so great but he can bestow it ; so there is no service so small, if done from love to him, but he will reward it. " A cup of cold water, given to a disciple," because he belongs to him, will insure " a disciple's reward." God's graciously connecting blessings with the obedience of his people serves to show, not only his love to his Son, and to them, but also his love to holiness and right eousness. A father may design to give an inheritance to his child, and various other accommodations ; he may design also to fit him, as much as may be, for the enjoyment of what he has to bestow upon him. On this principle, he will connect almost every gift or favor that he confers with some act of filial duty. It is easy to see, in this case, that the father does not consider these things as the child's due upon the footing of merit; for all that he did was simply his duty: but love to his child induced him to give ; and love to diligence, obedience, and good order, induced him to give it in such a man ner. It is thus that God gives grace and glory. It is thus that, in this life, finding is connected with seeking,forgiveness with con fession, and salvation with believing ; and, in the life to come, eternal glory with suf fering, warring, and overcoming. It is thus that God displays, at the same time, the free ness of his grace and his love of righteous ness and good order. Grace reigns in a way of righteousness through the whole sys tem of salvation. Those that are saved shall be sufficiently convinced it is all of grace ; while, on the other hand, all shall see tlie equity and fitness of the divine proceed ings, in judging every man according to his works. But I proceed to consider II. The uses that this two-fold idea OF THE HEAVENLY STATE IS ADAPTED TO promote. All divine truth has a tendency to do us good, and the sentiments taught us in this passage are adapted to our present situation. 1. A rest for those who die in the Lord may reconcile us to the loss of our dearest Christian friends, seeing they are gone to the possession of it, and are henceforth blessed. When our Lord Jesus was about to leave the world, and his disciples were overmuch dejected at the thought of his going, he told them, " If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I said I go to the Father, for my Father is greater than I ; " which is as if he had said, The glory and happiness which my Father possesses, and which I go to pos sess with him, is greater than any thing I can here enjoy ; if, therefore, ye loved me in a proper manner, instead of weeping at my departure, surely ye would rejoice at it. If the love that we bear to our Christian friends were but properly directed, if our minds were but capacious enough to take all things into consideration, we should min gle joy with all our mourning on their ac count. 2. A rest before us may reconcile us who are left behind to all the labors and pains and weariness of life. We need not tire, or want to sit down here ; there will be time enough to rest us by and by. Nor need we be dis couraged with all the trials of the present state. What though it were " in weariness and painfulness, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness," that we had to pass the remainder of our days ? What though bonds and afflictions should abide us ? The suf ferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. The rest that remains will make us like, Joseph, " forget all our toil, and all our father's house ; " so forget it, at least, as never to think of it any more but with joy and thankfulness. 3. The glorious reward before us may stimulate us to work for God with all our might while life continues. It is affecting to consider what we are doing in this life as the seed of an eternal harvest. Let us keep this thought habitually in view. There is a way of turning the ills of life into good, yea, an everlasting good. Every tempta tion to evil that accosts us is a price put in to our hands ; it affords us an opportunity of proving our love to God, by denying our selves in that instance I for his sake. The same may be said of afflictions ; they afford us an opportunity for the exercise of pa tience and acquiescence in the will of God ; and what a harvest of joy such things may issue in, it is beyond our capacity to con ceive. Perhaps, it was under some such views as these that the primitive Christians were used to " rejoice in tribulation," and were exhorted to "count it all joy, when they fell into divers temptations." 4. If our works will follow us, we have reason to tremble as well as rejoice. The BLESSEDNESS OF THE DEAD WHO DIE IN THE LORD. 199 works of those who die out of Christ, as well as the others, will follow them. Their life is a seed-time, and they also will receive a harvest. All men have their opportuni ties, their temptations and their afflictions ; and they will work in some way, either as a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death ; either as an eternal weight of glory, or of in famy and misery. But what shall I say in immediate refer ence to the present melancholy occasion ? I wish I could say something that might have a tendency to comfort those that mourn. We have all sustained a heavy loss. The town has lost one that sought its welfare ; the poor have lost a benefactor ; the church of which he was a member and an officer has lost one the study of whose life it was to promote its prosperity; those who had the pleasure of an intimate acquaintance with him have lost a steady, faithful, and ju dicious friend ; and you, my friend, the part ner of his life, you have sustained a heavier loss than any of us. But let us try and con sider that the loss is not so great but it might have been greater. We have not to sorrow as those that have no hope. Our grief is confined to ourselves. We have no cause to weep on his account. This is a thought which, though frequently mentioned on such occasions as these, yet can never be sufficiently realized. To bury a Chris tian friend is nothing in comparison of bury ing those relations of whose piety we have no well-grounded satisfaction. Add to this, the mercy of God in not taking him away in the prime of hfe, and health, and useful ness. Had he been removed ten or twelve, or even five or six years ago, the stroke had been much more felt by all his connections than it is now. I have often admired the wisdom and mercy of God in these things. We see the threatening hand of God laid upon one of our dearest friends and relatives ; at first we think we can never endure the loss ; but the affliction continues ; meanwhile, the weight which he sustained in society is grad ually removed, and falls by degrees upon his friends about him ; life becomes a bur den to himself; at length, the very same principle that made it appear impossible for us to endure a separation renders us incapa ble of praying or even wishing for his con tinuance ; and thus the burden, that we could scarcely have known how to bear, becomes tolerable, by being gradually let down as it were upon our shoulders. Our dear friend has left many relations behind him ; most of whom I suppose may at this time be present. My dear friends, I have often heard him express his anxiety for several of you, both as to your temporal and spiritual welfare. Some of you may have been apt to consider him as an enviable character on account of his wealth ; but, be assured, he was much more enviable on ac count of his piety : you need not wish so much to live like him as a gentleman as to live and die like him as a Christian. But, I suppose, it will be expected that I should say something more particularly of the deceased himself. I have commonly de clined saying much on this head ; and I still think that, generally speaking, it is right to do so, because the generality of characters, even of good men, have nothing in them very remarkable or worthy of being held up for our imitation. But, for this very reason, I think in some cases it would be wrong to omit it. Perhaps no human writings have had a better effect than the lives of eminently holy men. When, therefore, any such char acters appear among us, I think it is right to collect as much information respecting them as we can, that the remembrance of them may be of general use. So far as education and parental example could influence, our deceased friend might be said to have known the holy Scriptures from a child. His family, for generations past, have walked in the ways of piety. His great-grandfather, Mr. William Wallis, was the founder and first minister of the church of which you and I are members. He found ed it in 1696. His grandfather, Mr. Thomas Wallis, succeeded in the same office. It was in his time that the late Dr. Gill, and the late Mr. Brine, were both called to the ministry. He died in 1726, and his funeral sermon is said, as in the present instance, to have been preached in this place,* on ac count of the number of people who attended it. His father, Mr. William Wallis, though not a minister as his predecessors had been, was a very respectable member of the same community. When he died, which was in 1757, his son, our deceased friend, was but twenty-two years of age. From his earliest years he was under strong convictions of the truth and importance of religion ; but the most remarkable impression of this sort was made at the death ofhis father. It was then, as he said, that he went and prayed to God, and thought within himself— O that I had but an interest in Christ ; and felt all the world, and all its enjoyments, to be mere vanity without it ! At the time ofhis father's death, he had a brother, Mr. Joseph Wallis, about twelve years of age. The amiable piety of that young man is said to have appeared at an early period ; but, to the great grief of his friends, especially of his brother, he was re moved by the small-pox, in the nineteenth year ofhis age. In the year 1763, at the age of twenty- eight, Mr. Wallis became a member of the same Christian community in which his pre- * The independent meeting-house, kindly .granted on this occasion. — Ed. 200 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. decessors had lived and died. About five years after, he was chosen to the office of a deacon ; an office which he has filled with honor and satisfaction for twenty-four years. It was a great blessing to the church, espe cially when for the space of five years they were destitute of a minister, that he was in vested with this office, and was then in the prime of life and usefulness. It will long be remembered with what meekness of wisdom he presided in the church, during that un comfortable interval ; and how, notwithstand ing all the disadvantages of such a situation, they were not only preserved in peace, but gradually increased till a minister was set- • tied among them. God endued him with a sound understand ing and a solid judgment. His knowledge was extensive, and his observations on men and things, ripened by long experience, were just and accurate. He had a quick sense of right and wrong, of propriety and impropriety, which rendered his counsel of great esteem in cases of difficulty. To this was added a spirit of activity. Though, during the greater part of h'is life, he was out of trade, yet his head and hands were always full with the concerns of others, either those of private individuals, with which he was entrusted, or matters of public utility. He would rise by five in the morning, in summer, and be as diligent all the day as if he had to obtain his bread by the sweat of the brow. But, perhaps, one of the most prominent features of his character was sincerity, or in tegrity qf heart. This was a temper of mind that ran through all his concerns. In a cause of righteousness, he possessed a se verity which rendered it almost impossible for treachery to stand before him. He was prudent, but his prudence never degenerated into low policy, or any thing that deserved the name of subtilty. If motives of mere pru dence were proposed to him, he would hesi tate, nor would he accede till he had thought whether the measure was right. If he could but satisfy himself on that head, he would be regardless of consequences, or of popular opinion. Even in his contributions, one might perceive his love of righteousness. Though an economist from principle, he had nothing of the niggard : only convince him that a cause was right (and that was easily done, if it was so,) and he would engage in it with all his heart, nor think much of any expense. " I wish to do what is right," he would say, " and leave consequences." He was a standing example of the falsehood of that system which teaches that " flattery is essen tial to politeness." If to behave in such a manner as to gain the esteem of all descrip tions of men be politeness, he was polite ; yet he hated flattery. He would neither flatter nor be flattered by others. The true secret by which he obtained esteem was an unaffected modesty, mingled with kindness and goodness. He possessed a peculiar decision of char acter. His judgment was generally formed with slow deliberation; but, having once made up his mind, it was not easily altered. He was decisive in the principles he em braced. He held nothing with a loose hand. He observed to me, a few weeks before he died, when mentioning what he conceived to have been his great defect in religion, that it was not a wavering disposition. " I have not," said he, " been tossed about with every wind of doctrine." He has sometimes in genuously confessed that he thought him self more in danger of erring by a prejudiced attachment to received principles than by the contrary. He was equally decisive in matters oi practice. He scarcely ever en gaged in any thing with indifference. What his hand found him to do, he did it with his might. Having formed his judgment that such a matter was right, he would pursue it with indefatigable industry, patience, and perseverance ; he would wade through dif ficulties that would have discouraged most men ; nor was he ever satisfied till he had accomplished his end. There are few men that have possessed a greater degree of genuine humility. It is often seen, where persons of affluence unite with a Christian community, they consider themselves as doing great honor to it, and expect great homage in return. But this every one that knew him can bear witness was not his spirit. It was not natural to him to assume the airs of a Diotrephes, or to avail himself of the influence which his cir cumstances and situation afforded him to lord it over God's heritage. He was some times warm and sanguine ; but that was not frequent, and never but when he considered himself as engaged in the cause of truth and righteousness. To this may be added, there was a vein of serious godliness that ran through his life. It is true, he was often dejected in his own mind, lest he should be found wanting at last ; so much so as to give considerable pain to his friends. " There is something in re ligion," he would say, " with which I fear I have been all my life unacquainted." This dejection I attribute, in a great degree, to constitution. There are few characters that have discovered a greater fear of God, a greater acquiescence in the way of salvation through a crucified Saviour, or a greater con cern to spend his life in doing good. That which would have hurt the pride of many a rich man, namely, to unite with the poor and illiterate as his brethren, was no mortification to him ; on the contrary, he lately said, " I reckon it the greatest honor of my life to have been employed in promoting the interest of Christ." There is one circumstance more which I ON. A DEEP AND INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF DTPTnT: TRUTH. 201 cannot omit. About a week before he died, he requested that a few of his Christian friends might come and see him, and pray with him. Five of us went. When there, he told us he did not wish us to pray for his life ; he considered it as the will of God that he should die ; and he added, " His will be done ! But pray," said he, " that if there are any sins of which I have been guilty, and have not yet repented, any sins for which God has any controversy with me, that he would give me a proper sense of them before I die. Or, if not, that I might enjoy the light ofhis countenance in death." We were all exceedingly affected. After pray ing with him about an hour, he gathered up what little strength he had, and addressed himself to us with a kind of solemn farewell. He reminded us of the difficulties we had been brought through as a church, express ed his satisfaction in leaving us in so com fortable a situation, recommended us to love one another, and solemnly commended us to the blessing of God ! Surely I shall never forget this tender parting ! But I have done. He would have invited others ofhis friends, whom he equally loved, but his strength be gan to fail him; and in a few days, after a long series of afflictions, which he bore with great patience, calmness, and resignation to God, he fell asleep. SERMON V. [Preached before the Baptist Association at St. Albans, June 1, 1796.] THE NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF A DEEP AND INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE " For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have n.eed that one teach you again which be the first principles ofthe oracles of God ; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is un skilful in the word of righteousness ; for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."— Heb. v. 12—14. There is nothing in which the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan are more opposed than that the one is characterized by light and the other by darkness. The cause of falsehood is itself a dark cause, and requires darkness to cover it: but truth is light, and cometh to the light, that it may be made manifest Knowledge is every where encouraged in the Bible ; our best interests are interwoven with it ; and the spirituality of our minds, and the real enjoyment of our lives, depend upon its increase. "Grace and peace are multiplied through the knowl edge of God and of Jesus our Lord." Nor is it necessary for our own sakes only, but Vol. 2.— Sig. 26. for the sake of others. It is a great encour agement to Christian ministers when those whomthey teach possess a good understand ing in the things of God. Indeed, none but those who are engaged in the work of teaching can tell how much the ardor of the mind is damped by the contrary. The truth of this remark is exemplified in the writer of this epistle. In the verses immediately pre ceding the text, you perceive him highly in terested in his subject, and proceeding in a glorious career of reasoning; when, all on a sudden, he is stopped. He had many things to say of his Lord and master ; but which were " hard to be understood," seeing those to whom he wrote were " dull of hearing." It is on this occasion that he introduces the passage now before us, in which his object is to shame and provoke them, by comparing them with those who as to years were men, but as to knowledge children ; and who, in stead of having made advances in science, needed to be taught the alphabet over again. There are some things supposed and included in the passage which require a little previous attention. First : It is here supposed that all divine knowledge is to be derived from the oracles of God. It is a proper term by which the sacred Scriptures are here denominated, strongly expressive of their divine inspira tion and infallibility : in them God speaks ; and to them it becomes us to hearken. We may learn other things from other quarters ; and things, too, that may subserve the knowledge of God ; but the knowledge of God itself must here be sought, for here only it can be found. Much has been said on faith and reason, and the question has often been agitated whether the one, in any instance, can be contrary to the other. In the solution of this question, it is necessary, in the first place, to determine what is meant by reason. There is a great difference between reason and reasoning. Nothing which God reveals can contradict the former ; but this is more than can be said of the latter. It is impos sible for God to reveal any thing repugnant to what is fit and right ; but that wliich is fit and right in one man's estimation is prepos terous and absurd in the esteem of another, which clearly proves that reason, as it exists in depraved creatures, is not a proper stand ard of truth ; and hence arises the necessity of another and a better standard, " the ora cles of God." By studying these, a good man will gain more understanding than his teachers, if they live in the neglect of them. Secondly : It is supposed that the oracles of God include a system of divine truth. — They contain the first principles, or rudi ments, of religion — the simple truths of the gospel, which require little or no investiga tion in order to their being understood; 202 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. these are called " milk." They also contain the " deep things of God," things beyond the reach of a slight and cursory observa tion, and which require, if we would properly enter into them, close and repeated atten tion : -this is " strong meat." Those doc trines which the apostle enumerates in the following chapter, as things which he should "leave, and go on unto perfection," have been thought to refer to the leading princi ples of Judaism : and it may be so ; for Ju daism itself contained the first principles of Christianity : it was introductory to it ; or, as it is elsewhere expressed, it was " our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ." Thirdly : It is intimated that Christians should not rest satisfied in having attained to a knowledge ofthe first principles ofthe doc trine of Christ, but should go on unto perfec tion ; not only so as to obtain satisfaction for themselves, but that they may be able to teach others. It is true all are not to be teachers by office ; but, in one form or other, all should aspire to communicate the knowl edge of Christ. Every Christian is required to be ready to give a reason of the hope that is in him, with meekness and fear : and if all the members of our churches did but possess this readiness, besides the advan tages that would accrue to themselves and others, there would be less scarcity than there is of able and evangelical ministers. The leading sentiment which runs through the passage, and comprises the whole, is THE IMPORTANCE OF A DEEP AND INTI MATE KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH. To this subject, brethren, permit me to call your attention. In discoursing upon it, I shall first inquire wherein it' consists, and then endeavor to show the importance of it. 1. Let us inquire what a deep and INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH includes. That the oracles of God con tain deep things requires but little proof. The character of God, our own depravity, and that great mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh, &c, are deep and interesting subjects. The prophets had to search into the meaning of their own proph ecies. The riches of Christ, with which the apostles were entrusted, were denomi nated "unsearchable;" and even the high est orders of created intelligences are de scribed as "looking" into these things for their farther improvement. It may seem presuming for any person, in the present imperfect state, to determine on subjects of such magnitude ; or to talk of a deep and intimate knowledge of things which surpass the comprehension of the most exalted creatures. And if these terms were used either absolutely, to express the real conformity of our ideas of divine things to the full extent of the things them selves, or even comparatively, if the com parison respected saints on earth and saints in heaven, it would be presumption. But it is only in reference to one another in the present state that these terms are intend ed to apply. Compared with heavenly- inhabitants, all of us are babes : even an inspired apostle was no more. "When I was a child," said he, " I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child : but, when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly ; but then face to face ; now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known." There are such degrees, however, among good men in this life as that,*compared with each other, some may be said to possess only a superficial knowledge of divine truth, and others a more deep and intimate acquaintance with it. It is the importance of the latter of these that I wish to have impressed upon your minds. To attain it, the following, among other things, require our attention : — 1. Though we must not stop at first princi ples, yet we must be well grounded in them. No person can drink deeply into any science without being well acquainted with its rudi ments ; these are the foundation on which the whole structure rests. The first princi ples of the oracles of God, as specified by our apostle, are " repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrine of baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resur rection of the dead, and eternal judgment" Whatever may be meant by some of these terms, whether they refer to things peculiar to Judaism, or to the early times of Christi anity, it is clear, from Scripture and the na ture of things, that others of them are ex pressive of principles which, in every age, are of the first importance. Though the apostle speaks of leaving them, yet he does not mean that we should give them up, or treat them with indifference, but go on unto perfection; as a builder leaves his founda tion when he raises his walls, and advances toward the completion of his building. Repentance was the first lesson inculcated by John the Baptist, and Christ, and the apostles ; and that not merely on profligate sinners, but on scribes and pharisees. All that they had hitherto learned required, as it were, to be unlearned ; and all that they had done to be undone, and utterly relin quished. The knowledge which carnal men acquire of divine things puffs them up ; and, while they think they understand great things, they know nothing as they ought to know it. All the works, too, which have been wrought during a state of unregeneracy, are " dead works ; " and instead of being, in any de gree, pleasing to God, require to be lament ed with shame and self-abhorrence. Re pentance is a kind of self-emptying work ; it includes a renunciation, not only of those ON A DEEP AND INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH. 203 things for which our own consciences at the surpass our understanding, but which require time condemned us, but of what we have to be believed as matters of pure revelation. been in the habit of reckoning wisdom and The former chiefly respect the counsels and righteousness. Hence the propriety of the works of God, which are exhibited to our un order in which the Scriptures place it with derstanding, that God in them may be made regard to faith — "Repent and believe the manifest : the latter more commonly respect gospel." Renounce your own ways, and embrace his. " He that will be wise must first become a fool, that he may be wise." "Faith toward God," or a believing view of the being and glory of the divine charac ter, is reckoned almost among the first prin ciples of the doctrines of Christ. If we have just ideas of this very important sub ject, we have the key to the whole system the being and inconceivable glories of the Godhead, the reality of which we are con cerned to know, but on their mode or man ner are forbidden to gaze. It is exceedingly desirable to trace the wisdom and harmony of evangelical truth: it is a source of enjoyment, superior perhaps to any thing with which we are acquainted. All the "works of God are honorable and of gospel truth. He who beholds the glory glorious, and sought out by all them that of the divine holiness will, in that glass, have pleasure therein ; " but redemption is perceive his own polluted and perishing condition; and, when properly impressed with a sense of these things, he will natur ally embrace the doctrine of a Saviour, yea, and of a great one. Salvation by mere grace, through the atonement of Jesus, will appear the very object of his soul's desire. his great work, wherein appears " glory to himself in the highest, and on earth, peace, and good will to men: here, therefore, must needs be the highest enjoyment. Prior to the revelation of redemption, the holy angels shouted for joy over the works of nature ; but, having witnessed And, with these principles in his heart, other the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and Scripture doctrines will appear true, inter esting, and harmonious. There are but few erroneous sentiments in the Christian world which may not be traced to a spirit of self- admiration (which is the opposite of re pentance,) or to false conceptions of the divine character. ascension of Jesus, they "desired to look in to (other) things." Nothing tends more to establish the mind and to interest the heart in any truth than a perception that it is adapted at once to express the glory of the divine character and to meet the necessities of guilty creatures. The more we think of To these the apostle adds, " the resurrec- truth, therefore, in this way, the more we tion of the dead, and eternal judgment ; " or the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments of endless duration. These are principles which, indeed, occupy almost an ultimate place in the sacred sys tem ; yet, as every other important truth respecting man proceeds upon the supposi tion of their reality, they may properly enough be reckoned among the first princi ples of the oracles of God. If these prin ciples were given up to the infidel, the spirit of whose creed amounts to this, " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die ; " or if the latter of them were given up to the universalist, who, though he admits of a judgment to come, yet not of an eternal one, we should soon find the whole fabric Of truth falling to the ground. 2. We must not content ourselves with knowing what is truth, but must be acquaint ed with the evidence on which it rests. Chris tians are required to be always ready to give shall be "rooted and grounded" in it. But what reason have we to give for em bracing those doctrines which we consider as above reason, of the fitness of which we consequently pretend to have no ideas ? We answer, they are contained in the ora cles of God. Nothing is more reasonable than to give implicit credit to Him who can not lie. On this ground, we believe that "there are three who bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit ; and that these three are one." If God had re vealed nothing but what would have come within the limits of our understanding, he must have told us little or nothing at all of his self-existence, eternity, and infinity ; for we have no positive ideas of any of these things. Yet the revelation of such truths may be as necessary as those which ap proach nearer to our comprehension. The latter afford food for knowledge ; the former teach us humility, and furnish matter for a reason for the hope that is in them, with faith. meekness and fear : and this supposes, not 3. We must learn truth immediately from only that every part of religion admits of a the oracles of God. Many religious people rational defence, but that it is necessary for appear to be contented with seeing truth in Christians to study, that they may be able the light in which some great and good man to defend it; or, at least, to feel the ground has placed it: but, if ever we enter into the on which they rest their hope.' gospel to purpose, it must be by reading the The truths contained in the oracles of God word of God for ourselves, and by praying may be distinguished into two kinds : those and meditating upon its -sacred contents. which approve themselves to our ideas of Itis "in God's light that we must see hght." wisdom or fitness ; and those which utterly By conversing with the sacred writers, we 204 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. shall gradually imbibe their sentiments, and be insensibly assimilated into the same spirit. The writings of great and good men are not to be despised, any more than their preaching ; only let them not be treated as oracular. The best of men, in this imper fect state, view things partially ; and there fore are in danger of laying an improper stress upon some parts of Scripture, to the neglect of other parts of equal, and some times of superior importance. Now, where this is the case, imitation becomes danger ous. It is rarely known but that an original suffers in the hands of a copyist : if, there fore, the former be imperfect, what may be expected of the latter ? We all come far short of truth and righteousness, let our model be ever so perfect; but, if this be im perfect, we shall possess not only our own faults, but those of another. If, as ministers, we go about to depict either the character of a bad man, or of a good man, a state of unregeneracy or a work of grace ; and, instead of drawing from real life, only copy from some accounts which we have read or heard of these matters, we shall neither convince the sinner nor meet tlie case of the believer; all, to say the least, will be foreign and uninteresting. If we adopt the principles of fallible men, without searching the Scriptures for our selves, and inquiring whether or not these things be so, they will not, even allowing them to be on the side of truth, avail us, as if we had learned them from a higher au thority. Our faith, in this case, will stand in the wisdom of man, and not in the power of God. There is a. savor in truth, when drawn from the words which the Holy Spirit teaches, which is lost, or at least di minished, if it pass under the conceptions and expressions of men. Nor will it avail us when most needed ; for he who receives his creed from men may deliver it up to men again. Truth learned only at second-hand will be to us what Saul's armor was to Da vid ; we shall be at a loss how to use it in the day of trial. 4. If we would possess a deep and inti mate acquaintance with divine truth, we must view it in its various connections in the great system of redemption. Systematic divinity, or the studying of truth in a systematic form, has been of late years much decried. It has become almost general to consider it as the mark of a contracted mind, and the grand obstruction to free inquiry. If we imbibe a false system, indeed-, there is no doubt but it will prove injurious ; if it be true in part, but very defective, it may impede our pro gress in divine knowledge ; or if, in order to retain a system, we torture the Scriptures to make them accord with it, we shall per vert the truth instead of preserving it. These are things which make against false, defec tive, and anti-scriptural systems of faith; but not in the least against system itself. The best criterion of a good system is its agreement with the holy Scriptures. That view of things, whether we have any of us fully attained it or not, which admits the most natural meaning to be put upon every part of God's word, is the right system of religious truth. And he whose belief con sists of a number of positions arranged in such a connection as to constitute a consist ent whole, but who from a sense of his im perfections, and a remembrance of past er rors, holds himself ready to add or retrench, as evidence shall require, is in a far more advantageous track for the attainment of truth, and a real enlargement of mind, than he who thinks without a system. To be without system is nearly the same thing as to be without principle. Whatever principles we may have, while they continue in this disorganized state, they will answer but little purpose in the religious hfe. Like a tumultuous assembly in the day of battle, they may exist ; but it will be without order, energy, or end. No man could decry systematic know ledge, in any thing but religion, without sub jecting himself to the ridicule of thinking- men. A philosopher, for instance, would expose himself to contempt, who instead of improving facts which had fallen under his- observation, that he might discover the gen eral laws by which they are governed — and instead of tracing things to their first princi ples, and pursuing them to their just conse quences— should inveigh against all general laws, -all system, all connection and depend ence, and all uniform design in the variety of creation. What should we say of a hus bandman whp refused to arrange his obser vations under the respective branches of business to which they naturally belonged ; who had no general scheme or plan of pro ceeding, but left the work of every day to the day jtself, without forethought, contri vance, or. design? Or what opinion should we form of a merchant or a tradesman who should exclude systematic knowledge from his affairs ? He is constantly employed in buying and selling; but he must have no general system whereby to conduct either the one or the other; none for the regu lation of his books ; none for tlie assort ment of his articles: all must be free, lest he sink into formality, and, by being in the habit of doing things in order, should cono tract a narrowness of mind ! But is the Bible written upon systematic principles ; does it contain a system, or does it encourage us to form one ? By tlie Bible being written on systematic principles, I suppose, is meant a systematic arrangement of its contents ; and there is no doubt but the contrary of this is true. But then the same might be said of the book of nature. ON A DEEP AND INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH. 205 Though the different species of animals, vegetables, minerals, &c, are capable of be ing arranged under their respective genera, and so reduced to a system ; yet, in their actual position in creation, they assume no such appearance. It is wisely contrived, both in nature and Scripture, that the objects of each should be scattered in lovely variety ; but, amidst all this variety, an observant eye wili perceive unity, order, arrangement, and fulness of design. God, in all his works, has proceeded on system: there is a beautiful connection and harmony in every thing which he has wrought We sometimes speak of a system of nature, a system of providence, and a sys tem of redemption ; and, as smaller systems are often included in greater, the language is not improper: in reality, however, they are all but one system ; one grand piece of machinery, each part of which has a depend ence on the other, and all together form one glorious whole. Now, if God proceeds on system, it may be expected that the Scrip tures, being a transcript of his mind, should contain a system ; and, if we would study them to purpose, it must be so as to discov er what that system is. I never recollect to have heard any ob jection to systematic divinity with regard to practice. Let a Christian, utterly unac quainted with human writings, take his Bi ble, with a view to learn the mind of God upon any given subject, suppose it to be the duty of parents : he will naturally collect all the passages in the sacred writings which relate to that subject, arrange them in order, and from the whole, thus taken together, regulate his conduct. For this no one will think of blaming him : yet this would be act ing systematically. Let him do the same with respect to every other duty, and he will be in possession of a body, or system, of practical divinity. And why should he stop here ? why not collect the mind of God, from the whole of Scrip ture taken together, upon things to be be lieved, as well as things to be performed ? If the apostles had not considered divine truth in a systematic" form, how came the writer of this epistle to speak ofthe "first principles " of the oracles of God ? This language supposes, as before observed, a scheme or system of faith ; and, if such a form of considering truth were disadvanta geous to Christians, how came he to censure the Hebrews for their want of progress in it ? In his Epistle to the Romans, also, we read of the proportion, or analogy, of faith ; which certainly supposes that the gospel is one proportionate or consistent whole. Could a system of divinity be written, in which every sacred truth or duty should have a place assigned it, and such a place, both as to order and importance, as properly belonged to it, not invading the province of other truths or duties, but on the contrary subserving them, and itself appearing to the greatest advantage among them, — such a performance would answer to what the apostle means by " the proportion of faith." But can we expect a work answering to this description from an uninspired pen? Perhaps not. The materials for such a model exist, however, in the Holy Scrip tures ; and, though we cannot collect and arrange them to perfection, let us, as in all other things, " press towards the mark." Let that system of religion which we em brace be but in the main the right one, and, so far from contracting the mind, it is easy to perceive that it will abundantly en large it. For example : let the fact of Joseph's being sold into Egypt be viewed without its connection with God's designs, and it will appear a melancholy instance of human de pravity: we shah see nothing very re markable in it ; and it will seem calculated only to afford a disgusting picture of family jealousies and intrigues, enough to break the heart of an aged parent. But let the same fact be viewed systematically, as a link in a chain, or as a part of a whole, and it will assume a very different appearance. Thus viewed, it is an event pregnant with glory. He must needs go down into Egypt, that much people might be preserved alive ; that Jacob's family might follow him ; that they might there be preserved for a season, till, in due time, having become a great na tion, they should be led forth with a high hand ; that they might be placed in Canaan, and might set up the worship of the true God ; that the Messiah might be born among them ; and that his kingdom might be ex tended over the whole earth. Without a system, the patriarch reflected, " All these tilings are against me : " but with a system, or rather with only the discovery of a very small part of it, he exclaimed, " It is enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive : I will go down, and see him before I die." In addition to this event in providence, let us offer a few examples in matters of" doctrine. Would you contemplate the great evil qf sin, you must view it in its connections, ten dencies, and consequences. For a poor fi nite creature, whose life is but a vapor, to gratify a vicious inclination may appear a trifle : but when its tendencies and mischie vous consequences are taken into the ac count, it wears a different aspect. Jerobo am " said in his heart, if this people go up to sacrifice at Jerusalem, then shall the king dom return unto David." Hence he set up idolatry ; and hence the nation was corrupt ed more and more, till at length it was given up to utter destruction. Considering our selves as links in the great chain of moral government, every transgression is of, vast 206 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. importance, because it affects the whole system. If the government of God be once violated, an example is set, which, if follow ed, would ruin the universe. Farther : If we contemplate the death of Christ without any relation to system, we shall only see a suffering person at Jerusa lem, and feel that pity and disgust which is ordinarily excited by injustice and cruelty. But let us view it as connected with the moral government of God — as a glorious expedient to secure its honors — " a propitia tion" wherein " God declared his righteous ness for the remission of sins" — and we shall have a new set of feelings. While the apostles continued to view this event unconnectedly, their minds were contracted, and sorrow filled their hearts ; but, when their eyes were opened to see it in its con nections and consequences, their sorrow was turned into joy. Those very persons who, but a few weeks before, could not bear to think of their Lord's departure ; after they had witnessed his ascension to glory, "re turned to Jerusalem with greatjoy, and con tinued daily in the temple, praising and bles sing God." Once more : If we view the doctrine of election as unconnected with other things, it may appear to us to be a kind of fondness without reason or wisdom. A charge of ca price would, hereby, be brought against the Almighty ; and professors, like the carnal Jews, on accountof the distinguishing favors conferred on their nation, would be fostered in self-conceit. But, if it be considered in connection with the great system of relig ious truth, it will appear in a very different light. It will represent the Divine Being in his true character ; not as acting without design, and subjecting himself to endless disappointments ; but as accomplishing all his works in pursuance of an eternal pur pose. And as salvation, from first to last, is of mere grace, and every son and daugh ter of Adam is absolutely, at the divine dis cretion, it tends powerfully to impress this idea both upon saints and sinners. While it leads the former to acknowledge that by the grace of God they are what they are, it teaches the latter to relinquish their vain hopes, and to fall into the arms of sovereign mercy. As the righteousness of God's elect is not the ground of their election, so neither is their felicity its ultimate end. God right eously hides the things of the gospel from the wise and prudent, and reveals them un to babes, because " so it seemeth good in his sight: " iMends most to display the glo ry of his character, .and to promote the gen eral good of creation. These things, if pro perly cons'idered,iare of a humbling ten dency. If the Jews had considered that they were not chosen, or put in possession of the good land, " for their righteousness, or for the up rightness of their hearts : " and that, though it was an instance of great love to them, yet it was not ultimately for their sake, or to accomplish their happiness, but that God "might fulfil his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," in whom, and in whose seed, " all the nations of the earth were to be blessed ; and if they had considered the salvation of the world as the end of their national existence, and themselves as God's witnesses till the times of reformation, in stead of valuing themselves and despising others, they would have reckoned them selves " their servants for (Jehovah's) sake." In short, by considering principles in their various connections, far greater advances will be made in divine knowledge than by any other means. The discovery of one impor tant truth will lead on to a hundred more. Let a Christian but realize, for example, the glory of the divine character as the moral governor of the world ; and he will at once perceive the equity and goodness of the moral law, which requires us to love him with all the heart In this glass he will see his own depravity ; and, possessed of these views, the grace of the gospel will appear to him to be grace indeed. Every blessing it contains will be endearing, and the me dium through which all is conveyed super latively precious. A train of thought like this has frequently proved more interesting than the labors of those who, having discov ered a vein of silver or gold, dig deeply into the bowels of the enriching mine. Having considered a few of the means necessary for the attainment of a deep and intimate knowledge of truth, I shall II. Attempt to establish the impor tance OF SUCH A KNOWLEDGE. As the powers of created beings are limit ed, and no one can expect to understand every thing, it is the province of wisdom to select those kinds of knowledge, as the ob jects of our pursuit, which are most valuable and of the greatest utility. There are some depths, of which it is our honor and felicity to be ignorant ; and, even in things which are lawful, we may, in numberless instances, very well be excused, if not in wholly neg lecting, yet in possessing only ageneral ac quaintance with them. But divine truth re quires not only to be known, but well known: it is not only necessary that we have sentiments, and right sentiments, but that we enter deeply into them. Every thing pertaining to God is great, and requires all our powers. In whatever we indulge indif ference, there is no room for it here ; God requires not only all our " heart," but all our " mind and strength." The importance of a deep and intimate acquaintance with divine truth will more particularly appear from the following con siderations : — ON A DEEP AND INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH. 207 1. A neglect of God's word is represented as a heinous sin. But we shall not be able to escape this sin, if we content ourselves with a superficial acquaintance with truth. Revelation, in every stage, demands our serious attention ; but the revelation of eter nal life through Jesus Christ requires atten tion in the highest degree. This is that great salvation which we are charged not to neglect. The dignity of its author, its sub lime and interesting nature, with the accu mulated evidence which God has conde scended to afford us of its divine original, combine to require of us the most careful and cordial examination into its contents. A neglect of this is either total or partial : the former would denominate us unbelievers, and expose us to utter destruction ; the lat ter, though it may exist in sincere Chris tians, is nevertheless a sin, and a sin more than a little offensive to the God of all truth. To be contented with a superficial ac quaintance with divine things implies disre spect to Him who has revealed them. A letter from a distant friend, to whom we are cor dially attached, is viewed and reviewed, and every sentence of it carefully inspected, and on many occasions committed to memory. Why should not the word of God be produc tive ofthe same effects? Indeed it is ; for, in proportion as we love God, his word wili dwell richly in us. It will be our bosom companion, to which we shall have recourse on every occasion ; especially in seasons of leisure, when the mind, like a spring from which a pressure is removed, rises to its natural position. Hence the following lan guage : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might: and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." To be contented with a superficial ac quaintance with divine things implies also a want of affection to the things themselves. A will, or testament, in which we were deeply interested, would be procured with eager ness, and read with avidity ; and, if any diffi culty remained as to the meaning of a par ticular passage, we should have no rest till, by some means or other, we had obtained a solution of it. I need not apply this remark. Nothing is more evident than that whatever is uppermost in our affections will form the grand current of our thoughts. And, where our thoughts are directed to a subject with intenseness and perseverance, it will be come familiar to us' ; and, unless it be owing to the want of natural capacity or any other necessary means, we shall of course enter deeply into it. I have been much struck with the ardent affection which David discovered to the holy Scriptures, and every part of their sacred contents. The whole 119th Psalm is a con tinued encomium upon them. There we have such language as the following: "O how I love thy law ! My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. Thy statutes have been my song in the house of my pilgrimage. The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver." Now, all the Scriptures which were then extant amounted to little more than the writings of Moses. What additions have we since enjoyed! Besides the Book of Psalms, and prophecies which followed, we have the whole New Testa ment, " full of grace and truth," wherein the invisible God has, as it were, rendered him self visible. " Him whom no man had seen at any time, the only begotten Son, who dwelt in his bosom, hath declared." How is it that such a price should be in our hands to get wisdom, and yet that we should have so little heart for it ? 2. The word of God is represented as a means of sanctification. But no effect of this kind can be produced beyond the degree in which we imbibe it. One great object of our Lord's intercession with the Father, on our behalf, was, " that we might be sanctifi ed through the truth, even by his word which is truth." The gospel is continually held up, not only as a " doctrine according to godliness," but as having a powerful influ ence in producing it. "It teacheth us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." It " worketh effectu ally in those who believe." It was by the doctrine of the cross that the world became crucified to the apostle, and he unto the world. So universal and so manifest were the effects of divine truth upon the practice of the primitive Christians, that the sacred writers could appeal to fact, on their behalf, that they, and they only, were successful combatants against the world's temptations : " Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God ? " Now, in order that the gospel may be pro ductive of these effects, it is necessary that it be understood. Without this, how should it interest or affect the heart? We must believe tiie truth ere it will work effectually : .we must know it, or it will not make us free. That we may serve God acceptably, and with godly fear we must have grace; and grace is multiplied " through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." Knowledge and affection have a mutual influence on each other. That the love of truth will prompt us to labor after a more perfect acquaintance with its contents* has been already observed : and that such an ac quaintance will promote an increasing love 208 SERMONS AND SKETCffffS. of truth, in return, is equally evident. We cannot love an unknown gospel, any more than an unknown God. Affection is fed by knowledge, being thereby furnished with grounds, or reasons, for its operations. By the expansion ofthe mind the heart is sup plied with objects which fill it with delight. It is thus that it becomes enlarged, and that we feel ourselves sweetly induced to " run in the way of the divine commandments." How was it that the apostle became dead to the world, by the cross of Christ ? I sup pose, on much the same principle that 'the light ofthe stars is eclipsed by that ofthe sun ; or that a man, having drunk old wine, ceases to desire new, for he saith the old is better. It is by drinking deeply into religion that we become disaffected to carnal objects. 3. The word of God is represented as the great source of Christian enjoyment. But no effect of this kind can be produced, any farther than we imbibe the truth. The same way in which divine truth operates as a medium of sanctification, it becomes a source of enjoyment; namely, by interesting and affecting the heart. That which, by its su perior lustre, eclipses the pleasures of sense, and crucifies us to the world, at the same time kindles a joy in the heart which is un speakable and full of glory. The habitual joy which was possessed by the apostles and primitive Christians chiefly arose from a knowledge and belief of the gospel. It was " the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord" that induced the apostle to " count all things but loss." Those in whom *' the word of Christ dwelt richly, in all wis dom," were supposed to be so enlivened by it that it became natural to them to " teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in their hearts to the Lord." The object for wliich the apostle " bowed his knees to the Father of glory," in behalf of the Ephe sians, was, that, by means oi a comprehensive knowledge ofthe "breadth and length and depth and height of the " redeeming " love of Christ, they might be filled with all the fulness of God." The wells of salvation are deep ; and he that lacketh knowledge is as one that has nothing to draw with. The prejudice of many Christians against doctrinal preaching, as being, in their es teem, dry and uninteresting — and the prefer ence given that which is more descriptive of their feelings, and therefore termed ex perimental, — is worthy of attention. If the doctrine which we preach be not the una dulterated gospel of Christ, it will indeed be dry ; or if, instead of entering into the spirit of truth, w. are employed in a fruitless dis cussion of t'".;!3, or things on which the Scriptures fbrbe:ir lo decide, it must needs be uninteresting.- ars-l even disgusting to a holy mind. But if tv pure gospel of Jesus, well understood by the* preacher, and com municated from the fulness of his heart, do not interest us, there must be some lament able disorder in the state of our minds. If the manna that comes down from heaven be loathed, it is a sign that things are not with us as they ought to be. The doctrine of Moses, and surely much more that of Jesus, dropped as the rain, and distilled as the dew upon the tender herb." Christian experience (or what is ^generally understood by that term, the painful and pleasurable feelings of good men) will be found, if genuine, to arise from the influence of truth upon the mind. If we be strangers to the glory of God's moral character, and the great evil of sin, we shall be strangers to all the feelings of godly sorrow on ac count of it. And what ground is there for joy and peace, but in believing ? Take away the deity and atonement of Christ, and they are annihilated. To this may be added, Give up the doctrines of the resurrection and a future life, and what becomes of hope ? From these instances, out of many others, you will easily perceive that doctrinal and experimental preaching are not so remote from each other as some persons have im agined ; and that to extol the latter, at the expense of the former, is to act like him who wishes the fountain to be destroyed, because he prefers the stream. 4. It is a great object in the Christian life, according to our capacities and opportunities, to diffuse the light of the gospel around us. But we cannot communicate any thing be yond the degree in which we possess it. The communication of gospel truth is not confined to ministers. Every Christian moves in a sphere of some extent ; and is expected so to occupy it as to embrace every occasion which may offer to make known the way of eternal life to those about him. The primitive churches were schools of heavenly instruction, as the words of the text, to go no farther, plainly intimate ; and the apostle reproves some of their members for having made no greater proficiency. Though it would be in vain for every one to aspire at being a public teacher of Chris tianity, yet, as has been already observed, every one should be concerned that he may be able to " give a reason for the hope that is in him,?' and to teach the good and the right way to those with whom he is immedi ately connected. The duties of a parent and a master include in them the instruction of those who are committed to their care. Many opportunities arise in which Christians might communicate the knowledge of Christ to their neighbors ; those in a state of servi tude, to their fellow-servants ; and provided it were done on proper occasions, and ac cording to the apostolic rule, " in meekness and fear," persons in inferior stations might suggest a useful hint even to their superiors. When the family of Elimelech went to ON A DEEP AND INTIMATE KNOWLEDGE OF DIVINE TRUTH. 209 sojourn in Moab, they carried their religion with them; so recommending the God of Israel to those with whom they formed con nections that one of them was induced to leave her country, her kindred, and her gods, and to put her trust under the shadow of his wings. And even a " little maid " of the land of Israel, who had been carried captive into Syria, by speaking to her mistress, on a favorable opportunity, was instrumental in her master's being healeoVof his leprosy, and his being brought to acknowledge and adore the true God. Such cases are recorded to encourage us to communicate the good knowledge of God on all proper occasions : but, in order to do this, we must first pos sess it, and that in a greater degree than is sufficient barely to denominate us Christ ians. Perhaps one of the most favorable oppor tunities for Christians to suggest important truth to their neighbors and connections is when any of them are under a threatening affliction. To visit them at such a time would be kindly taken : even the worst of characters are commonly accessible when they apprehend eternity to be drawing nigh. You may then freely converse and pray with them ; and, if your circumstances will admit and theirs require it, a communication of your worldly substance would convince them of your good- will, give weight to your in structions, and correspond with the conduct of him who went about doing good to the bodies and souls of men. But such a prac tice requires an intimate acquaintance with divine truth. It is an important matter to converse with men who are just on the bor ders of an eternal world : it requires not only tenderness, faithfulness, and prudence ; but an ability to expose those false refuges, and detect those delusive hopes, to which, at such seasons, they are generally disposed to fly ; and to direct them to the " only name under heaven, given among men, whereby they must be saved." 5. In times of apostacy from the truth, Christians are exhorted to be steadfast. But a steadfast adherence to truth requires that we be rooted and grounded in it. The wis dom of God sees meet, in order to prove mankind, and especially his professing peo ple, to suffer other gospels, besides the true one, to obtain footing among us. I am aware that it is become customary, in these times, to make a jest of heresy, and to de ride, as illiberal, narrow-minded bigots, all those who consider any religious sentiments as endangering the salvation of men. But I hope we shall not, on this account, be deter red from such an attachment to truth as the Scriptures encourage. It is granted that the term heresy has been wretchedly abused, and that it becomes Christians to beware of applying it to every departure from even truth itself: yet there is such a thing in be- Vol. 2.— Sig. 27. ing. There were heresies in the apostles' times ; and it was predicted that there should, in after times, be persons who would bring in even " damnable heresies." Let no one be startled at the use of these terms : I did not coin them, and am not accountable for them ; but, seeing they occupy a place in the Holy Scriptures, I think myself con cerned to understand them. Whatever dif ficulty there may be in ascertaining their precise object, they, undoubtedly, teach us that men's souls may be destroyed by men tal, as well as by sensual lusts, even the souls of professing Christians ; for the words are not intended to describe open infidels, but such as should bear the Christian name, yea, and who should be teachers of Christianity. The circulation of doctrines pleasing to corrupt nature will prove men to be what they are. They are the fan in Christ's hand, by which he will thoroughly purge his floor. That light-minded professors of religion should be carried away with them is no more a matter of surprise than that chaff should be carried away with the wind : but how is it that those of whom we would hope better things are often shaken? If a minister, in almost any congregation, should relinquish truth, and fall imto the grossest errors, unless he had so conducted himself as to have gained little or no esteem among the people, he is seldom known to go off alone : sometimes half a congregation, and sometimes more, have been known to follow him, or, at least, to be greatly unhinged for a considerable time. If a writer start up, in almost any connection, let his performance be ever so weak or extravagant, yet, if he possess but a sufficient quantity of over bearing assurance, he will have his admirers ; and some serious people, too, will be in dan ger of being turned aside. How are these things to be accounted for ? I conceive the principal reason is that Christians content themselves with a superficial knowledge of divine things. Great numbers, from a dis like to controversy, will never take pains to understand the difference between one set of religious principles and another. They have no desire to enable themselves to dis tinguish between true and false reasonings. They are too apt to take it for granted that what they have imbibed is truth, and that nothing can be advanced, with the least col or of reason, for the contrary : when, there fore, an argument appears with a little plau sibility on its face, it has Only to obtain a reading, or a hearing, and their assent is gained. Brethren, let shame, if nothing else, provoke us, that we " henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro b v^ory wind of doctrine." Let us be conr^rned, not obsti nately to adhere to our j.^cent sentiments, be they what they ms./; but to know the mind of God in his word ; and, knowing it, let us steadfastly adhere to it, 210 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. The present age seems to be an age of trial. Not only is the gospel corrupted by those who bear the Christian name, but, of late, you well know, it has been openly assailed. The most direct and daring oppo sition has been made to the very name of Christianity. I am not going to alarm you with any idea that the church is in dan ger : no, my brethren ; the church of which we, I trust, are members, and of which Christ, and Christ alone, is the head, is not in danger : it is built upon a rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Neither are my apprehensions excited con cerning those who are true members of the church: these trying blasts, though they may affect them for a season, will ultimately cause them to take deeper root. Neverthe less, it becomes us to feel for the souls of men, especially for the rising generation; and to warn even good men that they be not unarmed in the evil day. The human heart has ever been averse from the gospel of Christ, but the turn or temper ofthe present age is peculiarly in fa vor of infidelity. In much the same manner as in former ages men were violently at tached to a persecuting superstition, they are now verging to the opposite extreme, and are in danger of throwing off all reli gion. Our temptations, and those which will attend our posterity after us, are likely, therefore, to be widely different from what they' have hitherto been. Hitherto nom inal Christianity has been no reproach; but reproach has attached itself to the other side. The case, in this respect, may soon be altered. Men grow bold in avowing their contempt of Christianity ; and many among the dissipated part of the youth are following their example. Now, if characters of this description should spring up in sufficient numbers, not only to keep each other in countenance, but to turn the tide of reproach against Christians, as a com pany of wrong-headed enthusiasts, we shall soon see which side the mass of mankind will take. Their characters being loose and profligate, they have long felt themselves condemned by the gospel ; and this is a mat ter that does not sit very easy upon them. Nothing has kept them from rejecting it before,hut the disgrace that would follow upon their becoming open infidels : whenev er, therefore, this disgrace shall be removed, we may expect them to go off in great com panies. The slightest observation of human nature must convince us that the greater part of mankind, even in religious matters, are governed by fashion : they go with " the course of this world." So great an. influ ence has the tide of public opinion upon them, that, even where it is not altogether agreea ble to their own views and inclinations, they are, nevertheless, frequently carried away by it-, if it be thus where public opinion and private inclination are at variance, it must, of course, be much more so in those cases wherein tbey are agreed. This will be like a union of the wind and tide : and the vessel which is carried along by such a joint influence can scarcely havp any thing left to impede its progress. The great influence which a certain popu lar pamphlet has had upon men's minds is not so much owing to the work itself (though it possesses all the. agreeableness to a de praved heart which wit and malignity can give it) as to the bias ofthe present genera tion in favor of the principles which it con tains. Of this the author himself seems to have been sufficiently aware, by the title which he has thought to give his perform ance, — The Age qf Reason. It is not unlikely that almost all our reli gious controversies will soon be reduced to one, upon which the great body of men will divide. Is Christianity true or false ? Is there a God ? Is there a heaven and a hell ? or is it all a fiction ? Agitated by these im portant questions, the greater part of the in habitants of Europe, and perhaps of America, including our own posterity, may rank ei ther as real Christians or as open infidels. . What shall we say to these things ? Ought they to depress us ? We ought, undoubted ly, to feel for the welfare of men's soulfc, and cannot but feel for those who are more inti mately connected with us; but upon any other principle I know not that they ought to have any such effect upon us. God is up on his throne : his church is upon a rock : whatever " hour of temptation may be com ing upon the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth, those who hold fast the word of his patience will be kept through it." — " All things work together for good to them that love God." With these views Christians may rejoice, and rejoice always. While we rejoice, however, we must re joice with trembling : and, while we confide in God, must be diffident of ourselves. Let us not presume on our own firmness, but "put on the whole armor of God, that we may withstand in the evil day." The first thing required in this divine accoutrement is, that " our loins be girt about with truth : " but truth will not prove as a girdle to our loins in the day of battle, except we be deep ly and intimately acquainted with it. O ye sons and daughters of carelessness, who are called Christians, but have no root in yourselves, what aspect do these things wear towards you ? The time seems draw ing nigh that will prove you to be what you are ! Hitherto there has been " an outer- court " for you, and you have worshipped in it. You have long had a form of godliness, but have been without the power. You have ranked with the friends of truth, but have never received it in love, that you might be saved. You have kept up the profession THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF REWARDS. 211 of something that has been called Christian ity, without feeling yourselves under any necessity to proceed farther : but now your outer-court will, probably, be taken away, and you will feel yourselves impelled, as it were, either to come in, and be Christians in reality, or to go out, and take your portion t with the unbelieving and the abominable. SERMON VI. [Preached at the Circus, Edinburgh, Oct. 13, 1799.] THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF REWARDS. " Be not deceived, God is not mocked ; for what soever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption : but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall ofthe Spirit reap life everlasting." — Gal. vi. 7, 8. Common subjects, my brethren, are the most important, and need to be most incul cated. We are apt to think we have heard enough of them, and can expect but little, if any, farther improvement from them. But such imaginations are founded in mistake. Though, generally speaking, we assent to the important truth which is here suggested, yet there are but few of us who feel its force, or properly act under its influence. The solemn warning here given is not un necessary. Perhaps there is nothing to which depraved creatures are more addicted, though nothing be more dangerous, than self-deception. It is from this predilection in favor of something that shall prophecy good concerning them that the truth is disrelish ed, and those doctrines and systems of reli gion which flatter their pride and cherish their security are so eagerly imbibed. The human heart loves to be soothed. The pleasing sounds peace, peace, though there be no peace, will be gratefully received. But let us not be our own enemies. To im pose upon, ourselves is all that we can do : "God is not mocked." When all is said and done, " whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Some men venture to hope that there is no hereafter, no harvest to follow : or that, though they persist in sowing to the flesh, yet tbey shall not of the flesh reap corrup tion : but this is a most forlorn hope. Un happy men ! Every thing around you proves that there is a God ; and something within you, in spite of all your efforts to stifle its remonstrances, tells you that you are ac countable to him, and must give an account before him. To you the words that I have read are particularly addressed: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Others, who admit a future state, yet hope to escape the just reward of their evil deeds, from an idea which they entertain of the general mercy of God. It is true, God is merciful ; but his mercy is not connivance. He is merciful; but it is only through a me diator : while, therefore, you neglect his sal vation, there is no mercy for you. You con fess not your iniquity upon the head of the substitute ; therefore it will be found upon your own head. Your religion is no better than that of Cain, who brought an offering without a sacrifice : the Lord will not accept it. He is merciful ; but it is to men of a broken and a contrite spirit. Of others, he says, "He that made them will not have mercy upon them ; and he that formed them will show them no' favor." O ye formal ists ! ye heathens under a Christian name ! the passage that I have read looks hard at you : " Be not deceived ; God is not mock ed : for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Others have derived a hope from tbe per formance of certain superstitious rites, or from the bestowment of a portion of their wealth on some religious object. Much of this kind of delusion has been practised in Popish countries. Men who have lived a life of injustice, or debauchery, or both, have hoped to balance accounts with the Almighty by performing a journey to the tomb of some departed saint, by building a church, or by endowing an hospital. It were well if this kind of self-deception were confined to Popish countries : but, alas ! it is natural to unrenewed minds, of all nations and reli gions, to substitute ceremony in the place of judgment, mercy, and the love of God ; and to hope to escape the divine displeasure by the works of then own hands. Are there any of this description here? We shall have a collection, this evening, for the print ing ofthe New Testament in the Bengalee language. If I only wished for your money, I might say, Give, whatever be your motive ! No ; I am not so concerned for the salvation of the heathen as to be regardless of that of my own countrymen ! I ask not a penny from such a motive : and, moreover, I solemnly warn you that, if you give all your substance in this way, it will avail you nothing. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for what soever a, man soweth, that shall he also Finally: Others flatter themselves that their iniquity will not find them out, seeing " Christ has died." And true it is with re gard to all who believe in him, and who " sow to the spirit," that they will not be dealt with according to their deserts, but ac cording to the merits of him in whom they have believed. Of this we shall have occa sion to speak more particularly hereafter. At present, let it suffice tg observe that un believers, who continue to "sow to. the flesh," have no into, -.st in his mercy. There might as well have been no Saviour, nay. 212 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. better, so far as their future happiness is concerned, than a Saviour not beheved in, loved, nor obeyed. Iniquity, unlamented, will inevitably be our ruin. It is as true as though Christ had never died that " whatso ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." It is a very serious and impressive truth which is here held up, that all which is DONE IN THIS LIFE IS PREPARATORY TO. AN OTHER J OR THAT THE SORROWS AND JOYS OF A FUTURE WORLD BEAR A RELATION TO WHAT IS WROUGHT IN THIS, SIMILAR TO THAT WHICH THE HARVEST BEARS TO THE seed sown. This is the subject to which I wish to call your serious attention, and sure ly I may presume that such an attention will not be withheld. 1. Let us begin on the subject of sowing to the flesh, and observe the relation which the future punishment of the wicked will bear to it. The fruit which arises from sowing to the flesh is termed " corruption." It does not consist in the destruction of being, but of well-being ; in the blasting of peace, joy, and hope ; and consequently in the enduring of tribulation, anguish, and everlasting de spair. This dreadful harvest will all originate in the sin which has been committed in the present life. Even here we see enough to convince us of its destructive tendency. We see intemperance followed with disease, idleness with rags, pride with scorn, and in difference to evangelical truth with the ie- liefofalie. We see nations desolated by wars, neighborhoods and families rendered miserable by contentions, and the minds of individuals sinking under the various loads of guilt, remorse, and despair. Great is the misery of man upon him. Yet this is but the "blade" proceeding from this deadly seed ; or at most the " ear : " the " full corn ,in the ear " is reserved for another state. The scriptural representations of the wrath to come convey the idea, not of tor ture inflicted by mere power, nor of punish ment without respect to desert, but of bit ter " weepings and wailings," in reflecting ,on the deeds done in the body. The pun ishment of the adulterer is described as a, " bedj" — a bed of devouring fire ; the de ceiver will ftnd himself deceived ; he that loved cursing, it shall come upon him, as oil into his bones ; and they who continued to say unto God, " Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways," God will sa-; unto them, " Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity : I never knew you." ruiure misery will greatly consist in re jection. Abraham said to the rich man, " Son, remember ! " If the memory could be obliterated, there is ieason to think hell would bo cxtingwished : but it must re main. There are four things in particular per taining to sin which will continue to be the objects of reflection, and which therefore must prove the seeds' of future misery. 1 . The character ofthe Being against whom it has been committed. If God had been wanting in justice or goodness ; if his law had been, what some have profanely said of it, — a taskmaster, requiring brick without straw ; if compliance with his will had been inconsistent with real happiness ; if his in vitations had been insincere ; or if his pro mises had in any instances been broken ; if his threatenings had borne no proportion to the evil of the offence ; or if in condemning the sinner he had availed himself of being stronger than he ; his wrath might possibly have been endured. We can bear an un just punishment better than a just one. The displeasure of a malignant being, however it may injure us, does not bereave us of in ward peace : it is the frown oi goodness that is intolerable. To have incurred the dis pleasure of a God whose nature is love, must furnish reflections which cannot be endured. 2. The folly of it. There are few things in the present state which sting the mind with keener sensations than the recollection that, we have ruined ourselves by our own foolishness. If we see a man eager in pursuing trifles, while he neglects things ofthe greatest im portance ; anxious to shun imaginary evils, and heedlessly plunging himself into real ones ; all attention to present indulgences, but regardless ofhis future interests ; averse from what is his duty, and busying himself in things for which he is utterly incompe tent, and which, therefore, he should commit to another, in fine, studying to displease his best friend, and to gratify his worst enemy ; we should without hesitation pronounce him a foolish man, and foretel his ruin. Yet all this is the constant practice of every uncon verted sinner ; and, if he persist in his folly, the recollection of it in a future state must overwhelm him with " shame and everlasting contempt." 3. The aggravating circumstances which attend, it. The same actions committed in different circumstances possess very differ ent degrees of guilt. The heathens in.pur- suing their immoralities are without excuse ; but those who are guilty of the same things amidst the blaze of gospel light are much more so. The profligate conduct of those young people whose parents have set them the example is heinous : but what is it in comparison of that which is against exam ple, and in spite of all the tears, prayers, and remonstrances of their godly relations ? And what is that rejection of the gospel in the most ignorant part of the community in comparison of that which is accompanied with much hearing, reading, and reflection ? O my hearers! A large - proportion of THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF REWARDS. 213 tlie sin committed among us is of this de scription: it is against light, and against love. Wisdom crieth in our streets, and un derstanding putteth forth her voice. The melting invitations and solemn warnings of God are frequently sounded in our ears. If we should perish, therefore, ours will not be the lot of common sinners ; our reflections will be similar to those of Chorazin and Bethsaida, whose inhabitants are represent ed as more guilty than those of Sodom and Gomorrah. To reject the gospel, whether it be by a preference of gross indulgences, a fondness for refined speculations, or an at tachment to our own righteousness, is to in cur "the wrath of the Lamb," which is held up to us as the most dreadful of all wrath- — as that from which unbelievers would be glad to be hid, though it were by being crushed beneath falling rocks, or buried in oblivion at the bottom of the mountains. 4. That in sin which will furnish matter for still further reflection will be Us effects on others connected with us. It is a very af fecting consideration that we are so linked together in society that we almost necessa rily communicate our dispositions one to an other. We draw, and are drawn, in both good and evil. If we go to heaven, we are commonly instrumental in drawing some others along with us ; and it is the same if we go to hell. If a sinner, when he has destroyed his own soul, could say, I have in jured myself only, his reflections would be very different from what they will be. The influence of an evil word or action, in a way of example, may surpass all calcu lation. It may occupy the attention of the sinner only for the moment; but, being com municated to another, it may take root in him and bring forth fruit a hundred-fold. He alsp may communicate it to his connections, and they to theirs ; and thus it may go on to in crease from generation to generation. In this world no competent idea can be formed of these effects ; but they will be manifest in the next, and must needs prove a source of bitter reflection. What sensations must arise in the minds of those whose lives have been spent in practising the abominable arts of seduction ; whose words, looks, and gestures, like a pes tilence that walketh in darkness, conveyed the poison of their hearts, and spread wide- wasting ruin among the unguarded youth. There they will be "cast into a bed, and those who have committed adultery with them?" See there too the ungodly parent, com passed about and loaded with execrations by his ungodly offspring, whom he has led on by his foul example, till both have fallen into perdition ! Nor is this all : there also will be seen the " blind leader of the blind, both fallen into ..the ditch ; " the deluded preacher with his deluded hearers ; each of whom during life, were employed in deceiving the other. The mask is now stripped off. Now it appears to what issue all his soothing flatteries led ; and what was his real character at the time, notwithstanding the decency of his outward demeanor. Now it is manifest that he who led not the sheep of Christ into the true pas ture " entered- not in by tlie door himself." Ah ! now the blood of souls crieth for ven geance ! Methinks I see the profligate part of his auditory, who died before him, sur prised at his approach. That we, say they, who have lived in pleasure, and in wanton ness, should come to this place, is no won der ; but . ..." art thou also become like one of us?" I proceed II. To offer some remarks on sowing to ' the Spirit ; or to point out the relation that subsists between what is done for Christ in this life and the joys of the life to come. Before I attempt to establish this part of the subject, it will be proper to form a clear and scriptural idea of it. The relation between sowing to the Spirit and everlasting life is as real as that be tween sowing to the flesh and everlasting death : it does not follow, however, that it is in all respects the same. The one is a re lation of due desert ; but the other is not so. The Scriptures, while they represent death as the proper " wages " of sin, have decided that eternal life is "the gift of God, " through Jesus Christ our Lord." The leading principles necessary to a clear understanding of this subject maybe stated under the following particulars : — 1. Nothing performed by a creature, how ever pure, can properly merit everlasting life. To merit at the hand of God would be to lay him under an obligation ; and this would be the same thing as becoming profitable to him : but we are taught, when we have done all, to acknowledge that we are " un profitable servants, having done no more than was our duty to do." 2. God may freely lay himself under an obligation to reward the obedience of a holy creature with everlasting life ; and his so do ing may be fit and worthy of him. This fit ness, however, arises not from the propor tion between the service and the reward, but from such a conduct being adapted to express to creation in general the love which the Creator bears to righteousness, and to give encouragement to the performance of it. Such was the promise made to our first parents; which, had tho\ continued obe dient, would have entitled tiic,.-;i to the re ward. 3. Man having siriu^d, .7«. ..n. '¦ood is forfeited; and death becoma, the inly re ward qf which he is worthy. " All have sin ned, and come short of the glory of God." 214 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. The law is become "weak through the flesh," like a just judge, who is incapable of acquitting a criminal, or of awarding life to a character who deserves to die. 4. God having designs of mercy, notwith standing, towards rebellious creatures, sent forth his Son to obey and suffer in their place ; resolving to bestow eternal life on all that be lieve in him, as the reward of his undertak ing. So well pleased was the Father with the obedience and sacrifice of Christ, that he not only set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, and made him head over all principalities and powers, and every name that is named ; but gave him the full desire of his heart, the salvation of his people. Hence all spiritual blessings are said to be given us " in him," " through him," or " for his sake." " By means of his death '' we receive the promise of "eternal inherit ance ;" and our salvation is considered as " the travail of his soul," which it was pro mised him he should " see, and be satisfied." Mercy shown to a sinner in this way is, in effect, saying, Not for your sakes do I this, be it known unto you ! (be ashamed and con founded, O apostate creature !) but to do honor to the interposition of my Son. Him will I hear ! 5. God not only accepts of all who believe in his Son, for his sake, but their services also become acceptable and reivardable, through the same medium. If our works, while un believers, had any thing truly good in them, which they have not, still it were impossible that they should be acceptable to God. " It does not consist with the honor of the ma jesty of the King of heaven and earth," as a great writer expresses it, "to accept of any thing from a condemned malefactor, condemned by the justice of his own holy law, till that condemnation be removed."* But, being " accepted in the beloved," our works are accepted likewise. " The Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering." — " He worketh in us that which is well plea sing in his sight, through Jesus Christ"— " Ye are a holy priesthood, to offer up spirit ual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." Being "accepted in the beloved," our services become impregnated, as it were, with his worthiness ; our petitions are offer ed with the " much incense " of his inter cession ; and both are treated, in a sort, as though they were his. God in blessing and rewarding, Abraham's posterity, is represent ed as blessing and rewarding him. "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for be cause thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, that in bles sing I will bless thee — and thy seed shall pos sess the gate of his enemies." — Accord ingly, tiiough it be said of Caleb, " because * President Edwards's " Sermons on Justification." he followed the Lord fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went, and his seed shall possess it ; yet it was no less a fulfilment of the promise to Abraham than of that to him. In like manner, in approv ing the services of believers, God approves of the obedience and sacrifice of his Son, of which they are the fruits ; and, in reward ing them, continues to reward him, or to ex press his well-pleasedness in his mediation. This, brethren, I take to be, for substance, the Christian doctrine of rewards. I am persuaded it excludes boasting, and at the same time affords the greatest possible en couragement to be " constant, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord." On this ground I proceed to establish the position with which I set out, That the joys of futurity will bear a relation to what is done for Christ in the present life similar to that between the seed and the harvest. The same peace and joy in God which primarily arises from the mediatioirof Christ may arise, in a secondary sense, from the fruits of it in our own souls. We know by experience, as well as by Scripture testimo ny, that it is thus in tie present world : hence that " great peace" which they enjoy who love the divine law ; and that " satisfac tion " which a good man is said to possess " from himself: " and what good reason can be given why that which has been a source of peace and satisfaction here should not be the same hereafter ? If future rewards in terfered with the grace of God, or the mer it of Christ, present ones must do the same : for a difference in place or condition makes no difference as to the nature of things. Besides this, the Scriptures expressly teach us that the heavenly inheritance is "treasure laid up on earth," the "crown " of the faithful, and the " reward " of those who have been hated, persecuted, and falsely ac cused for their Redeemer's sake. The same apostle who teaches that salvation is of " grace," and " not of works," and that we are " accepted in the beloved," assures us that he " labored, — that he might be accept ed of the Lord : " for, he adds, " We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad." The ad dresses to the seven Asiatic churches abound with the same sentiments. Eternal life, under various forms of expression, is there promised as the reward of those who should overcome. This doctrine will receive farther confir mation if we consider wherein the nature of heavenly felicity consists. There can be no doubt but that an essential part of it will f consist in the divine approbation ; and this, j not merely on account of what we shall then be, but of what we have been and THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OE REWARDS. 215 done in the present world. So far as we have sown to the Spirit, so far we shall reap the approbation of God ; and this will be a harvest that will infinitely exceed all our toils. We are assured that for those who fear the Lord, and are concerned for his name in times of general declension, " a book of remembrance is written ; " and, from the account given us by our Lord, it appears, that its contents will be published in the presence of an assembled world. "The King will say unto those at his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father." — " I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in : naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me." Another essential part of the heavenly felicity will consist in " ascribing glory to God and the Lamb." It will be a source of joy unspeakable to perceive the abundance of glory which will redound to the best of beings from all the works of his hands. But, if1 we rejoice that God is glorified, we can not but rejoice in the recollection that we have been instrumental in glorifying him. It belongs to the nature of love to rejoice in an opportunity of expressing itself; and, when those opportunities have occurred, to rejoice in the recollection of them. We are told that when David was anointed kino- in Hebron " there was joy in Israel." Undoubtedly it must have afforded pleas ure to all who had believed that God had appointed him to that office, and had felt interested for him during his affliction, to see him crowned by the unanimous con sent of the tribes, whoever were the instru ments of raising him to the throne : but it must give peculiar joy to those worthies who, at an early period, had cast in their lot with him, and fought by his side through all his difficulties. And, as they would feel a spe cial interest in his exaltation, so special hon ors were conferred on them under his gov ernment. It is, I apprehend, in allusion to this piece of sacred story, that our Lord speaks in the manner he does to his apos tles : " Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations, and I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath ap pointed unto me : that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The satisfaction of the apostle Paul, in having " fought the good fight, finished his course, and. kept the faith," did not consist in a pharisaical self complacency ; but in a consciousness of having, in some good mea sure, lived to his glory who died for him, and rose again ; and the same consciousness that rendered him happy, while in the pros pect of his crown, must render him, still more so in the possession of it. It has been noticed that one great source of future misery to the sinner will be the effects which his sin has produced upon oth ers ; and much the same may be observed concerning the righteous. We already perceive the tendency which a holy, upright, and benevolent conduct has to work convic tion in the minds of men : but in the world! to come the seed will have actually pro duced its fruits ; and, God being thereby glorified, the hearts of those who have con tributed towards it must be filled with grateful satisfaction. We can form no competent ideas, at pre sent, of the effects of good, any more than of evil. What we do of either is merely the kindling of a fire ; how far it may burn we cannot tell, and, generally speaking, our minds are but little occupied about it. Who can calculate the effects of a modest testi mony borne to truth ; of an importunate prayer for its success ; of a disinterested act of self-denial ; of a willing contribution ; of a seasonable reproof ; of a wholesome council ; of even a sigh of pity, or a tear of sympathy ? Each or any of these exercises may be the means, in the Lord's hand, of producing that in the bosoms of individuals which may be communicated to their con nections, and from them to theirs, to the end of time. The gospel dispensation also is accom panied with peculiar encouragements for such exercises : it is that period in which the Messiah receives of " the travail of his soul ; " and, consequently, that in which his servants may warrantabiy hope for the greatest success. Under his reign, we have the promise of the Spirit being "poured upon us from on high," and of various other blessings resulting from it : particularly, that "the wilderness shall become a fruitful field ; " that it shall be so fertile that what has been before reckoned a " fruitful field "" shall, in comparison with it, " be counted for a forest ; " that " the work of righteousness- shall be peace, and the effect of righteous ness quietness, and assurance forever;" and, finally, that the labors of the Lord's servants, during these happy times, shall be like that of the husbandman who " sows beside all waters," or who cultivates a rich and well-watered soil. It is also during the Messiah's reign that we are warranted to expect great things to arise from small beginnings. " There shall be a handful of corn in the earth, upon the top of the moun tains, the fruit whereof shall shake like Lebanon." The influence of these effects on our pre sent and future happiness is clearly intimated by our Lord, where he represents the proph ets as " sowing " and the apostles as " reap ing," or " entering into their labors?' — " He that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal : that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice 216 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. together." The reapers in Christ's harvest receive wages in the enjoyments which ac company their toils in the present life : they " gather fruit unto life eternal " in the ef fects of them contributing to enhance the blessedness of heaven: and this blessedness is not confined to those who have been the most successful in their day, but extends to others, who have prepared the way before them. According to this representation, Isaiah and Jeremiah, who sowed in tears, will reap in joy; "rejoicing together" with Peter and Paul and John, and all the New Testament ministers ; viewing, in their suc cesses, the happy fruits of their own disre garded labors. In this view, the labors of Paul and his companions must be considered as extending, in their effects, to the very end of time. All the true religion that has blessed the differ ent parts ofthe earth, within the last seven teen hundred years, has arisen from their la bors ; and all the souls which have ascended to glory, or shall yet ascend, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, shall bless the Lord of the harvest for send ing them. When we see these heroic wor thies sowing the seed of life, reproached in one city, imprisoned in another, and stoned in another, we think it discouraging work. All that they could accomplish was but lit tle, in comparison of the multitudes of men who inhabited the earth : and that little must be at great expense. It was a handful of corn cast upon the top of a mountain — a most unpromising soil. They, indeed, saw that the hand of the Lord was with them ; but, probably, they had no conception of the extent to which the .effects of their labors would reach. If Paul and Silas rejoiced and sang praises in the prison of Philippi, what would have been their joy could they have foreseen that myriads of myriads in this European quarter of the world would receive the testimony which they should leave be hind them, and follow them to glory ? But all these effects are manifest to them in the heavenly world. There they see the harvest which had arisen from the handful of corn, waving before the wind, like the trees of the vast and conspicuous forest of Mount Libanus. Every hour, if I may so speak, souls are arriving at those happy re gions, who hail them as their spiritual fa thers, and who shall be their crown of re joicing in the day ofthe Lord. The joy of the apostles will not prevent later laborers from possessing the immedi ate fruit of their toils, any more than that of the prophets will prevent them from posses sing theirs: "both they that sow and they that reap will rejoice together." Nor is this encouraging truth to be con fined to the apostles, or to men of eminence. He who received but two talents had the ap probation of his Lord, equally with him who had received five. The reward, as promised in the gospel, will not be so much according to the talents we possess as the use we make of them ; nor so much in respect of our suc cess as of our fidelity. Many a servant of Christ has spent the greater part of his life with but little apparent success. His charge, it may be, was small at the beginning, andhe has not been able to enlarge it. He has wit nessed but few appearances of a divine change in his congregation ; and some of those who, for a time, afforded him hope, have turned back. Under such circumstan ces, his heart has often sunk within him ; oft en has he sighed in secret, and thought within himself I am a vessel in which the Lord taketh no pleasure ! But if, under all this, he be faithful to his trust, and preserve a single eye to the glory of God, his labors will not be lost. The- seed which he has sown may spring up after his decease ; or he may have prepared the way for another more successful ; and, when all shall meet in a future state, he that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together. Neither is this subject to be confined to ministers. As in Christ's harvest there is. employment for every description of laborers, so there is reason to believe that every thing done for him is productive of some good ef fect ; and will, in some way, glorify his name, which cannot but yield a joyful satisfaction to those who love him. How grateful are the recollections of a godly parent, when, upon his dying bed, he is able to say to his children, — I have taught you the good and the right way ; the things which you have heard and seen in me do ; and the God of peace shall be with you. — And, though he may not in this world witness those effects which would have rejoiced his heart, yet his labor will not be lost. He may, at the last, be able to present them, saying, " Here am I, and the children which the Lord hath given me." Or, if some should not be gathered, yet his judgment is with the Lord, and his work with his God. What a satisfaction must be enjoyed by those who have willingly contributed, in any form, to so glorious a cause as that of Christ — a cause which he founded by the shedding of his blood — a cause to which all the tribes of martyrs cheerfully sacrificed their lives — a cause, in fine, by the prevalence of which the name of God is glorified, and the salva tion of our fellow-sinners accomplished ! I close with a few reflections. 1. We learn, from this subject, hoxo to es timate the importance of our present conduct. We are fearfully made, but still more fear fully situated. Every tiling we do is a seed of futurity, and is daily ripening into heaven or hell. It is here we receive the stamp or impression for the whole of our existence. Is it possible that, with a proper sense of this truth, we should trifle with time, or GOD'S APPROBATION NECESSARY TO SUCCESS. 217 kvish its precious moments in idleness or folly? 2. By this also we may estimate the folly of hypocrisy. All the labor of a man to ap pear what he is not is making preparation for his own confusion. What should we think of a husbandman who sows cockle in stead of barley ; and who having, by early rising and performing his labor in the dark, deceived his neighbors, should congratulate himself on his ingenuity ? Foolish man ! we should say, of what account is it to his neighbor, in comparison of what it is to him self? It will soon appear what he has been doing ! 3. Let us never forget that, whatever en couragements are afforded us, they are alto gether of grace, and through a Mediator. There is no room for pharisaical pride ; and, if such a spirit be at the root of our labors, it will prove " as rottenness, and the blossom shall go up as dust" Do any inquire, what they must do, that they may work the works of God ? The answer is, " This is the work of God, that ye beheve in him whom he hath sent" This is the first and chief concern, without wliich all others will be of no account. While you either openly reject Christianity, or imbibe another gospel, which is not the gospel of Christ, the curse of the Almighty is upon your head, and all your works are no other than " sowing to the flesh." Come off with out farther delay ; come off from that fatal ground. Renounce thy self-dependences, and submit to the righteousness of God ; then every thing will be in its proper place. The curse shall no longer be upon thee, nor upon anything which thou doest The Lord will rejoice over thee to do thee good. Thou mayest " eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart ; for God now accepteth thy works." SERMON VII. [Preached at the Annual Meeting of the Bedford Union, May 6, 1801.] god's approbation of our labors neces sary TO THE HOPE OF SUCCESS. " If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us." — Numb. xiv. 8. You recollect, my brethren, that when the children of Israel were going up to possess the land which the Lord their God had promised them, they were directed to send spies before them, who should search out the land, and report whether it was good or bad, and whether the inhabitants were strong or weak, few or many. The greater part of these spies proved unfaithful. They brought an evil report of the good land ; depreciat ing its value, magnifying the difficulties of obtaining it, and thus spreading despondency Vol. 2.— Sig. 28. over the hearts of the people. The effect was that, instead of persevering in the un dertaking, they were for returning to Egypt There were two out of the number, how ever, who were of another sphit, and whose report was different from that of their com panions. " The land," said they, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding ly good land, which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land ; for they are bread for us : their defence is de parted from them ; fear them not." These worthies stood alone in then testimony, and the people had well nigh stoned them for it; but the Lord honored them : for, of all the generations which came out of Egypt, they only inherited the promise. Considering the object of the present meeting, you will probably suppose that my thoughts have been employed in drawing a parallel between the undertaking of Israel to subdue the Canaanites and take possession of then land in the name of Jehovah, and our undertakings to subdue to the obedience of Christ the hearts of his enemies, both at home and abroad, and in this manner take possession of the world for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It is true they have : and, in discoursing upon the subject, I shall first attempt to justify the application by tracing the analogy between the two cases, and then consider the proviso on which we are given to expect success. I. I shall attempt to justify the application of the subject, by tracing the analogy be tween THE UNDERTAKING OF ISRAEL AND THE EFFORTS OF CHRISTIANS TO DISSEM INATE the Gospel. It is allowed that the imagination, unac companied with judgment, wul often find re semblances which the sacred writers would have disavowed, as beneath them ; and far be it from me to imitate so puerile and un warrantable a method of treating the oracles of God : but it appears to me that the gift of the holy land to Abraham and his posterity was really designed to prefigure the gift of all nations to the Messiah for his inherit ance, and that thus it is represented in the Scriptures. It is said, in the seventy-sec ond Psalm, " He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends ofthe earth." This promise, I suppose, had immediate reference to the kingdom of Solo mon, and signified that, during his reign, the whole extent of country included in the ori ginal promise to Abraham should be actually possessed : but, in a more remote sense, it refers to a greater son of David than Solo mon. This is manifest from several pas sages in the psalm, which are inappUcable to any one but the Messiah. It is his Idng dom only which shall " continue as long as the sun and the moon endure, throughout all generations:" Him shall "all nations 216 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. serve," and to him shall " all kings bow down ; men shall be blessed in him ; all na tions shall call him blessed." Now, consi dering the promise before-mentioned in this light, it signifies that, like as Israel, during the reign of Solomon, inherited the utmost extent of country promised to them, so the church, during the reign of the Messiah, should possess the utmost extent of country promised to him, which is the whole world, or " the uttermost parts ofthe earth." In the joyful prospect of these times, the Psalm concludes: "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things: and blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth be FILLED WITH HIS GLORY. AMEN, AND AMEN ! " The taking possession of Canaan, and the setting up of the true worship of God in it, not only prefigured the kingdom ofthe Mes siah, but were preparatory to it — the founda tion of the gospel structure. The darnal Jews, at the coming of our Saviour, it is true, did not enter into these views ; and even his own disciples were much in the dark ; but the ancient Israelites understood and felt them. " God be merciful unto us," said they, " and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us " — Wherefore ? That they might be a holy and happy people ? Doubt less this was a part of their desire ; but not the whole. They prayed to be blessed, that they might be blessings to the world ; that " God's way might be known," through them, " upon earth, and his saving health among all nations; that "the people might praise him," yea, that " all the people might praise him, and all the ends of the earth fear be fore him." Canaan was a country situated in the centre of the world, and therefore adapted to be the spot on which Jehovah should set up his standard for the subjugation of the world to himself. Hence the little leaven should diffuse its influence through the earth, till the whole were leavened. Such appears to have been the design of God in bestowing it upon the posterity of Abraham, and such are the effects which have been actually, though gradually, pro duced. " Out of Zion " has gone forth " the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru salem." There are several points of dissimilarity, I allow, between the undertaking of the Is raelites and that of Christians to disseminate the gospel ; but, whatever differences there" are, they are altogether in our favor. They went forth armed with the temporal sword ; we with the sword of the Spirit : their com mission was to destroy men's lives ; ours to save their souls : cities, and fields, and vine yards, and olive-yards, were their reward ; our hope and joy, and crown, are sinners rescued from destruction, standing in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming. Finally : The people whom they encountered were appointed by the Lord of the universe to utter destruction, as the just demerit of their crimes ; and, though some submitted and were spared, yet the invaders were not given to hope, or directed to wait, for a change of this kind in the body ofthe people ; but were commanded to drive them out, and take their place. It is not so with us : we live under a dispensation of mercy : go where we will, we have glad tidings of great joy to communicate. They, having no hopes of the people, might have said, We seek not you, but yours : but our hopes ter minate on the people ; we therefore can say, " We seek not yours, but you." There are several important points, how ever, in which the undertakings are similar. The following have occurred to me as the most remarkable : 1. The ultimate object oi the one was to overturn the kingdom of Satan, and to es tablish the knowledge and worship of the true God: and the same is true ofthe other. The world, at that time, not a nation exempt ed, was under the dominion of Satan, envel oped in idolatry, and the abominations which always accompany it ; so that, if God had not selected a people for himself, and, after having taught them to fear and obey him, giving them a possession among the nations, he had had no people, nor name, nor wor ship, upon the face of the earth. And what is the state of mankind at present ? Not altogether so deplorable : but, whatever dif ference there may be, it is owing to that divine revelation which God communicated to Israel, and, by them, to the gentile nations. In heathen countries the god of this world reigns uncontrolled. The children of men, from generation to generation, are led cap tive by him at his will. Much the same may be said of those countries which are overspread by Mahomedism. Nor is it ma terially otherwise where the corruptions of popery maintain their sway. And even in our own country, where the Scriptures are read in the native language, there are but few who pay any serious attention to them. Is it not evident, to an impartial spectator, that the great body of the people are practi cal atheists, living without hope, and without God in the world ? The number of worship pers, including even the laxest and most in attentive, in all our cities, and I fear in most of our towns and villages, is few, when com pared with those who attend upon no worship at all. In the earlier times ofthe Reforma tion, whatever defects might exist with re spect to church-government and discipline, the doctrine of salvation by the cross of Christ was much more generally preached and believed than at present. Since the great principles of evangelical truth (alike clearly stated in the Articles of the Estab lished Church and in the catechisms and con- god's APPROBATION necessary TO SUCCESS. 219 fessions of Dissenters) have been relinquish ed, and a species of heathen morality sub stituted in their place, the nation has been almost heathenized. If the Lord had not left us a seed of faithful men, some in the establishment and some out of it, whose ob ject it has been to propagate tiie common salvation, and to inculcate the holy practice which becomes it, surely we had, ere now, been as Sodom. Or if, like a certain great nation near home, we had revoked the laws in favor of religious liberty, and massacred, silenced, or banished the faithful witnesses of Christ, surely, like them, we had been lost in the gulf of infidelity. 2. In invading the country ofthe Canaan ites, Israel went forth by divine authority ; and the same authority attends our invasion of the empire of sin and Satan. Nothing short of an express commandment could have justified a people in destroying or sub jugating another people, whatever might be their moral character: but the Creator of the world had an indisputable right to dis pose of any part of it, and to punish trans gressors in what manner he pleased. And, though the gospel is far from being injurious to the temporal interests of mankind, yet the opposition to it has been as fierce and as de cided as if it had been aimed to rob them of every thing necessary to their happiness. The servants of Christ have been taught to expect opposition, and all the evils which a world lying in wickedness, and hating to have their repose disturbed, can inflict upon them. And though, by the kind hand of God, whose influence governs all human counsels, they have had their seasons of peace and rest, yet the enmity has been much the same. The truly zealous and faithful laborers in Christ's harvest have gen erally, even in the most favorable periods, had to encounter a large portion of reproach and misrepresentation. And what but the authority of heaven should induce us to expose ourselves to such inconveniences ? We have our feelings as well as other men ; and it would doubtless be agreeable to us to pos sess the good opinion of all about us. We have no ill will to those who preach even what we account " another gospel and not the gospel of Christ," whether in or out of the establishment ; and, if we had, we have so much good will to ourselves, that, if con sistently with the love of Christ and the souls of men we could hold our peace, we should probably be inclined to do so, and employ ourselves in something less offensive, and more adapted to promote our temporal in terests. But the command of Christ is not to be trifled with. He to whom we must shortly give account of the use we have made of every talent committed to us has said, "Go, teach all nations — preach THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE ! " If we have any authority from Christ to preach at all (which I shall not here inquire,) we are, doubtless, warranted and obliged, by this commission, to embrace any opening, in, any part of the earth, within our reach, for the imparting of the word of life to them that are without it. The primitive ministers went evei-y where preaching the gospel, and gave no less offence to its enemies, even among the established teachers of religion, than we give ; and were by them reproached as ig norant men no less than we are. Yet they persevered in their work, and endured the consequences. If we be ministers of Jesus Christ, we ought to follow their example. It is true, there are some things of an extra ordinary kind in which we cannot follow them ; but the work of spreading the gospel is ordinary, and not confined to a single age. Had not Christ's commission been binding to the latest posterity, it would not have been added, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end ofthe world ! " The Israelites went forth, not only by di vine authority, but under a divine promise ; and the same is true of Christian ministers. God spoke unto Abraham, saying, " I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting posses sion; and I will be their God." This, in substance, was often repeated to the pa triarchs ; so often that the country was thence denominated the land of promise. This it was that supported the faith of Caleb and Joshua. It was not in a dependence on their numbers, or their prowess, that they said, " We are well able ; " but on the arm of Him who had spoken in his holiness. Nor do those who labor in the Lord's ser vice, in the present times, whether at home or abroad (for I consider the work as one,) go forth with less encouragement. The Father has promised his Son that " he shall see of the travail ofhis soul, and shall be sat isfied ; " that he will " divide him a portion with the great," and that " he shall divide the spoil with the strong." Travail, in a figurative sense, commonly signifies griev ous affliction issuing in a great and impor tant good. Such was the suffering of our Lord, and such must be the effect arising out of it. A portion with the great may refer to the territories ofthe great ones of this world ; such as the Alexanders and the CaBSars, who, in their day, grasped a large extent of empire : but the kingdom of Christ shall be greater than the greatest of them. The division ofthe spoil implies a victory, and de notes, in this place, that Christ shall triumph over all the false religion and irreligion in the world. And, as the Father's word is given to his Son, so the word of the Son is given unto us. He that said, " Go, teach all nations," added, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." These de clarations afford equalsground for confidence 220 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. with those which supported a Caleb and a Joshua. 4. The promise to Israel was gradually fulfilled ; and the same is observable of that which is made to Christ and his people. It was almost five hundred years, from the time that God entered into covenant with Abraham, before his posterity were permit ted to set foot upon the land, as possessors of it ; and nearly five hundred years more elapsed before their possession was com pleted. And, in establishing the kingdom of his Son, God has proceeded in a similar manner. The accession of the Gentiles was promised to Noah, under the form of Japheth being persuaded io dwell in the tents of Shem : but more than two thousand years roll on before any thing very considerable is ac complished. At length, the Messiah comes ; and, like Joshua by Canaan, takes possession of the heathen world. At first, it seems to have bowed before his word ; and, as we should have thought, promised fair to be sub dued in a little time. But every new genera tion that was born, being corrupt from their birth, furnished a body of new recruits to Sa tan's army: and as the Canaanites, after the first onset in the times of Joshua, gathered strength, and struggled successfully against that generation of Israelites which succeeded him and forsook the God of their fathers ; so, as the church degenerated, the world de spised it. Its doctrine, worship, and spirit, being corrupted, from being a formidable enemy, the greater part of it becomes a con venient ally, and is employed in subduing the other part, who hold fast the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Thus the war is lengthened out : and now, after a lapse of eighteen hundred years, we see not all things yet put under him. On the con trary, when reviewing our labors, it often seems to us that " we have wrought no deliv erance in the earth, neither have the inhab itants of the world fallen." But let us not de spair : we see Jesus upon his throne ; and as the Canaanites were ultimately driven out, and the kingdom of Israel extended from sea to sea, so assuredly it shall be with the kingdom of Christ. The great disposer of events has, for wise ends, so ordered it that the progress of things shall be gradual. He designs by this, among other things, to try the faith and pa tience of sincere people, and to manifest the hypocrisy of others. Hereby scope is af forded both for faith and unbelief. If, like Caleb and Joshua, we be for going forward, we shall want encouragement : but if, like the others, we be weary of waiting and our hearts turn back again, we shall not want a handle, or plea, by which to excuse our selves. God loves that both persons and things should appear to be what they are. 5. The promise was not accomplished at last, but by means qf ardent, deadly, and persevering struggles ; and such must be the efforts of the church of Christ, ere she will gain the victory over the spiritual wicked ness with which she has to contend. The Canaanites would not give up any thing but at the point ofthe sword. Hence the faint hearted, the indolent, and the weak in faith, were for compromising matters with them. The same spirit which magnified difficulties at a distance, which spoke of cities as " great, and walled up to heaven," and of " the sons of Anak being there," was for stopping short when they had gained footing in the land, and for " making leagues " with the residue ofthe people. Thus it has long been in the Christian church : the gospel having obtained a footing in the western nations, we have acted as though we were willing that Satan should enjoy the other parts without moles tation. Every heathen and Mahomedan country has seemed to be a city walled up to heaven, and the inhabitants terrible to us as the sons of Anak. And, even in our na tive countiy, an evangelical ministry having obtained a kind of establishment in some places, we have long acted as if we thought the rest were to be given up by consent, and left to perish without any means being used for their salvation ! If God means to save any of them, it seems, he must bring them under the gospel, or the gospel, in some miraculous manner, to them : whereas the command of the Saviour is that we go, and preach it to every creature. All that Israel gained was by dint of sword. It was at the expense of many lives, yea, many thousands of lives, that they at last came to the full possession of the land, and that the promises of God were fulfilled towards them. The same may be said of the establishment of Christ's kingdom. It was by ardent and persevering struggles that the gospel was introduced into the various nations, cities, and towns where it now is ; and, in many instances, at the expense of life. Thousands of lives were sacrificed to this great object in the times of the apostles, and, were I to say millions in succeeding ages, I should probably be within the compass of truth. But we have be'en so long inured to act un der the shadow of civil protection, and with out any serious inconvenience to our tem poral interests, that we are startled at diffi culties which the ancient Christians would have met with fortitude. They put their lives in their hands, "standing in jeopardy every hour : " and though we cannot be suf ficiently thankful, both to God and the legis lature of our country, for the protection we enJoy> yet we must not make this the condi tion of our activity for Christ. " He that ob- serveth the wind shall not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap." If ever God prosper us, in any great degree, it will be in the exercise of that spirit by which the martyrs obtained a good report. GOD'S APPROBATION NECESSARY TO SUCCESS. 221 The above particulars may suffice to show the analogy between the two cases : the ob ject aimed at, the authority acted upon, the promise confided in, its gradual accomplish ment, and the means by which this accom plishment is effected, are the same in both : I hope, therefore, the application of the one to the other may be considered as justified. II. Let us consider the proviso on WHICH WE ARE WARRANTED TO HOPE FOR success. " If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into the land, and give it us. The term delight does not express that di vine love to our souls which is the source of our salvation, but a complacency in our char acter and labors. Thus it is to be under stood in the speech of David, when fleeing from the conspiracy of Absalom : " If he say, I have no delight in thee, here I am : let him do with me as seemeth him good ! " He could not mean by this, If God have no love to my soul, I submit to be forever sep arated from him ; for such submission is not required of any who live under a dispensa tion of mercy : but, if he approve not of me as the head ofhis people, here I am ; let him take my life away as it pleaseth him. The amount is that, if we would hope to succeed in God's work, our character and undertak ings must be such as he approves. 1. The object which we pursue must be simply the cause of God, unmixed with worldly policy, or party interest. It has been insinuated that, under the color of dis seminating evangelical doctrine, we seek to gain over the common people, and so to ob tain, it should seem, an ascendency in gov ernment.* If it be so, we may be assured *To this effect were the insinuations of Professor Robison, concerning the efforts of Mr. Robert Hal dane and his friends, in a proposed mission to Hin- doostan. The modest and dignified manner in which that gentleman repelled the accusation, and even forced his accuser to retract it, may be seen in his late excellent pamphlet on that subject. The bishop of Rochester, in a late address to his clergy, after representing the Socinians as aiming at this object, adds as follows : " Still the operations of the enemy are going on — still going on by stratagem — the strat agem still a pretence of reformation ; but the reform ation the very reverse of what was before attempted. Instead of divesting religion of its mysteries, and reducing it to a mere philosophy in speculation and to a mere morality in practice, the plan is now to affect great zeal for orthodoxy ; to make great pre tensions to an extraordinary measure of the Holy Spirit's influence ; to alienate the minds of the people from the established clergy, by representing them as sordid worldlings, without any concern about the souls of men, indifferent to the religion which they ought to teach and to which the laity are attached, ana destitute of the Spirit of God. In many parts of the kingdom new conventicles have been opened, in great number; and congregations formed of one knows not what denomination." If the religion of Jesus must be reproached, it is best that it should be done in some such manner as this. Had the bishop of Rochester preserved any regard to candor or moderation, he might have been believed ; as it is, it may be presumed there can be but little danger of it. None, except those who are the Lord will take no delight in us. The work, in this case, must be altogether of man, and will come to nothing ; yea, and to nothing let it come. The desire and prayer of my heart is that all such undertakings, if such there be, may perish ! The kingdom of Christ will never prosper in those hands which make it only the secondary object of their pursuit, even though the first were law ful ; and much less when it is made to sub serve that which is itself sinful. But, if the divine glory be the object of our labors, the work is of God ; God himself will delight in us, and every attempt to oppose it will be found to be fighting against God. There is another way in which, I apprehend, we are in much more danger of erring : I mean, by an improper attachment to party as deeply prejudiced as himself, can, for a moment, imagine that the late attempts for disseminating evan gelical doctrine are the operations of a political scheme, carried on by infidels in disguise. A very small acquaintance with men and things must con vince any one that the persons concerned in this work are not tlie same as those who affected to reform the church by reducing the mysteries of the gospel to " a mere philosophy in speculation and to a mere morality in practice." Men of that description were never possessed of zeal enough for such kind of work. We might as soon expect to see bishop Horsley himself turn village-preacher as them. In repelling such language as the above, it is dim- cult to keep clear of the acrimony by which it is dictated. Suffice it to say, I am conscious that no such plan or design ever occupied my mind for a moment : nor am I acquainted with any person of whom I have ground to suspect any such thing. I know persons who arc, as I believe, sinfully preju diced against government, and of whose spirit and conversation Iseldom fail to express my dislike : but I know not an individual whom I have any reason lo think engages in village-preaching with so mean and base an end as that which is suggested by this prelate. The picture which is drawn of the clergy is, doubt less, unpleasant; and, if applied to the serious part of them, far from just: whence it was taken is best known to the writer. I am inclined to think, how ever, that though he has represented it as the lan guage of village-preachers he would be unable to prove such charges against them. There may be violent individuals engaged in village-preaching, who may take pleasure in exposing the immoralities of the clergy: and, if they have half the bitterness on the one side which this writer discovers on the other, they are unworthy of being so employed. Whatever f rounds there may be for such charges against,! num- ers of the clergy, the body of those who have been employed in preaching or reading printed sermons in the villages have never thought of preferring them, but have confined their attention to the preaching of Jesus Christ. I have no scruple, however, in saying, if reducing religion to " a mere philosophy in speculation, and a mere morality in practice,'! be subverting it, it is subverted by great numbers in the church of England, as well as out of it. And, where this is the case, it is the bounden duty of the friends of evangelical truth to labor to introduce it, reg.;rdiess ofthe wrath of its adversaries. The suppression of " conventicles," I doubt not, would be very agreeable to some men : but I have too much confidence in the good sense of the legisla ture to suppose that it will suffer its counsels to be swayed by a few violent churchmen. 222 SEBMONS AND SKETCHES. interest. I am far from thinking it a sin to be of a party. Every good man ought to rank with that denomination which, in his judg ment, approaches nearest to the mind of Christ : but this is very different from hav ing our labors directed to the promotion of a party, as such. If so, we shall see little or no excellence in whatever is done by others, and feel little or no pleasure in the success which God is pleased to give them : but, while this is our spirit, whatever be our zeal, we are serving ourselves rather than Christ, and may be certain the Lord will not de light in us to do us good. The only spirit in which the Lord takes pleasure is that which induces us to labor to promote his cause, and to rejoice in the prosperity of all denominations so far so they promote it. 2. The doctrine we teach must be that of Jesus Christ and him crucified. The person •and work of Christ have ever been the corner-stone of the christian fabric: take away his divinity and atonement, and all will go to ruins. This is tlie doctrine taught by the apostles, and which God, in all ages, has delighted to honor. It would be found, I believe, on inquiry, that in those times wherein this doctrine has been most cordial ly embraced the church has been most pros perous, and that almost every declension has been accompanied by a neglect of it. This was the doctrine by which the Reforma tion was effected ; and to what is the Re formation come in those communities where it is rejected ? This was the leading theme of the Puritans and Nonconformists ; and what are their descendants become who have renounced it ? Many of them rank with infidels, and many who retain the form of Christianity deny the power thereof. If it be alleged that the church of Rome retains this doctrine amidst its great aposta cy, and some Protestant churches do the same, which, notwithstanding, have exceed ingly degenerated ; I answer, it is one thing for a community to retain doctrines in its decrees and articles, and another for minis ters to preach them with faith and love in their ordinary labors. Divine truth requires to be written, not merely with ink and paper, but by the Spirit of God, upon the fleshly tables of the heart. If the church of Rome had retained the doctrine of Christ's divini ty to any purpose, its members would have worshipped him, and not have turned aside to the adoration of saints and relics ; and, if his atoning blood and only mediation between God and man had been properly regarded, we had never heard of mediators, pardons, and penances of another kind. Christ crucified is the central point, in which all the lines of evangelical truth meet and are united. There is not a doctrine in the Scriptures but what bears an important relation to it. Would we understand the glory of the divine character and govern ment ? It is seen in perfection in the face of Jesus Christ. Would we learn the evil of sin, and our perishing condition as sin ners ? Each is manifested in his sufferings. All the blessings of grace and glory are given us in him, and for his sake. Practical religion finds its most powerful motives in his dying love. That doctrine of which Christ is not the sum and substance is not the gospel ; and that morality which has no relation to him, and which is not enforced on evangelical principles, is not Christian, but heathen. I do not njean to be the apologist for that fastidious disposition apparent in some hearers, who require that every sermon shall have Christ for its immediate theme, and denominate every thing else legal preaching. His sacred name ought not to be unnaturally forced into our discourses, nor the Holy Scriptures turned into allegory for the sake of introducing it : but, in order to preach Christ, there is no need of this. If all scripture doctrines and duties bear a relation to him, we have only to keep that relation in view, and to urge practical reli gion upon those principles. If I leave out Christ in a sermon, and allege that the sub ject did not admit of his being introduced, I fear it will only prove that my thoughts have not been cast in an evangelical mould, I might as well say there is a village which has no road to the metropolis, as that there is a. scripture doctrine or duty which has no relation to the person and work of Christ. Neither can I justly allege that such a way of preaching would cramp the powers of my soul, and confine me to four or five points in divinity : we may give the utmost scope to our minds, and yet, like the apostle, deter mine to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified. There is breadth, and length, and depth, and height sufficient in his love to occupy our powers, even though they were ten thousand times larger than they are. In all our labors, brethren, in the church or in the world, in our native country or among the heathen, be this our principal theme. In this case, and not otherwise, the Lord will delight in us, will bring us into the land, and give it us for a possession. 3. The motive of our undertakings must be pure. God cannot possibly take pleasure in the labors of the sordid or the vain. In deed, I do not perceive how, in the greater part of our labors, we can suspect ourselves, or be suspected, of acting from a regard to our worldly advantage. In attempting to carry the gospel among the heathen we cer tainly can have no such motive, as every part of the work requires the sacrifice of interest, and that without the most distant prospect of its being restored. And, even in carrying what we believe to be evangelical doctrine into the villages of our native cpun- GOD'S APPROBATION NECESSARY TO SUCCESS. 223 try, it is commonly at the expense of both ease and interest. In those labors, however, that are within the vicinity of our respective congregations, in which success may contri bute to our temporal advantage, it becomes us to watch over our own hearts. If such a motive should lie concealed among the springs of action, it may procure a blast up on our undertakings. The Lord will have no delight in such preaching ; and without him we can do nothing. Or, if avarice have no place in us, yet, should we be stimulated by the desire of applause, it will be equally offensive to a holy God. The idea of being a missionary, abroad or at home, may feed the vanity of some minds ; and, indeed, there is no man that is proof against such temptations. We have all reason to watch and pray. There is a " woe " hanging over the " idol shepherd ; the sword will be upon his arm, and upon his right eye ! " I have no suspicion of any one, but merely wish every one to suspect himself. If we secret ly wish to appear great among our brethren, to magnify ourselves or our party, or to fig ure away in the religious world, as persons of extraordinary zeal, all is naked to the eyes of him with whom we have to do, and, depend upon it, he will have no delight in us. But, if our eye be single, our whole body shall be full of light. Those that hon or God shall be honored of him ; and, how ever he may prove them for a time, they shall find, in the end, that their labor has not been in vain in the Lord. 4. We must go forth in all our labors as little children, sensible of our own insufficien cy, and depending only upon God. The first city which Israel besieged, on their passing over Jordan, was won without striking a single blow, but merely walking round it, and sounding their trumpets, according to the command of the Lord. This was doubt less meant to teach them a lesson, at the outset of the war, not to lean upon their strength, or numbers, or valor; but upon the arm of Jehovah. This lesson was ordi narily repeated throughout their genera tions, whenever led to battle by godly men : instead of filling them with ideas of their own sufficiency (which is the universal prac tice of worldly men who have had the com mand of armies,) they taught them to dis trust themselves and to rely upon their God. This is the spirit by which true religion is distinguished ; und in this spirit we must go forth to subdue the hearts of sinners, or the Lord will have no delight in us, but leave us to fight our battles alone. Thus that emi nent man of God, from whose pulpit I now address you, represents the four captains, and their ten thousands, after besieging Mansoul without effect, as presenting their petition to Shaddai for assistance. The more self-annihilation we possess the more likely we are to be useful to the souls of men. God has "respect unto the lowly; but the proud he knoweth afar off." 5. We must persevere in the work of the Lord to the end. When Israel came out of Egypt, I suppose, they all intended to go for ward, and to possess the land: but, when difficulties arose, the great body of them fainted, and were for going back. When an undertaking is new and plausible, many come forward to engage in it : but a time comes when the first flush of spirits sub sides, when great and seemingly insur mountable difficulties present themselves, and when success appears to be much fur ther off than at the beginning : this is the time for the trial of faith. A few such sea sons will commonly thin the ranks of Christ ian professors; but blessed are they that endure temptation. Those who "followed the Lord fully " were brought into the land. It is possible that our motives may be pure at the onset, and yet, through the strength of temptation, we may be turned aside. The Lord speaks well of the church of Ephesus, as having, for a time, " borne, and had pa tience, and for his name's sake had labored, and not fainted:" yet it follows, "Never theless, I have somewhat against thee, be cause thou hast left thy first love." This is an example for us to shun. Another follows, namely, the church at Thyatira, for our im itation : " I know thy works, and thy charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works, and the last to be more than the first." 6. We must exercise a lively faith in the power and promise of God. I reserve this remark to the last, because it contains the spirit of the passage, and is a matter of the highest importance. It was owing to unbe- , lief that the body of the people drew back, '*. and to faith that Joshua and Caleb were for '.- pressing forward. Nor is there any thing of greater importance to the Christian min istry, especially to those engaged in extra ordinary labors. He that endeavors to ex tend the limits of Christ's kingdom resem bles a navigator who engages in a voyage of discovery : he is exposed to ills and dan gers which cannot be foreseen nor provided against. Carrying a doctrine to which all his hearers have a natural and deep-rooted aversion, the difficulties he has to encounter are as islands of ice near the poles, or as rocks in unknown seas ; but faith in the power and promise of God is sufficient for all his wants. Confidence is agreeable to a generous character, while suspicion thrusts a sword into his heart. The former is honorable to him, affording him opportunity of carrying his kind intentions into execution : the lat ter dishonors him, and lays him under a sort of incapacity of doing good to the party. A generous character will feel impelled by a principle of honor to keep pace with the ex- 224 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. pectations of those who confide in his good ness and veracity. Nor is this confined to the concerns of men. There is something greatly resembling it in the dealings of God with us. The Lord has magnified his word more than all his name ; and, as faith corresponds with the word, he has bestowed greater honor upon this grace than upon any other. Hence we find such language as the following : — " O how great is thy good ness which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men. — Be lieve in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established: believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.— The Lord taketh pleasure in them that hope in his mercy." Under the New Testament still more is said of this im portant principle. In almost all the miracles of our Saviour, he made a point of answer ing to the faith of the parties, or of those that brought them; and, where this was wanting, he is represented as under a kind of incapacity to help them. "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. — According to your faith be it unto you. — Thy faith hath saved thee ; go in peace. — He could there do no mighty works — because of their unbelief." Nor was this principle honored merely in mira culous cases : our Saviour taught his disci ples to cherish high expectations from the divine mercy and faithfulness in their ordi nary approaches to a throne of grace. " Whatsoever things ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye shall receive them, and ye shall have them." In recommending a strong and lively faith, I do not mean to encourage that species of confidence which has no foundation in the divine promise. This is not faith but fancy, or the mere workings of the imagination. Those who, many ages since, engaged in what were called the holy wars, desirous of driving out the Turks from Jerusalem, were not wanting in confidence ; but the promise of God was not the ground on which it rest ed. It was not faith, therefore, but pre sumption. It was not thus with Israel in going up against the Canaanites ; nor is it thus with those who labor to extend the spiritual kingdom of Christ. The promise of God is here fully engaged. " He hath sworn by himself, the word is gone out of his mouth in righteousness, and.shall not re turn." Many passages might be produced in proof that, before the end of time, the kingdom of the Messiah shall be universal. I shall select a few : — " The stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. — I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him — And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose king dom is an everlasting kingdom, and all do minions shall serve and obey him. — Where unto shall I liken the kingdom of God ? It is like a little leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened. — -The seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices ' in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." These are the true sayings of God. Surely they afford ground for a strong and lively faith in every effort to disseminate the gospel. God has not only dealt largely in prom ises, but has given us abundance of exam ples of their fulfilment. A large part of Scripture prophecy has already been con verted into history. " Unto us a child is ac tually born; unto us a son is given; the government is upon his shoulder ; his name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." But the same authority which fore told this has added, "Ofthe increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." There is also a peculiar pledge given for its fulfilment: "The zeal of the Lord of Hosts," it is declared, " shall perform this ! " Zeal is a fervid affection of the mind, that prompts us to pursue an object with earnest ness and perseverance, and to encounter every difficulty that may stand in the way of its accomplishment. From such a sphit, even in men, much is to be expected. Yet what is the zeal of creatures ? Always fee ble, often misguided, disproportionate, or de clining. But conceive of it as possessing the heart of the omnipotent God. What an overwhelming thought ! The establishment of Christ's kingdom , deeply interests him : his thoughts are upon it ; all his plans in clude it; and all that is going on in the world, from generation to generation, is made to subserve it. We draw some encourage ment from the zeal of creatures in God's cause. When his servants take pleasure in the stones of Zion, and favor the dust thereof, we consider it a hopeful symptom that the Lord is about to arise and have mer cy upon it. The importunity and liberality of Christians, the diligence of ministers, and the cries of the souls from under the altar for the fall of Babylon, may, severally, have their influence : but the zeal of the Lord of Hosts surpasses all. Here is solid rock for faith to rest upon. Unbelievers may deride every attempt to turn sinners from the errors of their way ; and even believers, while viewing things through sensible mediums, may discover in surmountable difficulties. — The people will GOD'S APPROBATION NECESSARY TO SUCCESS. 225 not believe us nor hearken to our voice: the prejudices of men are almost insupera ble in our native country : and if we go abroad they are worse : these casts, this vo luptuousness, this savage ferocity, this treach ery of character How can we hope to overcome such obstacles as these ?— But all this is only a repetition of the objections of the unbelieving Israelites : " The people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are great, and walled up to heaven: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there ! " If we can believe "all things are possible to him that believeth." Past instances of mercy furnished the church with matter of prayer: "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm ofthe Lord ! Awake as in the ancient days, in the gene rations of old ! Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?" And why should we not apply the past operations of grace to a similar purpose ? That arm is not grown weary which subdued Jewish malignity in the days of Pentecost, and overturned Heathen idolatry by the doctrine of the cross. I think I may add, there is reason to hope that the time when these things shall be ac complished cannot be far off. I have no de sire to deal in uncertain conjectures. The prophecies were not designed to make us prophets, nor to gratify an idle curiosity. They contain enough, however, to strength en our faith, and invigorate our zeal. If we carefully examine the Scriptures, though we may not be able to fix times with any certainty, yet we may obtain satisfaction that the day is not very distant when the king dom of Christ shall be universal. The New- testament writers, in their times, made use of language which strongly indicates that time itself was far advanced. The coming of the Lord.draweth nigh. — Behold the judge standeth at the door. — The end of all things is at hand. — He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly ! " These, and such like passages, I should think, cannot mean less than that in those days they had passed the meridian of time, and entered, as it were, into the afternoon of the world. And now, after a lapse of eighteen hundred years, what else can be expected but that things are fast approaching to their final is sue ? But it is not merely on general grounds that the conclusion rests. The prophet Dan iel, in his seventh chapter, describes tlie suc cessive establishment and overthrow of four great governments, which should each in its day, rule the greater part of the world. He also speaks of the last of these governments as issuing in ten branches, and describes another, which he calls " a little horn," as rising from among them. The dominion of this last government was to continue " until a time, times, and the dividing of time." After this "the judgment should set, and Vol. 2.— Sig. 29. they should take away its dominion, to con sume and to destroy it unto the end." And then it immediately follows, " And the king dom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people ofthe saints ofthe Most High." There are many things in the pro phecies which are hard to be understood: but this seems to be very clear. There can be no doubt of the four great governments being the Babylonian, the Persian, the Gre cian, and the Roman. Now these have suc cessively appeared upon the stage, and are gone into perdition. The division of the Roman empire into a number of smallerjgov- ernments, such* as continue in Europe to this day, and, among them, exercise a dominion over the rest of the world equal to what was formerly exercised by the Romans, is doubt less signified by the " ten horns " of the fourth beast. Nor can we be at a loss to know what that government is which is sig nified by a "little horn," which rose up from among the ten horns, which speaketh "great words against the Most High, and weareth out the saints ofthe Most High." We have seen its rise, felt its reign, and in part re joiced in its overthrow. The period alluded to, as the term of its existence, is manifestly the same as that which John, in the Revela tion, calls "forty and two months, or one thousand two hundred and sixty days," du ring which " the holy city should be trodden under foot, the witnesses prophecy in sack cloth," and the true church have her abode " in the wilderness," in a manner resembling the state of things in Jerusalem, in the times of Antiochus. More than a thousand of these prophetic days or years, must have already elapsed. The period itself must be drawing towards a close : and, when this is closed, there is an end to every species of Satanic government. That which follows is given to the Son of Man, and to the people ofthe saints ofthe Most High. The amount is, We are under the last form of the reign of darkness, and that form is fast dissolving. Surely, the day of the church's redemption draweth nigh! And, while these views .afford a joyful prospect to the church of Christ, there is nothing in them which can furnish any just ground of alarm to civil government. There is no reason to imagine that the church of Christ will ever become a golitical commu nity, exercising dominion over others ; but that Christian principles will pervade and rule the governments of the earth. How ever God may overrule the tumultuous revo lutions of these times, to the making way for his kingdom, his kingdom itself will be entirely different : the wind, the earthquake, and the fire may go before it, but the thing itself will be as a still small .voice. It will not come with observation, or'outward show. The banners that will be displayed will not 226 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. be those of sedition and tumult, but of truth and peace. It will be a renovation in the hearts of men ; a revolution in both rulers and subjects, from the slavery of sin to the love of both God and man : and this, as it must produce the establishment of peace and good order, cannot be an object of dread to any who are well disposed. It is not impossible that we may live to see things of which at present we have scarcely any conception: but, whether we do or not, Je sus lives and his kingdom must increase. And what if, while we are scaling the walls ofthe enemy, we should a few of us lose our lives ? We must die in some way ; and can we desire to die in a better cause ? Probably many of the Israelites who went up to possess the land with Joshua perished in the attempt ; yet this was no objection to a perseverance in the cause. In carrying the glad tidings of eternal life to Jews and Gentiles, Stephen and James, with many others, fell sacrifices at an early period : yet no one was discouraged on this account, but rather stimulated to follow their ex ample. I close with a few words by way of reflec tion. It becomes us to inquire, each one seriously for himself, whether the little suc cess which we have already experienced may not be owing to this cause — There may be something -about us on account of which God does not delight in us. I mean no reflection upon any ; but let each one ex amine himself. — What is the secret spring of my zeal? Is the doctrine I preach truly evangelical ? Let me not take this matter for granted ; but examine whether it quad rates with the Scriptures. If half my time be taken up in beating off the rough edges of certain passages, to make them square with my principles, I am not in the gospel scheme. If one part of Scripture requires to be passed over, lest I should appear incon sistent, I am not sound in the faith, in God's account, but have imbibed some false sys tem instead of the gospel ; and, while this is the case, I have no reason to expect that he will delight in me, so as to make me a blessing. Finally : Whether we possess the land or not, it will be possessed. Though some of the Israelites perished in the wilderness, that did not overturn the counsels of God : the next generation entered into his rest. And though there should be so much selfish ness, false doctrine, unbelief, or inactivity, about us, as that God should take no delight in us, and refuse to give us the land, yet our children may possess it. God's word will 'be accomplished. Deliverance will arise to the church of God, whether we do ourselves the honor of serving it or not. But why do I thus speak ? Surely it is the desire of many in this country, and of many in this assembly, to be active, and so to act as to be approved of God. SERMON VIII. [To the Baptist Church at Cannon Street, Bir mingham, at the ordination of Rev. Thomas Morgan to the Pastoral Office. June 23, 1802.] THE OBEDIENCE OF CHURCHES TO THEIR PASTORS EXPLAINED AND ENFORCED. " Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves : for they watch for your souls as they that must give an account : that they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is un profitable for you." — Heb. xiii. 17. It is not usual, I believe, for ministers in their ordinary labors to dwell upon the obli gations of the people of their charge towards them. They feel, probably, that on such a subject they might be suspected of partiality to themselves ; and if such a suspicion were indulged, however just and proper their ad monitions might be, they would be but of little use, and might operate to then disad vantage. Nor is it a subject that a humble and holy man would ordinarily choose, even though there were no danger of miscon struction: he had rather inspire in his peo ple the love of Christ and of one another, hoping that, if this prevailed, it would con strain them to whatever was proper towards himself. It does not follow, however, that this species of Christian duty ought never to be insisted on : the glory of God, the success ofthe church, and the spiritual advantage of individuals will be found to be involved in it. No man could more strenuously renounce an undue assumption of power than the apostle Paul : in many instances, he forbore to insist upon the authority that Christ had given him ; yet, when addressing the church es in the behalf of others, he uniformly in sists upon the treatment which private mem bers owe to their pastors, as well as upon other relative duties. To this I may add, if there be any one time in which an exhorta tion on this subject is peculiarly seasonable, it is when the relation between pastor and people is publicly solemnized. I shall, there fore, proceed to explain and enforce the ex hortation which I have read to you. I. Let us endeavor to ascertain where in CONSISTS THAT OBEDIENCE AND SUBMIS SION WHICH IS REQUIRED OF A PEOPLE TO WARDS their pastor. The very terms rule, obey, and submit, may be grating in the ears of some ; and true it is that there have been great abuses of these things : a great deal of priestly domination has been exer cised in the name of Christ. Yet there must be rule in the church of Christ as well as in other societies. Without this, it would not be a body, growing up unto him in all things which is the head, even Christ ; but a number of scattered bones. Or, if all aspired to rule and guidance, the question of the apostle would here be applicable — "If the whole were an eye, where were the OBEDIENCE OF CHURCHES TO THEIR PASTORS. 227 hearing ? But now hath God set the mem bers, every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." Christian ministers are called overseers, as having the oversight of the flock, and the principal direction of its concerns. The church of Christ, however, is not sub ject to a despotic government Ministers are forbidden to " lord it over God's heri tage." The power that was given them, and all other officers, ordinary or extraordi nary, was for edification, and not for destruc tion. There are three things which are necessary in order that the authority of a pastor be legitimate and unobjectionable : namely, that he be freely chosen by the church ; that the standard by which he rules be not bis own will, but the will of Christ ; and that the things which he urges on others be equally binding on himself. First: It is necessary that your pastor be freely chosen by you to his sacred office. If he had imposed upon you by any human authority, against or without your own con sent, I should not be able to prove, from the Scriptures, that you were bound to obey, or submit to him. Should it be alleged that pastors are represented as the "gifts of God," and such as the "Holy Spirit hath made overseers ; " I should answer, True ; but the Holy Spirit performs this work, not immediately, but mediately, by inclining the hearts of his people to choose them. No one, indeed, pretends that it is done imme diately. Human choice is, in all cases, con cerned ; and the only question is, whether it be by that of the people, or of some one, or more, that shall choose on their behalf. The primitive churches elected their own officers. The apostles ordained them ; but it was by the suffrage of the people. The power of election was with them ; and with them it continued during the purest ages of the church. If the primitive pastors had been chosen by the apostles, it had also been their province to have rejected or silenced them, as occasion should require ; but, when false teachers arose among the Corinthians and the Galatians, we do not find these churches, not even the purest part of them, applying to the apostle, but the apostle to them, for their removal. The false teachers ofthe primitive times ingratiated themselves with the people, and despised the apostles : an incontestable proof this, to every one ac quainted with human nature, where the powers of election and rejection lay. If your pastor, I say again, had been imposed upon you by any human authority, against or without your own consent, I should not be able to prove, from the Scriptures, that you were bound to obey, or submit to him. But it is not so. You have heard him and known him; and from an observation of his spirit and conduct, and an experience of the advantages ofhis ministry, you have chosen him to watch over you in the Lord. Secondly : The rule to which you are re quired to yield obedience and subjection is not his will, but the will of Christ. Pastors are that to a church which the executive powers, or magistrates, of a free country are to the state — -the organs of the law. Sub mission to them is submission to the law. If your pastor teach any other doctrine, or in culcate any other duties, than what Christ has left on record, obey him not ; but, while urging these, it is at your peril to resist him ; for, resisting him, you resist him that sent him. It is in this view, as teaching divine truth and enforcing divine commands, that the servants of God, in all ages, have been invested with divine authority. Of the sons of Levi, it was said, they shall teach Jacob " thy judgments," and Israel " thy law ; " and, upon this ground, it was added, "Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hand : smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again." Here lay the sin of Korah and his company, of Ely- mas the sorcerer, and of Alexander the cop persmith : they each, by resisting the servants of God in the proper execution of their work, resisted God, and brought upon them selves the sorest of judgments. Thirdly : The things which he urges upon you are equally binding upon himself. When he exhibits to you the only name given un der heaven, among men, by which you can be saved, and charges you, on pain of eter nal damnation, not to neglect it, remember his own soul also is at stake. And, when he exhorts and warns you, if he himself should privately pursue a contrary course, he seals his own destruction. There are, it is true, those who lade men with heavy burdens, grievous to be borne, to which they themselves will not put one of their fingers ; these, however, are not the commands of Christ. Instead of being the commands of Christ, which are not grievous, except to unholy men, these are merely hu man traditions : but, though they were al lowed to be otherwise, the inconsistent con duct of ministers would not exempt either them or you from obligation. Should we enforce the will of Christ upon you, while living in the neglect of it ourselves, woe be unto us! Yet this will fall upon our own heads. If we be wicked, depose us from our office ; but, while we are in it, let not the word of the Lord be disregarded on our account. Let me point out a few particulars, breth ren, in which it is your duty and interest to obey him whom you have chosen to have the rule over you, and to submit yourselves. 1. With respect to his public ministry. Do not fly in the face of plain dealing from the pulpit. Good sense, as well as the fear of God, will, I trust, preserve your pastor from dealing in personal reflections, or any thing designed to offend ; but do not be un- 228 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. willing that he should come close to cases and consciences. You may as well have no minister, as one that never makes you feel. I hope the house of God will continue to be to you what it has been — a rest in times of trouble, a house of consolation ; but do not go with a desire merely to be comforted. Go, as well, to learn your failings and de fects, and in hope of having them correct ed. It is not the mere hearer, but the doer of the word, that is blessed in his work. I hope you will always exercise your judg ments as to what you hear, and compare it with the oracles of God ; but, if you attend preaching merely as judges of its orthodoxy, you will derive no advantage to yourselves, and may do much harm to others. It is the humble Christian, who hears that he may be instructed, corrected, and quickened in the ways of God, who will obtain that consola tion which the gospel affords. 2. With respect to his private visits. You do not expect him to visit you in the charac ter of a saunterer, but of a pastor ; and, if so, it becomes you to be open to a free ex change of sentiments on your best interests. No minister is always alike prepared for profitable conversation, and some much less so than others ; but, if he perceive in you a desire after it, it will be much more easily introduced. Be free to communicate your cases to him. It will assist him in his preach ing more than a library of expositors ; and if, while you are conversing with him, he should be directed to impart to you the mind of Christ, as suited to your particular case, do not treat it lightly, but submit yourselves to it. 3. In presiding in your occasional assem blies. When you meet together as a Christ ian church, for the adjustment of your con cerns, he is entitled to your respect. Every society places so much authority in its pres ident as shall be necessary to check disor derly individuals, and to preserve a proper decorum. It will doubtless become him, es pecially while he is a young man, to be gen tle and temperate in the exercise of author ity : and it will no less become you to sub mit to it. When churches enter into dis putes with heat and bitterness — when all are speakers, and respect is paid to no one more than to another — they debase them selves below the character even of civilized societies. 4. In the private reproofs which he may have occasion to administer. You do not wish that your pastor should deal in person al reflections from the pulpit ; yet there are cases in which reproof requires to be person al ; he must, therefore, if he discharge his duty, be free »i> '. faithful in telling you of what he sees amis'-' in you. It has long ap peared to me that there are some species of faults j' individual members which are not proppr objects of church censure, but of pas toral admonition ; such as spiritual declen sions, hesitating on important truths, neglect of religious duties, worldly anxiety, and the early approaches to any evil course. A faithful pastor, with an eye of watchful ten derness, will perceive the first symptoms of spiritual disorder, and, by a timely hint, will counteract its operations ; whereas, if no thing be said or done till the case requires the censure of the church, the party may be excluded, but is seldom recovered. You may easily suppose this to be a self-denying work for your pastor ; he had much rather vis it you with a smile of affectionate congratu lation : yet it may be ofthe first importance to you and to the church. Do not render this disagreeable part of his work more disa greeable by an irritable and resentful dis position ; but receive reproofs with candor. " Correction may be grievous to him that forsaketh the way ; but he that hateth re proof shall die." II. Let us observe the important con siderations BY WHICH THIS OBEDIENCE AND SUBMISSION ARE ENFORCED. These you will perceive are partly taken from the regard you bear to yourselves-— " they watch for your souls ; " partly from your sympathy with them — " that they may do it with joy, and not with grief;" and even that part which seems to respect their comfort, ulti mately concerns your own; for, if they dis charge their work with grief, " that will be unprofitable for you." Give us your serious and candid attention, brethren, while we re view these important motives. 1. Your pastor " watches for your souls." Your salvation, let me presume, will be his great concern ; and, while pursuing this, you may well be expected to concur with him, and submit yourselves to him in the Lord. You would submit to a surgeon who was per forming an operation to save your life ; or to a counsellor who should offer you his advice for the security of your property ; or to a commander who should lead you forth • to save your country : but these are inferior objects, when compared with your soul. Observe the force of every term. They " watch." The word literally sig nifies to keep awake. Here it denotes vigi lance. Ministers are as watchmen on the walls or in the streets of a city, by whose care and fidelity the inhabitants enjoy secu rity. Their work is to rise early, to sit up late, and to eat the bread of care ; for so it is that God giveth his beloved sleep. Aware of your temptations and dangers, he must be continually on the watch that he may be ready to give the alarm. He may be think ing, and caring, and praying for you, when you think but little of him, and perhaps, in some instances, when you think but little of yourselves. Do not hinder him, but help him in his work. OBEDIENCE OP CHURCHES TO THEIR PASTORS. 229 They watch for you. Recollect that you are watched on all sides, but not in this man ner. Satan watches you ; but it is that he may seize his opportunity to destroy you. He watches you as a wolf does a sheep-fold ; but your pastor, as a faithful shepherd, to pro tect and save you. The world also will watch you, and that with the eye of an en emy, waiting for your halting ; but he with the tender solicitude of a father, to do you good. Do not oppose him in this his impor tant work. They watch for your souls. If your pas tor were stationed to watch over your health, property, or life, and should discharge his trust with skill and fidelity, you would think him worthy of your esteem ; but it is not for these things that he is principally con cerned. He would doubtless be happy to do you good in any way ; but neither of these. employments is his peculiar province. You employ other persons to watch for you in such matters. Nothing less than your im mortal interests must engage his attention. He watches for that compared with which kingdoms and empires are but trifles ; for that which, if gained, all is gained ; and which if lost, all is lost, and lost forever. Do not resist him in his work but concur with him. They watch as those that must give ac count. How important a station ! There is an account for every one to give of himself; but a pastor has not only to do this in com mon with his people, but must also give ac count of them. Athis hands the chief Shep herd will require it. And what will be the account of your pastor ? Will he be able to say, concerning you, "Here I am, and the children whom the Lord hath given me ? " O that he might ! But it is much to be feared that some of you who are this day committed to his charge will in that day be missing ! And what account will he then have to give ? Will he not have to say, Lord, some of them have neglected thy word ; some have resisted it ; some have reproached me for preaching it ; some have deserted it and turned aside after lying vanities ; some, who have continued, have not received the love of the truth, that they might be saved : hearing, they have heard, and not under stood ; seeing, they. have seen, and not per ceived ; their heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed ? And what if, when interroga ted, he should not be able to acquit himself ? What if it should prove that he did not warn you, nor seek after you, nor care for you ? Ah, then you will perish, and your blood will be required at his hand ! Who, alas ! who is sufficient for these things ? At all events, for your own sake, and for his sake, do not hinder him in his work. Woe unto him if he preach not the gospel ; and woe unto you if you oppose him in it ! Do not ob ject to his dealing faithfully, both in and out of the pulpit, so that it be aimed for your good. Do not hinder him in the work of re proof, by siding with transgressors. In short , if you have any regard to your own souls, or the souls of others, obey the coun sels of heaven, which are communicated to you through his ministry, and submit your selves. 2. The discharge of this his work'will be either joy or grief, according to, the spirit of the people among whom he labors. You do not wish, I dare say, to grieve and distress a servant of Christ. Better would it be never to have chosen him, than to break his heart ; yet such things are ! If, in his public preaching, he have a zeal ous, modest, attentive, wise, and affectionate people, constant and eariy in attending, candid and tender-hearted in hearing, and desirous of obtaining some spiritual advan tage from all they hear, you cannot conceive what joy it will afford him. He wDl pray for you, and preach to you with abundantly the more interest. And, this being the case, it may contribute not a little to the success ofhis labors ; for God works not only by the word preached, but by tlie effects of it in the spirit of believers. The apostle sup poses that some, on whom the word itself had no influence, might yet be won by the chaste conversation of the godly females. But if he have a slothful, selfish, cold-heart ed, cavilling, conceited, and contentious au dience, what a source of grief must it be to him ! The meekest of men was overcome by such a people, and tempted to wish that God would kill him out of hand, rather than continue to cause him thus to see his wretch edness. If, in adjusting the concerns of the church, every individual consider that others have understanding as well as himself, and have the same right to be heard and regarded ; if all strive to act in concert, and never op pose a measure from humor, but merely from conscience, or a persuasion that it is wrong ; such things to a pastor must needs be a source of joy. But, if pride and self-will prevail, they will produce confusion and every evil work ; and this, if he have any regard to religion or to you, will be the grief ofhis soul. If the deacons whom you have chosen to be helpers in the truth be wise, faithful, ac tive, and tender-hearted, ready to stand by their pastor in every right cause, willing to impart the counsel of matiirer years, and careful to preserve the purity and peace of the church, his duties will be discharged with joy. But, if they mind earthly things, and leave all to him, or, though they should be active, yet if it be with the spirit of a Di- otrephes, instead of diminishing his load, they will increase it, and rondo r his vork a daily grief. If, in the exercise of discipline, there be a 230 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. unity of heart, a wilhngness to follow God's word, whoever may be affected by it — if, like the tribe of Levi, you in such matters " know not your father, nor your mother, nor acknowledge your brethren, nor know your own children ; but observe God's word, and keep his covenant " — this, to an upright man, will be a source of joy and solid satis faction. ' But if, whenever a censure requires to be inflicted, no unanimity can be obtained — if regard be had to friends and family con nections, to the setting aside of Christ's re vealed will — nothing will be done with effect. The zeal of a few will be attributed to pre judice ; and the person concerned, instead of being convinced and humbled, will be hard ened in his sin. Thus the work of the min istry will be a burden of grief. Finally: If you be a spiritual, affectionate, and peaceable people, your pastor will per form his work with joy: but if you be carnal and contentious — if there be whisperings, swellings, tumults, party attachments, jea lousies, antipathies, scandals — alas ! he may sow, but it will be among thorns ; he may preach, but it will be with a heavy heart. 3. You cannot cause the work of your pastor to be grievous but at your own ex pense : it will be " unprofitable for you." It is to no purpose that you have a pastor or dained over you in the Lord, unless his min istry be profitable to you. Everything, there fore, which promotes this end should be carefully cherished; and everything that hinders it, as carefully avoided. But profit under a ministry greatly depends, under God, upon mutual attachment. I do not mean to commend that fondness and partial ity that would render you the devotees of a man, or incapacitate you for hearing any other preaching than his. They that cannot edify save under one minister give sufficient proof that they do not truly edify under him. But there is an attachment between a pastor and a people that is highly necessary ; as, without it, attendance on public worship would, in a great measure, cease to be an enjoyment. This attachment, my brethren, should begin with you, and be cherished by a course of kind and faithful treatment ; del icately meeting his wants, gradually inspiring his confidence, tenderly participating in his afflictions, and I may add, if occasion require it, affectionately suggesting to him his faults and defects. By these means, he will in sensibly be attached to you, in return ; and will prefer preaching at home to all his oc casional labors in other places. By an ac quaintance with your cases, his preaching will be seasonable and savory, proceeding from the fulness of his heart. Of such words it may well be said, How good they are! But I need not enlarge upon these things to you. Never, perhaps, were they more fully exemplified, than in the person of your late affectionate and beloved pastor. You loved him for the truth's sake that dwelt in him ; and he, on the other hand, was not only willing to impart unto you the gospel of God, but his own soul also, because ye were dear unto him. May the same spirit be cherished between you and your present pastor ! Love is the grand secret to make you all happy. Love, however, is a tender plant ; a slight blast of unkindness will greatly injure it. If you grieve him through inadvertency, come to an early explanation. If unkindness be repeated, his attachment to you will be weakened, and then yours to him will be the same. This will be followed by various misunderstandings, slights, distances, and offences, the issue of which may be a rooted antipathy ; and, when this enters, all profit under a ministry is at an end. If he could preach like an angel, all were in vain, so far as relates to your advantage. From these remarks, you see and feel, my brethren, that, if your pastor performs his work with grief, it will be at your expense ; or that every kind of treatment that wounds his spirit undermines your own welfare. Study, therefore, by all means, to render it his joy, which will turn to your account : study, by a constant discharge of kind offi ces, to endear yourselves and your families to him ; by an inviting intimacy in spiritual things, to know and be known by him ; and by a holy, humble, and uniform conduct in the world and in the church, to enable him to look the enemies of religion in the face, while he proclaims its holy efficacy. The reward of a true pastor is in the peo ple of his charge, in their sanctification and salvation. What else is his hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Do not withhold from the laborer his hire ! You may be his hope, without being his joy : and his hope and joy for a season, without being his crown of re joicing in the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming : but need I say that this will be unprofitable for you ? If he have a full reward of his labor, you must be his hope, and joy, and crown. Brethren, consider what I have said, and the Lord give you understanding in all things. SERMON IX. [Delivered at Kettering, in 1803, at a time of threatened invasion.] CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM ; OR THE DUTT OF RELIGIOUS PEOPLE TOWARDS THEIR COUN TRY. " And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it ; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." — Jer. xxix. 7. In the course of human events, cases may be expected tar occur in which a serious mind CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM. 231 may be at a loss with respect to the path of duty. Presuming, my brethren, that such may be the situation of some of you, at this momentous crisis — a crisis in which your country, menaced by an unprincipled, powerful, and malignant foe, calls upon you to arm in its defence — I take the liberty of freely imparting to you my sentiments on the subject. When a part of the Jewish people were carried captives to Babylon, ten years, or thereabouts, before the entire ruin of the city and temple, they must have felt much at a loss in determining- upon what was duty. Though Jeconiah, their king, was carried captive with them, yet the government was still continued under Zedekiah; and there were not wanting prophets, such as. they were, who encouraged in them the hopes of a speedy return. To settle their minds on this subject, Jeremiah, the prophet, address ed the following letter to them, in the name of the Lord : — " Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon, Build ye houses, and dwell in them ; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them ; take ye wives, and beget sons and daugh ters ; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters ; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished: and seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it ; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." I do not suppose that the case of these people corresponds exactly with ours ; but the difference is of such a nature as to height en our obligations. They were in a foreign land ; a land where there was nothing to ex cite their attachment, but everything to pro voke their dislike. They had enjoyed all the advantages of freedom and indepen dence, but were now reduced to a state of slavery. Nor were they enslaved only : to injury was added insult. They that led them captive required of them mirth, saying, " Sing us one of the songs of Zion ! " Re venge, in such circumstances, must have seemed natural ; and if a foreign invader, like Cyrus had placed an army before their walls, it had been excusable, one would have thought, not only to have wished him success, but, if an opportunity had offered, to have joined an insurrection in aid of him : yet nothing like this is allowed. When Cyrus actually took this great city, it does not ap pear that the Jews did anything to assist him. Their duty was to seek the welfare of the city, and to pray to the Lord for it, leav ing it to the great disposer of all events to deliver them in his own time ; and this not merely as being right, but wise : " In their peace ye shall have peace." Now, if such was the duty of men in their circumstances, can there be any doubt with respect to ours ? Ought we not to seek the good of our native land ; the land of our fathers' sepulchres ; a land where we are protected by mild and wholesome laws, ad ministered under a paternal prince ; a land where civil and religious freedom are enjoy ed in a higher degree than in any other country in Europe ; a land, where God has been known for many centuries as a refuge ; a land, in fine, where there are greater op portunities for propagating the gospel, both at home and abroad, than in any other nation under heaven ? Need I add to this that the invader was to them a deliverer ; but to us, beyond all doubt, would be a destroyer ? Our object, this evening, will be partly to inquire into the duty of religious people towards their country, and partly to consider the motive by which it is enforced. I. Inquire into the duty of religious PEOPLE TOWARDS THEIR COUNTRY. Though, as Christians, we are not of the world, and ought not to be conformed to it ; yet, being in it, we are under various obliga tions to those about us. As husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, &c., we cannot be insensible that others have a claim upon us, as well as we upon them ; and it is the same as members of a community united under one civil govern ment. If we were rulers, our country would have a serious claim upon us as rulers ; and, as we are subjects, it has a serious claim upon us as subjects. The manner in which we discharge these relative duties contributes not a little to the formation of our character, both in the sight of God and man. The directions given to the Jewish cap tives were comprised in two things ; " seek ing the peace of the city," and "praying to the Lord for it." These directions are very comprehensive ; and apply to us, as we have seen, much more forcibly than they did to the people to whom they were immediately addressed. Let us inquire, more particular ly, what is included in them. Seek the peace of the city. The term here rendered peace (a^o) signifies not merely an exemption from wars and insurrections, but prosperity in general. It amounts, therefore, to saying, Seek the good, or wel fare, of the city. Such, brethren, is the conduct required of us, as men and as Christians. We ought to be patriots, or lovers of our country. To prevent mistakes, however, it is proper to observe that the patriotism required of us is not that love of our country wliich elashes with universal benevolence, or which seeks its prosperity at the expense of the general happiness of mankind. Such was the patri otism of Greece and Rome ; and such is that of all others where Christian principle is not 232 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. allowed to direct it. Such, I am ashamed to say, is that with which some have advocated the cause of negro slavery. It is necessary, forsooth, to the wealth of this country ! No : if my country cannot prosper but at the expense of justice, humanity, and the happi ness of mankind, let it be unprosperous ! But this is not the case. Righteousness will be found to exalt a nation, and so to be true wisdom. The prosperity which we are directed to seek in behalf of our country involves no ill to any one, except to those who shall attempt its overthrow. Let those who fear not God, nor regard man, engage in schemes of aggrandisement, and let sor did parasites pray for their success. Our concern is to cultivate that patrotism which harmonizes with good will to men. Oh my country, I will lament thy faults ! Yet, with all thy faults, I will seek thy good ; not only- as a Briton, but as a Christian : " for my brethren and companions' sakes, I will say, Peace be within thee ; because ofthe house of the Lord my God, I will seek thy good ! " If we seek the good of our country, we shall certainly do nothing, and join in noth ing, that tends to disturb its peace, or hinder- its welfare. Whoever engages in plots and conspiracies to overturn its constitution, we shall not. Whoever deals in inflammatory speeches, or in any manner sows the seeds of discontent and disaffection, we shall not. Whoever labors to depreciate its governors, supreme or subordinate, in a man ner tending to bring government itself into contempt, we shall not. Even in cases where in we may be compelled to disapprove of measures, we shall either be silent or ex press our disapprobation with respect and with regret. A dutiful son may see a fault in a father ; but he will not take pleasure in exposing him. He that can employ his wit in degrading magistrates is not their friend, but their enemy ; and he that is an enemy to magistrates is not far from being an ene my to magistracy, and, of course, to his country. A good man may be aggrieved ; and, being so, may complain. Paul did so at Philippi. But the character of a com- plainer belongs only to those who walk after tlieir own lusts. If we seek the good of our country, we shall do every thing in our power lo promote its welfare. We shall not think it sufficient that we do it no harm, or that we stand still as neutrals, in its difficulties. If, indeed, our spirits be tainted with disaffection, we shall be apt to think we do great things by standing aloof from conspiracies, and refrain ing from inflammatory speeches ; but this is no more than may be accomplished by the greatest traitor in the land, merely as a matter of prudence. It becomes Christians to bear positive good will to their country, and to its government, considered as govern ment, irrespective of the political party which may have the ascendency. We may have our preferences, and that without blame : but they ought never to prevent a cheerful obedience to the laws, a respectful demeanor towards those who frame, and those who execute them, or a ready co operation in every measure which the being or well-being of the nation may require. The civil power, whatever political party is uppermost, while it maintains the great ends of government, ought, at all times, to be able to reckon upon religious people as its cordial friends : and, if such we be, we shall be willing, in times of difficulty, to sacrifice private interest to public good ; shall contribute of our substance without murmuring ; and, in cases of imminent dan ger, shall be willing to expose even our lives in its defence. As the last of these particulars is a subject which deeply interests us at the present juncture, I shall be excused if I endeavor ,to establish the grounds on which I conceive its obligation to rest. We know that the father of the faithful, who was only a sojourner in the land of Canaan when his kinsman Lot with his fam ily were taken captives by a body of plun derers, armed his trained servants, pursued the victors, and bravely recovered the spoil. It was on this occasion that Melchizedek blessed him, saying, " Blessed be Abraham of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth : and blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand ! " Perhaps it will be said, This was antece dent to the times of the New Testament : Jesus taught his disciples not to resist evil ; and, when Peter drew his sword, he ordered him to put it up again ; saying, " All they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." You know, my brethren, I have always de precated war, as one of the greatest calam ities : but it does not follow, hence, that I must consider it in all cases, unlawful. Christianity, I allow, is a. religion of peace ; and whenever it universally prevails, in the spirit and power of it, wars will be unknown. But so will every other species of injustice : yet, while the world is as it is, some kind of resistance to injustice is ne cessary, though it may at some future time become unnecessary. If our Saviour's com mand that we resist not evil be taken liter ally and universally, it must have been wrong for Paul to have remonstrated against the magistrates at Philippi ; and he himself would not have reproved the person who smote him at the judgment-seat. I allow that the sword is the last weapon to which we should have recourse. As individuals, it may be lawful, by this instru ment, to defend ourselves or our families against the attacks of an assassin: but, CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM. 233 perhaps, this is the only case in which it is so ; and even there, if it were possible to disarm and confine the party, it were much rather to be chosen than in that manner to take away his life. Christianity does not allow us, in any case, to retaliate from a principle of revenge. In ordinary injuries it teaches patience and forbearance. If an adversary " smite us on the one cheek," we had better "turn to him the other also," than go about to revenge our own wrongs. The laws of honor, as acted upon in high life, are certainly in direct opposition to the laws of Christ ; and various retaliating maxims, ordinarily practised among men, will no doubt be found among the works of the flesh. And if, as nations, we were to act on Christian principles, we should never engage in war but for our own defence ; nor for that, till every method of avoiding it had been tried in vain. Once more : It is allowed that Christians, as such, are not permitted to have recourse to the sword, for the purpose of defending themselves against persecution for the gos pel's sake. No weapon is admissible in this warfare, but truth, whatever be the con sequence. We may remonstrate, as Paul did at Philippi, and our Lord himself, when unjustly smitten ; but it appears to me that this is all. When Peter drew his sword, it was with a desire to rescue his master from the persecuting hands of his enemies, in the same sphit as when he opposed his going up to Jerusalem ; in both which instances he was in the wrong : and tlie saying of our Saviour, that " all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword, " has commonly been verified, in this sense of it. I believe it will be found that, when Christians have^resorted to the sword in or der to resist persecution for the gospel's sake, as did the Albigenses, the Bohemians, the French Protestants, and some others, within the last six hundred years, the issue has commonly been, that they have perished by it; that is, they have been overcome by then enemies, and exterminated : whereas, in cases where their only weapons have been " the blood of the Lamb, and the word of then testimony, loving not their lives unto death," they have overcome. Like Israel in Egypt, the more they have been afflicted, the more they have increased. But none of these things prove it unlaw ful to take up arms as members of civil socie ty, when calledupon to do so for the defence of our country. The ground on which our Saviour refused to let his servants fight for him, that he should not be delivered intothe hands of the Jews, was, that his was a king dom "not of this world;" plainly intimating that, if his kingdom had been of this world, a contrary line of conduct had been proper. Now, this is what every other kingdom is : Vol. 2.— Sig. 30. it is right, therefore, according to our Lord's reasoning, that the subjects of all civil states should, as such, when required, fight in de fence of them. Has not Christianity, I ask, in the most decided manner recognized civil govern ment, by requiring Christians to be subject to it ? Has it not expressly authorized the legal use of the sword? Christians are warned that the magistrate "beareth not the sword in vain ; " and that he is " the minister of God, a revenger, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." But if it be right for the magistrate to bear the sword, and to use it upon evil-doers within the realm, it cannot be wrong to use it in re pelling invaders from without : and, if it be right on the part ofthe magistrate, itis right that the subject should assist him in it ; for, otherwise, his power would be merely nomi nal, and he would indeed " bear the sword in vain."We have not been used, in things of a civil and moral nature, to consider one law as made for the rehgious part of a nation and another for the irreligious. Whatever is the duty of one, allowing for different talents and situations in life, is the duty of all. If, therefore, it be not binding upon the former to unite in every necessary measure for the support of civil government, neither is it upon the latter : and, if it be binding upon neither, it must follow that civil government itself ought not to be supported, and that the whole world should be left to become a prey to anarchy or despotism. Farther : If the use of arms were, of itself, and in all cases, inconsistent with Christ ianity, it were a sin to be a soldier: but nothing like this is held out to us in the New Testament. On the contrary, we there read of two believing centurions; and neither of them was reproved on account of his office, or required to relinquish it. We also read of publicans and soldiers who came to John to be baptized, each asking, "What shall we do ? " The answer to both pro ceeds on the same principle : they are warn ed against the abuses of their respective employments ; but the employments them selves are tacitly allowed to be lawful. To the one he said, "Exact no more than that which is appointed you : " to the other, " Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages." If either of these occupations had been in itself sinful, or inconsistent with that king dom which it was John's grand object to an nounce, and into the faith of which his dis ciples were baptized, he ought, on this oc casion, to have said so, or, at least, not to have said that which implies the contrary. If it be objected that the sinfulness of war- would not lie so much at the door of the centurions and soldiers as ofthe government by whose authority it was proclaimed and 234 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. executed, I allow there is considerable force in this : but yet, if the thing itself were necessarily, and in all cases, sinful, every party voluntarily concerned in it must have been a partaker of the guilt, though it were in different degrees. But granting, it may be said, that war is not, in itself, necessarily sinful ; yet it be comes so by the injustice with which it is commonly undertaken and conducted. It is no part of my design to become the apologist of injustice, on whatever scale it may be practised. But, if wars be allowed to be generally undertaken and conducted with out a regard to justice, it does not follow that they are always so ; and still less that war itself is sinful. In ascertaining the justice or injustice of war, we have nothing to do with the motives of those who engage in it. The question is, Whether it be in it self unjust? If it appeared so to me, I should think it my duty to stand aloof from it as far as possible. There is one thing, however, that re quires to be noticed. Before we condemn any measure as unjust, we ought to be in possession of the means of forming a just judgment concerning it. If a difference arise only between two families, or two individuals, though every person in the neighborhood may be talking and giving his opinion upon it; yet it is easy to perceive that no one of them is com petent to pronounce upon the justice or in justice of either side, till he has acquainted himself with all the circumstances of the case, by patiently hearing it on both sides. How much less, then, are we able to judge of the differences of nations, which are gen erally not a little complex, both in their origin and bearings ; and of which we know but little, but through the channel of news papers and vague reports ! It is disgusting to hear people,- whom no one would think of employing to decide upon a common differ ence between two neighbors, take upon them to pronounce, with the utmost freedom, upon the justice or injustice of national dif ferences. Where those who are constitu tionally appointed to judge in such matters have decided in favor of war, however pain ful it may be to my feelings, as a friend of mankind, I consider it my duty to submit, and to think well of their decision, till, by a careful and impartial examination of the grounds of the contest, I am compelled to think otherwise. After all, there may be cases in which in justice may wear so prominent a feature that every thinking and impartial mind shall be capable of perceiving it ; and, where it does so, the public sense of it will and ought to be expressed. In the present instance, how ever, there seems to be no ground of hesi tation. In arming to resist a threatened in vasion, we merely act on the defensive ; and not to resist an enemy, whose ambition, un der the pretence of liberating mankind, has carried desolation wherever he has gone, were to prove ourselves unworthy of the blessings we enjoy. Without taking upon me to decide on the original grounds of the difference, the question at issue with us is, Is it right that any one nation should seek ab solutely to ruin another, and that other not be warranted, and even obliged, to resist it? That such is the object of the enemy, at this time, cannot be reasonably doubted. If my country were engaged in an attempt to ruin France, as a nation, it would be a wick ed undertaking; and, if I were fully con vinced of it, I should both hope and pray that they might be disappointed. Surely, then, I may be equally interested in behalf of my native land! But there is another duty which we owe to our country ; which is, That we pray to the Lord for it. It is supposed that religious people are a praying people. The godly Israelites, when carried into Babylon, were banished from temple- worship ; but they still had access to their God. The devotion al practice of Daniel was well known among the great men of that city, and proved the occasion of a conspiracy against his life. King Darius knew so much of the charac ter of the Jews as to request an interest in their prayers, in behalf of himself and his sons. My brethren, your country claims an interest in yours ; and I trust that, if no such claim were preferred, you would, of your own accord, remember it. You are aware that all our dependence, as a nation, is upon God ; and, therefore, should importune his assistance. After all the struggles for power, you know that in his sight all the inhabitants of the world are re puted as nothing : he doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou ? Indeed this has been acknowledged, and at times sensibly felt, by irreligious characters ; but, in general, the great body of a nation, it is to be feared, think but little about it Their dependence is upon an arm of flesh. It may he said, without uncharitableness, of many of our commanders, both by sea and land, as was said of Cyrus, God hath girded them, though they have not known him. But by how much you perceive a want of prayer and dependence on God in your country men, by so much more should you be con cerned, as much as in you lies, to supply the defect. "The prayer of a righteous man availeth much." You are also aware, in some measure, of the load of guilt that lies upon your country ; and should therefore supplicate mercy on its behalf. I acknowledge myself to have much greater fear from this quarter than from the boasting menaces of a vain man. JESUS THE TRUE MESSIAH. 235 If our iniquities provoke not the Lord to de liver us into his hand, his schemes and de vices will come to nothing. When I think, among other things, of the detestable traffic before alluded to, in which we have taken so conspicuous a part, and have shed so much innocent blood, I tremble ! When we have fasted and prayed, I have seemed to hear the voice of God, saying unto us, " Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke ! " Yet, peradven ture, for his own name's sake, or from a re gard to his own cause, which is here singu larly protected, the Lord may hearken" to our prayers, and save us from deserved ruin. We know that Sodom itself would have been spared if ten righteous men could have been found in her. I proceed to consider II. The motive by which these duties are enforced: "In the peace thereof shall ye have peace." The Lord hath so wisely and mercifully interwoven the interests of mankind as to furnish motives to innumerable acts of justice and kindness. We cannot injure others, nor even refrain from doing them good, with out injuring ourselves. The interests of individuals and families are closely connected with those of a coun try. If the latter prosper, generally speak ing, so do the former ; and, if the one be ruined, so must the other. It is impossible to describe, or to conceive beforehand, with any degree of accuracy, the miseries which the success of a foreign enemy, such as we have to deal with, must occasion to private families. To say nothing ofthe loss of pro perty among the higher and middle classes of people (which must be severely felt, as plunder will, undoubtedly, be the grand stimulus of an invading army,) who can cal culate the loss of lives? Who can contem plate, without horror, the indecent excesses of a victorious, unprincipled, and brutal soldiery ? Let not the poorest man say, I have nothing to lose. Yes, if men of opu lence lose their property, you will lose your employment. You have also a cottage, and perhaps a wife and family, with whom, amidst all your hardships, you live in love : and would it be nothing to you to see your wife and daughters abused, and you your self unable to protect them, or even to re monstrate, but at the hazard of being thrust through with the bayonet ? If no other con siderations will induce us to protect our country, and pray to the Lord for it, our own individual and domestic comfort might suf fice. To this may be added, our interests as Christians, no less than as men and as fami lies, are interwoven with the well-being of our country. If Christians, while they are in the world, are, as has been already no ticed, under various relative obligations, it is not without their receiving, in return, vari ous relative advantages. What those ad vantages are we should know to our grief, were we once to lose them. So long have we enjoyed religious liberty, in this country, that I fear we are become too insensible of its value. At present we worship God with out interruption. What we might be per mitted to do under a government which manifestly hates Christianity, and tolerates it even at home only as a matter of policy, we know not. This, however, is well known, that a large proportion of those unprincipled men, in our own country, who have been la boring to overturn its constitution, have a deep-rooted enmity to the religion of Jesus. May the Lord preserve us, and every part ofthe united kingdom, from their machina tions ! Some among us, to whatever extremities we may be reduced, will be incapable of bearing arms ; but they may assist by their property, and in various other ways : even the hands of the aged poor, like those of Moses, may be lifted up in prayer; while their countrymen, and it may be their own children, are occupying the post of danger. I know it is the intention of several whom I now address freely to offer their services at this important period. Should you, dear young people, be called forth in the arduous contest, you will expect an interest in our prayers. Yes, and you will have it. Every one of us, every parent, wife, or Christian friend, if they can pray for any thing, will importune the Lord of Hosts to cover your heads in the day of battle ! Finally: It affords satisfaction to my mind to be persuaded that you will avail yourselves of the liberty granted to you of declining to learn your exercise on the Lord's day. Were you called to resist the landing ofthe enemy on that day, or any other work of necessity, you would not object to it ; but, in other cases, I trust, you will. " Render to Casar the things that are Ccesar's, and un to God the things that are God's." SERMON X. [Delivered in the Jews' Chapel, Church Street, Spitalfields, Nov. 19, 1809.] JESUS THE TRUE MESSIAH. " Sacrifice and offering 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 writ ten of me : I delight to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy law is within my heart. — Psa. xl. 6 — 8. Though I have preached the gospel be tween thirty and forty years, yet I do not recollect to have ever entered a pulpit with such feelings as at present. In respect of the subject, I feel it an honor to plead the 236 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. cause of my Lord and Saviour ; but I am not without apprehensions lest it should suf fer through my manner of pleading it. I must therefore entreat that, if any thing which may be delivered should be found to be improper, you would impute it, not to the cause, but the imperfection of the advocate. I have also some peculiar feelings on ac count of the audience, part of which, I am given to understand, are of the house of Is rael. I cannot help recalling to mind the debt we owe to that distinguished people. They have been treated with both cruelty and contempt by men professing Christiani ty ; but surely not by Christians ! To them, under God, we are indebted for a Bible, for a Saviour, and for all that we know of the one living and true God. Who, then, will not join me in the language ofthe apostle — " Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved ? " The passage on which I shall found what I have to offer is in the 40th Psalm, the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses : — " Sacrifice and offering thou didst not de sire : mine ears hast thou opened : burnt- offering and sin-offering hast thou not re quired. 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." No Christian can doubt whether the pas sage relates to the Messiah, seeing it is ex pressly applied to him in the New Testa ment ; and, if a Jew should raise an objection, he will find it difficult, if not impossible, to give a fair exposition of it on any other prin ciple. Who else, with propriety, could use the language here used ? Certainly David could not. W hether the Messiah, therefore, be already come, as we believe, or be yet to come, as the body of the Jewish nation be lieves, it must be ofhis coming that the pro phet speaks. The question at issue between them and us is, not whether the Scriptures predict and characterize the Messiah, but whether these predictions and characters be fulfilled in Jesus. That we may be able to judge of this question, let it be observed, that there are three characters held up in the passage I have read, as distinguishing the Messiah's coming : viz. That the sacrifices and cere monies of the Mosaic law would thence be superseded ; that the great body of Scrip ture prophecy would be accomplished ; and that the will of God would be perfectly ful filled. Let us calmly and candidly try the ques tion at issue by these characters. I. It is intimated that, whenever the Mes siah should come, the sacrifices and CEREMONIES OF THE MOSAIC LAW WERE to be superseded by him. "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire: — then said I, Lo, I come." I am aware that modern Jewish writers contend for the perpetuity of the ceremonial as well as of the moral law ; but in this they are opposed both by Scripture and by fact. As to Scripture, it is not confined to the passage I have read, nor to a few others : it is common for the sacred writers of the Old Testament to speak of sacrifices and cere monies in a depreciating strain, such as would not, I presume, have been used had they been regarded for their own sake, or designed to continue always. Such is the language of the following passages : " Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than sacri fice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. — Hear, O my people, and I will speak ; O Is rael, and I will testify against thee : I am God, even thy God. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offerings : they have been continually before me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he- goats out of thy folds ; for every beast ofthe field is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls ofthe mountains ; and the wild beasts ofthe field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee ; for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, and drink the blood of goats ? Offer unto God thanks giving, and pay thy vows unto the Most High : and call upon me in the day of trou ble ; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glori fy me. — Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it : thou delightest not in burnt- offering. The Sacrifices of God are a brok en spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. — To what pur pose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me ? saith the Lord : I am full ofthe burnt- offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts ; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts ? — Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, ye heap up your burnt-offerings with your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. But, when I brought your fathers out of Egypt, I spake not unto them of burnt-offerings and sacrifi ces ; but this I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people. — And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." Such, O! ye children of Israel, is the language of your own Scriptures. The covenant that was made with your fathers at Mount Sinai was never designed to be per petual, but to be abolished at the coming of Messiah, as is manifest from the words of the prophet : " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah : not according to the covenant that JESUS THE TRUE MESSIAH. 237 I made wilh their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt (which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord ;) but this shall be the cove nant that I will make with the house of Is rael, After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord ; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their ini quities, and will remember their sins no more." From this passage, a New-testament wri ter argues (and do you answer it if you can,) " In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decay- eth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." And, respecting their sins and iniquities be ing " remembered no more," Where remis sion of these is, " thereis no more offering for sin." Is it not then in perfect harmony with the tenor of your Scriptures that Messiah, when described as coming into the world, should say, " Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire : mine ears hast thou opened : burnt- offering and sin-offering hast thou not requir ed : then said I, Lo, I come : " plainly inti mating that he would come to accomplish that which could not be accomplished by sac rifice and offerings ; and that as these were but the scaffolding of his temple, when that should be reared, these should of course be taken down. But I have asserted that, in maintaining the perpetuity ofthe sacrifices and ceremo nies of the Mosaic law, your writers are not only opposed by Scripture, but by fact. Whether Messiah the prince he come or not, sacrifice and oblation have ceased. We be lieve they virtually ceased when Jesus of fered himself a sacrifice, and in a few years after they actually ceased. Those of your nation who believed in Jesus, voluntarily, though gradually, ceased to offer them; and those who did not believe in him were com pelled to desist, by the destruction of their city and temple. You may adhere to a few of your ancient ceremonies ; but it can only be like gathering round the ashes ofthe sys tem : the substance of it is consumed. " The sacrifices of the holy temple," as one of your writers acknowledges, " have ceased." The amount is, Whether Jesus be the Messiah, or not, his appearance in the world had this character pertaining to it, that it was the period in which the sacrifice and the oblation actually ceased. And it is wor thy of your serious inquiry whether these things can he accomplished in any other p than Jesus. Should Messiah the prince come at some future period, as your nation expects, how are the sacrifice and the obla tion to cease on his appearance, when they have already ceased nearly eighteen hun dred years ? If therefore he be not come, he can never come so as to answer this part of the Scripture account of him. II. It is suggested that, whenever Mes siah should come, the great body of SCRIPTURE PROPHECY SHOULD BE ACCOM PLISHED in him : " In the volume ofthe book it is written of mes" That the prophetic writings abound in the predictions of the Messiah, no Jew will deny : the only ques tion is, Are they fulfilled in Jesus ? You know (I speak to them who read the Bible) that " the seed of the wom'an was to bruise the head of the serpent." You know that God promised Abraham, saying, In thy seed shall all the nations ofthe earth be blessed. You know that Jacob, when blessing the tribe of Judah, predicted the coming of Shiloh, unto whom the gathering ofthe peo ple should be. You know that Moses spoke of a prophet whom the Lord your God should raise up from the midst of you, like unto him, to whom you were to hearken, on pain of incurring the divine displeasure. You know that the Messiah is prophetically de scribed in the Psalms, and the prophets, un der a great variety of forms ; particularly as the anointed of the Lord — the King — the Lord of David, to whom Jehovah spoke — the " child born," whose name should be called "the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace " — the "rod out of the stem of Jesse " — " God's servant, whom he upholds ; his elect, in whom his soul delight eth " — " him whom man despiseth, and whom the nation abhorreth " — " a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" — " the Lord our righteousness " — " Messiah the prince " — " the branch" — " the messenger of the cove nant," &,c. Thus it was that in the volume of the book it was written of him. Whoever proves to be the Messiah, your fathers rejoic ed in the faith of him. In trying the question, whether the pro phecies be fulfilled in Jesus, it will be ne cessary, for the sake of perspicuity, to class them under different heads, such as time, place, family, &c. 1. The time when Messiah should come is clearly marked out in prophecy. It was said by Jacob, when blessing the tribes, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gather ing of the people be." All this was true in respect of Jesus. Till he came, though the ten tribes were scattered, Judah continued a people, and retained the government ; but, soon after his death, they were dispersed among the nations, and have been so ever since. "Kings and princes," says one of your own writers, " we have none." If 238 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. therefore, Shiloh be not come, he can never come within the limits of time marked out by this prophecy. Again : It is clearly intimated, in the pro phecy of Haggai, for the encouragement of the builders of the second temple, that the Messiah should come during the standing of that temple, and that the honor that should be done it by his presence would more than balance its inferiority, in other respects, to the first. " For thus saith the Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land : and I will shake all nations ; and the desire of all nations shall come ; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts." All this was literally fulfilled in Jesus. But soon after his death the second temple was reduced to ashes: if, therefore, Jesus was not the Messiah, it is impossible that this prophecy should ever be accomplished. Again : The prophet Daniel was informed by the angel Gabriel as follows : " Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgres sion, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know, therefore, and under stand, that from the going forth of the com mandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the prince, shall be seven weeks : and threescore and two weeks, the street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary ; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week : and in the midst (or half part) of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease ; and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that de termined shall be poured upon the desolate." That there should be some difficulty in fixing the dates and other minute particulars, in this prophecy, is no more than may be said of many otiiers, which yet, upon the whole, are clear and decisive. The predic tion of the seventy years' captivity was not understood by Daniel till he had studied the subject with attention : and, though he made out the number of years, and concluded that they were about fulfilled, yet he does not appear to have discovered the exact time of their being so. Nevertheless, the pro phecy of seventy years was undoubtedly fulfilled in the Babylonish captivity ; and this of seventy weeks of years is as certain ly fulfilled in the appearance and death of Jesus. Whether or not Christian writers agree as to the exact time when these sev enty sabbatical weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, began, thus much is certain, that they must have been fulfilled about the time that Jesus appeared and suffered, or they never can be fulfilled. Such was the effect of this and other prophecies upon the minds of the Jewish nation that about that time there was a general expectation of the Messiah's appearance. Hence, though your fathers rejected Jesus, yet they soon after believed in Barchocab, and crowned him as their Messiah ; which involved them in a war with the Romans, wherein they are said to have had a thousand cities and fortresses destroyed, and to have lost more than five hundred and eighty thousand men ! The pre dicted events which were to be accomplished at the close of these weeks, namely, "finish ing transgression, making an end of sins, making reconciliation for iniquity, bringing in everlasting righteousness, sealing up the vision and prophecy, and anointing the Most Holy," are in perfect harmony with the New-testament history of Jesus ; and, though unbelief may blind the minds of your nation to some of them, yet the sealing up of the vision and prophecy is a matter so notorious that one would think it were im possible to deny it. Jesus foretold the de struction of your city and temple by the Ro mans ; and his apostles foretold things rela ting to the Christian church ; but from that time" your nation has been, not only " with out a king, without a prince, and without a sacrifice," but without a prophet. Moreover, it is predicted by Daniel that, shortly after the Messiah should be cut off, the people of the prince that should come would destroy the city and the sanctuary, and that the end thereof should be desola tion. And is it not fact, that, about forty years after the death of Jesus, both your city and sanctuary were destroyed by the Romans ; and that such a flood of desola tion and misery attended it as was unexam pled in your history, or that of any other nation ? Taking the whole together, it behoves you to consider whether, if this prophecy be not fulfilled in Jesus, it can ever be fulfilled ; and whether it be possible to ascertain the fulfilment of any prophecy. 2. The place where Messiah should be born, and where he should principally impart his doctrine, is determined. " But thou, Beth lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Speaking of Gali lee of the nations, in connection with the JESUS THE TRUE MESSIAH. 239 birth of the child whose name should be called " the mighty God," it is said, " The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." These prophecies were lit- terally and manifestly fulfilled in Jesus ; and it is scarcely credible that they can be fulfil led in any other. 3. The house or family, from whom Mes siah should descend, is clearly ascertained. So much is said of his descending from Da vid that I need not refer to particular proofs ; and the rather as no Jew will deny it. The genealogies of Matthew and Luke, whatever varieties there are between them, agree in tracing his pedigree to David. And though in both it is traced in the name of Joseph, yet this appears to be only in conformity to the Jewish custom of tracing no pedigree in the name of a female. The father of Jo seph, as mentioned by Luke, seems to have been his father by marriage only ; so that it was, in reality, Mary's pedigree that is trac ed by Luke, though under her husband's name ; and this being the natural line of descent, and that of Matthew the legal one, by which as a king he would have inherited the crown, there is no inconsistency between them. But, whatever supposed difficulties may at this distance of time attend the genealo gies, it is remarkable that no objection ap pears to have been made to them in the early ages of Christianity ; when had they been incorrect, they might easily have been disproved by the public registries which were then in being. Could the Jews in the time of Jesus have disproved his being of the seed of David, his Messiaship would at once have fallen to the ground ; and for this they could not be wanting in inclination. Had there, moreover, been any doubt on the subject, the emperor Domitian, in searching after those who were of the seed of David, would not have ordered the relations of Je sus before him, who, when interrogated, did not deny but that they were descended from him.* Finally: If the genealogy of Jesus be called in question by the modern Jews, how are they to prove the Messiah, whenever he shall come, to have descended from David ; since, if I am not mistaken, they have now no certain genealogies left among them ? 4. The kind of miracles that Messiah should perform is specified. Isaiah, speak ing ofthe coming of God to save his people, says, " Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears ofthe deaf shall be un stopped. Then shall the lame leap as a hart, and the tongue ofthe dumb shall sing ; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert." That such mira- * Euseb. Hist. b. 3. ch. 20. cles were performed by Jesus, his enemies themselves bore witness, in that they as cribed them to his connection with Beelze bub. When his Messiahship was ques tioned, he could say in the presence of many witnesses, "The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk ; the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear ; the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them." The miracles of Jesus were distin guished by their benevolence. They were all works of mercy, as well as of power ; and this accorded with the character given ofthe Messiah in the seventy-second Psalm, that he " should deliver the needy when he cried ; the poor also, and him that had no helper." Hence, the blind cried out, "Son of David, have mercy on us." 5. It was predicted ofthe Messiah that he should, as a king, be distinguished by his lowliness, entering into Jerusalem, not in a chariot of state, but upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O daughter of Je rusalem ; behold, thy king cometh unto thee : he is just, and having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass." To fulfil this prophecy, it was necessary that the Messiah should de scend from parents in low circumstances, and that the leading people of the land should not accompany him. Had they believed in him, and introduced him as a king, it must have been in another fashion. But it was reserved for the common people and the children to fulfil the prophet's words, by shouting, "Hosanna, to the Son of David ; blessed be he that cometh in the name ofthe Lord ! " 6. It is predicted of the Messiah that he should suffer and die by the hands of wicked men. " Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation ab- horreth. — As many were astonished at thee (his face was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men,) so shall he sprinkle many nations. — He is de spised and rejected of men ; a man of sor rows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him ; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sor rows ; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. — The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : he is brought as a Lamb to the slaughter ; and, as a sheep before her shear ers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison, and from judg ment, and who shall declare his generation ? 240 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. for he was cut off out ofthe land of the living ; for the transgression of my people was he stricken. It pleased the Lord to bruise him : he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see ofthe travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. — The Messiah shall be cut off; but not for himself." The attempts that have been made to ex plain away these prophecies, especially the fifty-third of Isaiah, and to make it apply to Israel as a nation, are marks of a desperate cause.* Is it not marvellous that the enemies of Jesus should so exactly fulfil the Scriptures in reproaching and crucifying him ; using the very speeches, and inflicting the very cruel ties, which it was foretold they would ? " He trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him : let him deliver him, seeing he delight ed in him. — They parted my garments, and for my vesture they did cast lots — They gave me gall to eat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink — They pierced my hands and my feet." These things were not true ofthe writers : but they were true of Jesus : in him, therefore, they were fulfilled. 7. It was foretold that the Messiah, after being cut off out of the land of the living and laid in the grave, should rise from the dead. Nothing less can be implied by all the promises made to him as the reward of his sufferings: for, if he had continued un der the power of death, how should he have seen his seed, or prolonged his days ? If his kingdom had been that of a mortal man, how could it continue as long as the sun and moon ? How was he to see ofthe travail of his soul and be satisfied, unless he survived that travail ? But, more than this, it is fore told that he should rise from the dead at so early a period as not to "see corruption." The argument of Peter from this passage has never been answered. David said, "Thou wilt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption:" but David did see corruption; he refers to him, therefore, of whom it is wit nessed that he saw no corruption. Lastly : It was foretold that the great body of the Jewish nation would not believe in him ; and that he would set up his kingdom among the Gentiles. Such is evidently the meaning ofthe prophets complaint, "Who hath be lieved our report?" and ofthe Messiah's words, in another part of the same prophe- * If, as Mr. D. Levi would have it, the sufferer be Israel personified, and this nation, on account of its injuries, may be said lo have borne the iniqui ties ofthe whole world, how comes it to be said — "for the transgressions of MY people was ho stricken 1 " Does the character of my people be long to the world, as distinguished from Israel 1 or is the sufferer and the people for whom he suffered the same 1 cies — " Then I said, I have labored in vain ; I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain ; yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Ja cob, and to restore the preserved of Israel : I will also give thee for a light to the Gen tiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth." Your writers complain of ours for inter preting the promises to Israel spiritually, and the threatenings literally; and tell us that they are not greatly obliged to us for it. But this is misrepresentation. Our writers neither interpret all the promises to Israel spiritually, nor all the threatenings literally. They expect your return, and that at no very distant period, to your own land ; for, besides many Old-testament prophecies to this effect, he that said concerning the in habitants of Judea and Jerusalem, " They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Je rusalem shall be trodden down of the Gen tiles " — added, " until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." And, in regard of the threat enings, the heaviest of them all is that which is expressed by Isaiah (ch. vi. 9 — 12,) " Go, tell this people, hear ye, indeed, but under stand not ; and see ye, indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then, said I, Lord, how long ? Andhe answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be ut terly desolate." This awful judgment was indeed to issue in temporal calamities ; but the judgment it self is spiritual ; a judgment, the nature of which prevents your feeling it, but which is a greater evil than all your other punish ments put together. Such are some of the evidences from which we conclude that Jesus is the true Messiah. Time, place, family, miracles, character, sufferings, resurrection, and re jection by his own countrymen — ail are ful filled in him. Never was such a body of prophecy given and accomplished in any other case. If you still shut your eyes upon the light, you must abide the consequence : for our parts, we feel the ground upon which we stand, when we say, "We know that the Son of God is come." III. It is declared that, when the Messiah should come, the will of God would be perfectly fulfilled by him — " I delight JESUS THE TRUE MESSIAH. 241 to do thy will, O my God : yea, thy law is within my heart." Agreeably to this, the Messiah is denominated God's servant, whom he would uphold — in ivhom he would be glori fied — and who should bring Jacob again to him. The will of God sometimes denotes what he approves and sometimes what he ap points. The former is the rule of our con duct, the latter of his own ; and both we af firm to have been fulfilled by Jesus. In respect ofthe divine precepts, his whole life was in perfect conformity to them. All his actions were governed by love. Your fathers were challenged to convince him of sin ; and you are challenged to do the same. Yet your nation reckons him an impostor ! Was there ever such an impostor? Nay, was there ever such a character seen among men? Should tlie account given of him by the evangelists be objected to, we might answer from Rousseau, — "The Jewish au thors were incapable of the diction, and strangers to the morality, contained in the Gospels, the marks of whose truth are so striking and invincible that the inventor would be a more astonishing character than the hero." * When a sinful creature is said to have the law of God in his heart, it is said to be written there, or put in him by the Spirit of God ; but of the Messiah it is said to be within him. His heart never existed with out the impression, and therefore needed not to have it put in him. Such was Jesus, and such the spirit that he manifested throughout his life. Let the character, be sides him, be named, who dares to rest the truth of his pretensions on his being found to be " holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." But it was not merely to fulfil the divine precepts that the Messiah was to come, but to execute his purpose in saving lost sin ners. Even his obedience to tlie law was subservient to this, or he could not have been "The Lord our righteousness." He was God's servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, to give light to the Gentiles, and to be his salvation to the ends of tlie earth. In accomplishing this, it behoved him to en dure tlie penalty, as well as obey the pre cepts, of the law. His soul must be " made an offering for sin ; " he must be " cut off out of the land of the living — cut off, but not for himself;" and this that he might make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in ever lasting righteousness. Such was the doctrine of the ancient Isra elites, and such is that ofthe New Testament. If it be true, let me entreat you to consider the consequences. While you hold fast the traditions of later ages, you have renounced the religion and the God of your ancient fa- * Works, Vol. V. pp. 215-218. Vol. 2.— Sig. 31. thers ; and, in doing this, have rejected the only way of salvation. If the things which I have attempted to establish be true, your fathers crucified the Lord of glory ; and you, by approving the deed, make it your own. Moreover, if they be true, Jesus Christ will one day come in the clouds of heaven, and every eye shall see him ; and they also who pierced him shall wail because of him! Consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds. We doubt not but the time will come when your nation shall look on him whom their fathers pierced, and shall mourn as one that mourneth for an only son ; but, if it be not so with you, it is the more affecting. To see at the last judgment, not only Abra ham, and Isaac, and Jacob, but millions of your own unborn posterity, sitting down in the Idngdom of God, and ye yourselves cast out, is inexpressibly affecting ! I have lately looked into some of the mo dern Jewish writings. It would be going beyond my limits to attempt an answer to many of their objections to the gospel; but I will touch upon a few, which struck me in tlie course of reading. They find many things spoken in prophecy of the reign of the Messiah, which are not as yet fulfilled in Jesus ; such as the cessa tion of wars, the restoration of the Jewish nation, &c. &c, and argue hence that Je sus is not the Messiah. But it is not said that these effects should immediately follow on his appearing. On the contrary, there was to be an increase of his government ; yea, a continued increase. Jesus may be tlie Messiah, and his reign may be begun ; while yet, seeing it is not ended, there may be many tilings at present unfulfilled. The kingdom of the Messiah was to continue as long as the sun and moon. It was to be set up during the reign ofthe fourth monarchy ; but was itself to survive it, and to stand for ever. But they object that the doctrine taught by Jesus was not of a pacific tendency — that, on the contrary, it was, by his own confes sion, adapted to produce division and discord — " Think not that I am come to send peace on earth, but a sword : for I am come to set a man at variance with his father, and tiie daughter against her mother, and the daugh ter-in-law against her mother-in-law ; and a man's foes shall be they of his own house hold." These words, however (as a child in just reasoning would perceive,) do not ex press what the gospel is in its own nature ; but what it would occasion, through the ha tred of its enemies. They describe not the bitterness of believers against unbelievers, but of unbelievers against believers, for the gospel's sake. The good works of Abel ex cited the hatred of Cain ; but ought Abel to be reproached on this account? The mes sage of peace sent by Hezekiah to the rem- 242 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. nant of the ten tribes, inviting them to come up to the passover at Jerusalem, occasioned the same bitter contempt among the idola ters as the gospel does among the unbe lievers of your nation : yet surely it was a pacific message notwithstanding, and ought1 to have been differently received. We might as well reproach the God of Israel for his messages to Pharaoh having hardened his heart ; yea, for his laws given at Sinai having been tbe occasion of all the wicked ness of your fathers ; for, if he had given them no laws, they had not been guilty of transgressing them ! They farther object, with their fathers, that Jesus pretended to be the Son of God, and so was guilty of blasphemy. But, if he were the Messiah, he was the Son of God. Did not God, in the second Psalm, address him as his Son ? are not the kings and judges ofthe earth admonished to submit to him un der that character ? Much has been said of your believing in one God : and who requires you to believe in more than one ? If you infer hence that there can be no plurality of persons in the Godhead, you contradict your own Scrip tures as well as ours. Who made the hea vens and the earth ? Did not Elohim? And did he not say, " Let us make man," &c. ? Who wrestled with Jacob ? And who ap peared to Moses in the bush ? Was it not Jehovah? Yet he is represented in both cases as the Angel or "Messenger of Jeho vah." Some ofthe precepts of Jesus are objected to as being impracticable, and Christians ac cused of hypocrisy for pretending to respect them, while none of them act up to them ; that is, " when they are smitten on one cheek, they do not offer the other." * But this is perverseness. Jesus did not mean it literally; nor did he so exemplify it when smitten before Pilate. Nor do the Jews so understand their own commandments. If they do, however, it will follow that they break the sixth commandment in every mal efactor whose execution they promote, and even in the killing of animals for food. The manifest design of the precept is to prohibit all private retaliation and revenge ; and to teach ns that we ought rather to suffer in sult than to render evil for evil: This may be a hard lesson for a proud spirit ; but it is a true exposition of that law which requires' us to love our neighbor as ourselves ; which is inconsistent with every feeling of malice, ¦whatever provocations may have been re ceived. But this is not all ; the very agony of Je sus in the garden provokes the malignity of these writers. The anguish of his 'soul on that occasion is ascribed to pusillanimity ! *R. Tobias Goodman's Address to the Com mittee of tlio London Society, p. 25. Have they a right then, when judging ofhis conduct, to take it for granted that he was not the Messiah, and that his death was like that of another man ? Certainly they have not. The objection, if it has any force, is this — His want of fortitude is inconsistent with his being the Messiah. To this we answer, supposing him to be the Messiah, there was nothing inconsistent in any of those fears and sorrows which he expressed. For, if he were the Messiah, he must, ac cording to prophecy, have suffered immedi ately from the hand of God, as well as from man. " The chastisement of our peace was upon him — It pleased the Lord to bruise him : he hath put him to grief." But, if the ago ny in the garden was of this description, there was no want of fortitude in it. So far as the wrath of man was concerned, Jesus feared it not. He endured the cross, and even despised the shame : but, under the hand of God, he both feared and felt ; and I never understood before that it was pusil lanimous to fear or feel, under the hand of the Almighty ! But we need not marvel ; for he who, in the language of prophecy, complained of having gall given him for meat, and vinegar for drink, added, " They perse cute him whom thou hast smitten ! " All these objections prove the truth of what was said to Nicodemus, " Except a man be born again (or, to speak in Jewish language, except he be circumcised in heart,) he cannot see the Idngdom of God." The gospel is a system that cannot be received by a mind blinded by prejudice, or a heart hardened in sin. He that receives it must repent, as well as believe. It is in hope that God, peradventure, may give some of you repentance to the acknowledging ofthe truth, that these addresses are made to you. And though some may make light of them, and even mock, as the idolaters did at Heze kiah's messengers, yet we will deliver our messages, that, if you perish, your blood may not be required at our hands. O ! ye children of Israel, our hearts' de sire, and prayer to God for you, is that you may be saved! Consider, we intreat you, whether you have not forsaken the rehgion of your forefathers ; whether the psalms of David express the feelings of your hearts ; whether, if you really loved the God of Abra ham, Isaac, and Jacob, you would not be lieve in Jesus; whether, if you had just views of your own law, you would not de spair of being accepted of God by the works of it ; whether your rejection of Jesus be not owing to your insensibility as to your need of a Saviour ; whether, if you really believed the Old Testament, you would not believe the New ; finally, whether the bitter malignity, which is so frequently discovered against Jesus and his followers, be consistent with true religion. But I shall conclude with a few words to SOLITARY REFLECTION. professing Christians. I can perceive, by what I have seen ofthe Jewish writings, how much they avail themselves of our disorders and divisions, to justify their unbelief. Let those who name the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Let us beware of valuing ourselves on the name, while we are desti tute of the thing. We may yield a sort of assent to the doctrine just delivered, while yet it brings forth no good fruit in us. These are the things that rivet Jews in their unbe lief. They have no right, indeed, to intrench themselves in prejudice against the Lord Jesus oh account of our disorders : he is not more accountable for them than the God of Israel was for the disorders of their forefa thers. But, though it be wrong in them, it is more so in those who furnish them with occasion of offence. There is a woe upon the world because of offences, seeing they stumble and fall over them: but there is a heavier woe on them through whom they come. " He that winneth souls is wise." I hope all the measures that are taken for the con version of the Jews will be of a winning na ture. If they be malignant and abusive, they must not be opposed by the same wea pons. " The servants of the Lord must not strive, as for mastery ; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God, peradventure, will give them repent ance to the acknowledging of the truth." Whatever is done, for children or adults, I trust it will be in an open, candid way, like that of our Saviour, who did good to the bodies of men, as a means of attracting then- attention, and conciliating their affection to the word of everlasting life. SERMON XI. [Delivered on a Lord's-day Evening, in a Country Village.] SOLITARY REFLECTION ; OR THE SINNER DIRECTED TO LOOK INTO HIMSELF FOR CONVICTION. " Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still." — Psa. iv. 4. You are assembled together, my dear hearers, that you may learn something con cerning your everlasting welfare. I am glad to meet you ; and shall be happy to commu nicate any thing that I understand on this important subject. I pray God to bless it for your good ! You have heard many sermons preached, and yet, perhaps, have been but little profited ; and you may hear many more to as little purpose. Religion consists not merely in hearing sermons ; nor in going away, and talking how you like or dislike the preacher. Religion is not found among noise, and clamor, and dispute. It does not consist in either applauding or censuring men. If ever you hear to any purpose, it will make you forget the preach er, and think only of yourselves. You will be like a smitten deer, which, unable to keep pace with the herd, retires to the thicket and bleeds alone. This is the effect that I long to see produced in you. It is for the pur pose of impressing this upon your minds that I have read the above passage, and wish to discourse to you upon it. In doing this, all I shall attempt will be to explain and enforce the admonition. Let us attempt 1. To EXPLAIN THE MEANING OF IT. The persons admonished in this psalm were men who set themselves against David, and persecuted him without a cause ; accusing him, perhaps, to king Saul : and, what great ly aggravates their guilt, they are said to have turned his glory into shame; that is, they reproached him on account of his religion, which was his highest honor. There are such scoffers in the world now : and, as these wicked men opposed David, so they oppose our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David according to the flesh. And by how much Christ is superior to David, by so much greater is the wickedness of those who mock at his gospel and people than the other. They were, many of them, men of property ; their corn and their wine, it seems, increased ; and it is likely that some of them were people in high life, who had access even to the king. But all this would not screen them from the displeasure of God. Even kings and judges themselves must submit to the Son, or perish from the way. And, if riches will not profit in the day of wrath, neither will poverty. It is true, the Scriptures wear a favorable aspect towards the poor. Jesus preached the gospel to them ; and God is often represented as threatening and punishing those that oppress them: but, if a man be wicked as well as poor (as it is well known great numbers are,) his poverty will excite no pity ; he must bear his iniquity. Presumptuous and thoughtless sinners are admonished to "stand in awe, and sin not; to commune with their own hearts upon their bed, and be still." Bold as any of you may be in sin, there is one above you, who will call you to an account : pause, there fore, and think what you are about. To commune with our hearts means much the same as to ponder the matter over with ourselves. It is said of the adulteress that, " lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, thfit thou canst not know them." She leads on her thoughtless admirers, from one degree of sin to another, in quick succession ; just as a person who should wish to lose you in a wood, and there murder you, would lead you on, under some 244 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. fair pretence, from path to path, through one winding direction after another, never suffering you to stand still and pause, lest you should turn back and effect your escape. Thus it is with sinners : they are hurried on, by delusion, from sin to sin, from company to company, and from one course of evil to another, while the enemy of their souls is doing every thing in his power to secure his dominion over them. ,. That which the adulteress most dreaded was thought, close and serious thought : and this it is which the enemy of your souls most dreads.. It is by pondering the path of life, if at all, that you must escape the snare. If sinners are saved, it is from their sins. Their souls must be converted to the love of Christ ; and the ordinary way that God takes to convert them is, by con vincing them of sin, which is never effect ed but by their being brought to close and serious thought. It was by " thinking of his ways " that David " turned his feet to God's testimonies." The place and time particularly recom mended for this exercise is, upon your bed, at night. If there be any time more favora ble to reflection than others, it must be that in which you are free from all intruding company, and interruptions from without. Then, when you have retired from the world, and the world from you ; when the hurry of business is withdrawn ; when the tumult of the soul subsides, and is succeed ed by a solemn stillness ; when the darkness which surrounds you prevents the interfer ence of sensible objects, and invites the mental eye to look inward ; then commune with your own heart ; take a reckoning with your soul ; inquire what course you are in, and whither it will lead you ! It might be well to examine the actions of your life : but, as the heart is the spring-head of action, the state of your heart must be the chief object of your inquiry. As to actions, they are neither good nor evil, but as they are the expressions ofthe heart. Were you to kill a fellow-creature, you know, there would be no evil in it provided it was by mere accident and not from any malicious design, criminal passion, or careless neglect : and if you did ever so much good to your neighbor, yet, if it were by accident and not from design, there would be no goodness in it. It is the disposition of our hearts that denominates our characters in the sight of God. In all your communings, therefore, commune with your hearts. Perhaps you will say, I find great difficul ty in collecting my thoughts, and fixing them upon those things which are of the greatest importance : when I would think, I scarcely know what to think about. Well ; give me leave, then, to suggest a few plain questions, which I would earnestly recom mend you to put home to your own soul. First : Does my heart choose and follow af ter those things whieh my conscience tells me are right ? I can assure you that with many this is not the case. Their consciences tell them that they ought to fear God, to keep holy the Sabbath-day, to read and hear the word of God, and to perform various other duties ; but their hearts are at variance with all these things. Their consciences tell them that they ought not to swear, lie, steal, get intoxicated, cheat their creditors, and ruin their families ; but their hearts, never theless, are set upon these and many other such wicked courses ; and they will pursue them, at all events. Is this the case with any of you? It is a miserable life to have the heart and conscience at variance. You are sensible it is so ; and therefore, if any of you are of this description, you labor, I dare say, to lull conscience asieep, that you may enjoy the desires of your heart without interruption from its remonstrances. But this is a desperate way of going on. Con science will not always sleep ; and when it does awake, which perhaps may be upon a death-bed, its voice will be more terrible than thunder, and its accusations more pain ful than the sting of a scorpion. Did you never see a wicked man upon a dying bed ? Perhaps not: possibly you cannot bear such sights, and therefore shun them. There are persons, however, who have ; and, witness ing his agony, have longed to alleviate it. The guilt, the fear, and the horror, which have appeared in his eyes ; the bitter regret ..that has preyed upon his dying heart ; and the forebodings of everlasting misery that seemed to have seized his soul, have wrung their hearts with anguish: but all they could do was to drop an unavailing tear. Given up to the hardness of his heart, even the doctrine of salvation by the blood of the Lamb has had no effect upon him, and he has died in all the misery of despair. O that this may not be your end ! Yet, if such be your life, and you persist in it, there is .no reason to expect but that it will. But. it is possible that you may not sustain this character. Your heart and conscience may not be at such variance as to give you any considerable pain. If so, let me recom mend a second question: is my conscience instructed and formed by the word of God ? Though you may be certain that you are in a wrong course if you live in the violation of conscience, yet you cannot always conclude that you are in a right one when you do not violate it, because conscience itself may err. Saul was conscientious in persecuting the followers of Christ; yet he was one of the chief of sinners for so doing. You may ask, What can a man do but follow that which he thinks to be right ? True ; but it becomes him to compare his thoughts with the word of God : for we are easily per suaded to think favorably' of Jhat conduct SOLITARY REFLECTION. 245 which suits our inclination ; and, where this is the case, the error of the conscience, in stead of excusing the evil conduct, becomes itself an evil. The consciences of many people tell them that, if they take care of their families, pay every man his due, and attend public wor ship once or twice a week, this is all that can reasonably be expected at their hands. And I have heard this Scripture passage brought in proof of it, " What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ? " But (to say nothing of the love of mercy towards our fellow-creatures) to walk humbly with God is a very different thing from the above exercises. A man's conscience may be easy, and he may persuade himself that he is in the way to life, while, in fact, he is as far from it as the old Pharisees, against whom the heavi est woes of damnation were denounced. The case of such people seems to be worse, on some accounts, than that of the openly profane : these, acting in opposition to their own consciences, as well as to God, a faith ful warning sometimes takes hold of their fears; but those, deluded by vain hope, con sider all such warnings as inapplicable to them. Both are steering the same course ; but the one is impeded by wind and tide, while the other is aided by the current of a perverted conscience. Do not forget to inquire, Is my conscience instructed and formed by the word of God? Perhaps you have not been in the habit of reading that sacred book, or of having it read to you. The neglect of it may occasion your eternal overthrow. But let me recommend a third question : Have any, or all my pursuits, whether after natural or sinful enjoyments, ever yet afforded me satisfaction ? The answer to this ques tion is of importance ; because, if they never have, there is no reason to conclude they ever will : and, if so, what have you been pursuing all this time ? You have spent thirty, forty, fifty, or more years in the world, and, by a thousand different methods, have been seeking satisfaction ; yet you have not found it. You thought, when you were young, to have foundf it in forbidden plea sures, and perhaps you gave a loose to ap petite and desire ; but you were disappoint ed. Guilt, infamy, and misery, were the fruits of those excesses. Your own heart will tell you this, if you ask it. Since that t'me, having felt the effects of your former folly, it may be, you have turned your atten-' tion to other things : you have settled ; and ¦ now your object has been to raise yourself in the world. Saving money has seemed the one thing needful to render you happy. Perhaps you have saved a little of this arti cle ; and are you happy ? Ask your own heart, and it will tell you. No, you want to save a little more. Poor man ! you are un happy ; and unhappy in this course you will be. Can you tell the reason ? You have been trying to satisfy yourself with that which is not bread. Do you not know that God has created you with desires wliich it is not in the power of the whole creation to satisfy? Alexander and Cassar, those mighty monarchs, who each in his day con quered the world, were as far off from hap piness as you are. The one is said to have wept because there was not another world to conquer ; and the other to have exclaim ed, when in the full possession of empire, "Is this all?" If you inquire wherefore has God planted desires in your natures that it is not in the power of creation to satisfy. I answer, that you might be led to seek satisfaction where it is to be found. There is much meaning, and merciful meaning too, in those divine expostulations : " Ho, every one that thirst- eth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not ? Heark en diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me : hear, and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." Again: "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink ! " And again : " Thou sayest I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy naked ness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see." A fourth question I would recommend is this : Will the course I am in do to die with ? If it will, pursue it with all your might: but first be well satisfied that it will. There is no way of answering this question but by comparing your character with the word of God. There you will find our Lord declar ing to his disciples, " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. — Except ye be con verted, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." And again, " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Do you understand these things by experience ? Did you ever seriously think about them ? They are subjects of no little importance. Some men, and even some preachers, may tell you that all this signifies nothing more than your being baptized, orat 246 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. most, living a sober regular life : but it is at your peril to believe them against the solemn declarations of Christ. Nicodemus, a mas ter in Israel, was ignorant of these things. Other teachers now may be the same ; and, if blind themselves, no wonder that they lead others equally blind till both fall into the ditch. But, as you value your souls, remember who it is that has said, " Ye must be born again." If you have never experienced this change, you are at present strangers to yourselves, to God, to Christ, and to the way of life ; exposed to the curse of al mighty God ; and, dying in your present state, must perish forever. One question more let me recommend, and I will conclude this part of the subject: If I should die in an unconverted state, and perish forever, can I endure the ivrath of an offended God? If you can, why then let every man help his neighbor, and every one say to his brother, Be of good courage, laugh at death, set judgment at defiance, and make a jest of an hereafter but, if not, pause and think Who can forbear remarking the coward ice of wicked men ? how, even in this world, these bold spirits are cut down with a little affliction ! Those who trifle most with hell, and whose lips are so full of damnation that it becomes in their mouths a mere matter of bravado, how do they sink under the first touch of God's indignation ! Gaal and his company could eat and drink and curse Abimelech, at a distance ; but, when Abime lech draws near, lo ! they are covered with dismay. Oh profane character ! Can thine hands be strong, and thine heart endure in the day that he shall deal with thee ? If you can not tell how to endure the sufferings of life, what will you do in the hour of death ? How, especially, will you grapple with the bitter pains of eternal death ? " If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou contend with horses ? and, if in the land of peace wherein thou trustedst they wearied thee, how wilt thou do in the swellings of Jordan ? " Such, or nearly such, my hearers, will be your own reflections, if upon your bed you commune with your own hearts to any good purpose. But I proceed II. To ENFORCE THE SUBJECT BT CON SIDERING THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF A SERIOUS COMPLIANCE WITH it. There is nothing more dreaded by unconverted sin ners than solitary reflection, and, therefore, nothing more necessary. They are like a person whose affairs are going to • ruin, and who feels a strong reluctance to enter into a thorough examination of his accounts. And wherefore ? Because such an examination would destroy his present peace, and he would be under the necessity of making a full stop. To avoid this, he puts far from him the evil day, and cherishes a vain hope that things are not so bad as they appear. But, as in this case the longer a thorough examination is deferred the deeper he sinks, so it is in the other. Let me request your attention to a few observations on this part of the subject. 1. There are things that you have doubt ed, or acted as if you doubted, which, if you would but retire and converse with your own heart, you would find to be true. You have acted but. in too many instances as though you doubted whether you were accountable and immortal creatures, and as though an agreeable subsistence in the present world were the only thing that should' concern you. But, if you be not accountable to him that made you, how is it that sin, which is unknown to every creature but yourself, should nevertheless be accompanied with remorse ? Is there not a tribunal erected within your own bosom, that forebodes a judgment to come ? If there were no here after, why that dread of death, and fearful looking-for of judgment, in the hour of threatening affliction? Oh sinner! you shall not be able to plead ignorance at the bar of heaven : your own heart, depraved as it is, will bear witness against you. 2. There are things to which you are apt to object in God's dealings with you, which, were you to commune with your own hearts, would be found to be unobjectionable. If you are told of the strictness of God's holy law, and that nothing short of " truth in the inward parts " can answer to its require ments, you think it hard, and feel disposed to complain of the grievousness of his yoke : but ask your own hearts, would you he contented with any thing less from a fel low-creature ? Perhaps you are a parent or a master ; and what if your children or servants were, through fear, ever so assiduous, if you knew they had no love for you, would you be satis fied ? Or perhaps you are a husband. If the partner of your life were alienated from you and attached to another, though through fear of your displeasure she were studious to the utmost to oblige you in her outward de portment, would this satisfy you ? Would you not disdain to accept of her services unless you could have her heart with them ? You must know that this is the truth. Out of your own mouth, therefore, will the Lord judge you. Again : If you are told of God's awful threatenings against sin, your spirit rises against him, and you are ready to accuse him of cruelty : but ask your own heart if you would spare one that had treated you as you have treated him. If you had a son, and, with all the tenderness of a father, nursed him, fed him, clothed him, and in structed him ; and if, when he arrived at SOLITARY REFLECTION. 247 years of maturity, instead of behaving towards you with filial obedience and grati tude, he should prove undutiful, malignant, false, and do all he could to ruin you and your family, would you not give him up to his evil course, and let him take the conse quences of his behavior ? Or should you from paternal pity be disposed to pass over his transgressions; and should a common friend, with your approbation, intercede on his behalf, entreating him to beg your par don, assuring him of your readiness to for give the past ; if, in addition to his former crimeSj he continued to despise the over tures of mercy, what would you do with him? Or should he, when overwhelmed with troubles of his own procuring, affect to be sorry for what he had done, and write to you in the strain of humble confession, pray ing you to deliver him this once, and vow ing how different his conduct should be towards you in future ; if, as soon as his troubles had subsided, he were to return again to his former courses ; what would you do with him ? Alas, all this, and a thou sand times more, have you done against the best of fathers, the God " in whose hands your breath is, and whose are all your ways ! " " Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear how, O house of Israel, Is not my way equal ? are not your ways unequal ? " 3. One reason of your knowing so little of your heart-sins is your communing so little with your hearts. You go on in a hurry of business, and the state and temper of your heart is overlooked; and, being naturally disposed to flatter yourself, you imagine it to be much better than it is. You may be governed by the love of this world, yea, and be very covetous ; so much so, that all who know you may perceive it ; and yet you do not perceive it yourself, but are ready to be offended with any person who tells you of it. You think yourself as good as your neighbors, and flatter yourself that your sin is not ' so very great. It is true, say you, I have my failings, as all men have, but, thank God, I never was guilty of such things as many are. So said the Pharisee in the parable, " God, I thank thee that I am not as other men ; " and so said the wicked priests, in the days of Malachi, "What have we spoken so much against thee ? " O ! my hearers, commune witii your hearts, and you will find them to be very different from your present thoughts of them. There is one thing in particular which perhaps never struck your attention — your total want of love to God. This is the sin of your nature, and the fruitful parent of all other sins. God requires the whole heart ; as indeed he justly may, for he is worthy of it ; but you have no heart to give him. It is pre-occupied, and that with such things as are contrary to God. All your actual sins are but little, compared with this. They have been committed only at different times ; but this is a tide, deep and large, that flows without cessation or interruption. Those are the fruits ; but this is the poisonous root from which they spring. If you loved God, you could not love the world, and the things ofthe world, as you do. You could not blas pheme his name, neglect his worship, or trample on his laws ; and all with uncon cern. Neither could you feel towards your neighbor as you do in many instances. All bitterness, and wrath, and malice, and evil speaking; all envy towards them that are above you, and pride, oppression, and un feeling treatment, towards them that are be neath you ; all arise from a want ofthe love of God: for he that loveth God will love his brother also. All unconverted sinners, I believe, retain a good opinion of their hearts, however they may differ in expressing it, which is evident ly owing to their ignorance of its deceitful- ness and desperate wickedness. Some make no secret of it. It is true, say they, I now and then swear, when in a passion, and get too much liquor once in a while ; but I mean no evil : my heart is good. Others, who have been brought up under evangelical preaching, are ashamed of this language, and would despise the ignorance of the per son who should use it. They will not deny in words that their hearts are bad ; howbeit they mean not so. By heart they understand they know not what, something distinct from intention, disposition, or desire. Therefore they are sometimes heard to say, It is true, I am not converted ; but I desire to be so. I cannot say I love Christ ; but I wish I did. This is the same thing as saying, My heart is good. If I be not a converted man, it is not my fault. I am willing at any time, if God would but convert me. — But all this is false and delusive. If you were willing to return to God, by Jesus Christ, there is nothing in heaven or earth that stands in your way. The truth is, you love your sins too well to part with them for Christ or heaven ; and have no desires after conver sion for Us own sake, but merely as a some thing which, at times, you think you could submit to, rather than suffer eternal damna tion. Whoever neglects to commune with his own heart, it is necessary for you, that you may know your true character; of which, with all your advantages, you are hitherto totally ignorant. Even in the concerns of men with men, there is much blindness to their own mo tives, and deception in forming a judgment of their own conduct, which is owing to a want of looking into themselves. A thousand things are defended by persons in company, | which, were they to retire alone and com- I mune with their own hearts, they would be obliged to condemn. In how many instances 248 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. have contentions been cherished, and half a neighborhood either brought in as witnesses, or in some way implicated in the contest, which might all have been decided in a quarter of an hour, if the party had only re tired alone, and asked himself this question: Have I done to my neighbor what I should have wished him, in like circumstances, to have done to me ? 4. There are things on account of which you may value yourselves, and of which you may make a righteousness, that, if you were to retire alone, would be found of a very op posite nature. It is possible, you may have been in the habit of reading a chapter in the Bible once a week, or oftener, in your fami ly ; of frequenting public worship ; of giv ing away something to people who are poor er than yourself; and of shunning public houses and riotous assemblies. It is possi ble, likewise, that you may consider this as the way to heaven, and hence lay your ac count with* being happy in the world to come. But, if you look into your heart, you may find that the motives which have influ enced you have been such as God can never approve ; and, if so, instead of justifying, they will serve only to condemn you. If you have read the Scriptures, or gone to a place of worship, merely from custom, and not from any love you had to these things ; if you have relieved the poor out of pride, rather than pure compassion; and if that which has preserved you from the grossest vices has been rather a regard to your in terest, health, or character, than any con cern for the honor of God ; can such things be acceptable in his sight ? But if your motives were ever so pure, and your good deeds ever so many, yet having broken the holy, just, and good laws of God, you cannot be justified by any thing which you can do. If you commune with your heart to any good purpose, you will never think of being saved by the works of your own hands ; but feel the necessity of a Saviour, and of a great one. The doc trine of salvation by the death of Jesus will be glad tidings to your soul. Finally : you will, as you are exhorted in the verse follow ing the text, " offer the sacrifices of righte ousness, and put your trust in the Lord." In other words, with a broken and a contrite spirit, you will approach the God against whom you have sinned ; mourn over your unprovoked offences, as one mourneth for an only son ; and be in bitterness as one that is in bitterness for his first-born : and this without thinking of either your prayers or tears as being any thing, or of any ac count ; but placing all your hope and help in him who, " when we were witiiout strength, in due time died for the ungodly." To him be glory for ever ! Amen. SERMON XII. ADVICE TO THE DEJECTED ; OR THE SOUL DIRECTED TO LOOK OUT OF ITSELF FOR CONSOLATION. " How long shall 1 take counsel in my soulj hav ing sorrow in my heart daily "\ " — Psa. xiii. 2. We have, in a former discourse, consider ed the importance of looking into our own hearts ; but that counsel is not applicable in all cases. There is such a thing as to pore on our guilt and wretchedness, to the over looking of our highest mercies. Though it be proper to know our own hearts, for the purpose of conviction, yet, if we expect con solation from this quarter, we shall find our selves sadly disappointed. Such, for a time, appears to have been the case of David. He seems to have been in great distress; and, as is common in such cases, his thoughts turned inward, casting in his mind what he should do, and what would be the end of things. While thus exercised, he had "sorrow in his heart daily:" but, betaking himself to God for relief, he suc ceeded; trusting in his mercy, his heart re joiced in his salvation." There are many persons who, when in trouble, imitate David in the former part of this experience : I wish we may imitate him in the latter. In discoursing on the subject, I shall first notice the disconsolate situation of the psalmist, with the remedy to which he repaired under it ; and then in quire to what cases it is applicable among us, and whether the same remedy be not equally adapted to our relief as to his. I. Let us notice the disconsolate sit uation OF THE PSALMIST, WITH THE REME DY TO WHICH HE REPAIRED UNDER IT. The psalm is probably one of those mournful songs which he composed during his perse cution by Saul ; but, like most others, though it begins in complaint, it ends in triumph. We may be certain he was pressed with great difficulties ; for we do not take coun sel with ourselves or others, but in such cases. The particulars of his situation may be collected from the different parts of the psalm. 1. He icas sorely persecuted. This was a mysterious providence. God had anointed him to the throne, and brought him into public life ; it migbt have been expected, therefore, that he would have made his way plain before him: yet, in following what must to him manifestly appear the leading of the divine guide, he brings upon himself a flood of evils. Though nothing was fur ther from his intention than to use any means to dethrone his sovereign ; yet Saul is jealous, and his dependants are stirred up, by envy and malice, to compass the ruin of ADVICE TO THE DEJECTED. 249 the innocent. Let not those who are can didates for an immortal crown be surprised, if their path to glory be covered with snares and pits : it is through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom. 2. The Lord seemed to prosper his perse cutors, and not him : his enemy was exalted over him. This seems more mysterious still. Is tlie God of Israel then a man, that he should lie ; or the son of man, that he should repent ? Does he use lightness ? Or the things which he purposes, does he purpose according to the flesh ; that with him there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay ? Far be it from him. Yet, if we were to judge by appearances, we might, at times, be tempted to draw such conclusions. 3. His most intimate acquaintance seem to have forsaken him. In cases of difficulty, we usually advise with our friends, if we have any. If we are driven to take counsel with ourselves, therefore, it may be pre sumed that we are bereft of that consolation. A sympathizing, wise, and faithful friend, in a time of difficulty, is a great blessing. In times of prosperity, many will profess a re gard to us ; but, if persecution for Christ's sake should overtake us, we may expect some to stand aloof, who now court our ac quaintance. This has been tiie lot of men of whom tlie world was not worthy ; and it was no small part of their affliction that they had to suffer by themselves. Let us not com plain of such things, however. Our Lord himself was forsaken by lover and friend. He took three ofhis most beloved disciples to accompany him in the hour of his suffer ings ; but they fell asleep, and left him to agonize alone. 4. To these temporal distresses were added others of a spiritual nature : the Lord hid his face from him : and, to him, it appeared as though he had forgotten him. If under his outward troubles he could have enjoyed in ward peace ; if he could have poured out his heart with freedom in secret ; if, though ban ished from the sanctuary, yet looking towards that house, and calling upon the Lord, he had heard him from heaven his dwelling- place, his load had been supportable : but to have to say with Job, " Behold I go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: on the left hand where he doth work, but I cannot behold him : he hideth himself on the right hand, that I can not see him ! " This gives a double weight to the affliction. But, here also, we have no reason to complain. David has been before us ; and, what is more, David's Lord. Je sus was persecuted ; his enemies were exalt ed over him ; his friends were scattered from him ; and, to fill up the bitter cup, his God forsook him. This was the sorrow of sor rows. He speaks as one that could have borne any thing else: "My God, my God, .... why hast thou forsaken me ? " Vol. 2.— Sig. 32. 5. All this was not for a few days only ; but for a long time. " How long wilt thou forget me ? Hoiv long wilt thou hide thy face fjom me ? How long shall I take counsel in my soul ? " The intenseness ofthe affliction renders it trying to our fortitude ; but it is by the continuance of it that patience is put to tlie test. It is not under the sharpest, but the longest trials, that we are most in danger of fainting. In the former case, the soul collects all its strength, and feels in earnest to call in help from above ; but, in the latter, the mind relaxes and sinks into desponden cy. When Job was accosted with evil ti dings, in quick succession, he bore it with becoming fortitude : but, when he could see no end to his troubles, he sunk under them. These were some ofthe particulars which made up the load of David ; and under which he is said to have taken counsel in his soul. The phrase seems to be expressive of great restlessness of spirit, a poring over his misery, a casting in his mind what he should do, and what would be the end of these tilings. Perhaps, if we had been secreted near him, we should have seen him walking by himself, now looking upwards, then down wards, weeping as he went, or sighing under a load that would not suffer him to weep ; sometimes sinking into torpid silence, and sometimes interrogating himself on his fu ture conduct: — What shall I do? Which way shall I take ? Shall I go backward, or forward ; or shall I stand still ? Shall I try any other means ; or shall I despair ? From this tumult of tlie mind, we are cer tain he obtained relief; for, towards the close of the psalm, he deals in the language of triumph : " I will sing unto the Lord, be cause he hath dealt bountifully with me." Nor are we left to guess in what manner his soul was delivered from this state of de jection : " I have trusted," says he, " in thy mercy ; my heart shall rejoice in thy salva tion." Hence we may gather that the way in which he obtained relief was by ceasing to take counsel in his soul, and by looking out of himself, and trusting in the mercy of God. This remedy was competent to the remov al of all his complaints. What is it that mercy, divine mercy, mercy through a Me diator, mercy connected with omnipotence and veracity, cannot effect ? Was he perse cuted? By trusting in this, he would cease to fear what man could do unto him. Was the hand of Providence apparently against him ? That might be, and yet all in the end work together for good. Did his friends for sake him ? The compassion of his best friend would more than make up this loss. But did Tie also hide his face from him? Still he could do no better than apply to the mercy-seat, and supplicate his return. Finally, was all this complicated load of tri als of long continuance ? After waiting pa tiently for the Lord, he would hear mm, 250 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. would bring him out of the horrible pit, set his feet upon a rock, establish his goings, and put a new song into his mouth. Such, indeed, was the issue of his present trials^ which is recorded for the encouragement of others, who shall be in like circumstances. II. Let us inquire to what cases the SUBJECT IS APPLICABLE AMONG US, AND WHETHER THE SAME REMEDY BE NOT EQUAL LY ADAPTED TO OUR RELIEF AS TO THAT OF David. The Holy Spirit has drawn the likeness of man in all situations, that we might find our case, and learn instruction. If we barely read the Scriptures as a de scription of the concerns of persons who lived a long time ago, and make no applica tion of them to ourselves, we shall miss the great end for which they were given us. The case of the psalmist appears to me to correspond with that of three descriptions of people. 1. Persons who sink into despondency un der the adverse providences of God. God has poured a portion of sorrow into the cup of human life. Property, connections, friends, children, and every other avenue of natural enjoyment, become, atone time or other, in lets to grief; and if, in these seasons of ad versity, the attention be turned inward, rath er than directed to the Father of mercies, we shall be in danger, of sinking under them. ' We have seen men who, under the smiles of providence, have been cheerful and amia ble, when disappointments and losses have overtaken them, sink into sullen dejection, and never more lift up their heads. In some instances, it has issued in suicide. It is a dangerous thing to take counsel in our souls, to the neglect of the counsel of God. We have seen others wretched beyond expres sion, owing to unhappy connections. In the formation of them, religion has been over looked, and even genuine affection, for the sake of advantages of a worldly nature. The consequence has been, on the one side, neg lect, dislike, strife, cruelty, and infidelity ; on the other, disappointment, jealousy, una vailing reflection, a broken sphit, a fixed melancholy, and every thing but absolute despair. Oh, with what desire could I draw off the attention of such broken hearts from things below to things above ; from taking counsel in their souls, to trusting in the mer cy of God, in Christ Jesus ! Many a wound ed spirit has, by this means, been healed, and rendered happy for life ; besides being pre vented from plunging, in the agony of des peration, into the gulf of eternal ruin. We have seen even religious characters inordinately depressed with troubles. The loss of some darling object, the confounding of some favorite scheme, or the rising of some apparently insurmountable difficulty, has overwhelmed the heart. In such circum stances the mind is apt to nurse its melan choly, trying to live, as it were, on dying elements ; but it is not thus that we shall either glorify God or gain relief. Jesus hath said, "Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in me." From troubles of some kind there is no ex emption in the present state ; but it does not become the followers of Christ to indulge in heart-troubles for little things ; and such are all our worldly sorrows, "light afflictions which are but for a moment." The true Christian life is, to be inordinately " careful for nothing ; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let our requests be made known unto God." It is thus that " the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." It is by ceas ing to take counsel in our souls, and trust ing in God's mercy, that our sorrow, like that of David, will be turned into joy and tri umph. Our way may be covered with dark ness, so much so that we cannot see where the next step will place us ; but we have a Leader who sees through ail, and who has promised .to guide us with his eye. Things may so work as to confound our calcula tions ; but, if all work together for good, this is sufficient. What are our afflictions, too, in comparison of the glory that awaits us ? Paul had his afflictions, as well as we, far greater indeed than ours have been ; and he also took counsel under them ; but not with himself: he took into his account the hope that was set before him: "I reckon," says he, "that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." It is while we thus " look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen," that our "afflictions " appear "light " and " momentary," and " work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2. The case of the psalmist corresponds with that of persons who, at the outset of their religious concern, are encompassed with dark ness and long-continued dejection. There are some who are no sooner brought to en tertain a just sense ofthe nature and demer its of sin than they are led to embrace the gospel- way of salvation, and find rest to their souls : but it is not so with all. Some are known to continue, for a long time, in a state of dark suspense. They have too deep a sense of sin to be able to enjoy the pleas ures of this world ; and are too much i n the dark concerning its forgiveness to be able to imbibe the joys of another. Hence their days are spent in solitude, and dejection : they search for peace, but it is far from them : they take counsel in their soul, and have sor- roio in their hearts daily. Various things contribute to promote this state of mind. In somelt may be owing to circumstances without them. Perhaps, like David, they had no friend to whom they ADVICE TO THE DEJECTED. 251 could open their minds ; or, if they had, it might have been to persons who were either total strangers to these things, or who were unskilful in the word of righteousness. Such also may have been the kind of preaching they have heard that nothing suitable to their case has been ordinarily, if ever, delivered. If the preacher be of such a description as to content himself with moral harangues ; if, instead of exhibiting the Saviour of sinners, he have nothing to say to a wounded spirit, unless it be to advise him to forsake his vices, and be better ; or if his object be rather to improve the manners of men, and render them decent members of society, than to re new their hearts ; the tendency ofhis preach ing will be either to establish the hearer in pharisaical presumption or sink him into despondency. Or, should the preacher be of another de scription — should he hold forth a kind of Ma hometan predestination, be averse from the free invitations of the gospel to sinners as sinners, and employ himself in persuading his hearers that no one has any warrant to come to Jesus for eternal life but the regen erate — the effects will be much the same. The awakened sinner will either take up with some enthusiastic impression, imagine him self a favorite of heaven, trusting that he is righteous, and despising others; or, having no consciousness that he is regenerate, be deterred from approaching the Saviour, and so sink into despondency. Could I gain access to such a character, I would proclaim in his ear the mercy of God to sinners, the all-sufficiency and willingness of Jesus to save all who are willing to be saved by him and the free invitations of the gospel, as a sufficient warrant for him, or any other sinner, to trust his immortal in terests in his hands. O ye that labor and are heavy laden, come to Jesus, " and ye shall find rest unto your souls ! " Do not dream of first ascertaining your election, or regeneration, arid of approaching the Sa viour as a favorite of heaven ; it is only by believing in him, as a perishing sinner, that you can obtain an evidence of these things. It is by the gospel coming to us, not in word only, but in power, that our election of God is known, and our regeneration ascer tained. In others, such dejection may be owing to something within them. • It may arise from a kind of propensity to think on things which are against them, rather than on those which are in their favor ; viewing only the dark side of the cloud ; dwelling on the magnitude of their guilt, their unworthiness of mercy, and the little success they have had in praying and striving to enter in. This propensity is often fed by an idea that it would be presumption, in such sinners as they are, to admit the consolation of the gospel ; and that it is abundantly more he- coming them to stand aloof in darkness and misery. But this is not Christian humility. It is a spurious kind of modesty, the princi ple of which is nearly akin to that voluntary humility and self-denial that induces men to abstain from that which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving. Notwith standing the modest and humble appearance which these objections assume, they will be found to be no better than a species of self- righteous pride, opposed to the humiliating gospel of Christ. When you object, for in stance, that you are unworthy of such great and unspeakable blessings as the gospel re veals, and, therefore, that it would be pre sumption in you to accept of them ; what is this but saying that, before you can have any warrant to receive these blessings, you must be worthy of them, at least somewhat more so than you are at present ? And, probably, you hope in time to become so. But this is the very essence of self-righteousness, and directly opposite to the gospel of Christ. Christ came into the world to seek and save them that are lost. He came into the world to save sinners, even the chief of sinners. He has no mercy to bestow on sinners, but as undeserving. If any man think himself deserving of his grace, his answer is, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." The very meaning of the word grace, of which the Scriptures speak so largely, is free favor to the' unwor thy: unworthiness, therefore, can be no ground of objection. If there be any bar in your way, it is your conceit of some kind of, worthiness being necessary to recommend you to the grace of the Saviour : and take heed lest you perish under this delusion, after the example of apostate Israel, " who followed after the law of righteousness, but never attained it : and wherefore ? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works ofthe law : for they stumble at that stumbling-stone." If such should not be the end of "things with you, yet, to say the least, so long as this self-righteous spirit possesses you, you will be a miserable creature, and never be able to find rest unto your soul : and it cer tainly behoves you to take heed lest this should not be the worst. The question is not whether the blessings of pardon, justifi cation, and eternal life, be too great for our deserts. Are they beyond our wants ? Can we do with less ? If they are not too great for our necessities, nor too great for the ever-blessed God, through the mediation of his Son, to bestow, who are we that we should hesitate to accept of them ? If he present to us the cup of salvation, shall we not drink it? True humility, instead of making objections, would answer, "Be it unto thy servant according to thy word." We are assured, by him that cannot lie, that if we " inquire for the good old way," 252 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the way in which all the faithful have gone from age to age, " and walk in it, we shall find rest unto our souls." We know, also, who it was that applied the walking in this good old way to faith in his name, obedience to his authority, and conformity to his ex ample ; saying, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Hence we may certainly conclude that, if we do not find rest unto our souls, it must be owing to our not coming to him as a Saviour, or not yielding to his authority as a king, or not learning to copy after his example : and, if we comply not with the first, in vain do we flatter ourselves with conformity to the last. We shall never " work the works of God,", till we " believe in him whom he hath sent." An unwillingness to be saved, ruled, and modelled according to the mind of Christ, is generally the last thing of which sinners are apt to suspect themselves. They think they are willing and even desirous to be saved in his way, and to become his people ; and that the only question is, whether Christ be willing to save them : whereas all such thoughts are founded in error. "We are not straitened in him, but in our own bowels." If we can so believe in him as to relinquish every false system of religion, and every false ground of hope, falling into the arms of . free mercy, as the chief of sinners ; and if we can so yield ourselves up to him as to be willing to have our ear bored as it were to the door-posts of his house, and to serve him forever, there is no obstruction in heaven or in earth to our salvation. O disconsolate and desponding sinner! Thou hast been reading, thinking, hearing, praying, striving, and yet thou art never the nearer; no peace, no rest to thy soul, nor ascendancy over thy sins. Like the beast in the mire, all thy striving serves but to sink thee deeper. Let me ask thee a few questions : Understandest thou what thou readest ? The disciples were as dark and as sorrowful as thou art till they understood the Scriptures'. Do thy thoughts accord with God's thoughts as they are revealed in the Scriptures? God's thoughts are as much above those of man as the heavens are high er than the earth. Let me entreat thee par ticularly to consider whether thy prayers have been offered up in the name of Jesus, or with an eye to his mediation? Perhaps hitherto thou hast " asked nothing in his name ; ask, and thou shalt receive, that thy joy may be full." Remember this, too, it is he himself who invites thee to do so. " The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit : " follow his example. Here, in the gospel of free grace, in exchange for thy horrible situation, is a rock for thy feet, and a new song for thy mouth. It is in vain for thee to think of overcoming thy sins, any more than of obtaining forgiveness in any other way. "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" Cease then from taking counsel in thy soul, trust in the mercy of God through a Mediator, and thy heart shall rejoice in his salvation. 3. The case of the psalmist is applicable to persons who during the greater part of their religious profession live under habitual fear lest they should not at last prove real Chris tians. This description of professing Chris tians, of which there is a considerable num ber among us, seems to have been scarcely known in the primitive ages. In those times they appear to have been generally conscious of being what they professed to be — believ ers in the Son of God ; and, knowing that such had the promise of eternal life, they did not ordinarily doubt upon the subject. It was possible, however, at that time as well as this, for the mind to be in doubt of its own sincerity. They had hypocrites and self-de ceivers as well as we ; hence, in describing the graces of the Spirit, the sacred writer speaks of "faith unfeigned," and of "love without dissimulation." And, as the de nouncing of a hypocrite among the apostles caused each one to inquire, "Lord, is it I ? " so, doubtless, the most upright character would be subject to occasional fears, lest he should be found deceiving his own soul. This seems to be the kind oi fear which the apostle describes as cast out by perfect love : and, as the love of the primitive Christians greatly abounded, their fears and doubts with regard to their own sincerity were conse quently but few. One great cause, I apprehend, of the pre valence of such fears in sincere people of the present age is the great degree in which the attention is turned inward, and the small degree in which it is directed to the things of God as revealed in the Scriptures ; or, to use the language of the text, the taking counsel in their souls. I do not mean to discourage all remem brance of past experiences. The members of the church at Sardis are admonished to remember "how they had received and heard ; " and David, under great dejection of mind, resolved to " remember the Lord from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites from the hill Mizar." Much less do I mean to countenance the notions of such writers and preachers as cry down all evidences of grace, all marks and signs of internal Chris tianity taken from the work of sanctification in the soul. Far be this from me. I am persuaded that, for any man to reject evi dences of personal religion drawn from this quarter, he must fall very little short of re- ADVICE TO THE DEJECTED. 253 jecting his Bible.* But, though sanctifica tion is the evidence of an interest in spirit ual blessings, yet it is not so much by re membering our past religious experience that we shall obtain satisfaction as by renew ed exercises of grace. The apostle*in the forecited passages, when describing the means by which we are to come at the know ledge of our personal religion, makes no mention of things past, but of things present, of which the mind is supposed to be con scious at the time. "Hereby," saith he, " we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." — " Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God per fected: hereby know we that we are in him." — " We know that we have passed from death unto life," not because we have loved, but " because we love the brethren." And, if satisfaction be attainable only by the renewed exercises of grace, our object is to ascertain the method best adapt ed to promote such exercises, which I am persuaded will be- found to be a looking out of ourselves to the. truths and consolations revealed in the Scriptures. To attempt to ascertain the reality of our religion by a remembrance of past experi ences of grace is attempting what in most cases must needs be, to say the least, ex tremely difficult, and, if accomplished, would be of no use. The mind is not formed for such a remembrance of its own ideas and sensations as this would require. It is true those impressions which are singularly strik ing will often be remembered at a distant period, but not in that clear and lively man ner in which they are felt at the time. It is only a general recollection of things that is ordinarily retained : to be employed, there fore, in raking over our past feelings, in or der to discover whether we be real Chris tians, is almost a hopeless undertaking. If it were otherwise, and we could clearly gain the object of our research, still it has no ten dency to glorify God. The way to glorify him is to " bring forth much fruit," and not merely to remember that we did bring forth fruit some twenty or thirty years ago. Those examples which the Scriptures afford of persons recurring to past experiences were not for the purpose of ascertaining their own sincerity, but for the regaining of those sensations which at former periods they had possessed. The reason why the churches of Ephesus and Sardis were ad monished to remember their first love was that they might recover it ; and the object of David, in his recollection of past times, was not so much that he might determine what was the nature of his experiences at those times as that he might regain his con fidence in God. " I will remember thee," * See especially 1 John ii. 3, 6j iii. 14, 18 — 21, 24. saith he, " from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites from the hill Mizar." God was the object he sought ; and the remem brance of what he had formerly experienced of his goodness and faithfulness was the means he used to find him. Allowing, therefore, that the remembrance of past sen sations may afford us satisfaction as to the reality of our personal religion, yet it is no otherwise than as reviving those sensations, by which they become renewed exercises of grace. If we can recollect those things which at a former period endeared the Lord Jesus Christ and his religion to us, and so recover our affection towards them, such a recollection will be profitable, and serve to strengthen our evidences of interest in them. But if we think of gaining satisfaction on this subject by a mere remembrance of past affections, without any consciousness of present ones, we shall be disappointed, or, which is worse, if we imagine that we have gained our object, it will prove in the end that "a deceived heart hath turned us aside." If we would wish to discover whether there were any particles of steel in a large quanti ty of rubbish, it would not be the wisest way to search for them, and, especially in the dark, but to hold a large and efficacious mag net over it. And this, if it be there, is the way to discover true religion in our souls. The truths and promises of God are to a principle of religion in the mind that which the magnet is to the steel; if there be any in us, the proper exhibition of the gospel will ordinarily draw it forth. If it be a matter of doubt with you wheth er you be truly converted, far be it from me to endeavor to persuade you that you are so. Your doubts maybe well-founded, for aught I can tell : and, supposing they should be so, the door of mercy is still open. If you have obtained mercy, the same way is open' for your obtaining it again : and, if not, there is no reason why you should not obtain it now. The consolations I have to recom mend are addressed to you, not as convert ed, nor as unconverted ; not as elect, nor as non-elect, but as sinners : and this charac ter, I suppose, you have no doubt of sustain ing. All the blessings of the gospel are freely presented for acceptance to sinners. Sinners, whatever may have been their char acter, have a complete warrant to receive them ; yea, it is their duty to do so, and their great sin if they do not. Nothing but ignorance, unbelief, self-righteous pride, or some such evil state of mind, prevents it. The gospel-supper is provided ; all things are ready ; and the king's servants are com missioned to persuade, and, as it were, com pel them to come in. If you accept this in vitation, all are yours. I ask not whether you be willing to be saved in, God's way, in order to determine your right to accept 254 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. spiritual blessings — the message sent you in the gospel determines this — but in order to ascertain your interest in them. If you cordially believe the gospel, you have the promise of eternal life. If its blessings suit your desires, they are all your own. If, for example, it does not offend you, but accords with your very heart, to sue for mercy as the chief of sinners ; if you be willing to occupy that place which the gospel assigns you, which is the dust ; and to ascribe to Je sus that which God has assigned to him, "power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing ; " if you can unreluctantly give up all claim to life on the footing of your own worthiness, and desire nothing so much as to be found in Christ, not having your own righteousness ; if the salvation you seek be a deliverance from the dominion of sin, as well as from its damning power ; finally, if the heaven you desire be that which the Scriptures re veal, a state of pure and holy enjoyment, there can be no just cause to doubt of your interest in these things. To imagine that you believe all that God has revealed con cerning his Son, and that " with all your heart, receiving the love of the truth that you may be saved," and yet that some thing else is wanting to denominate you be lievers, is to imagine that believing is not believing. Read the holy Scriptures, pray to the Fountain of light for understanding, attend the preaching of the word ; and all this not with the immediate view of determining what you are, but what Christ is : and, if you find in him that in which your whole soul acquiesces, this, without your searching af ter it, will determine the question as to your personal interest in him. SERMON XIII. THE PRAYER OF FAITH, EXEMPLIFIED IN THE WOMAN OF CANAAN. " Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is griev ously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away ; for she crieth after us. But ho answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me ! But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O wo man ! great" is thy faith ; be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." — Matt. xv. 21 — 28. When John the Baptist sent a message to Jesus, saying, "Art thou he that should come, or do we_look for another," Jesus gave an indirect answer, an answer contain ing a reproof. Whether John himself, re taining like the apostles the notion of a tem poral kingdom, and therefore expecting on his being put in prison that a great revolu tion would follow in favor of the Messiah, and hearing of nothing but companies of poor people repairing to him to be healed of their infirmities, began to hesitate whether he might not have been mistaken ; or whether he only personated some of his disciples ; somebody appears. to have been stumbled at the simplicity of Christ's appearance. Hence the indirect answer of Jesus : " Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see : the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk ; the lepers are cleans ed, and the deaf hear ; the dead are raised up, and the poor have tbe gospel preached to them. — And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me." To be encompass ed by crowds of afflicted people supplicat ing for mercy, and' employed in relieving them, was sustaining a character, though far from what the world calls splendid, yet truly great, and worthy of the Messiah. The short account of this poor woman is more profitable to be read than a long and minute history of military exploits. In endeavoring to improve this brief story, we will notice who the petitioner was — what was her errand — and the repeated ap plications which were made, with the repeat ed repulses, but ultimate success, that she met with. I. Let us observe who the petitioner was. She is said to be " a woman of Canaan." Mark says she was " a Greek ; " but the term, in this and some other con nections, seems to denote only that she was a Gentile, and not that she came from the country called Greece ; for, in the same passage, she is said to have been " a Syro- phenician by nation." ¦ She was a Gentile ; one of the first-fruits of that harvest of Gentiles that was shortly to be gathered in. Our Lord, though he was sent, as he said, " to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," yet extended his mercy to individuals of other nations: and it is worthy of notice that those few who were gathered at this early period are highly commended for the eminence of their faith. Like the first-fruits of the earth, they were the best. It might still be said, on a review of things among us, that such faith as that of the woman of Canaan and the Roman centurion is rarely to be found in Israel. Farther : She was not only a Gentile, but one of" those Gentiles who were under a peculiar curse. She appears to have been one of the descendants of the ancient Ca naanites ; many of whom, when driven from their own country, settled on the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. We know the curse to THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 255 which that people were devoted, even from the days of their ancestor Canaan, the son of Ham. We know also that Joshua was commanded not to spare them, and that Israel was forbidden to make leagues with them. This curse, however, came upon them for their being an exceedingly wicked people. The abominations of which they were guilty, and which were nursed by their idolatry as by a parent sin, are given as the reason why the land vomited out its inhab itants, and why Israel must form no alliances with them, lest they should learn their ways. There was no time in which the God of Israel refused even a Canaanite who repent ed and embraced his word. Of this, Rahab the harlot, Uriah the Hittite, Oman the Jebusite, ahd others, were examples. The door of mercy has ever been open to faith : and though it seemed, in this instance, to be shut, it was only to prove the party, and to induce her to plead with greater importu nity. II. Let us notice her errand. It was not her own case, but a case which she had made her own ; that of her young daughter. She pleaded it, however, as if it were her own — " Have mercy on me ! Lord help me ! From this part ofthe subject we may learn 1. That, in our approaches to Christ, it becomes us to go not for ourselves only, but for others around us, and to make their cases ours. He to whom the application was made could not but approve of this princi ple ; for it was that on which he himself was acting at the time. He took the cause of perishing sinners, and made it his own. "He bore our griefs, and carried our sor rows." A spirit of sympathy is the very spirit of Christ, which they that are joined to him must needs possess. 2. That it behoves us, more especially, to carry the cases of our children to the Lord, and to make them our own. It may be, they are too young to understand or feel their own malady, or to know where help is to be had ; in this case, surely, it is our proper business to personate them before the Lord : or, it may be, their minds are blinded, and their hearts hardened by the deceitfulness of sin, so as to have no desire to pray for themselves ; and then we can do no less than carry their case to him who alone is able to help. What less, and in many instances what more, can an afflicted parent do for an ungodly child ? It is true we have no ground to expect the salvation of our children, while they continue hardened; but Jesus is " exalted to give repentance and remission of sins ; " and, while we present our supplication in a way of submission to his will, he will not be offended with us. It was the practice of holy Job to offer sacrifi ces for his children ; and it seems to be a part of God's plan frequently to bless the children at the intercession of the parent, and thus to express his approbation of some thing which they have done for him. " The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesi- phorus," said Paul, "for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain." III. Let us remark the repeated appli cations, the repeated repulses, and the ultimate success which crowned the whole. Here were no fewer than four applications ; three of which were made by the woman herself, and one by the disci ples, on her behalf. Three out of the four failed ; but the fourth succeeded. Let us examine them, and the success they met with, distinctly. The first was made by the woman, and is described as follows :-— " She cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David ; my daughter is griev ously vexed with a devil." We might re mark the brevity, the fulness, and the ear nestness of this petition ; but there is one thing which our Lord himself afterwards noticed, and which therefore is particularly deserving of our attention : it ivas the pray er of faith. She believed, and confessed him to be the Messiah. Her addressing him under the character of " Lord," and as "the son of David," amounted to this. It was a principle universally acknowledged among the Jews that the Lord, or king Messiah, should be of the seed of David. To address him, therefore, under this character, was confessing him to be the Christ. This was the appellation under which he was more than once invoked by certain blind men ; and, in every instance, the same idea was meant to be conveyed. These poor people did not address our Saviour in a way of unmeaning complaisance: they under stood that the Messiah, " the son of David," was to be distinguished by the exercise of mercy : hence they continually associated these ideas. " Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou_ son of David ! " — Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on us ! " And this is the , very character given to the Messiah in the ' Old Testament, especially in the seventy- second Psalm. " He shall deliver the needy when he crieth ; the poor also, and him that hath no helper." Thus they had heard, thus they believed, and thus their faith wrought in a way of effectual prayer. But whence had this woman, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger to the covenants of promise, this wisdom? Providence had placed her on the borders of the Holy Land, and she appears to have profited by it. The true religion, contained in the oracles of God, had its influence not only on Israel, but on many individuals in the neighboring nations. It was foretold that they who dwelt under his shadow should return ; and here we see it accomplished. Probably this poor Canaanite had often gone into the Jewish synagogue to hear the read- 256 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. ing of the law and the prophets ; and, while many of those who read them gained only a superficial acquaintance with them, she un derstood them to purpose. One would al most think she must lately have heard the seventy-second Psalm read at one of these assemblies, and have made up her petition out of the passage forecited. " He shall de liver the needy when he crieth ; the poor also, and him that hath no helper ; " — then why not me ? I will go, and turn this prophecy into a prayer ; " Have mercy upon me, O Lord, thou son of David ! " It is good to have our residence near to the means of grace, and to have a heart to make use of them. It is good to grow upon the banks of this river of the water of life. It is pleasant, also, to think of the good effects of the true religion among the posterity of Abraham. It is thus we see the fulfilment of the prom ise to that faithful man, " I will bless thee, and thou shalt be a blessing." But, while these things afford pleasure to us, they must, methinks, have been very pro voking to the Jews ; and happy had it been for them if they had been provoked to a godly jealousy. Many among them were far behind these strangers in knowledge and in faith, though they enjoyed very supe rior advantages. The Saviour was contin ually among them, crying, and calling at their gates, and at the entering in of their cities ; yet they generally disregarded him : whereas, in this case, he only took an occa sional journey, and that in secret (for, when he entered into a house, " he would have no man know it;") yet here this poor woman found him out, and presented her supplica tion. How true is that saying of our Lord, " The last shall be first, and the first last ! " and how often do we still see persons of in ferior advantages enter into the kingdom of God before others who have possessed the greatest abundance of means ! But what treatment did she receive from our Saviour on this her first application? " He answered her not a word." Who would have expected this ? Does it accord with his usual conduct ? In what instance had he been known to refuse such an applica tion ? It was very mysterious, and very dis couraging. Is his ear heavy, then, that it cannot hear ? or his arm shortened, that it -cannot save ? — " Answered her not a word ! " Who could understand this as any other ¦than a repulse ? If the faith of the petition er had been weak, she might have concluded that he would not answer her because he could not help her. If her heart had been cold, she might have gone away, as many do after having said their prayers, content ed without the blessing. If her spirit had been haughty, she must and would have re sented it, and have asked no more. In short, had she been any thing but what she was — great in faith, in love, and humility — she would have turned away. And here we may see the wisdom of our Saviour's con duct : had he* immediately granted her re quest, we had seen little or nothing of the exercise of these graces. But let us pro ceed. Here is a second application made on her behalf; and this is by the disciples: they " came and besought him to send her away." I hope they meant that he would grant her petition. One might have expected some thing considerable from the intercession of the twelve apostles. He had consented to go and heal the centurion's servant at the request of the Jewish elders: and surely his own disciples must have an interest with him equal to theirs. If the poor woman knew of their becoming her advocates, it is natural to suppose her expectations must have been raised : and this it is likely she did ; for, while they were speaking, she seems to have held her peace. Neither need they have been at a loss for a precedent ; for, though she was a heathen, yet they had lately wit nessed his kind attention to a Roman centu rion : and, had they pleaded this, he might have shown mercy at their request. But to what does their intercession amount ? Alas, it is mean and pitiful : it does not appear to have a spice of benevolence in it, but to have been merely the effect of self-love : " Send her away," said they, " for she crieth after us." O disciples ! And does the voice of prayer trouble you ? How little at present do you resemble your Master ! We never read oihis being troubled with the cry of the poor and needy. And this is all you have to urge, is it? Your charity amounts to just so much as that of some wealthy-per sons, who give a poor man a penny, not out of compassion, but in order to get rid of him ! What is the answer to this miserable pe tition? Our Lord takes no notice of the mercenary nature ofthe plea; and this was like himself: amidst the numerous faults of his disciples, he often exercised a dignified forbearance towards them. But what an swer did he make ? " I am not sent but un to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." It was true that his commission was especially directed to Israel; and, previously to his resurrection, he even forbade his disciples to go " in the way of the ' Gentiles : " nor is it any wonder that he should avail himself of this general truth still to withhold his fa vor, rather than grant it at such a request as this. The motive which they had urged was not likely to work upon him. But think how it must affect the poor pe titioner. Silence was discouraging ; but this must have been more so. That might be imputed to other causes: she might sup pose he was considering of her request ; and, though he had said nothing in her favor, yet he had said nothing against her: this, however, is not only giving her a denial, THE PRAYER OF FAITH. 257 but giving the reason of it ; which would seem to render it irrevocable. To an eye of sense, it would now seem to be a lost case. It is not so, however, to an eye of faith. Let us proceed to the third application. The disciples had been poor advocates. Make way for her, and let her plead her own cause : she can do it best. It is not one, nor two repulses, that will silence the prayer of faith ; nor will aught else, so long as Je sus lives, and the invitations and promises of his word continue unrevoked. It was written, " He shall deliver the needy when he crieth ; the poor also, and him that hath no helper:" and the efficacy of this decla ration must be tried again. " Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me!" Observe, she prefaces her petition with an act of worship. She had before acknow ledged him as David's son; now she ap proaches him as»his Lord. Prostrate at his feet, she adores him, and renews her sup plication. It is short, yet very full. It has only three words, but more than three ideas, and these full of importance. She here, in effect, tells him that her case is urgent ; that she is truly helpless ; that no help is to be expected from any other quarter; that she is persuaded of his being able to save to the uttermost; and that it belongs to his character, as Messiah, to help those that have no helper. Though a Canaanite, as suredly she possesses the spirit of an Isra elite : " I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." If there be such a thing as holy violence, or taking the kingdom of heaven, as it were, by force, surely this is it ; and, knowing the character of Christ, we should have conclud ed that this petition must be successful. But "Jesus answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs." What imperfect judges are we of times and seasons ! Just now we should have supposed her cause was gained, and yet it was not so ; and now we should have been ready enough to conclude it was lost, and yet it is not so. Let us learn to wait patiently for the Lord, and neither conclude, when we enjoy great fervor and freedom in our approaches to him, that our prayers must be answered immediately or not at all ; nor, when thrown back into darkness and dis couragement, that now there is no hope. Had this poor woman rested her expectation on her own feelings, or on any thing short of the Lord's own word, she had fainted in this trying moment. What a crowd of thoughts might she at this time have cher ished ; hard thoughts, proud thoughts, and despairing thoughts ! — And is this the Mes siah, of whom such glorious things are spo ken ? Is this the compassion that he is to exercise "to the poor, and to them that have Vol. 2.— Sis. 33. no helper ? " No mercy, no help for a stran ger, even though prostrate at his feet ; and, as if it were not enough to refuse his assistance, he must call me a dog ! I will ask no more : whatever be my lot, I will bear it ! — Such might have been her reflections, and such her conduct ; but she was a believer, and faith operates in a different way. Yet what could our Saviour mean by such language ? Did he really intend to counte nance that contemptuous spirit with which the carnal Jews treated the Gentiles ? Sure ly not. Did he feel towards this poor stran ger as his words would seem to indicate ? No : his roughness, like that of Joseph to wards his brethren, was assumed for the pur pose of trying her ; and she endures the trial with singular perseverance. She neither resents being called a dog, nor despairs on account of it ; but is resolved still to follow up her suit. Yet what new plea can she find to offer ? Let us hear the fourth and last applica tion: "Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat ofthe crumbs that fall from their master's table." Most admirable ! Such an instance of spi ritual ingenuity, of holy and humble acu men, was perhaps never known before, nor since. Now the conflict is at an end ; the victory is gained ; the kingdom of heaven is taken by the prayer of faith. Jesus, like Joseph, can restrain himself no longer, but appears in his true character : " O woman, great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wilt ! " Let us review this charming crisis, and mark the ground from which this last and successful plea proceeded. It was the ground on which the Lord had placed her. He intimated that she was a dog, unworthy of the children's bread ; she readily admit ted it, and as a dog presented her petition. Here, then, is the grand secret how to suc ceed in our approaches for mercy. We must stand upon that ground where the Scripture places us, and thence present our petition. Does the Lord tell us in his word that we are guilty, unworthy, ungodly, de serving of eternal death ? On this ground we must take our stand, and plead for that mer cy which is provided for characters of this description. All applications for mercy, on any other ground, will be unsuccessful. The last answer of Jesus, as well as the last prayer of the woman, is worthy of spe cial notice. There are three things remark able in it ; the recommendation of her faith, the granting of her desire, and the affection ate manner in wliich both were addressed to her. "Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith ! " This aceords with his general practice. The blessings of healing, as well as those of a more spiritual nature, were ordinarily suspended on believ ing, and, when obtained, were ascribed to it. Hence such language as this: "If thou 258 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. canst believe, all things are possible to him that believetli. — Thy faith hath saved thee. — Thy faith hath made thee whole." Did our Lord, by this language, mean to give away the honor of salvation from himself? No : it is not used for the purpose of trans ferring honor to us, but for giving encour agement to faith. Neither is there any op position of interests between Christ and faith : those who are saved by faith are saved by Christ ; for it is of the nature of faith to go out of itself, and draw all from him. Christ's power and grace operate as the cause of our salvation : faith as the means of it ; yet, being a means absolutely neces sary for the bringing of Christ and the soul together, as well as for the promotion of all other graces, it is constantly held up as the one thing needful. Perhaps, if we had commended the Ca naanitish woman, we should have admired her great importunity and great humility ; but our Lord passes over these, taking no tice only of her faith : and wherefore ? Be- casue faith was the root, or principle, from which the others sprang, and by which they were kept alive. Our Lord often commended the faith of believers ; but I recollect only two instances in which he speaks of it as being great; and they are both of them Gentiles : one is the Roman centurion ; and the other the woman of whom we are discoursing. There doubt less was an eminency, or peculiar strength, in the faith of each of them ; but that which more than any thing rendered it great in our Lord's account was its being exercised un der such great disadvantages. To Israel pertained the promises. If Gentiles par took of the root and fatness of the olive- tree, it was by being grafted into it, contrar-y to nature. Yet, amidst these disadvantages, they abounded in faith, which, for the de gree of it, was not to be found in Israel. Thus we are often provoked to jealousy. Persons whose religious advantages have been small, compared with ours, are never theless before us in faith, and love, and hea- venly-mindedness. Thus it is that the pride of man is stained, and no flesh suffered to glory in the divine presence. Having commended her faith, our Saviour proceeds to grant her desire : " Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." The Lord does not excite a willing mind, with a view final ly to cross it ; or an earnestness of desire, in order to disappoint it: such willingness and such desire, therefore, are indicative of his designs. Christ only can satisfy the de sires of the mind ; and Christians are the only men in the world whose desires are satisfied. Cresar, in the full possession of empire, is said to have exclaimed, " Is this all ? " And such is the disappointment that every sinner will meet with who sets his heart on any thing but Christ. It is not in the power of the whole creation to say to ! an immortal, guilty creature, "Be it unto ' thee even as thou wilt : " but Jesus hath the words of eternal life. The tender- and affectionate manner in which our Saviour commended the faith, and fulfilled the desire, of the poor petitioner, is deserving also of remark. It is introduced with an interjection, O woman! In the lips of a speaker abounding in affectation, such words signify but little : but Jesus never af fected to feel when he did not. Whenever, therefore, an interjection is seen in his speeches, we may be certain he felt. He felt compassion towards her, on account of her affliction ; but chiefly admiration and de light, on witnessing the peculiar energy of her faith. Thus he marvelled at the Roman centurion. The genuine and especially the eminent exercises of grace are, more than any thing, the delight of Christ's heart In looking at the poor and contrite sphit, he overlooks heaven and earth? It may be rather surprising to us that our Saviour should hold this poor woman so long in suspense : but, if he had not, her graces would not have been so apparent, and the exercise of them so grateful to him. And thus we may account for many of the afflic tions through which the Lord brings his servants. If tribulation work patience, and patience experience, and experience hope ; and if, in his esteem, the exercise of these graces be of greater account than our present ease, it is not surprising that he should prefer the former to the latter : and this consideration should reconcile us to those providences which, for a time, hold us in painful suspense. From the whole we may remark that gen uine, yea, great grace, may be exercised in respect of temporal mercies. It was not for the salvation of her soul, or tlie soul of her daughter, that this poor woman was so im portunate ; but for the removal of an afflic tion. Yet, such was the grace which was exercised in it, that there is no doubt of her being eternally saved. The exercise of spi rituality is not confined to the seeking of spiritual blessings. We may serve the Lord in our daily avocations: and it is essential to true religion that we do so. Such prayer may be offered, and such faith exercised, in respect of our daily bread, as have the pro mise of everlasting life. Finally : If our Saviour suffered himself to be overcome by one who sought for a temporal blessing, much more will he accept of those who come to him for such as are spir itual and eternal. His promises are much stronger in the one case than in the other. Though there were several general intima tions that the Messiah would exercise com passion towards the bodies as well as the souls of men ; and the numerous miracles which he wrought afforded full proof of his Christ's love to the church. 259 readiness to do good in every way ; yet he nowhere bound himself, that I recollect, to heal all that came to him. I believe he ne ver sent away an individual without a cure : but still he seems to have reserved to him self a kind of discretionary power to do so. But, in matters of everlasting moment, the word is gone out of his hps, "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no ivise cast out." Here, every one that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, we are assured by the keeper of the gate, it shall be opened. If any man, therefore, be hereafter shut out of the kingdom of heaven, it will appear, in the end, that he sought not after it in the pre sent life ; or, at least, that he sought it not by faith. We shall all be importunate, sooner or later : but importunity will one day be un availing ! Many will then seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Yea, they will cry earnestly, saying, "Lord, Lord, open unto us. — We have eaten and drunk in thy pre sence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, — Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity." O my hearers ! let us agonize to enter in at the strait gate. All the zeal and earnestness which we may feel in other things is spending our money for that which is not bread, and our labor for that which satisfieth not Incline your ear, and come unto Him ; hear, and your souls shall live ; and he will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. SERMON XIV. the future perfection of the church contrasted with its present imper fections. 44 Christ — loved tbe church, and gave himself for it : that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might pre- seut it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish." — Eph. v. 25 — 27. It is a distinguishing feature in the apos tolic writings that motives to the most ordi nary duties are derived from the doctrine of the cross. Who but an apostle would have thought of enforcing affection in a husband to a wife from the love of Christ to his church? We are, undoubtedly, hereby taught to act, in the common affairs of life, from Christian principle : and I am inclined to think that our personal Christianity is more manifested in this way than in any oth er. It is not by a holiness put on on reh gious occasions, as we put on our Lord's-day dress, that we shall prove ourselves to be Christians ; but by that which is habitual, and which, without our so much as designing it, will spontaneously appear in our language and behavior. If the apostle's heart had not been full of Christ, he would have thought of other motives than this : but this, being uppermost, presented itself on all occasions. We may be thankful that it was so on this, es peciaUy ; for we are hereby furnished with a most interesting and affecting view of tlie salvation of sinners — a salvation originating in the love of Christ, and terminating in then- being presented to him without spot, and blameless. Three things require our attention : name ly, the character of the church, when the de signs of mercy shall be fulfilled upon her — the causes to which it is ascribed — and the honor for which it is intended to prepare her. I. The character of the church, when the designs of mercy shall be fulfilled upon her ; — " A glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but holy, and without blemish." We are at no loss to perceive the meaning ofthe term church, in this connection. It mani festly expresses the whole assembly of the saved, elsewhere called "the church of the first-born, whose names are written in heav en." It is denominated glorious, through the glory which Christ shall have put upon it ; and which, it is intimated, will consist in a freedom from every imperfection, and the consummation of purity, or holy beauty. In the description here given the apostle has, no doubt, an eye to the church in its dif ferent states, as fallen, as renewed, and as perfected. In the first it is supposed to have been defiled, so as to need sanctifying and cleansing : and, even in the second, to have many things which diminish its beauty ; such as spots and wrinkles: but, in the last, it shall be a " glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; " or, speaking more literally, " holy, and without blemish." Our ideas of a state of perfection are very defective. An apostle acknowledged, "We know not what we shall be." Indeed it is, at present, but very partially revealed ; and, if it were otherwise, our minds, naturally weak and greatly enfeebled by the remains of indwelling sin, would be unable to sus tain a direct view of it We can better con ceive what it is not than what it is. The apostle himself writes as if he could not fully conceive of the immaculate state of the church : but he could say what it would not he, or that it would be without those spots and wrinkles wliich at present attended it, and greatly impaired its beauty! As this, then, was the apostle's manner of contem plating the future glory of the church, let it be ours. I shall not attempt to compare the church perfected with what it was antecedently to its being sanctified and cleansed, in vhtue of Christ's having given himself for it (for, in that view, it admits of no comparison ;) but with what it is at present, notwithstanding ; that is, the subject of many imperfections. 260 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. Spots suppose a loveliness of character up on the whole, though in themselves they are unlovely. They could not, with propriety, have been attributed to the church, while she remained unsanctified ; for then she was al together polluted. The same may be said of imperfections. It is improper to attribute them to unconverted sinners. Such charac ters will often acknowledge themselves to have their imperfections ; but, in truth, they thereby pay themselves a compliment which does not belong to them. Imperfection sup poses the mind to be engaged in the pursuit of perfection, though it has not, as yet, at tained it. Spots and imperfections, then, are properly attributed to the church in its pres ent state ; indicating a general loveliness of character, though they are in themselves un lovely. Whatever has tended to deface it, or to detract from its holy beauty, that is to be reckoned among its spots. How much, then, in the first place, has the beauty of Christ's church been defaced by false doctrines, and by the strifes and divi sions which have followed upon them. While we are of the apostle's mind, deter mined to know nothing but Christ and him crucified, we shall not be in danger of devia ting very wildely from the truth, in any of its branches : but, if we lose sight of this pole- star, we shall soon fall upon the rocks of er ror. Paul and his fellow-apostles, inspired as they were, could not maintain tbe purity of all the churches. The number of worldly men who obtrude themselves upon the church, some in the character of members and others in that of ministers, together with the tendency to err which is found even in believers themselves, too easily accounts for the same things in that and every succeed ing age. When the gospel was addressed to the Jews, many of them believed ; but, among their leaders, there were men whose minds were not subdued to the obedience of Christ. Christianity, said they, is very good, so far as it goes ; but it is defective. It grates with our feelings, who have been used to so much religious pomp. Circumcision, and a few of our decent ceremonies, would com plete it. So also, when the gospel was ad dressed to the learned Greeks, some of them believed ; but among them were men who wanted to supply some of its supposed de fects. Christianity, said they, is good, so far as it goes ; but it wants a httle philoso phy to be added to it, and the whole to be cast into a philosophical mould ; and then it will be respectable, and worthy of being the religion ofthe whole human race. But what Said the apostle to the churches in respect of these proposals ? Hear him : " As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him ; rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanks giving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ : for in him dwell eth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power ; in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ ; buried with him in baptism, where in also ye arei risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses ; blotting 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 ; and, having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy-day, or of the new moon, or of the sab bath days : which are a shadow of things to come : but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward, in a volun tary humility and worshipping of angels, in truding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind ; and not holding the Head, from which ali the body by joints and bands having nourish ment ministered, and knit together, in creaseth with the increase of God." Had the church of Christ adhered to this counsel, it had been free from many spots which have since defaced it : but it has not. In every age there have been men of corrupt minds, who have followed the example of these Judaizing and philosophizing teachers, in then attempts to render the doctrine of Christ more complete, that is, more congenial to the wishes of their own hearts : and the church has, in too many instances, been car ried away by them. Some have degraded the dignity of Christ, and thereby under- minded his sacrifice ; others have disowned the freeness of his grace ; and others have turned it into licentiousness. Behold, how, at this day, the beauty ofthe church is marred by these antichristian principles, and the strifes which ensue upon them ! One denom ination, or society, sees the spots upon the face of another, and is employed in exposing them, instead of removing those upon its own ; while the impartial eye must perceive that deviations from the simplicity of the gospel are, in different degrees, to be found in all. Blessed be God, who hath given us to ex pect a day when the church shall be freed from all this deformity ; when the watchmen shall see eye to eye ; when the people of God, now divided into parties, shall be of one heart and of one soul ; when neither dis cordance nor defect shall attend their re- Christ's love to the church. 261 searches ; and when we shall all come, in the unity ofthe faith, and of the knowledge ofthe Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure ofthe stature of the fulness of Christ ! How much also has the beauty of Christ's church been defaced by superstitious and unscriptural worship. The method of com pleting- Christianity, by the addition of a number of decent ceremonies, first practised by the Judaizing teachers, has been acted over and over again. The introduction of such things in the first three centuries made way for the grand papal apostacy ; and spots of this kind remain upon the faces of many Protestant communities to this day. The nearer we approach to the simplicity of prim itive worship the better. The meretricious ornaments of man's invention may adorn the mother of harlots, but they are blemishes to the bride of Christ. They are the wood, hay, and stubble oi the building, which later builders have laid upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and which, when the day shall come that shall declare every man's work, of what sort it is, will be burnt up. Finally: The beauty of Christ's church has been greatly defaced by the impure lives of great numbers of its members. I do not now refer to the immoral practices of all that have been called Christians ; as a large pro portion of them cannot be said to have de served the name. I refer to those only who have either been Christians indeed, or, at least, received and treated as such by those who were so. The evils which have pre vailed among them have been great, and still furnish matter of shame and grief in all the churches. The primitive churches them selves, some more especially, had many spots of this description. And it is worthy of notice that those who most departed from the doctrine of Christ, such as the Corinthi ans, the Galatians, and the Hebrews, were most faultly in matters of practice. The evil communications of some of their teach ers tended to corrupt good manners. The same causes continue also to produce the same effects. Those congregations where the pure doctrine ofthe cross is relinquished, whether it be in favor of what is called mo rality on the one hand or high notions of or thodoxy on the other, are commonly distin guished by the laxity of their conduct. Many of the former, by a conformity to the genteel vices of the world, have nearly lost all pretensions to Christianity ; and many of the latter, by their opposition to practical preaching, and neglect of Christian disci pline, have been offensive to common de cency. Nor is this all : even the purest communities have their spots. Individuals are chargeable with things for which the good ways of God are evil spoken of; and they that have been enabled to maintain a fair character in the eyes of men, have, nevertheless, much alienation of heart, and many faults to acknowledge and bewail be fore God. We are given, however, to believe that it will not be thus always. The church will not only see better days, before the end of time, but, ere she is presented to her Lord, shall be entirely purified : " The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things which offend, and them which do iniquity: then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom qf their Father." Another term by which the present imper fections of the church are expressed is that of wrinkles. These, as well as spots, are inconsistent with perfect beauty. They are signs of the decay of life, and health, and vigor : hence they are the ordinary symp toms of old age, or of an enfeebled consti tution. Surely a more appropriate term could not have been chosen for expressing those spiritual declensions to which the church,mits present state, is continually sub ject. The church at Ephesus, during her first love, resembled a virgin in the bloom of youthful beauty ; but when she left it, and, with it, her first works, she became as a woman bowed down by age, and covered with wrinkles. In this church we see what the church in general is, compared with what it was in the primitive ages ; what Protes tants are, compared with what they were at the Reformation ; what Protestant Dissen ters are, compared with the Puritans and Nonconformists ; and what many congrega tional churches are, compared with what they have been at certain periods. I need not enlarge on these particulars : your own reflections are sufficient to convince you that great numbers of each description are in a wrinkled or decayed state. There is indeed, in us, a strong and perpetual tenden cy to declension. Things which have for merly been interesting and impressive will, if we do not habitually walk with God, lose their influence. We shall read of the zeal of the apostles, of the martyrs, and of other Christian worthies ; but we shall not feel it. On the contrary, we shall seem to be reading of men -whom we cannot but admire, but whom we know not how to imitate. How cheering is the thought that the time is coming when these spots and wrinkles will be no more ; but the church, and every individual member of it, shall be " holy, and without blemish ! " Holy beauty, in every stage pnd degree of it, is lovely. The charac^ given to that generation of the Israelites shich grew up in the wilderness, and which, warned by the crimes and punishments of its predecessors, clave in great numbers to the Lord, is charm ing: "Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after 262 sermons and sketches. me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase : all that devour him shall offend ; evil shall come upon them, said the Lord." It was then that Balaam endeavored in vain to curse them ; and that, instead of cursing, he was constrained to bless them. Like an old debauchee, awed by the dignity of virtue, he was compelled to desist, and even to ad mire the object which he could not imitate : " How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel. — Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his ! " Such, I may say, was the youthful beauty of the Jewish church ; and that cf the Christian church was still great er. To read the Acts of the Apostles, and to see the faith, the love, the zeal, the disin terestedness, the diligence, and the patience of the first disciples, is very affecting. It was then that they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers ; that great grace was upon them all ; and that, having believed in Jesus, they rejoiced in being thought worthy to suffer for his name. But, lovely as both the Jewish and Christian churches were, neither of them could vie with the church made perfect. The dispar ity between the highest degrees of holiness and a state of sinless perfection is incon ceivable. The deliverance of the captives from mere temporal thraldom, and which was only the effect of sin, was so overcom ing, that they were like those that dream, scarcely believing themselves to be what and where they were : but for the church of God, in full remembrance of its foul revolts, to feel itself holy, and without blemish, is an idea too great for sinful creatures to compre hend. If any imagine that this language is too strong, and that sinless perfection, or what is near to it, has been attained by many in the present life, I would recommend them to consider that to be holy, and without blem ish, is different according to the different kinds and degrees of light in which it is viewed. A vessel may be clean if viewed in a dim light, and very foul if viewed in a clear one. Thus a character may be holy, and without blemish, if viewed only in the light of selfish partiality, or even by the partiality of friendship ; nay, if he be a re cluse, the prejudice of an enemy may not be able to detect his faults : but place him before the tribunal of God, set his secret sins in the light of his countenance, and the decision will be different. To be presented lioly and icithout blemish, is to be so in his sight. Such is the idea conveyed by the words of Jude : " Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy." Tp be faultless in the presence of an earthly judge, especially of one distinguished by his penetration and im partiality, is no small matter : but to be so in the presence of him to whom all things are known, implies a change far surpassing every thing experienced among mortals. The low ideas which some persons enter tain of sinless perfection may be owing, in part, to their considering it chiefly in a nega tive point of view. Feeling, it may be, very little positive desire after their evil courses, they begin to think they have not sinned for such a length of time, and consequently are now nearly, if not altogether, perfect. But perfection does not consist merely in a ces sation from evil (which is no more than may be ascribed to animals,) but in the love of God with all the heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and of our neighbors as our selves. The state to which the church shall be brought, before she is presented to her Lord, is that of being not only " without blemish," but " holy and without blemish." In that perfect state, we shall be unre servedly devoted to the Lord. No more shall the mind be betrayed, by the illusive reasonings of men, to listen to God-dishonor ing principles : no more shall it lose sight of Christ, in the maze of its own researches. The blandishments of the world shall no more seduce the heart ; nor hope, nor fear, nor shame, divert the feet from the path of rectitude. No more shall slothfulness, or any kind of sinful indulgence, unnerve the soul in its labors for God. No more shall the flesh lust against the spirit, nor the spirit have to struggle with the flesh. No more shall our half-hearted services render it doubtful, to ourselves or others, on whose side we are. In a word, — there the Lord's " servants shall serve him." The multitude, in that perfect state, will also, in respect of each other, be of one heart and of one soul. No discordant sen timents divide them ; no unkindnesses grieve them ; no bitter strifes interrupt their har mony ; no slights, misunderstandings, mis constructions, hard thoughts, or cutting words, have place among them ; no giving or taking offence ; no opposition of interests ; no selfishness ; no envies, jealousies, back- bitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults : all is sweet peace and love. Bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil- speaking, with all malice, are forever put away from among them. In him that loved and gave himself for them, all hearts are one. This leads us to consider II. The causes to which all this is ascribed : Christ "loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanc tify and cleanse it with the washing of wa ter by the word." I think it not improbable that the apostle may allude to the parable concerning the Jewish church, in the six- CHRIST'S LOVE TO THE CHURCH. 263 teenth chapter of Ezekiel. The substance of it is this : — A female infant, the fruit, perhaps, of an illicit connection (whose wretched parent, in order to hide her shame, had left it in the fields,) was discovered by a humane prince, who happened to be passing that way at the time. He looked at the perishing babe, and pitied it. I will save thy life, said he ; and, as thou art fatherless and motherless, I will be both father and mother to thee, and thou shalt be mine. — He then washed and clothed her ; and, taking her to his palace, gave her an education suited to his intentions, which in fact were, at a proper time, to marry her. On her ar riving at years of maturity, he carried his design into execution ; she became his wife, and the crown royal was placed upon her head. Look at this representation, and at his conduct who " 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." Look, I say, at both these representations, and judge if the one has not some reference to the other. There are three things to which the salva tion of the church is here ascribed; namely, the love of Christ — the sacrifice oi Christ — and the word of Christ. 1. For the accomplishment of so great a deliverance, it was necessary that Christ should love the church. The thought of this is overwhelming. His wisdom and power and majesty pay induce us to admire and adore him ; but to think of his loving sinful men excites amazement. There are several properties pertaining to the love of Christ which require to be taken into the account, if we would form anything like a just view of it. Love may be founded upon character. Christ himself speaks of loving his disciples on this account: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love ; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." But that of which we are discoursing could not be founded upon anything of this kind ; for its object is supposed to be altogether pol luted. He loved his church, and gave him self for it, not because it was sanctified and cleansed, or in view of its being so ; but " that he might sanctify and cleanse it." Again, love towards an unworthy object is, com monly, no other than general benevolence. Such was that compassion which our Sa viour felt when he wept over Jerusalem ; and such that good will towards men of which his being born into the world was an ex pression. God's giving his only-begotten Son to be made a sacrifice, and declaring that " whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life," was a great expression of divine goodness towards sinners, whether they believe and be saved or not. But the love which Christ is said to have borne to the church was discriminating and effectual to its salvation. The church is supposed to have been given him of the Fa ther, to be unto him as a bride to a husband, and, ultimately, the reward of his undertak ing. The love of Christ, therefore, in this connection, can be no other than electing love ; and the passage may be considered as parallel with that at the beginning of the epistle, "He hath chosen us in him, be fore the foundation of the world, that we should be holy, and witiiout blame before him in love." 2. For the accomplishment of the church's redemption, it was necessary that Christ should give himself a sacrifice. In this way his love must operate, or be ineffectual. We are now, my brethren, upon the most interesting part of the most interesting sub ject that was ever presented to men or an gels. It was this on which Paul wrote so feelingly : " The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." It was this that furnished John with his affect ing doxology : " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his oivn blood, — to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." It is this that furnishes the church in heaven with its " new song : " " Thou art worthy— for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation." But wherefore must our Redeemer give himself for us ? Would nothing short of life suffice? Nothing. We, as transgressors, being justly exposed to eternal death, must have borne our iniquity, had he not offered himself as a substitute in our place, life for life. Some who profess to believe in the atonement have hesitated, from I know not what kind of modesty, to maintain the neces sity oi it in order to forgiveness ; alleging that it does not become us to say what God could or could not have done. But does it become us, when he has, in effect, declared anything to be inconsistent with his perfec tions, to question whether it might not, nevertheless, be admissible ? Why did not the cup pass from him, when, with strong crying and tears to God, he besought that if it were possible, it might do so ? It is true, " it pleased the Lord to bruise him ; " but, surely, not without a necessity for it ! If mercy could have been manifested con sistently with justice, without his suffering, surely the cup would have passed from him ! Whoever had been given up to be made a curse, God would have spared his own Son! But " it became him for whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through 264 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. sufferings." To give up the necessity of atonement is half giving up the thing itself: and the half which remains will have but little effect on our hearts, or on the tenor of our labors. The connection in which the death of Christ is here introduced, namely, as being for his church, or, which is the same thing, for his elect people, teaches us that all which he did and suffered was with a view to their salvation. The invitations of the gospel, it is true, are addressed to sinners, as sinners ; and I believe it to be equally true that such invitations are founded on the sufficiency of Christ's atonement for the par don of all the sins of the whole world, were they to believe in him ; but if we will allow the Scriptures to speak out on all occasions, and form our principles by them, taken as a whole, we must conclude that it was his in tention, design, or purpose, to save those, and only those, by it, who were given to him of the Father. In other words, it never was his intention to impart faith, and other suc ceeding benefits, to any other than his elect: "Whom he did predestinate them he also called." We are saved and called, " not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus, before the world began." lam aware that many objections might here be raised,; but I am also aware that they all rest upon the principle that di vine predestination and human agency can not be consistent, unless they appear lo us to be so. This I do not believe. It did not belong to Moses to explain how the mes sage of peace to Pharaoh and Sihon were consistent with the purpose of God to de stroy them : but I suppose he believed they were so, because the same Being (who could not do wrong) ordered the former and declared the latter. Neither does it belong to me to show how, with respect to the per sons who shall be ultimately benefited by the death of Christ, a limitation of design is consistent with universal invitations : but I believe it to be so, because he that has or dered the one has, in effect, declared the other. Vain men may ask, " Why then doth he yet find fault ; for who hath resisted his will ? " But if, instead of " replying against God," they were to throw themselves at the feet of sovereign mercy, and seek forgive ness in the name of Jesus, it would turn to a better account. 3. For the accomplishment of the church's salvation it requires that it should be sancti fied and cleansed by faith in the word oi God. The L.tter of these terms frequently denotes the rciaoval of sin, as to its condemn ing as well as its defiling influence. The blood of Christ operato' in both ways ; and the faith of him, m ij.ir rent respects, both justifies and sanctifies. As the process, however, seems principally to refer to the meetening of the church, by a gradual in crease of holy beauty, the terms sanctify and cleanse may, in this place, convey much the same idea. It r ever was the Lord's design to save his people in their sins, but from them. Sanctification, therefore, is an essential branch of salvation. The word, especially the word ofthe gospel, truly believed, is the laver in which the sinner is washed from his uncleanness. He may have, heretofore, yielded a traditional assent to it, and re mained a slave to his lusts notwithstanding : but when, being convinced of sin by a view ofthe divine law, he receives it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the word of God, it worketh effectually in him. He may have made many attempts at cleansing himself while under the power of unbelief; but everything of this kind was ineffectual, and left him fouler in the sight of God than it found him. And well it might ; for it was going, as it were, to Abana and Pharpar, in contempt of the waters of Jordan. Till, therefore, the sinner, renewed in the spirit of his mind, is brought to relinquish all con fidence, except in Christ, his attempts at holiness are but wearying himself with very vanity. There is, it is observable, a marked con nection in this as well as in many other pas sages between the sacrifice of Christ and the sanctification of his people. He " gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify and cleanse it." Had not Christ laid down his life, there had been no holiness among the fallen sons of Adam, no gospel-laver in which to wash, nor any such thing as sanc tification of the Spirit ; all had continued in then uncleanness. It had been as inconsist ent with the perfections of God to have given his Holy Spirit to a sinner as to have pardoned his sins, or bestowed upon him any other spiritual blessing. But having sacri ficed his life, and that under a promise, the effectual grace of God not only may be im parted consistently with justice, but the communication of it is rendered certain, in asmuch as it is a part of the promised re ward. Hence, it is represented as the fruit, or effect, of his death. Believers are the seed which he was to see ; the travail ofhis soul, which should yield him a satisfaction, like that of a mother who "remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world!" It is on this principle that our Lord, in view of the unbelief of the Jewish nation, thus speaks in prophecy: "I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and in vain ; yet surely my judg ment is with Jehovah, ana my work with my God." As if he should say, Whether Israel be gathered or not, I shall be rewarded. My work is before God, the judge of all, who will not suffer it to fall to the ground. If Christ's love to the church. 265 Israel be lost, their loss will be to them selves ; it shall be more than made up to me, from among the Gentiles. To render manifest this connection, it was ordered, in the divine counsels, that an extra ordinary measure of the Holy Spirit should be poured out immediately after the sacri fice was offered : and, lest the cause of it should be overlooked, our Saviour expressly declared that, if he went not away, the Com forter would not come : but that, if he went, he would send him : and that he should con vince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment This was the appointed time for great numbers of the Jews to be con vinced of their unbelief, as well as for the Gentiles to be converted, and given to Christ, as the reward ofhis death. Things were thus connected in order of time, that they might appear to be connected in order of nature ; or that one might appear to be, what it actually was, the effect of the other. Add to this, The death of Christ is not only a procuring cause of sanctification, but, as a doctrine, it operates to the producing of it Hence, the same effects are ascribed to the washing of water by the word, and to the blood of the Lamb. The atonement of fered was that in virtue of which we are sanctified; and the atonement preached and believed is the means of its accomplish ment : "We are sanctified by faith that is in him." I proceed to notice III. The honor for which this grace TOWARDS THE CHURCH IS INTENDED TO prepare it : " That he might present it to himself." There is no doubt but the term here alludes to the presenting of an espoused virgin to her husband. Under this imagery, the Scriptures are wont to represent the dif ferent joyful advances ofthe church towards perfection. As the destruction of Jerusa lem, and the overthrow of the heathen em pire of Rome, are described in language ap plicable to the last judgment, intimating that they would be, to the parties concerned, days of judgment in miniature ; so the dif ferent advances of the church towards per fection are described in language applicable to a state of perfection itself Thus the conversion of sinners is represented as an espousal of them to one husband, that they might be presented as a chaste virgin to Christ. The conversion of the Gentiles to Christ is also thus described : " Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear ; forget also thine own people and thy father's house. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty : for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him. — The king's daughter is all glorious within ; her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needle- work : the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing Vol. 2.— Sig. 34. shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace." Under the same im agery seem to be represented the great con versions to Christ in the latter day. Imme diately after the fall of Babylon, the voice of a great multitude is heard in heaven, say ing, "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipo tent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him : for the marriage • of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is the righte ousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage-supper of the Lamb. — These are the true sayings of God." On each of these occasions there is a par tial presentation of the church to Christ ; and all are preparatory to that universal and perfect one which shall take place at the end of time. But there seems to be something singular in the idea of Christ's presenting the church to himself. The office of presenting the bride, we should suppose, properly belongs to her parent. But how if she had no pa rent, and, like the orphan before described, was cast out, without an eye to pity or a hand to help her ? In this case the bride groom must himself be her father and per form the office of a father throughout, even to the presenting of her to himself. If such be the allusion, it represents in an affecting light our forlorn condition as under the fall ; arid teaches us that in every stage of our salvation we must remember it, in order to heighten our love to Christ. The perfection of bliss that will succeed to this presentation is beyond all our pres ent conceptions. Suffice it to say that Christ will be the sum and substance of it. We have already noticed the glory of the church as being freed from her spots and blemishes ; but this, though a great blessing, is chiefly negative. Besides this, there is a positive source of enjoyment in an unin terrupted and endless communion with her Lord and Saviour. To be able to compre hend the breadth, and length, and height of the love of Christ, and so to be filled with all the fulness of God, is the mark on which saints on earth are directed to keep their eye ; but to attain it is reserved for saints in heaven. Nor shall they so comprehend it as to leave no room for continued researches : for how shall they perfectly know that which "passeth knowledge ? " Finally: It is observable that under the figure of being admitted to a marriage-feast, or excluded from it, we see kvhat will short ly be the test of us all : " At m;dnight there was a cry made, Behok1 the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to mpet hiin. — And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut." If there 266 sermons and sketches. be any thing of importance in this world, it is to be ready when the Lord cometh ; not by such preparations as those to which sin ners are apt to flee when their fears are alarmed, but by believing in the Son of God, and keeping his commandments. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Look off from every other dependence, and put your trust in him. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him. — Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning ; and ye_ yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord. — Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching ! " SERMON XV. THE GOSPEL THE ONLY EFFECTUAL MEANS OF PRODUCING UNIVERSAL PEACE AMONG MANKIND. " Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming ofthe great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers 10 the children, and the heart of the chil dren to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. — Mai. iv. 5, 6. Malachi, the last of the Old-testament prophets, lived in an age of great -degenera cy, and much of his prophecy is taken up in bearing testimony against it The last two chapters, however, inform us of a rem nant who feared the Lord and thought up on his name. Partly for their encourage ment, and partly for the awakening of the careless, he introduces the coming of the Messiah, and intimates that the very next prophet who should be sent would be his harbinger. That we may understand the passage first read, I shall offer a few observations up on it. 1. John the Baptist is here called " Eli jah the prophet" because he would be as it were another Elijah ; resembling him not only in his austerity and general appear ance, but in the spirit and power with which he preached: "And many ofthe children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fa thers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom ofthe just, to make ready a peo ple prepared for the Lord." 2. The coming of Christ is called "that great and terrible day of the Lord." This may seem to disagree with the general cur rent of prophecy. It is common for the prophets to represent this great event as a source of unusual joy, and to call not men only, but the very inanimate creation, to join in it. The truth is, the same event which afforded joy to those who received him brought desolation and destruction to those who received him not. It is in this light that the prophet represents it in chap. hi. 2. "Who may abide the day of his coming ? and who shall stand when he ap peareth? " And the fact was that for the rejection of him such tribulations came up on the Jewish nation as were not since the beginning of the world to that time, and would never be again. This was the " day " referred to in ver. 1, which should "burn as an oven ; " when all the proud, and all that should do wickedly, would be stubble ; the day that should burn them up, and leave them neither root nor branch. 3. It is intimated that previously to the ministry of John there would be great dis sensions and bitter animosities among the Jewish people ; parents at variance with their children, and children with their pa rents : altogether producing such a state of society that, if there had been no change for the better, the land might have been smitten with a curse sooner than it was. Subjugated by the Romans, one part of the nation, for the sake of private interest, sided with them and accepted places under them, by which they became odious in the eyes of the other. Some became soldiers under the Roman standard, and treated their brethren with violence ; others became publicans, or farmers of the public taxes, entering deep ly into a system of oppression. A spirit of selfishness pervaded all ranks and orders of men, prompting those on one side to deeds of oppression and those on the other to dis content and bitter antipathies. Besides this, they were divided into a number of religious sects, which bore the most inveterate hatred to each other, and were all far off from truth and godliness. 4. It is predicted that John's ministry should have a conciliating influence, turning men's hearts one to another, and so tending to avert the curse which hung over them. Such were actually the effects of it. Nor were they accomplished by a mere inter ference between the parties, or by laboring to produce a mere outward reformation ; but by first turning them to God, through Jesus Christ. Hence Luke, in quoting the words of Malachi, connects the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children with the turning ofthe disobedient to the wisdom ofthe just, and the making ready a people prepared for the Lord. John's errand was to call sinners to repentance, adding, withal, that they should believe in him that should come after him. And, wherever this effect was produced, a new bond of union existed, and former antipathies were forgotten. The exhortations also which he gave to those who repented and applied for baptism were such as struck at every species of selfish ness, and tended to promote peace and peaceful tendency of the gospel. 267 unanimity among men. He called for "fruits meet for repentance." — " The people asked him, saying, What shall we do then ? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none ; and he that hath meat let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do ? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do ? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages." Such repentance, and such fruits, so far as they prevailed, must produce the most happy effect upon the country, and tend to avert the curse. Those who believed through the ministry of John, of Christ, or of the apostles, were as the salt of the land ; and it might be for their sakes that its punishment was deferred till forty years after they had crucified the Lord of glory. When God had gathered a people from among them, the remnant grew worse and worse, till, in the end, the curse over took them. Previously to that " great and terrible day of the Lord," it was predicted that to all their other crimes they would add that of the most bitter persecution of Christ's servants. "The brother," said our Lord, " shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child ; and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death," Such was the fact. Having "killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets," they persecuted his followers, and that with a rage which not only dis pleased God, but rendered them odious to men. In short, we see that so far, as the gospel was received it tended to heal the country and to retard the day of evil. It is easy to perceive that the same causes, if applied to the world in general, would be productive of the same effects ; or that the gospel is the only effectual means of heal ing the divisions among mankind, and so of turning the curse which hangs over us into a blessing. That we may see the evidence and impor tance of this truth, it will be proper to take a view of the divisions which have obtained among men, with their causes and tendency ; of the inefficacy of all human means for re moving them ; and of the efficacy of the gos pel for this great purpose. I. Let us take a view of the dissen sions WHICH HAVE OBTAINED AMONG MEN, WITH THEIR CAUSES AND TENDENCY. The state of the Jewish people in the times of John was but an epitome of human nature, as sunk into a gulf of depravity. From the fall of man to this day the earth has been a scene of discord. Jealousies and antipa thies rendered the first-born child of Adam a murderer; and, prior to the flood, "the earth was corrupt before God, and — filled with violence." Whether war was then re duced to a system, as it has been since, we are not told ; but, if not, it might be owing to the world not being yet divided into na tions. The springs of domestic and social life were poisoned ; the tender ties of blood and affinity violated ; and quarrels, intrigues, oppressions, robberies, and murders, pervad ed the abodes of man. When that generation was swept away, and a new world arose from the family of Noah, it might have been expected that the example which had been so recently exhib ited would have had some effect ; but in a little time the same things were acted over again. The story of Nimrod, though brief, affords a specimen of what has been going on in the world ever since. What is the history of nations, but an account of a suc cession of mighty hunters and their adhe rents, each of whom, in his day, caused ter ror in the land of the living ? The earth has been a kind of theatre, in which one part of mankind, being trained and furnish ed with weapons, have been employed to destroy another ; and this, in a great mea sure, for the gratification of the spectators ! Nor is this spirit of discord confined to nations. It pervades, in different degrees, every department of society, civil or religi ous. If the heavenly plant decay in any connection, or among any people, this weed will presently spring up in its place. No sooner did the church at Corinth become de generate in their principles and conduct, than there were divisions among them. And, when the Galatians had corrupted the doc trine of Christ, they required to be warned against " hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife," &c, and to be told that " they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Whence is it that this evil spirit proceeds ? Doomed as men are to innumerable evils during their short residence upon earth, and to death as the issue, one would think it might excite a sympathy towards each other as fellow-sufferers, and a concern to miti gate, rather than to increase, the miseries of their situation. And when such things are viewed generally and abstractedly there are few men who would not admit so much as this, and wonder, indeed, that the world cannot live in peace. But when particular cases occur, and the general good is thought to clash with private interest, all these reason ings evaporate like smoke, and the lusts which war in the members bear down every thing before them. The root 6f the evil lies in our having forsaken God, and become alienated from him. It was the law of our creation, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and soul, and mind, and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself: " and there is a closer connection between these 268 sermons and sketches. different branches of the law than we are apt to suppose. If we love God, we shall love our brother also. For a man to fear God was sufficient to ensure a just, kind, and hu mane treatment of his fellow men. But, if we cease to love him, we shall not be able to love one another, unless it be for our own sake. It is the love of ourselves only that, in this case, governs us : and this is a princi ple' which, not being subordinate to the love of God, is of the essence of sin, and tends, in its own nature, to fill the world with dis cord. Men form connections, some on a small, and some on a larger scale; but, where self-love is the motive, every thing is expected to be done for their own honor, in terest, or happiness ; and, the same thing being expected on the other side, there is no place for concord. If two persons bear an affectionate good will to each other as children of the same family, and each seek the good of the other from the pleasure of doing him good, and without so much as thinking that it is to is sue in his own advantage, it will issue in his own advantage ; and that to a far greater degree than if he had directly sought it : for God has so constituted things that in seek ing another's good we shall find our own. If parents and children, husbands and wives, feel only for themselves, they will resemble men in a famine, in which " no man spareth his brother : " one snatches on the right hand, and is hungry : another eats on the left hand, and is not satisfied. But if they feel one for another — if, like the widow of Zarephath by Elijah, each one be willing to divide his morsel, that morsel becomes seven times more sweet, and God often blesses and in creases it till the return of plenty. These remarks are equally applicable to nations as to individuals and families. It is owing to self-love having taken place ofthe love of God, that treaties of alliance and com merce are so frequently broken. While each party seeks nothing but its own inter est, and requires that of the other to give place to it, it is impossible that concord should be of any continuance. If such leagues be not at once dissolved, it is merely in consideration of the one party hoping to gain, notioithstanding the selfishness of the other, or fearing that greater evils will re sult from the breach than from the fulfilment ofthe treaty. But unions on so frigid a prin ciple are unworthy of the name. It is not difficult to perceive what must be the tendency oi Bitch a state of things. Nothing can better express it than the words ofthe Lord by the prophet, "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Where the love of God has no place, and self-love is the ruling principle in every department of society, every thing is ripening for de struction. If the whole earth were in this ptate, it would be as the barren fig-tree, and Heaven would say, "Cut it down, why cum- bereth it the ground?" It were" better that there should be no world than such a world as this. II. Consider the inefficacy of all hu man MEANS FOR THE REMOVAL OF THESE evils. The miseries produced in the earth by discord are so serious that it is become the necessary study ofthe thinking part of mankind to counteract them. Had the love of God ruled in the heart, this had been the cement of the world. Had men been ten thousand times more numerous than they are, this would have bound them all togeth er : but, this principle being extinct, others of a very inferior nature must be substituted in its place. It is partly by softening the asperities of human nature, and partly by cultivating its most pacific principles, that any thing is effected: but, though these means may diminish the evil, yet they can not produce any thing like a radical cure. Let us instance in a few particulars : — First, Great things have been done by education. By a course of discipline in ear ly life mankind are taught to avoid all rude and provoking language, and to carry it courteously and respectfully to all about them. Even harsh things, if expressed in soft and gentle terms, will, in a good degree, lose their harshness, and tend to disarm the party of resentment. " A soft answer turn eth away wrath, while grievous words stir up anger." Herein consists the difference between barbarous and civilized society ; a difference for which there is great cause for thankfulness. But, after all, the change which is hereby effected is nearly confined to the surface of things : the real temper of the heart is much the same. The grand study in this science is appearance. The most bitter and malignant speeches are ut tered without shame by those who reckon themselves gentlemen ; and murder itself is patronized by the laws of honor. It were a difficult question to determine which would be the least friendly to human happiness, for the whole world to be sunk into the low est state of barbarism or raised to these haughty and atheistical notions of honor. Assuredly, this is not the way in which uni versal peace will be produced on earth. Another principle to which great things also are ascribed is a union of interests. It is an undoubted fact that God, in his provi dence, has so interwoven the interests of mankind that they cannot subsist without each other. We talk proudly of independ ence ; but we are all dependent, both upon God and one another. What would any in dividual be, if left alone ? What would a family be, if separated- from all other fami lies? What would cities be without the country, or the country without cities ? Nay, what would nations be, if shut out from all intercourse with other nations ? These con- PEACEFUL TENDENCY OP THE GOSPEL. 269 siderations ought, no doubt, to induce man kind, of all ranks, degrees, and situations, to study the things which make for peace ; and to say that they actually have no influ ence in promoting concord would be saying what is manifestly untrue. To this prin ciple we are indebted for the stifling of thousands of quarrels, which would other wise burst forth, and render society intol erable. To this also we are indebted for the suppression of a very large portion of religious hatred. Considering the enmity of wicked men against serious Christians, instead of being surprised at its breaking out so much as it does, we have more rea son to be surprised that it breaks out no more. Had not God so bound mankind to gether that they cannot obtain their own ends without being civil and kind to others, where there is one instance of bitter perse cution, we might expect a hundred ; and the same may be said of every other species of malevolence. But, though such a constitution of things furnishes matter for thankfulness, yet it is utterly inadequate to the producing of peace on earth, and good will to men. Stifled ani mosity is very different from love : the good understanding which arises from it is not peace, but the mere suspension of hostili ties for the sake of convenience. It has been said that the only thing necessary to produce universal peace is that mankind be enlightened to know their true interests. Certain it is that, if our true interests were known and pursued, we should seek the good of mankind in all that we have to do with them : but sin, operating in a way of selfishness, blinds the mind, and prompts men to seek their own interest, in opposition to that of others. Such also is the strength of corrupt propensity in men that in many cases, which must appear to be injurious to themselves as well as others, they will fre quently give way to it, whatever be the con sequence, and even ruin themselves for the sake of ruining their neighbors. It is not, ^ therefore, on this ground that we can ra- * tionally build our hope of any essential ame lioration of the state of mankind. Let us examine a third principle ; namely, government. This is, doubtless, an impor tant blessing to mankind. It is among the means by which God, in his providence, preserves the world in some degree of or der. The peace ofthe governed, so far as it respects one another, is hereby in a mea sure secured. If a nation were, for one week, or half that time, without law, they would learn, by wofiil experience, the value of living under it. The most oppressive governments are preferable to a state of anarchy. It may be on this account that even that of Nero afforded no exception to the general doctrine of government being ordained of God for good. But, though or der may be produced by human laws and regulations, yet it is chiefly confined to the exterior of human action. And, with re spect to that, it extends only to a single ter ritory : between one country and another there is no paramount authority to settle their differences. What are termed the laws of nations have but little influence when one nation possesses the means of setting them at defiance. It is in -vain to deny that the most effective law in the world is power ; and, as power is constantly vary ing, the world in one part or other is con stantly in a state of warfare. Great con querors call themselves "benefactors," and require to be called so, even by the con quered ; and, what is worse, are admired and praised for their exploits in the page of history. But the hopes which have been entertain ed of peace pervading the earth by means of government have arisen, not from the thing itself, but from certain forms of it. There is, no doubt, a difference as to these. That form of government, be it what it may, which contributes most to the administra tion of substantial justice in a country, and cuts off the motives to war in respect of other countries, is the best : but while men are corrupt, selfish, and ambitious, and pos sess the means of extending their power, they will never be in want of a plea for dis turbing the repose of mankind. To expect them, under such circumstances, to be re strained by forms of their own creating, is expecting too much, and indicates but a slender acquaintance with human nature. A form that should leave no scope for the propensities of a people would be borne away before them in a little time. To ban ish wars from the earth, therefore, it is necessary to banish selfishness, ambition, and other corrupt affections, which produce them. Even allowing a nation and its gov ernment to be, upon the whole, justly and peaceably disposed; yet as cases will be always occurring in which its interests will clash with those of other nations, and in which amicable discussion, through the par tiality which each side feels for its own cause, fails to produce mutual satisfaction, the consequence will often be a recourse to arms. The principles on which wars are undertaken are, in many instances, the same as those by which two individuals are prompt ed to fight a duel. They may have no de sire to fight, nor to kill each other ; but the laws of honor require them to act as they do ! So long, therefore, as these laws, to the exclusion of the laws of God, continue to rule the higher orders of mankind, it is impossible but that wars and fightings will come. But if education, interest, and government, fail to produce the desired effect; yet is there no other principle, whose influence 270 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. shall extend more to the heart, by which it may be accomplished? If there be, it must be kindred, or relationship. This, I acknow ledge, has done great things. By the ten der and endearing ties of blood and affinity the asperities of human nature are greatly softened, and God has, in a manner, bound us together. Hence, perhaps, arise the practicability of mankind dwelling together in families ? By alliances of this sort, a good understanding is frequently kept up in neighborhoods, and sometimes between great nations. Though a natural affection, is in itself mere animal attachment, and has nothing morally good in it, yet to be with out it argues the perfection of depravity. Nothing short of an habitually wicked heart can extinguish it. If this principle be over come, there seems to be nothing left in hu man nature that can withstand the tide of corruption. It is, therefore, with peculiar force and propriety that God, by the prophet, represents the depravity of the Jewish na tion as having set the hearts of the fathers against their children, and the hearts of the children against their fathers ; and, having reached this height, as being incurable by any thing short of a divine interposition. Strong as are the ties of blood and affini ty, yet there are two reasons why universal peace can never be expected to proceed from them. One is, their influence extends only to a small part of manldnd. It is true, we are all akin as creatures, and as having sprung from one common ancestor: this, however, is a consideration that has but lit tle weight among the bulk of mankind. It is only towards near relations that the at tachment in question is felt. The other is, that, even with respect to that part of man kind who are nearly related to each other, there is in general no such attachment as to overbalance the selfish affections. The sum is, there is not a principle in hu man nature from which any rational expec tation can be formed of the world ever be coming materially different from what it is. It may be more enlightened ; but this will present no sufficient barrier against the tide of corrupt passions, which bears along its stream the educated part of mankind, no less than the uneducated. Man may shift and change into a thousand forms, and may promise himself peace in each of them ; but he will not find it. He may attribute his misery to circumstances, and flatter himself that, if they were different, all would be well : the cause, however, is in himself, and is, therefore, sure to accompany him in every situation and condition. He may "change the place, but will keep the pain." If there were no hope from a higher quarter, the world would be shut up under sin, and have nothing to expect, but to be smitten with the curse. III. Consider the efficacy of the gos pel FOR THE DIFFUSION OF UNIVERSAL. peace. That which was wrought among the Jews by the preaching of John furnished a specimen of what should be wrought in the world at large by the same means. They who had been disobedient were turn ed to the wisdom ofthe just. Repenting of their sins, they believed in the Messiah as at hand; and, being thus reconciled to God, they became reconciled to one another ; loving and being loved, forgiving and being forgiven. In ascribing these effects to the gospel, we only ascribe to it that which, in its own nature, it is evidently adapted to produce — that which it actually has produced, so far as it has been cordially received — and that which the tenor of scripture prophecy gives us to expect. 1. The gospel is, in its own nature, evi dently adapted to produce peace on earth, and good will to men. It may, indeed, be the oc casion of contention and bitterness, in un believers ; but this is not its proper effect : it is accidental to it, and reflects no more dishonor upon it than the good works of its Author, which occasioned his^being stoned by the Jews, reflected upon him. We have seen already that the root of all the discord in the world is found in mankind having forsaken God: that, therefore, which is the means of bringing them back to God, and that only, will restore concord. It is thus that the root of bitterness is plucked up, and love, the plant of paradise, substi tuted in its place. We have seen that "wars and fightings" proceed from the "lusts" which war in our members: that, therefore, which teaches us to mortify these lusts, removes the causes, and, by so doing, removes the effects. Pride, self-will, and the love of money, are the great sources of those calamities which, in all ages, have deluged the world with misery : but, if we believe the gospel, they will be in a good measure dried up, and then the current which has been fed by them cease to flow. "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever." The gospel is a system in direct opposition to selfishness. It not only enforces a benevo lent disposition, but is fraught with princi ples adapted to promote it. It furnishes the mind with a new set of views and feelings, both toward God and toward man. It tells us of one who, when all other means failed, said, " Lo, I come — to do thy will, O my God ; yea, thy law is within my heart ; '' of one who laid down his life for us, even when we were yet enemies. Now, to imbibe this doctrine is to become, in a measure, of the same mind. He that is born of God posses ses the spirit of a little child. " Old things PEACEFUL TENDENCY OF THE GOSPEL, 271 are passed away, and all things are become new." Laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil-speakings, as a new-born babe he desi reth the sincere milk of the word, that he may grow thereby. The gospel also furnishes us with a centre, or bond qf union. Devoid of this, men are like grains of sand, without any principle of adhesion, and must therefore, of necessity, be divided and scattered. The physical strength of a nation is of small account in a time of danger, if they have no standard to repair to, and no leader and commander in whom they can place confidence. But a wise and patriotic prince will hold a people together, and induce them to love their country and one another the better for his sake. Such is our Redeemer, and such the love of one another which love to him in spires. Yea, more, it teaches us to love all mankind, from a hope that they may become his friends. Now, if such sentiments and feelings were universal, or if only the greater part of mankind possessed them, the world, from being a wilderness, would become a para dise. " Instead of the thorn," would come up " the fir-tree ; and instead of the brier the myrtle-tree : and it would be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that should not be cut off." 2. The gospel, so far as it has been cordial ly received, has actually produced these effects. I say, cordially received ; for it has met with a kind of reception that is not cordial, and to call which believing we must understand the term in a very restricted and partial sense. We have been asked, by unbeliev ers, " How is it, if Christianity be that pa cific system which it professes to be, that Christian nations do not live in peace?" We answer, 1. Because a very large propor tion of the people who inhabit those nations are Christians only in name. When any question arises between serious Christians and avowed unbelievers, persons of this description commonly prove themselves to be one in heart with the latter, and ought therefore to be classed with them. 2. Be cause those who believe the doctrine which they profess, and are real Christians, "yet do not always act consistently with their profes sion. These things certainly furnish occa sion for the unbelieving part of the world, who seek occasion to stumble at the gospel : hence a woe is pronounced on the world because of offences, or stumbling-blocks, and a still heavier one on those by whom the offence cometh. Yet, notwithstanding these deductions, Christianity has wrought enough to establish its pacific character. We could tell of myriads who from being persecutors and injurious, like Saul of Tarsus, no sooner embraced the gospel than they became oth er men; seeking the good of all around them, even of their worst enemies. We could appeal to the pacific spirit and conduct of thousands in our own times, who, influ enced by the same principles, seek, by every means in their power, to heal the divisions and alleviate the miseries of mankind. If the Christians scattered over bleeding Europe could have healed her, she would have been healed before now. They, as well as other men, may have been engaged in the wars ; and, when called for in defence- of their country, it may have been their duty so to do : but they have surely hailed the return of peace ; and that not for their own sakes only, but from good will to men. Why should unbelievers load Christianity with the persecutions, intrigues, and unjust wars, which have been carried on in Chris tendom ; when, if they were disposed to judge righteously, they must allow, not only that the same things existed, and were ac companied with much more ferocity, under the heathen governments ; but that what has existed since is not to be~ ascribed to Christianity, but to the want of it? It was not till the gospel was corrupted, and in a manner lost, among those who called them selves the church that such things occurred. Instead, therefore, of their proving any thing against the pure and peaceful nature of genuine Christianity, they furnish an argu ment in its favor. The immoralities in the churches at Corinth and in Galatia, when they had corrupted the gospel, were a proof of its moral, rather than of its immoral, tendency. Is it to Christ or to Antichrist that the blood which has been shed for the last twelve hundred years, on account of religion, ought to be imputed ? Have the atrocities committed by Europeans on the shores of Africa, and in other parts of the world, been owing to Christianity, or to the want of it ? Let truth and conscience give the answer. 3. The tenor of scripture prophecy gives us to expect far greater effects than those which have yet been produced. The world, like an abandoned sinner, may go on till it is " wearied in the greatness of its way ; " but, if we believe in God and his prophets, we must conclude that-it will not be so al ways. It was one great end of Christ's coming into the world, to " set judgment in the earth ; " and though he have to encoun ter great opposition, yet shall he " not fail nor be discouraged," till it be accomplished. The present disorders of the world will as suredly issue in a peaceful and happy state of things. Of this the following, among many other passages, it is presumed, afford ample proof: — " And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.- — And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall 272 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together ; and a IMe child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed ; then young ones shall lie down together : and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking «hid shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the peo ple ; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest shall be glorious. — The jealousy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the enmity of Judah shall be no more : Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Eph raim. — The greaves of the armed warrior in conflict, and the garment rolled in much blood, shall be for a burning, even fuel for the fire.* — For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder : and his name shall be called .... The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever : the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. — In his days shall the righteous flourish ; and abun dance of peace so long as the moon endur eth. — God be merciful unto us, and bless us : and cause his face to shine upon us. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O God, let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy : for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the na tions upon earth. — And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say. Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways and we will walk in his paths ; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people : and they shall beat their swords into plough shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks : nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more . — As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but water- eth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and * Lowth's Isaiah. bread to the eater ; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and shall be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, apd all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir- tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off." There are some who, by refining on the spirituality of Christ's kingdom, have con cluded that things will always continue much the same • as they are now ; and that to un derstand these prophecies as denoting a general spread of the gospel over the vari ous nations of the earth would be holding with national establishments of religion, and symbolizing with the Jews in their expecta tion of_a worldly kingdom ! If these per sons be capable of deriving happiness from such opinions, we need not envy them, nor can we be surprised at their feeling no more interest in the conversion of sinners and taking no more pains to accomplish it than they have hitherto done. If there be any symbolizing with the carnal Jews on either side, it would seem to consist in that selfish sphit which would confine the gospel to those who already possess it, " forbidding us," in a manner, "to speak to the Gentiles, that they may be saved." I have no wish to decide how far the mind of a Christian may be perverted by the infatuating influence of hypothesis, nor how far he may be suffered to pervert the word of God in supporting it ; but of this I am satisfied that such notions are in their very essence antichristian. Taking the foregoing passages in their simple and obvious meaning, they manifest ly predict things which hitherto have had no accomplishment, or at most only a partial one. The earth has not yet been " full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." God's " saving health " has not yet been so " known among all nations " as for all the people to form a kind of chorus in his praise. It is not as yet that Christ, at the head of a spiritual kingdom, "judges" and " governs the nations upon earth." The time is not yet arrived for " swords to be beaten into plough-shares, and spears into pruning-hooks." "The garment rolled in blood " has not yet become " a burning, even fuel for the fire." Christ's reign seems not as yet to have assumed the character of a glorious rest: hitherto, it has borne a great er resemblance to that of David, who was engaged in continual wars, than to that of Solomon, to whom the Lard gave rest on every side, and who was therefore employed in building a temple for his name. It is said PEACEFUL TENDENCY OF THE GOSPEL. 273 of the promises made to Abraham and his posterity, that " The Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers : and they possessed it, and dwelt therein : and that " the Lord gave them rest round about, according unto all that he sware unto their fathers." — " There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Isra el : all came to pass." But, if things con tinue much the same as they now are to the end of time, I do not perceive how this language could apply to the promises made to Christ and the church. In this case, the prophets must have dealt largely in hyper bole, and their words, when reduced to meaning, amount to little in comparison of what they would seem to convey. It is farther observable from the foregoing prophecies that whatever evils may precede the triumph of the gospel, yet the thing it self will take place without bloodshed, treach ery, intrigue, tumult, or parade. The over turning of those governments which set themselves against the preaching of it may be necessary to prepare the way ; and this may be accomplished by wicked men and wicked means : but this will be only as the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, to the still small voice. The noise of hammers and axes, though necessary in preparing for the tem ple, was not to be heard in the building of it. The kingdoms of this world are commonly founded either in violence or in deceit, and often in both; but that of "the Prince of Peace " will correspond with his character : justice and judgment will be the basis of his throne. He himself hath "done no in'o- lence," neither was " any deceit in his mouth ;" and, however he may turn such measures in his enemies to the advantage of his cause, he will never allow his servants to have re course to them. The peace produced by other conquerors is merely the effect of fear. It is the stillness of the oppressed, who dare not complain, lest their oppression should be increased : but the peace promised under the reign of Christ is ascribed to the earth being " filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." His conquests are those of the heart. His subjects will be such from conviction and choice. The kingdoms of this world are introduced and supported by parade : but it will not be so with the kingdom of Christ. This, as he told the Pharisees, came " not by observa tion," or outward show ; neither should they say, " Lo, here, or lo, there ; " for it was al ready among them. And thus we may con clude it will come, when it shall fill the whole earth. Men shall not be able to point to this place or that and say, Lo, it is here, or lo, it is there ; for before they are aware it shall be among them. Worldly men may at the time be pursuing their schemes with such earnestness as to think no more of it Vol. 2.— Sig. 35. than Festus did " of one Jesus, who was dead, and whom Paul affirmed to be alive : " but, while they are pursuing their schemes, God will have so pursued him as that they shall find themselves surrounded by it in every direction, and as unable to stop its pro gress as the Jewish rulers were, when they complained of the apostles for having "filled Jerusalem with their doctrine." In this si lent and imperceptible way the gospel con tinued to operate in the early ages, when it was left to its own evidence and the power of the Holy Spirit to recommend it. In the days of Tertullian, that is, in less than two hundred years after the death of Christ, that apologist could tell the Roman senate that it had overspread their empire. " Your cities, islands, forts, towns, and assemblies ; your very camps, wards, companies, palace, sen ate, forum, all," said he, " swarm with Chris tians." Yet all appears to have been con ducted without violence or tumult, save that which was found among unbelievers. We read of the stone cut out of the moun tain breaking in pieces the great monarchies of the earth ; of the kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ ; of his judging the people right eously, and governing the nations upon earth ; and of the kingdom under the whole heaven being given to the people of the saints of the Most High. But it does not follow that governments will be destroyed as governments, but merely as idolatrous or antichristian governments. We have no reason to think that Christ will abolish civil authorities and set up a government of his own in their stead. His kingdom never was and never will be of this world. If the gov ernment of nations, as well as that of lesser societies^ be conducted on christian principles, then will Christ reign; then will the kingdoms of the world become the kingdoms ofthe Lord and of his Christ, and then may the nations be glad and sing for joy. These principles existing in the hearts of governors and governed would shortly burst the bands of oppression, still the tu mults of the people, and cause wars to cease unto the ends of the earth. The demon of discord might then be addressed in the lan guage of the psalmist : " O thou enemy ! de structions are come to a perpetual end ; and thou hast destroyed cities ; their memorial is perished with them. But the Lord shall en dure forever : he hath prepared his throne for judgment." And now, things being reduced to this peaceful state, instead of the earth being smitten with a curse, we are given to expect that it will be loaded with blessings : ". Then shall the earth yield her increase, and God, even our own God, shall bless us." — "And all the ends of the earth shall fear him." Nor do I see any objection to the " increase" here predicted being literally understood. 274 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. It is a fact that, from the day that man de parted from God, the earth was cursed with barrenness, in comparison of what it was be fore ; and it is not unnatural to suppose that, when the greater part of men shall have returned to him, this curse may be in a man ner removed. At present the system of de pravity which prevails among men renders it unnecessary. Sin counteracts the tendency to " increase and multiply " with which we were created. The world is in a manner de populated by selfishness, intemperance, and war ; a great part of it inhabited by wild beasts and other noxious creatures. But, when men shall know the Lord, and these wide-wasting evils shall subside, population will increase ; and he that sends men will amply provide for them : "In that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground ; and I will break the bow, and the sword, and the battle, out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me forever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteouness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies : I will even betroth thee unto me in faithful ness, and thou shalt know the Lord. — And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil ; and they shall hear Jezreel." • Moreover, at present, the system of de pravity which prevails among men would render any considerable increase of earthly fulness exceedingly dangerous. There ap pears to be as much wisdom and goodness as there is justice in the sentence passed on men, to eat bread by the sweat of their faces. Were there no necessity for hard la bor, every day might be taken up in riot and debauchery. The deeds of the people of Sodom and of the Canaanites might be re acted. The bacchanalian revels which are seen at some of our contested elections (where men can indulge free of expense) afford a specimen of what might be expect ed, if God, while men are what they are, were to cause the earth to yield her increase. It would be nothing less than furnishing them with the means of being seven times more wicked. But, when men shall know the Lord, the danger will have subsided ; and then he will take pleasure in pouring forth his blessings upon them ; and then, instead of those blessings, being abused, as hereto fore, they shall tend to recommend the gos pel : " God, even our own God shall bless us. God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear him." Once more : As peace among men will be followed with a blessing on the earth, so peace among Christians will be followed with a blessing on the means of grace. The de pravity which has hitherto prevailed in the world has, in too great a measure, extended to the church, and wrought much in a way of destroying its fruitfulness. Corruptions have produced divisions, envies, jealousies. and almost every evil work. Hence the blessing of God has been, in a great mea sure, withheld. We read of great things among the apostles and primitive Christians, and now and then hear of a minister and a people, who, approaching somewhat near to their doctrine and spirit, are honored with a portion of their success : but, in general, we are as " when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape-gleanings ofthe vintage : there is no cluster to eat," though our souls* desire the first-ripe fruit Now, as the carnal notions, envies, and petty dis cords of the apostles ceased from the time of their Lord's resurrection, and as " the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul," so will it be with the whole church of Christ when the Spirit shall be poured out from on high. And then " the earth shall yield her increase," in a still higher sense. Not only every nation and city, but every town, if not every village, will furnish a church of Christ, " walking in the fear ofthe Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit." Then will God, even their own God, bless them, and all the ends ofthe earth shall fear him. The people of God will be of good comfort, will be of one mind, will live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with them ! From the whole, we may conclude, 1. It becomes Christians to set their hearts much on the spread of the gospel ; to pray for it ; labor for it ; contribute of their sub stance for it ; and to rest all their hopes of the amelioration ofthe state of mankind upon it. Political men may place their hopes on political changes ; but Christians should al ways remember that " peace on earth and good will to men" connect with "glory to God in the highest ; " and that they are re served to grace the triumphs of the Prince of Peace. 2. It is of infinite importance for us to re pent and believe the" gospel. So long as any of us are unbelievers, we are under the curse ; and the whole career of our life tends to draw down the curse of Heaven upon us, and upon the earth on which we dwell. We have heard much of the conversion of the Jews and heathens ; but of what account will either be to us, if we ourselves be not converted? All the great and good things which the Lord has promised, either in this world or that which is to come, will, if we be unbelievers, only aggravate our misery. 3. Sinners, even the greatest of sinners, have every encouragement to repent and believe in Jesus. The invitation of Moses to Hobab is the same, for substance, as Christ's servants are now warranted to ad- RECEPTION OF CHRIST THE TURNING POINT OF SALVATION. 275 dress to every one they meet: "We are journeying to the place of wliich 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." SERMON XVI. THE RECEPTION OF CHRIST THE TURNING POINT OF SALVATION. .vt ¦: .oncerning its meritori ous cause than rmcerning its source or ori gin: it was not or>!v of free grace, but through th*. rp.tp.j.j.tjon which is in Christ Jesus." In every kind of justification in which justice is regarded there is some ground, or reason, for the proceeding. In ordinary cases, among meiL, this* ground, or reason, is found in the character of tbe prisoner. He is considered as innocent, and therefore is acquitted. In the justification of a sinner by the Judge of all, it is " the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." That which innocence is to the one, the redemption of Christ is to the other : it is his righteousness, or that in consideration of which, being im puted to him, he is justified. In discoursing upon this great subject, I shall endeavor to ascertain the meaning of the term — to give proof of the doctrine— and to show the consistency of its being of free grace, and yet through the redemption of Jesus Christ. 1. Let us endeavor to ascertain the meaning of the term justification. Many errors on this important subject may be expected to have arisen from the want of a clear view of the thing itself. Till we understand what justification is, we cannot affirm or deny any thing concerning it, but with great uncertainty. It is not the making a person righteous by an inherent change from sin to righteous ness, this is sanctification; which, though no less necessary than the other, yet is dis tinguished from it: Christ "is made unto us righteousness, and sanctification." The term is forensic, referring to the proceedings in a court of judicature, and stands opposed to condemnation. This is evident from ma ny passages of Scripture, particularly the following : " He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord. — The judgment was by one to condemnation; but the free gift is of many offences unto jus tification. — There is therefore now no con demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. — It is God that justifieth : who is he that condemneth ? — He that believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." If a prisoner who stands charged with a crime be convicted of it, he is condemned : if otherwise, he is acquitted, ot justified. ¦ But though it be true that the term is for ensic, and stands opposed to condemnation, yet, as in most other instances in which the proceedings of God allude to those of men, they are not in all respects alike. He that is justified in an earthly court (unless it be for want of evidence, which cannot possibly apply in this case) is considered as being really innocent ; and his justification is no other than an act of justice done to him. He is acquitted, because he appears to de serve acquittal. This, however, is not the justification ofthe gospel, which is " of grace, through tlie redemption of Jesus Christ." Justification, in the former case, in propor- ON JUSTIFICATION. 283 tion as it confers honor on the justified, re flects dishonor on his accusers ; while, in the latter the justice of every charge is ad mitted, and no dishonor reflected on any party except himself. Justification among men is opposed not only to condemnation but even to pardon ; for, in order to this, the prisoner must be found guilty, whereas, in justification, he is acquitted as innocent. But gospel-justification, though distinguish able from pardon, yet is not opposed to it, On the contrary, pardon is an essential branch of it. Pardon, it is true, only re moves the curse due to sin, while justifica tion confers the blessing of eternal life ; but, without the former, we could not pos sess the latter. He that is justified requires to be pardoned, and he that is pardoned is also justified. Hence a blessing is pronounc ed on him whose iniquities are forgiven ; hence also the apostle argues from the non- imputation of sin to the imputation of right eousness : considering the blessedness of him to whom God imputeth not sin as a de scription of the blessedness of him to whom he imputeth righteousness without works. Finally : justification, at a human bar, pre vents condemnation ; but gospel justification finds the sinner under condemnation, and delivers him from it. It is described as a " passing from death to life." From these dissimilarities, and others which I doubt not might be pointed out, it must be evident, to every thinking mind, that though there are certain points of like ness, sufficient to account for the use of the term, yet we are not to learn the scripture doctrine of justification from what is so call ed in the judicial proceedings of human courts, and, in various particulars, cannot safely reason from one to the other. The i principal points of likeness respect not the | grounds of the proceeding, but the effects of : it. Believing in Jesus, we are united to him ; and, being so, are treated by the Judge of all as one with him ; his obedience unto death is imputed to us, or reckoned as ours : and we, for his sake, are delivered from con demnation as though we had been innocent, and entitled to eternal life as though we had been perfectly obedient. But let us farther inquire, What is gospel justification? Alluding to justification in a court of judicature, it has been common to speak of it as a sentence. This sentence has been considered, by some divines, as pass ing — first, in the mind of God from eternity ; secondly, on Christ and the elect consider ed in him when he rose from the dead ; thirdly, in the conscience of a sinner on his believing. Justification by faith, in the view of these divines, denotes either justification by Christ the object of faith,or the manifesta tion to the soul of what previously existed in the mind of God. Others, who have been far from holding with justification as a decree in the divine mind, have yet seemed to consider it as a manifestation, impression, or persuasion in the human mind. They have spoken of themselves and others as being justified un der such a sermon, or at such an hour : when all that they appear to mean is that at such a time they had a strong impression, or persua sion, that they were justified. In respect to the first of these statements, it is true that justification, and every other spiritual blessing, was included in that pur pose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began ; but, as the ac tual bestowment of other blessings supposes the existence of the party, so does justifica tion. Christ was " raised again for our jus tification, in the same sense as he died for the pardon of our sins. Pardon and justifi cation were virtually obtained by his, death and resurrection ; and to this may be added, our glorification was obtained by his ascen sion ; for we were not only " quickened to gether with him," and " raised up together," but made to " sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." But as this does not prove that we were, thenceforth, actually glorified, neither does the other prove that we were actually pardoned or justified. Whatever justification be, the Scriptures represent it as taking place on our believing in Christ. It is not any thing that belongs to predestination, but something that in tervenes between that and glorification. "Whom he did predestinate, them he also called : and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. That which the Scriptures call justification is by faith in Jesus Christ; and is sometimes spoken of as future, which it could not be if it were before our ac tual existence. For example: "Seeing it is one God who shall justify the circum cision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. — Now it was not written for Abraham's sake alone, that it was imputed to him ; but for us also, to whom it shall he imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. — The Scrip ture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith," &c. If justification were God's decree finally to acquit, con demnation must be his decree finally to con demn. But every unbeliever, whether elect or non-elect, is under condemnation, as the Scriptures abundantly teach : condemnation, therefore, cannot be God's decree finally to condemn. Saul of Tarsus, while an unbe liever, was under condemnation, yet God had " not appointed him to wrath, but to ob tain salvation by Jesus Christ" The sum is, that neither condemnation nor justification consists in the seer-it purpose of God, but in his will as revealod, or declared, as by a sentence in open court. And, as justification is not a purpose in 284 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the divine mind, neither is it a manifestation to, an impression on, or a persuasion of, the human mind. ¦ That there are manifestations to believers, is admitted. God manifests himself unto them as he does not unto the world. The things of God, which are hidden from the wise and prudent, are revealed to them. But these are not things which were previously locked up in the divine purposes, but things which were already revealed in the Scriptures, and which were previously hidden from them, as they still are from unbelievers, by their own criminal blindness. God does not reveal his secret counsels to men, other wise than by fulfilling them. To pretend to a revelation, or manifestation, of that which is not contained in the Scriptures, is pretending to be inspired in the same extraordinary manner as were the prophets and apostles. If justification consist in a manifestation, impression, or persuasion, that we are justi fied, condemnation must be a like impression, or persuasion, that we are condemned : but this is not true. The Jews who opposed Christ were under condemnation ; yet, so far from being impressed, or persuaded, of any such thing, they had no doubt but God was their father. Believers in Jesus, on the other hand, may, at times, be impressed with strong apprehensions of divine wrath, while yet they are not exposed to it. Neither justifi cation, therefore, nor condemnation, consists in a persuasion of the mind that we are under the one or the other. Besides, to make a thing consist in a persuasion of the truth of that thing is a palpable absurdity. There can be no well-grounded persuasion ofthe truth of any thing,' unless it be true and evident antecedently to our being persuaded of it. Justification is a relative change, not in, or upon, but concerning us. It relates to our standing with respect to God, the law-giver and judge of all. It is "passing from death to life," in respect of the law : as when the sentence against a malefactor is not only re mitted, but he is, withal, raised to honor and dignity. It is our standing acquitted by the revealed will of God declared in the Gospel. As "the wrath of God is revealed from heav en " in the curses of his law, so " the righte ousness of God is revealed from faith to faith," in the declarations of the gospel. It is in this revelation of the mind of God in his word, I conceive, that the sentence both of condemnation and justification consists. He whom the Scriptures bless is blessed ; and he whom they curse is cursed. As transgressors of the holy, just, and good law . of God, we are all, by nature, children of wrath. All the threatenings of God are in full force against us, and, were we to die in that condition, we must perish everlastingly. This is to be under condem nation. But condemnation, awful as it is, is not damnation. The sentence is not execu ted, nor is it irrevocable : " God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not per ish, but have everlasting life." Hence, the sinner stands in a new relation to God as a law-giver. He is no longer " under the law, with respect to its condemning power, but " under grace." As the manslayer, on hav ing entered the city of refuge, was, by a special constitution of mercy, secure from the avenger of blood ; so the sinner, having "fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before him," is, by the gracious constitution of the gospel, secured from the curse. All those threatenings which belonged to him heretofore no longer stand against him ; but are reckoned, by the Judge of all, as having been executed on Jesus his substitute, who was " made a curse for us." On the other hand, all the blessings and promises in the book of God belong to him, and, die when he may, eternal life is his por tion. This is that state into which every believer is translated, on his becoming a be liever ; and herein, I conceive, consists the blessing of justification. There are a few points pertaining to the subject which yet require illustration ; name ly, What it is in the redemption of Christ to which the Scriptures ascribe its efficacy — What is the concern of faith in justification, and why it is ascribed to this grace, rather than to any other — Finally, Whether justi fication includes the pardon of our sins, past, present, and to come. 1. Let us inquire, What it is, in the re demption of Christ, to which the Scriptures ascribe its efficacy. Justification is ascrib ed to his blood, and to his obedience. By the blood of Christ is meant the shedding of his blood, or the laying down of his life ; and, by his obedience, all that conformity to the will of God which led to this great crisis. He was "obedient unto death." By the death of Christ sin is said to be "purged," or expiated; and sinners to be "redeemed," " reconciled," and " cleansed from all sin ; " and by his obedience many are said to be "made righteous." This his obedience unto death was more than the means of sal vation: it was the procuring cause of it. Salvation was the effect of the " travail of his soul." We may be instruments in saving one another; but Christ was "the author of eternal salvation." * The principle of sub stitution, or of one standing in the place of others, being admitted by the Sovereign of the universe, he endured that which m its effect on the divine government icas equivalent * The redemption of Christ may, indeed, be considered as a means, or medium, in respect of theirs/ cause. Thus, in the text, it stands dis- tinguised from grace : that is the source whence it sprang ; this the medium through which it flows. The redemption of Christ is not the cause of the Father's grace ; but that in consideration of which it is exercised. ON JUSTIFICATION. 285 to the everlasting punishment of a world, and did that which it was worthy of God to re- tvard with eternal glory, not only on himself, but on all those on whose behalf he should in tercede. What is there, then, in this his obedience unto death, that should render it capable of producing such important effects ? To this question the Scriptures make an swer, as follows: We are "redeemed— with the precious blood of Christ. — The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin. — Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image ofhis person, and up holding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself" expiated "our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." If there be any meaning in lan guage, the efficacy of the sufferings and work of Christ is here ascribed to the dig nity ofhis person; and that dignity amounts to nothing short of his proper Deity. The Scriptures often ascribe the miracles of Christ, the strength by which he was borne up in his sufferings, and his resurrection from the dead, to the power of the Father : for, being " in the form of a servant," it was fit that he should be supplied, and supported, and vindicated, by Htm whose servant he was ; but when the value, or virtue, of his in terposition is spoken of, it is ascribed to the intrinsic glory of his person, as the Son of God. We inquire, 2. What is the concern of FAiTHin justifica tion, and why it is ascribed to this grace, rather than to any other. Were we to conceive of the gospel as a new "remedial law," and of faith as the first principle of obedience con stituting the condition of it, or that which God graciously consented to accept as the term of justification, instead of a perfect conformity to the old law, we should be greatly beside the gospel plan. The gospel plan of justification excludes boasting, and that as excluding works : but justification, on this principle, excludes not works, but merely works of a certain description. There is, on this principle, a law that can give life ; and righteousness, after all, is by law. If we are justified by any doings of our own, whatever they are, we have whereof to glory. Whether we call them legal or evangelical, if they be the considera tion on which we are forgiven and accepted, we are not justified freely by grace, and boasting is not excluded. It is said to be " of faith that it might be by grace." There must, therefore, be some thing in the nature of faith which peculiarly corresponds with the free grace of the gos pel ; something which looks out of self, and receives the free gifts of heaven as being what they are — pure undeserved favor. We need not reduce it to a mere exercise ofthe intellectual faculty, in which there is nothing holy ; but, whatever holiness there is in it, it is not this, but the obedience of Christ, that constitutes our justifying righteousness. Whatever other properties the magnet may possess, it is as pointing invariably to the north that it guides the mariner ; and, what ever other, properties faith may possess, it is as receiving Christ and bringing us into union with him, that it justifies. In order to be interested in justification, and other blessings arising from the obedi ence and death of Christ, we must first be interested in Christ himself: for it is- as hav ing the Son that we " have everlasting life." The benefits of Christ's obedience unto death require to be received in the same order as that in which they are given. As God first gives him, so we must first receive him, and with him all things freely. Many would wish for the benefits of Christ's death, who yet have no desire after Christ. Like him that was nearest of kin to the family of Elimelech, they would, on various accounts, be pleased with the inheritance ; but when it is understood that, in order to possess it, they must take him with all that pertains to him, and that this would mar their present inheritance, they give it up. Thus it is that justification is ascribed to faith, because it is by faith that we receive Christ ; and thus it is by faith only, and not by any other grace. Faith is peculiarly a receiving grace, which none other is. Were we said to be justified by repentance, by love, or by any other grace, it would convey to us the idea of something good in us being the consideration on which the blessing wast bestowed ; but justification by faith conveys; no such idea. On the contrary, it leads the mind directly to Christ, in the same manner as saying of a person that he lives by beg ging leads to the idea of his living on what he freely receives. It is thus that justification stands connect ed, in the Scriptures, with union with Christ: " Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us — righteousness." — " There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." — " That I may be found in him, not having mine own righte ousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteous ness which is of God by faith." From these and other passages, we perceive that faith justifies, not in a way of merit, not on ac count of any thing in itself, be it what it may, but as uniting us to Christ. It is that which the act of marriage is on the part of a female : by it she becomes one with her husband, and (whatever might be her former poverty) legally interested in all that he pos sesses. Having him, she has all that is his. Thus it is that,- Christ being " heir of all things," believers in him become "heirs of God," not in their own right, but as "joint- heirs with him." And as, in the marriage union, the wealth which an indigent female might derive from the opulence of her hus- 286 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. band would not be in reward of her having received him, so neither is justification the reward of faith, but of the righteousness which is of God by faith. Great things are ascribed to faith, in a way of healing. Many of the miraculous cures performed by our Lord are ascribed to the faith of the parties. The virtue, how ever, proceeded not from faith, but from him. It is the same in justification. By faith we receive the benefit ; but the benefit arises not from faith, but from Christ. Hence the same thing which is ascribed in some places to faith is in others ascribed to the obedience, death, and resurrection of Christ. 3. We inquire, Whether justification in cludes the pardon of our sins, past, present, and to come. That it includes the pardon of sin has been proved already from Rom. iv. 6, 7 ; and, seeing it is promised of him that believeth that he " shall not come into con demnation," it must, in some way, secure the pardon of all his sins, and the possession of eternal life. Yet, to speak of sins as be - ing pardoned before they are repented of, or even committed, is not only to maintain that on which the Scriptures are silent, but to contradict the current language of their testimony. If all our sins, past, present, and to come, were actually forgiven, either when Christ laid down his life, or even on our first believing, why did David speak of " con fessing his transgression," and of God " for giving his iniquity?" Why did Solomon teach us that " He that confesseth and for- saketh his sin shall find mercy ? " Why did our Lord direct us, in our daily prayers, to say, " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors ? " and why add, " If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses ? " Finally, why did the apostle John teach us that " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ? " Nor is it sufficient to understand this lan guage oi manifestation of forgiveness to the mind. Forgiveness is not opposed to mere ly withholding the comforts of religion, but to laying our sins to our charge. The parable of the servant who took his fellow-servant by the throat, and was delivered by his lord to the tormentors, is thus applied by our Lord, " So likewise shall my heavenly Far ther do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their tres passes." , ^Chis, undoubtedly, means more than withhoraing a sense of forgiveness in the present life. Nor is there anything in all this inconsistent with the certain perse verance of true believers, or with the prom ise that they " shall not come into condem nation." The truth taught us in this prom ise is not that if, after believing in Christ, we live in sin and die without repentance, , we shall, nevertheless, escape condemna tion ; but that provision is made, on behalf of believers, that they shall not live in sin ; and, when they sin, that they shall not die without repentance, but return to God, and so obtain forgiveness. The promise of non- condemnation includes that of repentance and perseverance : " I will put my law in their hearts, and they shall not depart from me." We may think that, if the Lord has ap pointed us to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ, whatever be our conduct, he will never threaten us with anything beyond a severe chastisement : but Christ did not act in this manner towards his disciples. He not only gave the unforgiving to expect no forgiveness at the hand of God, but enforced the giving up of that which " caused them to offend," though it were as dear as a right hand or a right eye, on pain of being " cast into hell-fire ! " He allowed no one, while in an evil course, to take it for granted that he was, nevertheless, a good man ; but pointed bim to the end whither that course, if persisted in, would lead him. Warnings are as necessary, in some circumstances, as encouragements are in others: and their being enforced on pain of eternal destruc tion may be the appointed means of saving us from it. SERMON XVIII. ON JUSTIFICATION. 44 Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." — Romans iii. 24. Having shown what I conceive to be meant by justification, I proceed to the next head of discourse ; namely, II. To OFFER EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF the doctrine ; OR to prove that we are NOT JUSTIFIED BY ANY WORKS OF OUR OWN, BUT OF FREE GRACE, THROUGH THE RE DEMPTION of Jesus Christ. There are but two ways in which creatures can be justified before God: one is by works, the other by grace. If we had been obedient to the holy, just, and good law of our Crea tor, that obedience would have been our righteousness, and we should have been justi fied on the ground of it : for " the man that do eth these things shall live by them." But, having all sinned, we have come short of the glory of God. Instead of gaining his favor, we stand exposed to his righteous curse ; " for thus it is written, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them." We need not, on this subject, inquire in to the degrees of evil, or whether we have gone greater lengths in sin than other men ; for, if we had only broken one of God's ON JUSTIFICATION. 287 righteous commandments, that were an ev erlasting bar to our justification. As well might a murderer plead in arrest of judg ment that he had killed only one man. The number of our sins will, doubtless, heighten the degrees of punishment; but it is the nature of them that insures condemnation. Nor does this disprove the equity of the law ; for we cannot break a single precept without contemning the divine authority, which at once destroys the principle of obe dience to every other. We may not actual ly go into all other sins : but it is not the love of God that restrains us ; it is interest, or fear, or regard to our own reputation, that holds us back. On this principle, he who offendeth but in one point is said to be guilty of all : " For he that said, Do not com mit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." But, if a single offence be an everlasting bar to justification by our own works, what ground can there be to hope for it, when our whole lives have been one continued series of revolt? We are all transgressors, and, as such, under the curse. Here, too, we might have been left to perish. God was not obliged, in justice or in honor, to interpose in behalf of a seed of evil doers. The law by which we stand condemned, being holy, just, and good, might have been executed, and no re proach would have attached to the divine character. Having sided with Satan against God, we might justly have had our portion with him and his angels. All who were not themselves implicated, and disaffected to the divine government, would have said, " True and righteous are thy judgments, O Lord." And we ourselves, at the last judgment, should not have been able to open our mouths against it. And now that "God, who is rich in mer cy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins," has interposed and revealed a way in which he can be "just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus," shall it be objected to by us ? Shall man, lying as he does under the dominion of sin, and the righteous con demnation of heaven on account of it — shall man take state to himself, and be ever aspiring to be justified on the ground of at least his comparative righteousness ? Such, however, is the fact. When the first-born son of fallen Adam brought his offering, he came as though he had never sinned ; bring ing no sacrifice, and yet entertaining high expectations of success. Hence, when the signal of acceptance was withheld, his coun tenance fell. Thus it is that millions are bringing their offerings to this day, over looking "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." All the false reli gions that have existed, or do now exist, in the world are so many modifications of a self-righteous spirit, so many devices to appease the conscience and propitiate the Deity. Nor is it confined to heathens, Mahome dans, and Jews : there are professing Chris tians who are very explicit in avowing their dependence upon their own works.* Where the divinity and atonement of Christ are dis avowed, this is no more than may be expect ed. But neither is it confined to such. Many who profess to believe these doc trines, yet seem to consider the grand ob ject of the death of Christ to have been that he might obtain for us that repentance, faith, and sincere obedience should be ac cepted as the ground of justification, instead of sinless perfection.f Many, who in consequence of being edu cated under a gospel-ministry disavow in words all dependence on their own works, are neverthelessmanifestiyunderthe influence of a self-righteous spirit. They do not confess their faults one to another, but justify them selves as far as possible, and, wherein they fail in this, will invent so many pleas and excuses as shall extenuate the sin to little or nothing. They are not self-diffident nor humble, but the contrary, trusting in them selves that they are righteous, and despising others, just as the Pharisee did the publican. They "thank God" for being what they are ; and so did the Pharisee : but, as words in the one case signified nothing, neither do they in the other. To this may be added, it is not an unusual thing for those who have been awakened to a serious concern about salvation to over look the Saviour, and to build their hopes on the consideration of the tears they have shed, the prayers they have offered, and the pains they have taken in religion. But if it * "When will Christians permit themselves to believe that the same conduct which gains them the approbation of good men here will secure the favor of heaven hereafter ? " Mrs. Barbauld. "Repentance and a good life are of themselves sufficient to recommend us to the divine favor." Dr. Priestley. " The practice of virtue is always represented as the only means of attaining happiness, both here and hereafter." Mr. Belsham. t This seems to be the idea of Bishop Butler. " The doctrine of the gospel," he says, " appears to be, not only that Christ taught the efficacy of repentance, but rendered it of the efficacy which it is, by what he did and suffered for us : that he obtained for us the benefit of having our repentance accepted unto eternal life : not only that he reveal ed to sinners that they were in a capacity of salva tion, and how they might obtain it ; but, moreover, that he put them into this capacity of salvation, by what he did and suffered for them ; put us into a capacity of escaping future punishment, and ob taining future happiness." Analogy, Part II. Chap. 5, p. 305. — Christ, it seems, was no other wise our Saviour than as enabling us to save our selves ! 288 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. should prove that all confidences of this sort are only a refined species of selfTright- eous hope, and that the first substantial re lief of a sinner arises from a, belief of the gospel-way of salvation, the consequences may be no less fatal than if they had never wept nor prayed, nor taken any pains in religion. One thing is certain : we must be justi fied wholly of grace, or wholly of works ; for there is no medium : " If by grace, then is it no more of works : otherwise grace is no more grace. But if," on the other hand, "it be of works, then is it no more of grace : otherwise work is no more work." Taking it for granted that what God has revealed in his word is the only sure ground on which to rest a matter of such high importance, I shall state what appears to me the scripture evidence for the first of these methods of justification under the following particu lars : — / 1. The righteousness of God does not ad mit of a sinner's being justified on the ground ofhis own doings. It belongs to the right eousness or justice of God to do justice to his own character. But to pardon and ac cept of sinners, on account of any thing done by them, were to fly in the face of his own law and government ; and, if any thing could cause both them and him to be treated with contempt, this proceeding must do it. "It became him for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their sal vation perfect through sufferings. — Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins. — For they being ignorant of God's righteous ness, and going about to estabhsh their own righteousness, have not submitted them selves unto the righteousness of God." If these passages do not convey the idea of its being inconsistent with the righteous character of God to pardon and accept of sinners in consideration of their own doings, I can conceive of no determinate idea con veyed by them. If it was becoming the di vine perfections to bring sinners to glory through a suffering Saviour, it would have been unbecoming those perfections to have brought them to glory in virtue of their pwn doings. If Christ were set forth to be a propitiation that God might declare his righteousness for the remission of sins, his • righteousness would not have been declared in the remission of sins without it. Finally : If ignorance of God's righteousness were the reason of the non-submission of the Jews to the gospel way of justification, there must, have been in that truth some thing directly opposed to justification in any other way, tuul which, hid it been properly understood, would have .-ut up all hopes from every other quarto1.-. It was in this way that Paul, when the righteous law of God appeared to him in its true light, "died" as to all hopes of being accepted of God by the works of it. It was " through the law " that he became " dead to the law," that he might live unto God. 2. The Scriptures in a great variety of lan guage exclude all works performed by sinful creatures as the ground qf acceptance with God. In proof of this, the following pas sages are very express: "Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man that doeth those things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, — If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. — By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. — Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? of works ? Nay ; but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. — If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory. — Now to him that worketh is the reward reckoned not of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth tiie un godly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessed ness ofthe man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works. — Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore ? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law : for they stumbled at that stumbling- stone. — Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Je sus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law : for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. — As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse ; for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are writ ten in the book of the law to do them. — But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God it is evident : for the just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith : but the man that doeth them shall live in them. — Christ is become of no effect unto you : whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace. — Not of works, lest any man should boast. — Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, — that, being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Distinctions have been made on this sub ject between the works of the ceremonial and those of the moral law ; also between the works of the law and those of the gospel ; ON JUSTIFICATION. 289 as though it were not the design of the Scriptures to exclude moral duties from be ing grounds of justification, but merely those which are ceremonial ; or, if it were, yet not the evangelical duties of repentance, faith, and sincere obedience. But, whatever dif ferences there may be between these things, they are all works ; and all works of man are excluded from justification. If the fore going passages be considered in their con nections they will be found to respect all obedience, of every kind, which is per formed by men, be it ceremonial or moral, or what it may. They teach a justifica tion by a righteousness received, in opposi tion to a righteousness done, or performed, and which leaves no room for boasting. If we were justified by faith itself, consider ed as a duty of ours, or if the Law-giver had respect to any conformity to God in us, as the cause, or reason, of the sentence, there would be no meaning in such language as this : " To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." The language ofthe apostle to the Gala tians goes not only to exclude obedience to the ceremonial and the moral law, but obe- dience to law in general, as the ground of justification. The reason given why the law is not against the promises, or why it cannot furnish an objection to the free grace ofthe gospel, is this: "If there had been a law which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been byjhe law." This is equal to saying, the patienf was giv en up as incurable by law, before the prom ised grace of the gospel took him in hand: whatever, therefore, is done by the latter can not be objected to by the former. The terms v6/uoi and Sk vipou, law' and by the law, in Gal. iii. 21, as observed by Dr. Guyse, show it, according to Mr. Locke's rule of inter pretation, to relate to law in general, or to any or every law. But, if the works of every law be excluded, all distinctions be tween ceremonial and moral, or between moral and evangelical, are of no account. 3. Being justified freely by grace is itself directly opposed to being justified by works. The term grace denotes free favor to the un worthy. If God had been obliged, in justice or in honor, to have done what he has done — if the law by which we were condemned were too strict, or the penalty annexed to it too severe — if Christ, and the offer of sal vation through him, were a compensation given us on account of the injury we receiv ed from our connection with our first parents that which is called grace would not be grace, but debt There is just so much grace in the gospel as there is justice in the law, and no more. The opposition between grace and works, in this important concern, is so clear in itself, and so plainly marked by the apostle, that one can scarcely con- Vol. 2.— Sig. 37. ceive how it can be honestly mistaken : " If it be by grace, then it is no more of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace." But, strong as the term grace is, the apos tle adds to its force. As though it were not enough for him to affirm that we are justifi ed by grace, he says we are justified/reefr/ by his grace. There is, doubtless, a redun dancy in the expression ; but the design of it is to strengthen the thought. Thus, when he would forcibly express his idea of future glory, he uses a kind of tautology for the purpose, calling it a "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." We are not only justified without any desert on our part, but contrary to it. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so are his thoughts, in the forgiveness of sin, higher than our thoughts, and his ways than our ways. They who are justified are said to receive abundance of grace, or grace abounding over all the aboundings of sin. Sin reigns over our species, subjugating them all to death ; but grace conquers the conqueror, reigning through righteousness to eternal life, by Je sus Christ our Lord. 4. The terms used relative to gospel justifi cation render it evident that it is not our own righteousness that is imputed to us, but the righteousness of another. "Abraham believ ed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." — " Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But he that believeth on him that jus tifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." — " David also describeth the . blessedness of the man unto whom God im puteth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are for given, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not im pute sin." The terms imputed and counted, in this connection, are manifestly used to express, not that just reckoning of right eousness to the righteous which gives to every man his due, but the gracious reckon ing of righteousness to the unrighteous, as though he were righteous. When the un circumcised Gentile kept the law, his un circumcision was counted for circumcision : not that it really was such, but it was gra ciously reckoned, in the divine administra tion, as if it were. When Paul, writing to Philemon concerning Onesimus, says, "If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account," he did not mean that he should treat him according to his de serts, but that he should forgive and ac cept him, for his sake. When faith is said to be counted for right eousness, it is as relating to Christ. The faith by which Abraham was justified had immediate relation to him as the promised seed ; and it is easy to pp1 ceive, in the New- testament accounts oi justifying faith, a marked attention to the same thing. " Abra- 290 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. ham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him ; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed,, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead ; who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification." — " By him all that be lieve are justified from all things." — " That God might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." "It is evident," says President Edwards,* "that the subject of justification is looked upon as destitute of any righteousness in himself, by that ex pression, ' It is counted, or imputed, to him for righteousness.' The phrase, as the apostle uses it here (Rom. iv. 5) and in the context, manifestly imports that, God, of his sovereign grace, is pleased, in his dealings with the sinner, to take and regard that which indeed is not righteousness, and in one that has no righteousness*; so that the consequence shall be the same as if he had righteousness ; and which may be from the respect that it bears to something which is indeed righteous. It is as if he had said, As to him that works, there is no need of any gracious reckoning, or counting it for right eousness, and causing the reward to follow as if it were a righteousness : for, if he has works, he has that which is a righteousness in itself, to which the reward properly be longs." 5. The rewards promised in the Scriptures to good works suppose the parties to be believ ers in Christ : and so, being accepted in him, their works also are accepted, and rewarded for his sake. That good works have the promise of salvation is beyond dispute. No thing that God approves shall go unreward ed. The least expression of faith and love, even the giving of a cup of cold water to a disciple of Christ because he belongs to him, will insure everlasting life. But neither this nor any other good work can be a ground of justification, inasmuch as it is subsequent to it. For works to have any influence on this blessing, they require to precede it : but works before faith are never acknowledged " by the Scriptures to be good. It was testi fied of Enoch that he pleased God ; whence the apostle to the Hebrews infers that he was a believer, inasmuch as " without faith it is impossible to please God." " It does not consist with the honor of the Majesty of the King of heaven and earth to accept of any thing from a condemned malefactor, condemned by the justice of his own holy law, till that condemnation be removed." f The Lord had respect " first to Abel," and "then to his offering." Even those works which are the expressions of faith and love * Sermon on Justification, p. 9. have so much sinful imperfection attached to them that they require to be presented by an intercessor on our behalf. The most spiritual sacrifices are no otherwise accepta ble to God than by Jesus Christ. Perhaps I ought not to conclude this part of the subject without noticing the apparent opposition between Paul and James ; the one teaching that " we are justified by faith, without the deeds of the law;" the other that " by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." The words are, doubtless, appa rently opposite ; and so are those of Solo mon, when he directs us, in one proverb, not to answer, and, in the next, to answer a fool according to his folly. In reconciling these apparently opposite counsels, we are led, by the reasons given for each, rto understand the terms as used in different senses ; the former, as directing us not to answer a fool in a foolish manner, for this would make us like unto him ; the latter, to answer him in a way suited to expose his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. In like manner the terms faith and justification were used by Paul and James in a different sense. By faith, Paul meant that which worketh by love, and is productive of good fruits ; but James speaks of a faith which is dead, being alone. By justification, Paul means the acceptance of a sinner before God ; but James refers to his being approved of God as a true Christian. " Both these apostles bring the case of Abra ham in illustration of their principles ; but then, itis to be observed, they refer to differ ent periods and circumstances in the life of that patriarch. Paul, in the first instance, says of Abraham, that he was justified by faith, while yet uncircumcised : this was his justification in the sight of God, and was without^ any consideration of his works. James refers to a period some years subse quent to this, when, in the offering up of his son, he was justified by works also ; that is, his faith was shown to be genuine by its fruits. Paul therefore refers to the accept ance of a sinner ; James to the approbation of a saint." J. Supported by this body of Scripture evi dence, as well as by the experience we have had of the holy and happy influence of the doctrine, I trust we shall continue unmoved in our adherence to it. Let others boast of the efficacy of their own virtues, we, with the apostle, will " count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord ; " will " count all things but dung, that we may win Christ, and be found in him, not having our own righteousness, which is ofthe. ktw, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." JThe word "Justification" is used in this t President Edwards's Sermon on Justification senso Malt- xiii- 37i * Cor. iv. 4. See Williams's Vindication against Belsham, pp. 145, 146. ON JUSTIFICATION. 291 SERMON XIX. ON JUSTIFICATION. " Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." — Ro mans iii. 24. Having endeavored to explain and estab lish the doctrine of justification, it remains for me, III. To show the consistency of ITS BEING OF FREE GRACE, AND TET THROUGH THE REDEMPTION OF JESUS CHRIST. This is a subject of the last importance. Almost every thing pertaining to the way of salva tion is affected by it. The principal reason alleged by those who reject the doctrine of atonement is its inconsistency with grace. God needed nothing, they say, but his own goodness, to induce him to show mercy ; or, if he did, it is not of grace, seeing a price is paid to obtain it. The question, however, does not respect the first moving cause of mercy, but the manner of showing it. The friends of the doctrine of atonement allow that the sacrifice of Christ was not the cause, but the effect, of the Father's love. They do not scruple to admit that his love was suf ficient to have pardoned sinners without an atonement, provided it had been consistent with the righteousness of his character and government. " It is not the sentiment, but the expression oi love," that requires an atonement. David was not wanting in love to his son Absalom ; for his soul longed to go forth to him ; but he felt for his honor, as the head of a family and a nation, which, had he admitted him immediately into his presence, would have been compromised, and the crime of murder connived at. Hence, for a time, he must be kept at a distance, and, when introduced, it must be by a mediator. This statement, which has been made, in substance, by our writers repeatedly, has seldom, if ever, been fairly met by writers on the other side. I never recollect, at least, to have seen or heard any thing like a fair answer to it. It is remarkable, too, that those who make this objection never appear to regard the doctrine of grace, but for the purpose of making void the atonement. On all other occasions grace is virtually disowned, and works are every thing ; but here it is mag nified, in much the same manner as the Father is honored, as the object of worship, to the exclusion of the Son. Cases may be supposed, I acknowledge, in which the ideas of grace and atonement would be inconsistent. First : If the atone ment were made by the offender himself endur ing the full penalty of the law, his deliver ance would be a matter of right, and there would be no grace in it. But,- as in a case of murder, it is not in the sinner's power to make atonement for himself, so as to survive his punishment. The punishment threaten ed against sin is everlasting, which admits of no period when the penalty shall have been endured. No man, therefore, can, by any length of suffering, redeem his own soul. Secondly: If the sufferings of another could avail for the offender, and he himself were to provide the substitute, his deliverance might be a matter of right, and there might be no grace in it. But neither of these sup positions can exist in the case before us. Strict distributive justice could not admit of the innocent suffering for the guilty, even though the innocent were willing. Its lan guage is, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. But, if it could, the guilty party could not find a sub stitute either able or willing to stand in his place. Thirdly : If God himself should both con sent to accept of a substitute, and actually pro vide one, yet if the acts and deeds of sinners be considered as literally becoming his, and his theirs, whatever grace there might be in the acceptance and provision of the substitute, there would be no place for the forgiveness of the sinner, and justification would be merely an act of justice. If Christ, in hav ing our sins imputed to him, became a sin ner, and, as some have said, the greatest of all sinners, then, in his sufferings, he was only treated according to his desert : and that desert, belonging to him, could no longer be long to us : so "that had we been in existence, and known of it, we might, from that moment, have claimed our deliverance as a matter of right. And if we, in having the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, become that which he was, namely, meritorious, or deserving of eternal life, then might we disown the char acter of supplicants, and approach the Judge of all in language suited to those who had always pleased him. But neither can this be. The acts and deeds of one may affect others, but can, in no case, become actually theirs, or be so transferred as to render that justice which would otherwise have been of grace. The imputation of our sins to Christ, and of his righteousness to us, does not consist in a transfer of either the one or the other, except in their effects. Christ suffer ed, not because he was, but merely as if he had been, the sinner: notwithstanding the imputation of sin to him, he died " the just for the unjust." On the other hand, we are justified, not because we are, but as though we were righteous; for the worthiness be longs to him, and not to us. ^^r- Finally : If justification through the redemp tion qf Christ were considered as not only consistent with justice, but required by it, it must, I think, be allowed that every idea of grace is excluded. That favor to ward creatures which ju.3tice requires must 292 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. needs be their due ; which leaves no room for grace. It is only of God's essential jus tice, however, that this is true, and not of his covenant righteousness, which relates to his own free engagements. God, having pledged his word, would be "unrighteous to forget the work and labor of love ofhis be lieving people ; and thus it is that, " If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." The righteous fulfil ment of engagements, made in a way of grace, is not opposed to it ; but that which is required by essential justice is. This representation of things cannot, in any wise, depreciate the merit oi Christ : for, be this what it may, it is not ours, and can not, therefore, constitute any claim on our behalf, but in virtue of God's free promises, which, being made in grace, continue such in all their fulfilments. It is enough if the justification of sinners be consistent with justice ; and this renders the whole in harmony with grace. Such was the value of Christ's blood-shedding, as, in regard of its effects on the divine govern ment, to be equivalent to our being everlast ingly punished ; and such the merit of his obedience as to be worthy of all that God has bestowed on us in reward of it : yet, as there is no transfer but of the effects, it does not, in the least, interfere with grace. If the principles on which the doctrine of atonement proceeds be carefully considered, they will not only be found consistent with grace, but will rank among the strongest evidences in favor of it. In proof of this, let the fohowing obser vations be duly considered : — 1. It is common among men, in showing kindness to the unworthy, to do it out of re gard to one that is worthy ; which kindness is nevertheless considered as a matter of free favor. You had a friend whom you loved as your own soul. He died, and left an only son. The son proves a dissolute, worthless character, and reduces himself to beggary. Still he is the son of your friend, and you wish to show him kindness. If your Trind- ness be unaccompanied with an explanation of your motives, he may think you have no dislike to his vices. — Young man, say you, therefore, I am sorry it is not in my power to be your friend from a respect to your own character: but I knew and loved your father, and what I do for you is for his sake ! — Here is an exercise of both justice and grace ; justice to the memory of the worthy, and grace in the relief of the unworthy. The worthiness of the father is imputed to the son, inasmuch as, in consequence of it, he is treated as though he were himself worthy ; but it makes no difference as to his real character or deserts, nor in any wise ren ders what is done to him less a matter of grace than if it had not been done in consi deration of his father's worthiness. If O- nesimus were forgiven by Philemon, at the intercession of Paul (as there is no reason to doubt that he was,) he would not, on that account, think of its being less an act of grace. 2. God, in his dealings with mankind, has frequently proceeded upon the same principle, bestowing blessings on the unworthy, out of respect to one that icas worthy ; which bless ings, nevertheless, have been of pure grace. God promised the posterity of Noah exemp tion from a future flood : but, knowing that they would utterly corrupt themselves, his covenant was primarily made with him. It was thus in the blessings promised to the posterity of Abraham. The Lord, knowing that they would be very corrupt, spoke thus to Abraham himself: " As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations." Hence, in a great number of instances wherein mercy was shown to the rebellious Israelites, they were reminded that it was "not for their sakes," but on account of the covenant made with their father Abraham, and renewed with Isaac and Jacob. Thus, also, in the cove nant made with David, God blessed his pos terity for his sake, saying, "My covenant shall stand fast with him." And, when the heart of Solomon was turned away from the Lord God of Israel, he was told, that, -if the Lord did not rend the kingdom utterly from him, it would not be for his sake, but for David his servant's sake and for Jerusalem's sake, which he had chosen. In these instan ces, there was a display of both justice and grace, and the righteousness of the fathers was, as I may say, imputed to the children, inasmuch as, in consequence of it, they were treated as if they themselves were righte ous ; but it makes no difference as to their deserts, nor in any wise renders what was done to them less a matter of grace than if it had proceeded merely from the divine goodness, and without any consideration of the righteousness of their fathers. So far from this, the very language, " Not for your sakes do I this, — be it known unto you, — but for my holy name's sake, — and for the cove nant that I made with your fathers," would tend, more than any thing, to humble them, and to impress them with the idea that what they had was altogether of grace. If it be objected that in these cases, though tiie blessing was of grace to the party receiving it, yet it was in reward of the party for whose sake it was given: I answer, It is in respect of the party receiv ing, and him only, that it is called grace ; and this is sufficient for its being so denomi nated. It is of what justification is to us, and not. what it is to Christ, that tiie apostle speaks. It is enough if it be of grace to us, and if God's bestowing it upon us out of ON JUSTIFICATION. 293 respect to the worthiness of his Son do not diminish that grace, but, on the contrary, augment it. But it may be said that, in these cases, there was no example of the innocent suf fering for the guilty ; no atonement ; no re demption of the parties by a sacrifice offer ed in their stead. We therefore proceed to observe, 3. God, in the appointment of animal sacri fices (though they were only shadows of good things to come,) sanctified the principle of sin being expiated by the sufferings of a substi tute, and yet represented the sinner as freely forgiven. The process of the burnt-offer ing is thus described: "If his offering be a burnt-sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will " (or, as Ainsworth renders it, for acceptance) " at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering : and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him," &c. The current language concern ing these sacrifices is, "And the priest shall make an atonement for him as concern ing his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be forgiven him. In all these transac tions there was justice and grace ; justice in requiring a sacrifice, and grace in forgiving the transgressor. There was also imputa tion : the sin of the party was imputed to the appointed victim, which was reckoned as though it were the sinner, and treated as such in the divine administration. The atonement made by the sacrifice was, on the other hand, imputed to him that offered it ; that is, it was reckoned to his account, and he was treated accordingly. This is clear from what is said of one the flesh of whose offering was neglected to be eaten before the third day according to appointment: "It shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it : it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity ; " implying that, if offered according to the divine appointment, it was accepted for him, and imputed to him, and he should not bear his iniquity. In all these substitutional sacrifices, atone ment did not operate to the diminution of grace ; they were not such a payment of the sinner's debt as that he should be entitled to deliverance as a matter of claim ; since the issue of all was, "And his sins shall be for given him." On the contrary, every thing was calculated to magnify the grace of God, and to humble the sinner in the dust before him. Of this tendency, particularly, was his having to lay his hand upon the head ofthe sacrifice, confessing his sin, and acknowl edging, in effect, that, if he had beentreated according to his deserts, he himself must have been the victim. The doctrine of sacrifices receives an in teresting illustration from the case of Job and his three friends : " And it was so, that, after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job; the Lord said to Eliphaz, the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends ; for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my ser vant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt- offering ; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for him will I accept ; lest I deal with you after your folly." We see here that the three friends could not be justified on the ground of their own con duct. They must either be accepted through a sacrifice and intercessor, or be dealt with according to their folly. And this sacrifice and intercession, instead of making void the grace of the transaction, goes to establish it. It must have been not a little humiliating to Eliphaz and his companions to be given to understand that all their zeal for God had been folly, and required an atonement ; that the Lord would not receive a petition at their hands ; that the sacrifices must be brought to Job, and offered up in his pres ence ; and that, after all their contumelious language to him, they must owe their ac ceptance to his intercession. Had they been forgiven without this process, their sin must have appeared light, and the grace of God in its forgiveness have been diminished, in their apprehension, in comparison of what it was. 4. The New Testament, while it represents the interposition of Christ as necessary for the consistent exercise of mercy, ascribes the whole of our salvation, nevertheless, to the free grace of God. I need not prove this position by a number of references. The doctrine of the New Testament on this subject is summari ly comprehended in the verses following the text, which contain the apostle's explanation of his own words. Having stated that we are "justified freely by grace, through the re demption that is in Christ Jesus," he adds, " Whom God hath set forth to be a propitia tion through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ; to declare I say at this time his right eousness, that he might be just, and the jus tifier of him which believeth in Jesus."; " Whom God hath set forth to be a propi tiation." We see here in what "the re demption of Christ," by which we are justi fied, consisted. He himself was made an expiatory sacrifice, through which God might be propitious to sinners, without any dishon or attaching to his character. " Through faith in his blood." In order to an Israehte being benefited by the -ap pointed sacrifices, it was necessary for him, or for the priest zrx his behalf, to put his hands upon the head ofthe animal, and there 294 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. to make confession of sins. Hence the of ferers of sacrifices are denominated " the 'comers thereunto." And thus it is necessa ry to our deriving benefit from the propitia tion of Christ that we should believe in him. " To declare his righteousness for the remis sion of sins." The first thing necessary in our justification is the remission of sin. The grand impediment to this was, that it would reflect upon the " righteousness " of God ; representing either his precepts and threat enings as too rigid to be put in execution, or his mercy as being mere connivance. Hence, when a great act of mercy was to be shown, it became necessary to preface it by a declaration or demonstration of righteous ness. God, by making his beloved Son a sacrifice, practically declared or demonstra ted, in the presence of the universe, his de termination to maintain the honor of his gov ernment, and his utter abhorrence of sin. Having done this, he can now forgive the beheving sinner, without any suspicion of connivance attaching to his character. " Sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." The propitiation of Christ was not only necessary in behalf of believers un der the times of the gospel, but of those in former ages. Those who had offered sacri fices were not forgiven in virtue of them but of this. On the ground of Christ's undertak ing to become a propitiation in the fulness of time, the ""forbearance of God" was ex ercised towards them. And, now that his righteousness is declared, he can be "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Supposing the foregoing comments to be the substance of the apostle's meaning, what is there in any part of it which renders void, or in any wise diminishes, the free grace of God ? Does the declaration or demonstration of his righteousness " for the remission of sins" render it no remission? Would it have been more of a favor for God to have pardoned sin without any regard to right eousness than with it ? Is there any thing in the whole proceeding that puts the sinner in possession of a claim on the ground of essen tial justice, or which warrants him to hope for an interest in its blessed results, without coming to the Saviour as guilty and un worthy ? There is nothing in the New Testament which represents the death of Christ as su perseding the necessity of repentance, con fession, and humble supplication, or as invest ing the believer with any other claim of spiritual blessings than that which arises from the free promise of God through his dear Son. We never read there of " suing out our right," nor of mercy being a matter of demand since Christ has paid the debt. All is in the language of supplication in the name of Christ. The intercession of Christ himself on our behalf proceeds upon the same principle. It would not otherwise be intercession. "Grace," as Dr. Goodwin observes, "re quires to be applied for in a way of entreaty and intercession."* Those who plead for the intercession of Christ in a way of authority, or demand, ground it on his sacrifice and merits ; which, being of infinite worth, must, they suppose, entitle him to ask favors for his people in this manner. That God in love to his dear Son should reward this voluntary obedience unto death with the bestowment of eternal salvation on them that believe in him, and even lay himself under obligation to do so, is perfectly consistent with its being of grace ; but obligation of this kind furnishes no ground for demand, nor does it appear from the Scriptures that the Majesty of Heaven and earth was ever so approached. In the gospel way of salvation, grace and justice meet or are combined in the same thing. Grace, through the righteousness of Jesus, " reigns " not in one or two stages, but in every stage, "unto eternal life ; " but, on the principle of salvation being an object of de mand, it must, in some stages of it, become a matter of mere justice : it might be grace to provide the deliverer, but there would be none in the deliverance itself. However worthy Christ was to receive power, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing, yet, when pleading for sinners, it required to be in the language of intercession. His worthiness is that in deed on account of which we are treated as if we were worthy, but it does not render us meritorious. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us ; but it is only in its effects that it is transferred, or, indeed, transferrable. The sum is, there is nothing in the atone ment or justifying righteousness of Christ that in any wise supersedes the necessity of our being freely forgiven, or freely blessed. I conclude with a few reflections on the whole subject : — First : If the doctrine here stated and de fended be true, there isjn the nature of sin * The words of our Lord in John xvii. 24, " Fa ther, I will," #c, have been thought to convey a different idea : — " With cries and tears he offered up His humble suit below ; But with authority he asks, EiUhi 011M in glory now. For all that come to God by him, Salvation ke'demands; Points to then- names upon his breast, And spieads his wounded hands." TOPLADY. This petition, however, was offered up when our Lord was upon earth ; and his intercession in heaven is called prayer: " I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter." "The vorb rendered will," says Dr. Campbell, " is the same which in Matt. xii. 3S, and Mark x. 35, is rendered would, and ought to have been so ren dered here, as it implies request, not command. ON JUSTIFICATION. 295 something much more offensive to God than is generally supposed. Is it conceivable that God, whose nature is love, would have cursed the work of his hands for a matter of small account ? He does not delight in curs ing : he afflicts not willingly, nor grieves the children of men. Yet every transgressor of his law is declared to be accursed. All the curses in the book of God stand against him : in his basket, and in his store ; in ¦ the city, and in the field ; in his going out, and in his coming in ; and in all that he setteth his hand unto. Nor is it confined to the present life, but includes everlasting punishment. Is it conceivable that God would have made his Son a sacrifice, or that the Lord of glory would have come into the world for this pur pose, if sin had not been an evil and a bitter thing ? If it were no more than men in gen eral conceive it to be, assuredly so much would not have been made of it. It is upon light thoughts of sin that a disbelief of jus tification through the blood-shedding of Christ is grafted ; but, let us think of it as lightly as we may, if God thinks other wise we shall be in the wrong ; for " the judgment of God is according to truth." Secondly: If this doctrine be true, the danger of our being lost arises, not from the magnitude of our sin, be it what it may, but from a self-righteous rejection ofthe only way of acceptance ivith God. Let the nature or degrees of sin be what they may, there is no reason on that account to despair of sal vation. On the contrary, there is the utmost encouragement for the most guilty and un worthy to return to God by Jesus Christ. Every bar in the way of acceptance which respected the government of God is removed. God can be just, and yet the justifier of the believer in Jesus. More glory redounds to him, even to his justice, from salvation than from damnation. Nor is there any cause to doubt the willingness of God to show mercy. He is, indeed, unwilling to show mercy to those who seek it in any other way than Christ, or, rather, is determined they shall not find it ; but every one that seeketh in his name findeth. There is one great and overwhelming fact that answers all objec tions : "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? " The pardon of sin and acceptance with God are blessings of such magnitude that nothing in this world is to be compared with them ; yet these are less than what has been given al ready ; for the argument ofthe apostle is from the greater to the less. If we be willing to receive Christ, and with bim all things free ly, there is nothing to hinder it. If the door of mercy be shut upon us, it is a self- righteous spirit that shuts it. Look at a self- justifying spirit in respect of faults commit ted between man and man. Persons of very ordinary capacity in other things will here be ingenious to admiration in framing ex cuses. They who seem scarcely able to speak on other subjects will be quite elo quent in defending themselves: dwelling on circumstances that make in their favor, keep ing out of sight what makes against them, alleging their good intentions, even in things which in themselves cannot be justified; and shunning, as one would shun the road to death, a frank acknowledgment of their sin, and an humble petition for mercy. Of the same nature is a self-righteous spirit in re spect of sin committed against God ; and this it is that shuts the door of mercy. If a convict, under a just sentence of death, be assured from authority that, if he confess his guilt and petition for mercy, he will be for given, and if instead of making such confes sion and supplication he either pleads not guilty, or at least insists upon his compara tive innocence, or upon some circumstance which may entitle him to mercy, should we not say of such a man, He shuts the door of mercy on himself ? He dies not on account of the magnitude of his crime, but of his pride and obstinacy. His original crime is still indeed the formal cause of his punish ment, but it is owing to his self-justifying spirit that it was finally laid to his charge. And thus it is that the Scriptures ascribe the loss of tlie soul to unbelief: " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. — Israel, which followed after the law of right eousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law : for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone." It is remarkable that, in drawing a conclu sion from the doctrine of absolute sovereign ty, in which the apostle had taught that God had "mercy on whom he would have mercy," he ascribes the failure of the Jews, not to their non-election, but to their unbe lief. Finally : Though justification be of " grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus," yet without good works we can give no proof of our being justified. The whole argument of the apostle, in the sixth chapter of this epistle, teaches that be lievers cannot live in sin, being dead to it, and alive to God. Those who are in Christ Jesus, to whom there is now no condemna tion, are said to " walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." We need not wish for stronger evidence in favor ofthe doctrine of free justification than that which is furnish ed by the objections which are answered by the apostle. No other notion of justifica tion than that which is of grace, through Christ, would admit of such objections as he encounters : no other doctrine, therefore, can justly pretend to be apostolical. 296 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. It follows, however, that while we con tend for the doctrine, it concerns us so to walk as not to furnish its adversaries with a handle for reproaching it as unfriendly to a life of holiness. The law of God, though not the medium of life, is nevertheless the rule of conduct; and though we are justified by faith alone, yet good works are necessary to prove it to be genuine. Thus it is that faith is shown and made perfect by works. All who profess to believe the doctrine do not live under its influence ; and they who do are exposed to other influences. What ever peace of mind, therefore, it may be adapted to produce, it furnishes no ground for carnal or presumptuous security. SERMON XX. the believer's review of his past and present state. " But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." —Ephes. ii. 13. It is common to speak of our country, in respect of its high state of civilization and cultivation, as a garden. But, to know what civilization and cultivation have done for us, we must know what we were in former ages, when the island was little better than a wil derness, and its inhabitants a race of barba rians. Thus, if we would understand what Chris tianity has done for us, we must acquaint ourselves with the condition in which we were, while subject to pagan darkness and superstition. It is thus that the apostle, in writing to the Ephesians, teaches them the value of the blessings and privileges of the gospel, by directing their attention to the state in which they were before it reached them. At the beginning of the ohapter, they are reminded of their state as sinners in common with other sinners : "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins ; wherein in time past ye walked ac cording to the course of this world, accord ing to the prince ofthe power ofthe air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of dis obedience : among whom also we all (Jews as well as Gentiles) had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfill ing the desires ofthe flesh and ofthe mind ; and were by nature the children of wrath even as others." But, in addition to this, the apostle reminds them of their peculiar condition as heathens: " Remember that ye, being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, — that at that time ye were without Christ, be ing aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." This being, in some respects, the greatest remove from God at which men could place themselves, they are emphati cally said to have been "far off." Sinners, among the Jews, were subjectively distant from God ; but they were so both subject ively and objectively,* as being destitute of the most important means of knowing him. In discoursing upon the subject, we shall first observe that state of distance which js peculiar to heathens ; secondly, that which is common to heathens and all other sinners ; and, thirdly, the way in which they are re covered, and brought nigh. I. Let us observe that state of dis tance which is peculiar to heathens. This is far from being an uninteresting sub ject to us. At the time this epistle was written, our fathers were in this very state ; and, had not the gospel been brought to us by those who had heard and believed it, we had been in the same state at this day. Instead of being met together, as we now are, to worship the living God through the mediation of his Son, we had been assembled to adore stocks and stones ; instead of singing the high praises of Jehovah, nothing had been heard in our cities, towns, and villages, but the vociferations of idolatry ; instead of the gratifying sights arising from the institutions of humanity and benevolence, we should have been witnesses, and perhaps more than witnesses, of the offering up of human sac rifices ! The description given of this state by the apostle, in verses 11, 12, is very affecting : " At that time ye were without Christ." The only way in which Christ could be known was by revelation ; and the only peo ple to whom a revelation was made was Is rael. To them pertained the oracles of God, and the covenants of promise. Being, there fore, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, they must needs be strangers from the cov enants of promise, and so, of course, be without Christ. And being without Christ, they had no hope, either of their sins being forgiven, or of a blessing hereafter. And though they daily partook ofthe bounties of Providence, yet, being without Christ, and without hope, they were without God in the world ! Such was the state of the heathen world at the coming of Christ. The science of Egypt, Chaldea, Greece, and Rome, had discovered much, as to things pertaining to the present life ; but, in respect of an here after, all was enveloped in gross darkness. The far greater part did not think of it, and they that did, knew but just enough to make them miserable. They were aware that, like all others, they must die ; and knowing that they had not lived and acted, even to each other, as they ought, their consciences foreboded a state in which they would be called to account 5 but what it would be they knew not. A STATE OF NATURE AND OF GRACE. 297 The following lines might be written by. a pensive infidel of modern times ; but they would have fitted the lips of a pagan : . " Distrust and darkness of a future state , Make poor mankind so fen ful of his fate : Death of itself is nothing; but we fear To be we know not what, we know not where." Such, or nearly such, must have been the reflections of the most serious among the heathen ; and, as to the rest, they were bu ried in all manner of wickedness. It is of the nature of idolatry to efface and obliter ate from the mind all just thoughts of God and true religion, and to substitute in their place vain imaginations and vile affections. Instead of a holy, just, and good Being pre siding over the universe, imaginary deities are set up, whose office it is to preside over particular countries and concerns ; and this in a manner suited to the inclinations of their worshippers, entering into all their prejudices, and patronizing their most favo rite vices. There is a marked connection between impiety and obscenity, or the casting off of the knowledge and worship of God and be ing given up to the basest practices towards one another. " God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth ! " If they dishonor him by trans ferring his glory to an idol, he will give them up in turn to dishonor their own bodies. If they change the truth of God the creator, who is blessed forever, into the practical lie of worshipping that as God which is not God, for this cause they shall be given up to vile affections. As they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a mind void of judgment, and to the practice of every thing obscene, un natural, unjust, malignant, false, and cruel ; not only to wallow like filthy beasts in the mire, but to prefer the society of such as their friends and companions ! If any doubt whether this picture be not overcharged, let faithful witnesses be heard, and they will report the same things of heathen countries at this day. We hear, from men calling themselves Christians, but who in fact are infidels, flat tering accounts of heathen virtue, and la bored attempts to prove the virtuous ten dency of the system. Idols, instead of* be ing competitors with the true God, are represented as connected with him; as though it were a matter of indifference to whom the worship is presented, Jehovah, Jove, or Baal ; all is received as a tribute paid to the common Father of all. Such are the sentiments taught by one of our ' poets ; and such are the principles of so large a part of our countrymen that, if Britons do not christianize India, India may be expected soon to heathenize Britain! Shall we, in complaisance to infidels, throw away our Bibles, and listen to their pleas for the most sottish stupidity that ever dis- Vol. 2.— Sig. 38. graced human nature ? The voice of rea son, and (thank God!) the voice of Britain, answer, No ! We ourselves were some times darkness; but, if we have been made light in the Lord, let us walk as children of the light. We proceed to observe, II. That state of distance which is COMMON TO HEATHENS AND ALL OTHER SIN NERS. We have seen already that there is a state, described at the beginning of the chapter, which refers not to what the Ephe sians were by education, by custom, or by any other circumstances attending their for mer life, but to what they were by nature. It was in respect of this that the apostle reckoned himself and his countrymen, not withstanding their living under the light of revelation, among them ; .and in this respect we also, notwithstanding our living under the light of the gospel, must be reckoned with them : " Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires ofthe flesh and of the mind ; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." The apostle does not tell the Ephesians from whom, or from what, they were " far off," the reason of which might be that there was no one word that would convey tiie ful ness ofthe sentiment. He might have said, Ye were far off from happiness ; this had been true : or far off from peace ; this had been true : or far off from righteousness ; this had been true : or far off from hope ; this also had been true : he might mean to comprehend them all, and, therefore, made use of general terms. If any word, more comprehensive than the rest, had been used,. it must have been far off from God. This is the last term, in the preceding description, to which the words "far off" refer: "with out Christ — having no hope ; and without God in the world!" There is a natural distance from God which necessarily belongs to us, and to the loftiest archangel, as creatures. But this distance is not removed by the blood of Christ. The enjoyments of heaven itself will not remove or diminish it. It is not of this, therefore, that the apostle writes ; but of that moral distance from God which be longs to us as sinners. There is nothing sinful in being far off from God in the former sense ; but to be far off in our thoughts of him, affections towards him, and desires af ter him, is of the essence of sin. This is alienation of heart, which stamps the char acter : for what a man's heart is, that is he. If a subject be so full of disaffection to his rightful prince that he has no feeling of respect towards him, no mind to pleas&nim, nor to think, or read, or hear, any thing in his praise, this Were alienation ¦ of heart: and, if all this were without cause, we should say, of sucfi a man, that he did not deserve 298 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. to live under a government to which he was so wickedly disaffected. Yet this is the state of mind of sinners towards the blessed God. They call not upon his name; but rise in the morning, and retire at evening, as if there were no God, and no hereafter; as if they had no soul to be saved or lost : but, like the animals that surround them, were made to eat, drink, and sleep, for a few years, and then to die, and be no more ! The things of God do not occupy their minds ; and, unless they conceive of his character as very different from what tiie Scriptures represent it, they do not like to think of him, nor to speak of him, nor to hear others speak of him, or of any thing pertain ing to him as revealed in the Bible. The serious mention ofhis name strikes a damp upon their spirits, and often puts an end to a conversation. They have no delight in reading his word, and never make it their study to do any thing because he requires it. What is all this but practically saying to God, " Depart from us ; we desire not the knowledge of thy ways ? " We have not to go into the heathen world in search of such characters as these : they are found in all our cities, towns, villages, and congregations, and in almost all our families. We may call ourselves Christitins, and yet be without Christ ; and we may de claim against atheism, and yet live without God in the world. But, though all sinners are far off from God, yet some are farther off than others. Every sinner has gone so far from God that he will never return of his own accord. The ways of sin are our own ways ; we find them without any difficulty, but never return till the good Shepherd finds us, and brings us home. But some are farther off than others. As sin obtains in different degrees, so does the distance at which it places us from God. The Scriptures represent some persons as in a more hopeless state than others; and the same person is farther off at one period of life than at another. Sin being progres sive, the longer any one lives in it without repentance, the farther off he necessarily is from God. Every sinner going on still in his trespasses is getting more and more hardened, and farther from the hearing of the calls of conscience and of God. Shall I mention a few cases of persons whom the Scriptures represent as farthest frorn God ? You may expect me to name the profligate, who is at open war with God ; who breaks the sabbath, wallows in intem perance and, debauchery, and laughs at all serious religion. And true it is that such characters are at an awful distance from ,6od : yetmany who have been thus far off have been made nigh by the blood of Christ. Such were some of the Corinthians, and «ich,have been some of us. There is a case more hopeless than this, namely, that of the self-righteous. Of the Pharisees, who were righteous in their own eyes, and despised others, it is said, that "publicans and harlots, entered into the kingdom of heaven before them." When some of them came to John, he called them " a generation of vipers," and asked, with surprise, "Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come ? " Our Lord ask ed them, " How can ye escape the damna tion of hell ? " as though they were so fast bound by the chains of spiritual" pride as to render their deliverance next to impossible. Reprove a drunkard or a debauchee, and you will have his conscience on your side. Converse with him seriously on temperance, righteousness, and judgment to come, and he will tremble. But he that is pure in his own eyes, and yet not cleansed from his filthiness, his very mind and conscience are defiled. Thinking highly of himself, and of his doings, he will resent every thing said to him which calls in question the goodness ofhis state. He flatters himself that he is at peace with God, and does not choose to be disturbed in his repose. Talk to him of Christ Jesus having come into the world to save sinners, even the chief of sinners, and it will either appear to him a strange doc trine, or, if he comprehend your design, it is likely he will feel himself insulted. He says, in his heart, Am I, after all the pains that I have taken, to be placed on a footing with the worst of characters ? If so, where is the justice of God? — Thus the gospel seems a hard saying, and he cannot hear it A sinner, in such a state of mind, is farther from God, and more hopeless, than the profli gate whom he despises: "The Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the right eousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore ? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law ; for they stumbled at that stumbling- stone." Yet, even from this distance, some have been made nigh by the blood of Christ. Of this the apostle himself was an example, as were also the great company of the priests, who were obedient to the faith. But there is another case which may be reckoned still more hopeless, and the party still farther off from God. This is where a person has sat under the preaching of the gospel for a number of years, but who, living still in his sins, at length becomes past feeling. Such characters, I fear, are not very uncommon in our congregations. Should there be one such present at this time, let me reason with him "-^Thirty or forty years ago, it may hfe, you heardr the gospel, and felt, and wept under it. Some of your felldw-worshippers, observing the tears which fell from your eyes, conceived a A STATE OF NATURE AND OF GRACE. 299 hope that the heart of stone was taken away, and a heart of flesh imparted. Bat these convictions wore off; and, by degrees, the most pungent things might be delivered in your hearing without leaving any impres sion on your mind. The case was this: Under your convictions, you desisted from your evil courses : but, as the former sub sided, you returned to the latter. At first you indulged in lesser sins ; then in greater ; till, at length, your whole study was, not how you should avoid sin, but how you should indulge in it and yet conceal it: and, it may be, you have succeeded in both, to a great degree; living in uncleanness, or drunkenness, or in some other sin, and yet concealing it from the world, and filling up your place in the house of God. And now you can hear the most awful threatenings, and the most melting expostulations, un moved. Your heart is become callous and insensible. Conscience itself is seared, as with a hot iron. In a word, you are past feeling. Many have perished in this state, and many, doubtless, will perish : yet, even from this state of distance, some have been made nigh by the blood of Christ: "If from thence thou shalfseek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. — For the Lord thy God is a merciful God." Thus far we have considered the distance of sinners from God mere.ly in respect of their alienation of heart from him ; but we must not confine it to this: as men have wickedly departed from God, God has right eously withdrawn from them ; and thus the distance, being mutual, is increased. While man continued obedient, his Creator admit ted him to near communion with him, as is intimated by his walking in the garden in the cool of the day ; but, when he transgress ed his commandment, he withdrew bis fa vor, thrust him out of paradise, and placed a guard about the tree of life, rendering it inaccessible. Had there been no provision of mercy through the promised seed, there could have been no more communion between God and man, any more than between God and the fallen angels. Men might have dragged out a guilty and miserable exist ence in the world, but they must have lived and died under the curse.* Whatever had * Some have thought that the death threatened in Gen. ii. 17 was merely corporal, and that, if it had been executed, man would have been immedi ately struck out of existence. But the death there threatened, whatever it was, " passed upon alt men," which implies the existence of all men, and which would have been prevented if Adam had at that time been reduced to a state of non-existence, or had even been banished from the world. The original constitution of things must, therefore, have provided for the existence of every individual that has since been born into the world ; and this whether man should stand or fall. The death been bestowed upon them, it would have been in wrath, in like manner as riches are given some men to their hurt. Whatever had been their troubles, they would have no God to repair to under them ; and, whatever their prospects, the hope of a blessed here after would have made no part of them. This awful state of distance from God is still the condition of the unbelieving and the ungodly. The interposition of Christ avails not in behalf of them. " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Being without Christ, they are without hope, and without God in the world. Every thing they do is evil ; every thing they possess is cursed ; and every hour they live in that state of mind adds to their guilt and misery. As "all things work together for good to them that love God, so all things work to gether for evil to them that love him not. Under all their calamities and troubles, they have no God on whom to cast their cares, and, in death, have nothing but a fearful f looking for of judgment. The very mes- , sengers of , mercy are charged, on their peril, to say to the wicked, " It shall be ill with him." How tremendously awful, then, is the con dition of the unbelieving and the ungodly ! There is one way of escape, and but one : and is it possible that this can be disregarded ; and that men can live easy and unconcerned, with the curse of God over their heads ? Surely this must be owing to a disbelief of the divine threatenings, as well as of the doctrine ofthe gospel. But take heed "lest there should be among you a root that bear eth gall and wormwood ; and it come to pass when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunken ness to thirst : the Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jea lousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven ! " In this terrible condition the gospel finds us. To this door here threatened, doubtless, included that of the body, and which God might execute at pleasure : the day he should eat he would be dead in law; but it also included the loss of the divine favor, and an exposedness to his wrath. If it were not so, tho redemption of Christ would not bo properly opposed to it, which it frequently is. Rom. v. 12 — 21. It must be to this sentence that the apostle refers in Heb. ix. 27. " It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment ; " or Christ's being " once offered to bear the sins of many," and his " coming a second time without sin unto salvation," would not have been introdu ced as antidotes to the evils : but, if the sentence included both death and judgment, it must be mom than corporal death. 300 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. of hope we shall now direct your attention, by considering, III. THE WAT IN WHICH SINNERS ARE RECOVERED AND BROUGHT NIGH TO GOD. It is " in Christ Jesus," and " by the blood of Christ." In Christ we possess all. It is as being " in Christ Jesus " that we possess all spiritual blessings ; and by the shedding of his blood they were obtained. The blood of Christ may be considered in three views: as shed upon the cross — as proclaimed by the preaching of the gos pel — and as believed in for salvation by the perishing sinner. These, being united, bring near those who were once far off. 1. By the blood of Christ, as shed upon the cross, atonement was made, sin was expiated, and a way opened for God to draw near to the sinner, and the sinner to God. In punish ing transgressors, displeasure is expressed against transgression. In substitutionary sacrifices, displeasure was expressed against transgression ; but, withal, mercy to the transgressor : the former, as signifying that thus the offerer deserved to have been treat ed ; the latter, as accepting a substitute in his stead. In the sacrifice of Christ, both these sentiments were expressed in the high est degree : " God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin (or by a sacrifice for sin.) condemned sin in the flesh." — " He that spared not his own Son, but de livered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? " In proportion as God's own Son was dear to him, and, as possessed of divine dignity, es timable by him, such were the hatred of sin and the love to sinners manifested in smit ing him. If mercy had been exercised to men with out such an expression, of displeasure against their sin, it must have appeared to the crea tion to be connivance, and the character of God must have sunk in their estimation. He must have appeared to be very strict in deed in his precepts, and severe in his threatenings ; but as lax in enforcing them as though he had known from the beginning that they would not bear to be acted upon. The fallen angels, in particular, must have felt that it could not he justice that consign ed them to hopeless perdition; for justice is impartial. If the Creator could connive at sin in one instance, he could in another. Thus the bands of moral government had been broken, and the cords which'held crea tion together cast away. But, by the atonement of Christ, a way is opened for the consistent exercise of mercy. There was a kind of atonement made by the vengeance taken on the old world ; also by that on the Benjamites, as recorded in the last chapters of Judges. Each of these events served to 'express the divine displea sure against sin, and each made way for the exercise of mercy : the one toward Noah and his posterity; and the other toward the remnant that had taken refuge in the rock Rimmon. Thus, in tbe death of Christ, though he died " the just for the unjust," yet God herein expressed his displeasure against sin, and, having done this, could be "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus," There is now no bar, in respect of the government of God, why any sinner should not, on returning to him in the name of his Son, find mercy. On this ground, sinners, without distinction, are actually invited to come unto him and be saved. The only bar that remains is a spirit of pride and unbelief. If they can believe in Jesus, receiving salvation as God's free gift through him, " all things are possible to him that believeth." When, on visiting a dying man, I hear him talk of having made his peace with God, I tremble for him. If our peace be made with God, it is by the blood of the cross. What are our confessions, or prayers, or tears ? Can they heal the awful breach? If so, God would have spared his own Son, and not have delivered him up to be made a sac rifice. It had then been possible for the cup to pass from him, and it would, no doubt, have passed from him. If without the shed ding of blood there be no remission, and if it were impossible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take away sin, the consequence is that either Christ must be the sacrifice or we must die in our sins and perish. He hath made peace by the blood of his cross : it is not for us to assume to be peace-makers, but to accept of his mediation. 2. The blood of Christ, as proclaimed in the preaching qf the gospel, is the appointed means of bringing sinners near to God. It is the doctrine of salvation through the blood of Christ that is, by way of eminency, called the gospel. It was this doctrine which Christ commissioned his disciples to preach to ev ery creature : " Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day : and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Je rusalem ! " This doctrine is good news to every creature ; and that whether it be re ceived or rejected. It is good news that a way is opened, by the death of Christ, for any sinner to return to God and be saved ; and that, if any sinner walk therein, he shall be saved. It is the ministry of reconcilia tion, in which the servants of Christ, as though God did beseech by them, pray men in Christ's stead, saying, " Be ye reconciled to God," Its being made light of by the greater part of men does not alter its nature ; and this they shall know another day. God brings near his righteousness, even to them that are stout-hearted and far from righteous ness. " Into whatsoever city ye enter," said our Lord, " and they receive you, eat such ON LOVE TO GOD. 301 things as are set before you ; and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they re ceive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you : notwithstanding, be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city." 3. By the doctrine qf salvation through the blood of Christ we are actually brought nigh. As the prodigal was brought home to his fa ther's house and family, so we are brought home to God. It is thus that we become ac tually reconciled to God. " If when we were enemies," says the apostle, " we were recon ciled to God by the death of his Son ; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." The term reconciled is, here, manifestly used in different senses. In the former instance, it refers to the making of atonement: in the latter, to our believing acquiesence in it ; or, as it is expressed in the following verse, to our "receiving the atonement." It is in this way that our sins are forgiven ; that we are justified, or accept ed, in the Beloved : that we are invested with the privilege of being the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty ; that God is our God, and we his people, by a new and better covenant; that we have access to him as our heavenly Father, and to all the ordinan ces and privileges of his house : finally, it is as believing in him that died and rose again that we live in hope of eternal life. There is a term used by the apostle, in Ephes. iii. 12, which conveys a very express ive idea, not only of the nearness to which believers are admitted by the faith of Christ, and which is denoted by the term " access," but of their being introduced by him, as by one taking them by the hand, and presenting them to the King.* We could not be ad mitted into the divine presence by ourselves ; but our Mediator, taking us as it were by the hand, presents us to God. It is thus that we are "accepted in the Beloved" on our first believing, and, in all our approaches to the throne of grace, have access to God. To conclude : If we have been made nigh, it becomes us, not only to be thankful for so great a favor, but to feel a deep and anxious concern for others who at present are far off. Whether we consider the state of hea thens, of Mahomedans, or of our own unbe lieving countrymen, they have each a claim on our compassion. And, if Christ withheld not his blood to bring us nigh, it surely is not for us to withhold any labor or ex pense in carrying his gracious designs into execution. • Tloco-zyary* , Introduction, manuduction.or being led by the hand. SERMON XXI. THE NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF LOVE TO GOD. " Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God." — Joshua xxiii. II. It is an interesting account that we have ofthe last days of Joshua. He is very anx ious that, when he should cease to be their leader, Israel should cleave unto the Lord. To make as deep an impression upon the: r minds as possible, he first called for the el ders and leading men among them, and de livered a serious charge to them : after this, he gathered all the tribes together before the Lord in Shechem, where he solemnly rehearsed the dealings of the Lord with them, and bound them,, by every considera tion that he could suggest, not to forsake him, and go after the idols of the heathen. It is in this connection that he introduces the words of the text, " Take good heed therefore unto yourselves that ye love the Lord your God ; " intimating that in order to be obedient to the Lord, and secure against idolatrous departures from him, it was necessary, not merely to own him as their God, but to be cordially attached to- his name and government. The word ren dered " yourselves " in the text is, in the margin, rendered your souls ; denoting that it is not a superficial inspection of the con duct that is meant, but a looking to our in most motives, seeing to it that we love the Lord from our very hearts. This is a charge that would well befit the lips of any servant of God before he leaves the world, and be well suited to the conduct of any people. If our hearts be right with God, all is right ; if not, all is wrong. In discoursing upon the subject, we shall offer a few remarks on the nature of love, and of love to God in particular — consider the importance of it in characterizing the whole of our religion — the danger of de clining from it — and the means to be used in promoting it. I. Let us offer a few remarks on the na ture OF LOVE, AND OF LOVE TO GOD IN particular. That we may perceive the extent of the precept," it is necessary that we understand a few of the different ways in which love operates. 1. Observe, then, in the first place, that love operates differently according lo the con dition of its object. If directed to one that is miserable, it works in a way of pity and sympathy ; if to one that is in necessity, it will impart to his relief; but if to one great ly our superior, as to'a kind and benevolent sovereign, for instance, then it will operate in the way of honor, complacency, gratitude, and obedience. I need not say that God is 302 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. not subject to either misery or want, and, therefore, that our love to him cannot oper ate in the way of pity towards him, or by communicating to his necessities. The ways in which love to God operates are those of honor, complacency, gratitude, and obedi ence. 2. Love operates differently according to the condition of the subject of it. If no offence has existed between the parties, it is peace and amity ; but, if otherwise, it will operate in the way of regret, repentance, and a desire of reconciliation. Man, in his original state, was admitted to commune with his Creator ; and love, during his con tinuance in that state, operated in a way of grateful adoration. But, if a spark of love be kindled in the breast of a fallen creature, it will work in a way of sorrow for sin, and a desire to return to God, as the prodigal did to his father. Moreover, in an innocent creature, love to God would operate in a way of delight and praise ; but in a fallen crea ture, under the preaching of the gospel, it will induce him to embrace the way of sal vation by Jesus Christ. Hence the want of faith in Christ is alleged in proof of the want of love to God: "I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you : I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not." 3. A complacency in the divine character still enters into the essence of love. There may be affections where this is not; but there can be no true love to God. We may be greatly affected by an apprehension that our sins are forgiven us ; and this merely from self-love : but such affections will not abide. Many who joined in singing praise to the Lord, on their deliverance at the Red Sea, soon forgot his works ; for their hearts were not right with God. Genuine love to God has respect not merely to his benefits, but to his name, nature, or charac ter, as revealed in the Scriptures. As he that hateth not sin as sin has no real hatred to it; so he that loveth not God as God has no real love to him. True love to God, for the gift of his Son and salvation through his death, does not merely respect the bene fits we receive, but the holy, just, and honor able way in which those benefits are con ferred. He that is affected only by the consideration of his own safety, regardless ofthe way in which it is obtained, cannot be said to love God. Whether God be just or unjust is, to such a person, a matter of indifference, so that he justifies him. The love of God will lead us to prize that way of salvation which, in making provision for our necessities, secures the divine glory. II. Let us observe the importance of THIS PRINCIPLE AS CHARACTERIZING THE WHOLE OF OUR RELIGION. Love IS not SO much a particular grace as a property per taining to all the graces. It is to our graces that which the holiness of God is to his mor al attributes, pervading and characterizing the whole. Indeed, it is holiness itself: if the law be the standard of holiness, .that which is the fulfilling ofthe law, which love is said to be, must comprehend the whole of it. Observe particularly — 1. It is the love of God which distinguishes true religion from all counterfeits, and from the effects of merely natural principles. It is this that distinguishes repentance from re pentance, faith from faith, and fear from fear. Each of these graces has its counterfeit. Wherein consisted the difference between the repentance of Judas and that of Peter ? The one was mere remorse of conscience ; the other proceeded from love to him whom he had denied. Wherein consisted the dif ference between the belief of those rulers who, because of the pharisees, did not con fess the Saviour, lest they should be put out ofthe synagogue, and that which was to the saving of the soul ? The one was a convic tion which forced itself upon them, while their hearts were averse from it ; the other was " receiving the love ofthe truth, that they might be saved." And wherein consists the difference between the fear that has torment and godly fear ? Is it not that the one is void of love and the other is not so ? ' Per fect love casteth out the former, but pro- moteth the latter. So much as we have of the love of God, so much we have of true religion, and no more. The love that we bear to our fellow- Christians, to the law, to the gospel, and even to Christ himself, is the love of God. We see in our brethren the image of God, and love it; in the law of God, a glorious transcript of his mind, and love it ; in the gospel, a more glorious transcript ofhis mind, and love it more ; and, in the person and work of Christ, the very image ofthe invisi ble God, and our hearts are united to him. In loving each of these objects, we love God. 2. It is the love of God that keeps every thing in 'a state of moral order. Under its influence, every thing will be done in subserviency to his glory, and every thing taken well at his hand. If God be loved first, he will be sought first. We shall not think of excusing ourselves in the neglect of our duty, by al leging that we could not find time for it: we commonly find time for things on which our hearts are fixed. It is by the love of God that all our actions are directed to his glory. Unbelievers cannot understand how this is. Whether they eat or drink, or whatsoever they do, it is merely for their own gratifica tion, and they cannot conceive of any other end to be answered. Yet it is easy to per ceive how men can make every thing sub servient to that which their hearts are set upon, whether it be their interest, or the grat ification of their desires. Love to a fellow- creature will render every thing we do sub servient to the object. All the labors and ON LOVE TO GOD. 303 journeys of a loving head of a family are di rected to their comfort ; and all the busy cares of an affectionate wife to the honor and happiness of her husband. If then God be the supreme object of our love, whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we shall do all to his glory. It is thus that the common concerns of life are converted into religion, and that we shall serve the Lord even in our worldly avo cations : " Not slothful in business ; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." It is in abusing the world, by giving it that place in our hearts which belongs to God, that it retards us in our progress to heaven. If, instead of this, we could use it, it would be useful to us even for another life, furnishing us with mat ter for daily prayer and praise, and thus as sisting us in our progress. If we love God, we shall take every thing well at his hand, and so be reconciled to all his dispensations towards us, whether they be good or evil. We can bear almost any thing from one whom we love ; especially when we know that it is accompanied with wisdom, and directed by goodness. When, in the day of Israel's calamity, their enemies asked, "Where is now their God ?" it was sufficient to answer, "Our God is in the heavens ; he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." It was love that dictated those memorable sayings of Job, during the early part of his trials ; " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; blessed be the name of the Lord ! — Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?" It was this that reconciled David, when driven from his throne by the rebellion of his own son : " Here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him." And, when cursed by an enemy, viewing it as the Lord's hand stretched out against him, he submit ted : " The Lord hath said unto him, Curse David!" 3. It is the love qf God that is the great preservation from error. If, indeed, the truth of God were a matter of mere speculation, and we might take for granted the sincerity and impartiality of our inquiries, error would then be innocent, and the love of God would be no more of a preservative from it than it is from a mistake in reckoning a sum in arithmetic. But if divine truth be of a prac tical nature, and be so clearly revealed that no unprejudiced mind can materially mis understand, and still less disbelieve it, error is not innocent, and the great preservative from falling into it is the love of God. Such is manifestly the import of the following passages: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. — Why do ye not understand my speech ? even because ye cannot hear my word. — If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me ? He that is of God heareth God's words.: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. — We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." If it be objected that good men err ; that to ascribe their errors to prejudice, and the want of love to God, is uncandid ; we answer, No good man is free from prejudice, nor does he love God as he ought. To as cribe the errors of others to the same causes to which we ascribe our own, supposing us to be in error, cannot be uncandid. If we loved God as we ought, there would be no prejudice hanging about our minds, and we should imbibe the truth, as angels imbibe it, desiring above all things to look into it. And, if we loved him more than we do, we should be more secure than we are from the seducing influence of error. Hence it is that the anointing of the Holy Spirit is re presented as teaching us all things, and causing us to abide in the truth. Hence, also, those who have apostatized from the truth are described as not having cordially believed it, but as taking pleasure in unright eousness. 4. It is the love of God which is the grand spring of evangelical obedience. Respect to ourselves, and regard to our present inter ests, will produce a correctness of conduct sufficient to excite the respect of those around us ; but this is not religion. There is no true religion without the love of God ; and if, as has been already stated, the love of the law, of the gospel, of our fellow-crea tures and fellow-christians, and even of Christ himself, be only the love of God ram ified, it must follow that without this we shall not be able to exercise the others, but be merely lovers qf our own selves. If we take heed to this, we shall have but little else to take heed to, as every duty will be come our delight and be cheerfully discharg ed as a matter of course. Hence, we see the force of the wise man's precept, "Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it are the issues of life." Look well to the fountain, or the streams will in vain be ex pected to be pure. To watch our words and actions to the neglect of our hearts will be unavailing. III. Let us consider the danger we ARE IN OF DECLINING FROM THE LOVE of God. The serious tone of caution with which the precept is delivered is expressive of this sentiment: it is only in cases of great danger that we are charged to take good heed. The love of God is a plant of heavenly extraction; but, being planted in an un friendly soil, it requires to be well guarded and watered. We are not only surrounded with objects which attract our affections, and operate as rivals to the blessed God, but have 304 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. a propensity to depart from him. Whether we consider ourselves as individuals or as societies, this will be found to be the case. In the early stages of the Christian life, love is frequently ardent The first believ ing views of the grace of the gospel furnish matter of joyful surprise ; and a flow of grateful affection is the natural conse quence : " I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Be cause he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." At this season we can scarcely con ceive it possible to forget him who hath done such great things for us ; but, if twenty years of cares and temptations pass over us without producing this effect, it will be hap py for us. In declining from our first love we are sel dom sensible of it till some of its effects ap pear, as neglecting the more spiritual exer cises of religion, or contenting ourselves with attending to them as a matter of form without enjoying God in them, or trifling with those sins from which we should heretofore have started back with horror. Our friends often perceive it, and feel concerned on account of it, before we are aware of it ourselves ; and happy is it for us if by their timely admoni tions, or by any other means, we are awak ened from our lethargy and saved from some greater fall, to the dishonor of God and the wounding of our future peace. I have heard this departure from our first love spoken of as a matter of course, or as that which must be expected. Nay, I have heard it compared to the time when Isaac was weaned, at which Abraham made a feast ! Some old religious professors, who have become sufficiently cold and carnal them selves, will thus endeavor to reconcile young Christians to the same state of mind ; tell ing them, with a cunning sort of smile, that they are at present on the mount of enjoyment, but must expect to come down. And true it is that love, though it may be come deeper and better grounded, may not always operate with such tenderness of feel ing as it did at first. A change in the con stitution from an advance in years will ac count for this. Many things relating to the present world which in our youth will pro duce tears will not have this effect as we advance in life, though they may still lie with weight upon our minds. But to con found this with religious declensions, cold ness, and carnality, and to endeavor to re concile young Christians to it, is erroneous and mischievous. So did not the apostles in their intercourse with young Christians. When Barnabas visited the young Christians at Antioch, he "saw the grace of God, and was glad ;" and, instead of leading them to expect a state of declension to follow this their first love, he " exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord." The great Head of the church had somewhat against the Ephesians, because they had left their first love. There is no necessity in the nature of things for the abatement of our love, or zeal, or joy. The considerations which for merly excited these feelings have not lost their force. It is as true and as important as ever that "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners," and that he is " able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him : " and, excepting what the first impression derived from its novelty, would, if we had not declined in love, be as interesting to us. So far from our regard for these and other truths being diminished, there is ground for its being increased. Our first views of Christ and his gospel were very defective ; if we follow on to know the Lord, we shall know him in a much greater degree. " The path of the just," if scrip- turally pursued, will be "as the shining light, shining more and more unto the per fect day." This was the course which the apostles pursued toward the Christians of their times : "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowl edge, and in all judgment. — We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because your faith groweth exceed ingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth. — Beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immoveable, al ways abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." The apostle himself did not relax as he drew toward the end of his course, but forgetting the things that were behind, and reaching forth unto those that were before, he pressed toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. To decline in our love is practically say ing that we were once more spiritually- minded, more tender in conscience, and more devoted to God, than was necessary ; that we have not found the religion of Jesus so interesting as we expected,, and, there fore, have been obliged to have recourse for happiness to our former pursuits ; and that what our old companions told us at the out set, that our zeal would soon abate and that we should return again to them, was true. " O, my people, what have I done unto thee, and wherein bave I wearied thee ? testify against ine ! " If we be in danger of declining as indi viduals, we are not 'less so as societies. So cieties being composed of individuals, a number of backsliding individuals will soon diffuse their spirit and produce a backsliding people. It was to a people that the words of Joshua were addressed. That generation of Israelites who went up with him into Canaan were distinguished by their love to God. They had seen his judgments upon CONFORMITY TO THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 305 their unbelieving fathers, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, and had learned wis dom. It was of them that the Lord spoke by Jeremiah, saying, " I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine es pousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase." But the very next generation relapsed into idolatry : " Is rael served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord that he had done for Israel." But when they were gathered to their fa thers " there arose another generation after them which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." Even before the death of their venerable leader, the young people had begun to tamper with idolatry. It was on this account that he as sembled the tribes in Shechem, and so sol emnly put it to them to choose on that day whom they would serve ; and that when they answered, " God forbid that we should for sake the Lord to serve other gods," he ad ded, " Ye cannot serve the Lord ; for he is a holy God : he is a jealous God, he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins." This was telling them that they could not serve the Lord and Baalim. Stung with this suggestion, they answered, " Nay, but we will serve the Lord." Then said Joshua, "Put away the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel!" This interesting account furnishes a pic ture of human nature. The same things have been acted over again in the world. Religion has rarely been preserved in its purity for many generations. Such is the tendency to degenerate, that the greatest and most important reformations have com monly begun to decline, when they who have been principally engaged in them have been gathered to their fathers. Even the apostles themselves, inspired as they were, could not preserve the churches which they had raised from degeneracy. The Lord had many things against those seven in Asia to which the Apocalypse was addressed. We know also that the great body of professing Christians in a few cen turies were carried away by the antichris tian apostacy ; that the descendants of the reformers have mostly renounced their prin ciples ; and that the same is true of the de scendants of the puritans and non-conform ists. Each of these cases furnishes a loud call to us to take good heed unto ourselves that we love the Lord our God. IV. Let us conclude with a few direc tions AS TO THE MEANS OF PROMOTING the love of God. It has been observed already that love is a tender plant, requiring o be both gua r ded and watered. It will not Vol. 2.— Sia. 39. thrive among the weeds of worldy lusts. We cannot serve the Lord in this way ; if we would serve him we must put away our idols and incline our hearts unto the Lord God of Israel. Beware of the love of the world. He that loveth the world, the love of God is not in him. Beware of living in the indul gence of any sin: any habitual sin is incon sistent with the love of God. It was on this principle that holy David, after declaring the omniscience and omnipresence of God, in voked his scrutiny : " Search me, O God, and know my heart ; try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlast ing." Wicked actions have been found in good men, who have lamented them, and been forgiven ; but a wicked way is incon sistent with a state of grace, vitiating the very principle of religion, and turning the whole into hypocrisy. Transgression of this nature must lead to perdition. It is an af fecting consideration how many professors of religion have been found, either before or soon after they have left the world, to have lived in private drunkenness, concealed lewdness, or undetected fraud ! But it is not merely by avoiding those things which are inconsistent with the love of God that we shall promote it ; we must also attend to those that cherish it. It is by being conversant with the mind of God, as revealed in his word ; by drawing near to him in private prayer ; by associating with the most spiritual ofhis people ; by thinking upon his name, especially as displayed in the person and work of Christ, that the love of God will be cherished. As our minds are insensibly assimilated by the books we read and the company we keep, so will it be in reading the book of God and associating with his people ; and, as the glory of God is manifested in the highest degree in the face of Jesus Christ, this is the principal theme for our meditation. It is by our repairing to the cross that the love of God will be kept alive, and renewed when ready to expire. SERMON XXII. CONFORMITY TO THE DEATH OF CHRIST. " Being made conformable unto his death." — Phil. iii. 10. The death of Christ is a subject of so much importance in Christianity as to be essential to it. Without this, the sacrifices and prophecies of the Old Testament would be nearly void of meaning, and the other great facts recorded in the New Testament divested of importance. It is not so much a member of the body of christian doctrine as the life-blood that runs through the whole of it. The doctrine ofthe cross is the christian doctrine. In determining " not to know any thing — save Jesus Christ, and him crucified," 306 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the apostle did not mean to contract his re searches, or to confine his ministry to a mo notonous repetition of a favorite point, to the neglect of other things : on the contrary, he shunned not to declare "the whole counsel of God." The doctrine of "Christ, and him crucified," comprehended this : it con tained a scope which, inspired as he was, surpassed his powers : and well it might, for angels could not comprehend it, but are de scribed as merely desiring to look into it. There is not an important truth, but what is presupposed by it, included in it, or arises out of it; nor any part of practical religion, but what hangs upon it. It was from this doctrine that the New Testament writers fetched their most power ful motives. Do they recommend humility ? It is thus : " Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputation, 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," Do they enforce an unreserved devotedness to God ? It is thus : " Ye are not your own ; for ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." If they would provoke Christians to brotherly love, it is from the same consideration : " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Do they urge a forgiving spirit ? It is thus : " Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiv ing one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Do they recom mend benevolence to the poor ? It is from this: "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. — Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift ! " Fi nally : The common duties of domestic life are enforced from this principle : " Hus bands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." It is in immediate relation to this great principle that both the ordinances of bap tism and the supper appear to have been in stituted. As many as were baptized, were baptized into Christ's death ; and, in eating the bread and drinking the wine, they were directed to do it in remembrance of him. It was a wonderful instance of condescend ing love in the Lord Jesus to desire to be remembered by us. Had we requested, in the language ofthe converted thief, to be remembered by him, there had been nothing surprising in it : but it is of the nature of living love to desire to live in the remem brance of those who are dear to us. It was not, however, on his own account, but on ours, that he left this dying request. He knew that to remember him would answer every case that could occur. If afflicted, this would be our solace ; if persecuted, the consideration of him that had endured such contradiction of sinners would prevent our being weary and faint in our minds; if guilty, this would point out the way of for giveness ; or, if tempted to turn aside, this would bind us to his name and cause. It was by a believing view of this great subject that the apostle, at the first, counted all his former privileges and attainments loss; and though, in consequence of re nouncing Judaism, he had exchanged all his earthly prospects for hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and perils, and bitter perse cutions, yet, after thirty years' experience, he does not repent, but, in a tone of heaven ly triumph, adds, "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord : for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith ! " A mind- thus imbued with the sacred theme, we should think, must have known much of Christ already, and, compared with us, he must; yet, after all that he had thought, and preached, and written, he makes nothing ofhis attainments, but adopts the language of one that had, in a manner, every thing to learn: "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." The last of these vehement d'esires seems to be explanatory of some, if not all, that precede it. That is, he would know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, as " being made conformable unto his death." The sentiment here conveyed appears to be, That the death of Christ, is a model to which Christians must aspire to be conformed. This sentiment we shall endeavor to illus trate and confirm. There are other models beside the death of Christ ; but they are included in this. The law of God is that to which we must be conformed. If we be born from above, it is " written in our hearts." But, as one great end of Christ's death was to honor the divine law, not only in its precept but its penalty, a conformity to the one must include a con formity to the other. The character of God also is represented as a model to which be lievers are conformed. The new man is created "after God, in righteousness and true holiness ; " but, as in the death of Christ CONFORMITY TO THE DEATH OF CHRIST. 307 God was glorified in the highest, a conformi ty to this must be a conformity to the divine character. The lives of holy men are also held up for our imitation ; but, as this is only in proportion as they are followers of Christ, a conformity to him includes all that is required of us respecting them. We shall consider the death of Christ in four views : namely, in respect of the princi ples on which it proceeded — the motives by which it was induced — the spirit with which it was endured — and the ends which it ac complished. Under. each of these views we shall find things to which we must be con formed. Observe — I. The principles on which the death of Christ proceeded. In them we shall find a standard by which to form our prin ciples, and shall be able to judge whether they be of God. 1. The death of Christ presupposes that we deserved to die. A sense of this truth is at the foundation of all true religion ; it re quires, therefore, that we be made conforma ble to it. God, in the gift of his Son to die, judged us to have been worthy of death ; Christ, in giving himself to die, evinced himself to be ofthe same mind; and such must be our mind, or we can have no inter est in the glorious results. Until we see and feel that God is in the right, that we are in the wrong, and that if he had cast us off forever it had been no more than we de served, we shall be strangers to repentance, and as incapable of believing in Christ for salvation as he that is whole is of apprecia ting the value of a physician. 2. The death of Christ presupposes that sin is exceedingly sinful. If it were a matter of small account, it may be presumed that the Father would not have made so much of it as to give his Son to be made a sacrifice to atone for it; and that the Son of God would not have laid down his life for that pur pose. The curses ofthe law, and the judg ments inflicted at different times on sinners, furnish strong proof of the malignant nature of sin; especially when the native goodness of God is taken into consideration : but the blood ofthe cross furnishes much stronger. It was a great thing for the Creator to de stroy the work of his hands, and it is so represented : " The Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth." But to smite his beloved Son was greater. To be made conformable to this principle, we must not conceive of sin as the weakness, or frailty, of human nature, a mere imperfection which a good God must needs overlook. Neither must we giye heed to those systems of religion which are founded upon these depreciating notions, which, however they may flatter us for the present, will, in the end, assuredly deceive us. 3. The death of Christ presupposes that there was nothing, in all our doings or suffer ings, that could furnish a ground of salva tion, or a single consideration for which we might be forgiven. Had it been otherwise, Christ would not have died. Men have ev er been busily employed in endeavors to propitiate the Deity ; some by ceremonial observances, and some by moral: but, in stead of accomplishing the object, they have only made the case worse. Even those ser vices which were of divine appointment be came, in their hands, offensive ; God was weary of their offerings. Christ is repre sented as taking the work out of their hands: "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire ; mine ears hast thou opened : burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come ! " They were, indeed, required as duties for the time, but not for the purpose of making atonement. Not tears, nor prayers, nor alms, nor any other of our doings, will avail as terms of acceptance with God. If we are conformed to the death of Christ, we shall know and feel this to be the case, and shall seek salvation by grace only, through the Mediator. If we are not conformed to the death of Christ in this respect, we have no reason to expect any interest in it. 4. The death of Christ presupposes that, for mercy to be exercised in a way consistent with the honor of God, it required to be through a sacrifice of infinite value. When the apos tle declares that "it was not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins," he plainly intimates that the in herent value of the sacrifice was of essen tial importance as to its effect. If it were impossible for animal sacrifices to atone for sin, it must be on account of then insuffi ciency to demonstrate either the hatred of God to sin or his love to sinners : but the same reason would apply to the sacrifice of Christ, if he were merely a creature. Hence, those who deny his divinity, with perfect consistency deny also his atonement. But, on the principles of his divinity, his suffer ings were of infinite value ; and to this the Scriptures ascribe their efficacy. A careful reader ofthe New Testament will perceive that, in exhibiting the value and efficacy of his death, it connects it with the inherent dignity of his person: "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express im age ofhis person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." — "We have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son qf God." — "The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." The result is that, to be made comforma- ble to the death of Christ, we must think highly of it, and not reduce it to the death of a mere martyr. It is a serious thing to 308 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. make light ofthe Saviour, and of the work of salvation : " He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three wit nesses: of how much sorer punishment, sup pose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy (or common) thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace ? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ! " Let us observe II. The motives bt which the death of Christ was induced. In these we shall find a blessed example to imitate. They may all be summed up in love ; love to God and men ; love, great, disinterested, and unparalleled. There never was such an example of the " love of God " as that which is furnished by the obedience and death of Christ. It was his meat and drink to do the will of his Father. He did not know his nearest re lations, but as doing his Father's will. When the bitter cup was presented to him, he said, " Now is my soul troubled ; and what shall I say ? Father, save me from this hour? but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name." What was this but exposing his breast, as we should say, to the sword of justice ; consent ing to be made a sacrifice, that God might be glorified in the salvation of sinners ? It was love, working in a way of grief, that caused that affecting exclamation, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? " He could endure the cross, and even despise the shame ; he could bear to be betrayed, denied, and forsaken by his own disciples : but to be forsaken of God wounded him be yond any thing. O to be made conforma ble to his death in these things; to love God, so as to account it our meat and drink to do his will ; so as to reckon his friends our friends, and his cause our cause ; to be willing to do any thing, or suffer any thing, for his name's sake ; and to feel the with holding ofhis favor our severest loss ! As there never was such love to God as that which was manifested by Christ, so neither was there ever such love to men. "He loved us, and gave himself for us — loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." The love of creatures is ordi narily founded on something lovely in the object ; but Christ died for us while we were yet enemies. To be made conforma ble to his death in tine is to bear good will to men, to seek their prosent and everlast ing welfare in ev -srf vay that is within our power: and this no' itVianding the un- loveliness of their cm ¦.u.-tfr and conduct: "Love them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and perse cute you." Unbelievers, who know no principle superior to self-love, have repre sented this precept of our Lord as un natural and extravagant. Yet they them selves are daily partaking of his bounty, who causeth his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and his rain to descend on the just and on the .unjust If they were the children of that Being whom they acknow ledge, they would, in some degree, resem ble him. Such was the example of Jesus, and such must be ours, if we be made con formable to him. Let us observe III. The spirit with which the suf ferings AND DEATH OF CHRIST WERE EN DURED. In this we shall find a model for our spirit. The Lord Jesus was possessed of all the original passions of human nature ; as love, joy, sorrow, grief, anger, indignation, &c. When reproached and injured, he felt it ; his " enduring the cross, and despising the shame," was not owing to his being in sensible to either, but to "the joy set be fore him." The purity of his nature did not extinguish its passions, but rendered them subordinate to the will of his Father. With the greatest sensibility to reproach and injury, he was meek and lowly of heart Under all the reproaches and false accusa tions that were preferred against him on his trial, he preserved a dignified silence : not a word was uttered tending to save his life : but, when questioned on the truth of his Messiahship, he, with equal dignity and firm ness, avowed it, though he knew the avowal would cost him his life. Nor did the con tradiction and abuse which he received from his executioners extinguish his compassion toward them: while they were nailing him to the cross he prayed, saying, " Father, for give them: for they know not what they do." If we observe the spirit of the apostles, we shall find them to have made him their pattern : " Being reviled, we bless ; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all things, unto this day." There appears to have been a holy emulation in the apostle Paul to be a follower of his Lord, even unto death. In all that befel him, he kept his eye on Christ: "If we suffer, -we shall also reign with him." — "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed ; perplexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forj saken ; cast down, but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." THE LIFE OF CHRIST THE CHURCH'S SUPPORT. 309 Such was that conformity to the death of Christ, after which-he panted with the most vehement desire. Nothing was further from his thoughts than partaking with him in the work of redemption ; but, so far as fellowship in his sufferings was admissible, it was the object of his most ardent desire. O to be thus made like him and like his faithful followers ! We proceed to observe IV. The ends which the death of Christ accomplished. In them, though there is much which is peculiar to himself, yet there is .also much in which we are made conformable to him. Did he satisfy divine justice, and thereby open the way of salvation ? Certainly, it is not for us to attempt any thing like this ; but, by believing in him, we acquiesce in what he has done and suffered, and so are made conformable to it. Nor is this confined to our first believing : the more we know of Christ, and the power ofhis resurrection, and tlie fellowship, of his sufferings, the more we are, in this way, made conforma ble to his death. The death of Christ will give the impression to the very . enjoyment of heaven. "The Lamb that was slain" will be the theme of the song forever. Was he " manifested to destroy the works of the devil ? " If we be made conformable to his death, we also shall wage war with them. If we live in sin, we are of the devil, and must needs be at variance with the death of Christ ; sparing that which he was manifested in human nature to destroy, The finished work of Christ upon the cross did not supersede the necessity of our be ing active in overcoming evil. We must set our feet upon the necks of these spirit ual enemies, taking a part in their destruc tion. Neither did it supersede the neces sity of our active perseverance in the use of all means by which we may disengage our souls from the entanglements of sin, pray ing and struggling from under its dominion, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. It is thus that we have to " work out our own salvation with fear and trembling," which, instead of superseding the death of Christ, is being made conformable to it. From his having died/or sin, we are exhorted to die to it, and to live unto God. We cannot en ter into the end of Christ's death, which was to make an end of sin, unless we be come dead to sin ; nor into his resurrection, without rising with him into newness of life. In waging war with sin, it is necessary to begin with ourselves, but not to end there. If we be made conformable to the death of Christ, we shall be adverse to sin wherever we find it; avoiding all participation in it through complaisance or worldly interest, and uniting to promote sobriety, righteous ness, and godliness in its place. Finally : Christ died " to save sinners ; " and, if we be made conformable to his death, we also shall seek their salvation. Some of the first thoughts which occur to a believer's mind, on having found rest for his own soul, respect the salvation of his kindred and acquaintance ; and the direc tion given to one who had obtained mercy gives countenance to such thoughts and de sires : " Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee." It is not for ministers only to take an in terest in the salvation of men : the army of the Lamb is composed of the whole body of Christians. Every disciple of Jesus should consider himself as a missionary. All, in deed, are' not apostles, nor evangelists, nor preachers ; but all must be engaged in serv ing the Lord : some by preaching, some by contributing of their substance, and all by prayer and recommending the Saviour by a holy conversation. The death of Christ stands connected, in the divine promise, with the salvation of sin ners. This is "the travail of his soul," which he was to see, and be satisfied ; the "joy set before him," in view of which he endured the cross, and despised the shame. To be made conformable unto his death, therefore, we must combine that which God has combined with it. It is a high honor conferred on us to be instruments in thus saving our fellow-sinners, and in thus crown ing our Redeemer : nor will it be less ad vantageous to us, since he has said, "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." SERMON XXIII. THE LIFE OF CHRIST THE SECURITY AND FELICITY OF HIS CHURCH. " I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death." — Rev. i. 18. Some of the most important writings in the church of Christ have been occasioned by the persecutions of its enemies. The Psalms of David, in which a good man will find all the devout feelings of his heart pourtrayed, were mostly occasioned by the oppositions of the wicked. Many of Paul's epistles were written from prison ; and this book, which contains a system of prophecy from the ascension of Christ to the end of time, was communicated to the beloved dis ciple when in a state ' f banishment. Thus it is that the wrath if ?• oi is made to praise God: so much of -» k* would not answer this end is restrained. Some of the laost distinguished prophets 310- SERMONS AND SKETCHES. under the Old Testament were introduced to their work by an extraordinary and im pressive vision. It was thus with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel ; and thus it was with the writer of this book. They beheld the glory of Jehovah in a manner suitable to the dispensation under which they lived : he, being under a new dispensation, of whicb Christ was exalted to be the head, saw his glory both divine and human ; as the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, and as the Son of Man walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. On seeing him, the apostle fell at his feet as dead. He on whose bosom he could for merly lean with all the familiarity of a friend is now possessed of a glory too great to be sustained by a mortal man. But yet how sweetly is this awful grandeur tempered with gentleness and goodness: "He laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last ; I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen ; and have tbe keys of hell and of death." The force and beauty of the passage will appear to advantage, if we observe the circumstances of the church and of the apostle at the time. It is supposed to be about the year 95, under the persecution of Domitian. The church, at that time, was under a dark cloud. Great numbers of the first Christians and the first ministers would now have finished their course ; many would be cut off by the persecution ; all the apos tles were dead, excepting John, and he was banished. To an eye of sense it would ap pear as if the cause must be crushed. How cheering, in such circumstances, must it have been to be told, " I am he that liveth ! " The Assyrian invasion, in the time of Hezekiah, filled the breadth of Immanuel's land ; but, while Jerusalem was preserved, the head was above water, and the body politic, though pverflowed even to the neck, would yet hve^ Much more would the church in the midst of persecution. While Christ her head lived she could not die. It was on the Lord's day that the apostle was favored with this extraordinary vision, the day in which he had risen from the dead ; which circumstance would add force to what he said of himself as having been dead, but as being now alive. It was the day also in which, as far as their persecuted state would admit, the churches were assembled for Christian worship ; and while they, doubtless, remembered the venerable apostle in their prayers, the Lord, by him, remembered and provided for them. There is a charming circumlocution in the passage, which surprises and overwhelms the mind. The Lord might have said, as on a former occasion, " Be not afraid, it is I ; " but he describes himself in language full of the richest consolation : " I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death!" Let us observe the characters which our Lord assumes — consider them as a ground of security to the church — and conclude with a few reflections. I. Let us observe the characters which our lord assumes. The words contain four positions : viz. that he liveth — that he liveth who was dead — that he liveth for evermore — and that he has the keys of hell and of death. 1. He saith, "I am he that liveth." It is a truth that Christ liveth, and always did and will live as " the first and the last ; " but the life here spoken of, being that which succeeded to his death, was possessed in the same nature as that in which he died. It was the life which commenced at his res- rection ; when, being raised from the dead, he dieth no more : death hath no more do minion over him." It consists not merely in existence, but in that " blessing, and honor, and glory," which he received as the re ward of his humiliation. It is the posses sion of that "joy that was set before him," in the prospect of which " he endured the cross, and despised the shame." There appears to be something more in the words, " I am he that liveth," than if it had been said Hive ; for this had been true of millions as well as of Christ, whereas that which is spoken is something peculiar to him. Paul says of himself, " I live ; " but, when he had said it, he, in a manner, recalled his words, adding, " yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Christ is not only pos sessed of life himself, but communicates it to others : his life involves that of the church, and of every individual believer in him. In his life they live, and will live for ever more. In the life of Christ we trace the execu tion of the great designs of his death. It is as living that he intercedes " for us at the right hand of God." " If," says the apostle Paul, " when we were enemies we were re conciled to God by the death of his son ; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." We see here three dis tinct stages in the work of Christ. First : By his death he made atonement for us: this is expressed by his having " reconciled us to God," or restored us to his favor as the lawgiver and judge of the world. Sec ondly : By his word and Spirit we are sub dued to the obedience of faith, so as, of ene mies, to become friends : this is expressed by our "being reconciled," or brought into a state of actual peace and friendship with God. Thirdly : By his "life," he saves us : this is that branch of salvation which is ef fected by his intercession, and which is de nominated saving us "to the uttermost." From the first two, the apostle argues the THE LIFE OF CHRIST THE CHURCH'S SUPPORT. 311 last, as from what Christ did for us when enemies to what he will do for us now that we are friends, and from his having begun the work to his carrying it on to per fection. In the life of Christ we trace all the im portant blessings of his reign. The promise of the " sure mercies of David " is alleged by the apostle as a proof of the resurrection of Christ. But how does this appear ? By " the sure mercies of David," as promised in the 55th of Isaiah, there is doubtless a re ference to the covenant made with David, " ordered in all things and sure," and which contained all his salvation, and all his desire. But this covenant was to he fulfilled in the everlasting kingdom of Christ. " The sure mercies of David," therefore are the bless ings of Messiah's kingdom, the bestow- ment of which implies his resurrection ; for, if death had continued to have dominion over him, no such kingdom could have ex isted. The sum is that, in saying to his ser vant John " I am he that liveth," he furnish ed one of the richest sources of consolation to the church in its state of tribulation. 2. He speaks of his life as succeeding to his death : " I am he that liveth and was dead." This part of the description would remove all doubts, if any existed, as to who he was. The disparity between his present appearance and what he was when the apos tle saw and conversed with him in the flesh must be exceedingly great, and might tend to stagger his belief in his being the same person : but this speech, whatever doubts he felt, would at once remove them. Yes ; it is my Lord himself, and not another. It is he whom I saw expire upon the cross ! The connection between the death of Christ on earth and his succeeding life in glory renders each of them more interest ing. There is great joy derived from the consideration of salvation through the death of Christ. It is the burden of the heavenly song. But this would be no joy, were it not for the consideration of his life. What if we could all have obtained salvation ; yet, if it must have been at the expense of the everlasting blessedness of our deliverer, who could have enjoyed it ? What would the feast be, if the Lord of the feast were not there ? Though, in enduring the death of the cross, he bad " spoiled principalities and powers," and "made a show of them openly;" yet, if he had not lived to enjoy his triumphs, what would they have been to the redeemed, and even to the angelic world ? If the King's Son had been lost, the victory of that day would have been turned into mourning. If it had been pos sible for him to be holden of death, the loss to the moral empire of God must have ex ceeded the gain, and the saved themselves must have been ashamed to appear in heav en at the expense of the general good! But we are not called to so painful a trial. Our salvation, expensive as it was, was not at this expense. He was dead, but he liveth ! " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again un to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ! " And as the hfe of Christ adds to the joy arising from his death, so the death of Christ adds to the joy arising from his life. There is great joy as we have seen derived from his life, but it would not be what it is if this his life had not succeeded his death. The life of Isaac was dear to Abraham before he attempted to offer him up a sacrifice ; but it would be much more so when he had re ceived him as from the dead. — The life of Joseph was dear to Jacob when he dwelt with him in the vale of Hebron ; but it would be much more so after his having in a man ner buried him. If Christ had never di vested himself of the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, it would not have been to us that which it will be. The very angels, though he died not for them, nor for any of their species, yet honor him as " the Lamb that was slain." And, as to the redeemed themselves, their song is sweeter still : " Thou art worthy," say they, " for thou wast, slain, and hast re deemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests ; and we shall reign on the earth." 3. He describes himself not only as "he that liveth, and was dead," but as being " alive for evermore." He was raised, not only to life, but to an immortal life. " He dieth no more : death hath no more domin ion over him." This cheering truth arises from the perfection oi his sacrifice. The sacrifices under the law could not take away sin, but were mere shadows of good things to come, and therefore required to be often repeated ; but the sacrifice of Christ was "once for all." The Scriptures lay great stress upon the term once, as applied to the sacrifice of Christ : it is used no less than six times in this connection : " Christ being raised from the dead," saith the apostle, " dieth no more : death hath no more domin ion over him ; " and thus he accounts for it, — " For in that he died, he died unto sin once ; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God." A transient suffering in so divine a person was sufficient to expiate that which would have subjected us to everlasting punishment, and to lay the foundation of a permanent life with God, both for himself and for all those who believe in Vah. Such was the value of his sacrifice, thai, its influence will continue forever. Even sviien the work of mediation shall be perfected, and the king dom as mediatorial be " delivered up to the Father, that God may ae all in all," Christ 312 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. will live, and be the life of the church for ever. In that state where "there will be no temple," " the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb " are said to be " the temple there of;" and the reason given for there being no need of the sun, nor of the moon, is, that "the glory of God will lighten it, and the Lamb will be the light thereof." The "Amen" which follows this part of the description seems to be added by the apostle, and designed to express the satis faction that he felt in the life of Christ. The words, " O king, live forever," as ad dressed to an Asiatic sovereign, could only express the wish of the party that his life might be continued ; and that in most cases was mere flattery : but here is neither flat tery nor hyperbole. The Lord declares that he lives forever, and the apostle adds to it his cordial "Amen ! " 4. He declares the authority with which he is invested : "And have the keys of hell and of death." By "hell and death," I un derstand the powers of the invisible world, which, in reward of his humiliation and death, were put under his control. " God raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come ; and hatb put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church. — Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God ; angels, and authorities, and powers, being made subject unto him." Hell, with all its machinations, can do no more than he per mits ; and death with all its terrors comes and goes at his bidding. But why are hell and death only mention ed as subjected to Christ? Does not his empire extend to the church as well as to the world, and to the visible as well as to the invisible powers ? Certainly it does : all power in heaven and earth is given to him : but there was a fitness in his here mentioning that part only of his empire which was hostile to the church, and that kind of hostility which at the time threaten ed to destroy it. Persecution is the storm ing work of hell and of death on the strong holds of Zion. Hell furnishes the plan, and death carries it into execution. Men, in deed, have a concern in what is done against the church ; but it is as agents of the wick ed one : the visible world, therefore, may be overlooked a i being influenced by the in visible. To ' il an army it is sufficient to control th.,-o', that influence its move ments. II. Let us consider these interest ing CHARACTERS AS A SOURCE OF SECU RITY AND FELICITY TO THE CHURCH. The existence of the church in this depra ved world is one of the wonders of provi dence. It is a vessel living in a tempestu ous sea ; a bush on fire, yet not consumed. If we reflect pn the enmity of the wicked against the righteous, their great superiori ty over them, the attempts that have been made to exterminate them, the frequent diminution of their number by defection and death, — their existence, and especially their increase, must be wonderful, and can no otherwise be accounted for but that Christ liveth. When they were few in number, and wandered as strangers from one nation to another, he suffered no man to hurt them ; "he reproved kings for their sakes ; saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my proph ets no harm." In Egypt he saw their afflic tion, and came down to deliver them. Of Jerusalem the enemy said, " Raze it, raze it to the foundation ; " but the Lord remem bered it, and destroyed its destroyer.. Un der the Persian dominion, the captives were restored to their own land ; yet even then the enemy intrigued against them ; so that for one-and-twenty years the building of the temple was hindered, and the prayers of the prophet Daniel were unanswered. Thus it was, I conceive, that " the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood " the angel for " one-and-twenty days : " but lo, Michael the chief prince stood with him and helped him.* Under the gospel dispensation, as the church became more spiritual,€he hatred in creased; and, as religion was henceforth more of a personal than a national concern, such was the opposition directed against it But still the great Head of the church lived. The persecution which raged at the time of this prophecy was the second often cruel perse cutions from the heathen emperors ; and though, after this, the government became professedly Christian, yet such were the corruptions which entered in at this d6or, that in a little time that which was called the christian church became an antichristian harlot, persecuting the servants of Jesus * Dan. x. 13. 21. Prideaux reckons, from, the first interruption ofthe Jews in rebuilding the tem ple to the last sentence of Darius in their favor, only twenty years ; namely, from the third year of Cyrus to the eighth of Darius Hystaspis ; but from Dan. x. 1 — 4, it appears, that though the opposition openly commenced in the third year, yet it had been at work in the second. It was within throe days of the beginning of the third year that the prophet began to mourn : if one cause of this mourning, therefore, was the obstruc tion to the work of God at Jerusalem, it must have begun in the second year ; which makes it twenty-one years, corresponding with the three full weeks of the prophet's mourning, and with the one-and-twenty days of the angel's detention, according to the usual prophetic reckoning, a day for a year. THE ANTIDOTE TO PRESUMPTION AND DESPAIR. 813 with a cruelty equal, if not superior, to that of heathens. These floods filled the breadth of Immanuel's land, reaching even to the neck ; but, the church's Head being above water, she has survived them all. Often have we seen, in our smaller cir cles, the cause of God reduced to a low con dition ; sometimes by the falling away of characters who seemed to be pillars, and sometimes by the removal of great and good men by death. But under all this itis our comfort, the Lord liveth — the government is on his shoulder. Finally : The life of Christ involves not only the security ofthe church on earth, but its felicity in heaven. The members being united with the head, their life is bound up with his life. Even in the ^present world, if one says, " I live," he must recollect himself, with the apostle, and add, " Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : " but, if it be so in re spect of spiritual life in this world, it will be so as to eternal life in the world to come. Every thing which our Lord did and suffered was for us ; and every degree of glory that he possesses in reward of it is for us : for us he became incarnate, died, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and liveth at the right hand of God. " Your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." From the whole we see, First, that the way to everlasting life, is to believe in Je sus. The way of life, according to the ten or of the first covenant, was "The man which doeth these things shall live by them :" but the way of life to a sinner is, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Je sus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." It is as believing in the Son of God that we are interested in him, and, having him, have everlasting life. We have, in the life of Christ, the greatest possible encour agement to believe in him and be saved ; for it is as ever living to make intercession for us that he is able to save to the uttermost all those that come unto God by him. O my hearers ! this is the hinge on which our salvation or damnation turns. To refuse him in favor of your own righteousness, or of any other idol, is to refuse life ; and to hate him is to love death. The question put to the house of Israel is no less applicable to you than it was to them, " Why will ye die ? " Those who believe not in him are as unwil ling to come to him that they may have life as the house of Israel were to cast away their transgressions. God has no more pleasure in the death of him that dieth eter nally than he had in the death of those who perished under some temporal calamity ; nor is the one any more at variance with the doctrine of election than the other was with Vol. 2.— Sio. 40. the doctrine of decrees in general, or of God's doing all things after tiie counsel of his own will.* Secondly : The same truth, like the cloud in the wilderness, wears a bright side to be lievers, and a dark side to unbelievers. The life of Christ will be the death ofhis ene mies. To behold him coming in the clouds of heaven, invested with the keys of hell and of death, must fill their hearts with dismay. The same power that has so often shut the door of destruction againt his servants, so as to forbid their entrance, will shut it upon his enemies, so as to leave no hope of escape. SERMON XXIV. CHRISTIANITY THE ANTIDOTE TO PRESUMP TION AND DESPAIR. 44 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And, if any man sin, wo have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." — 1 John ii. 1. When our Saviour ascended up on high, his disciples, who were looking stedfastly toward heaven after him, were thus accosted by the angels, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heav en, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." It might seem, by this language, that whatever our Lord might do for us in the intermediate period, it was not for us to be made acquainted with it. And it has been suggested that we are ignorant not only of " the place where he re sides, but of the occupations in which he is engaged."! There is, indeed, nothing re vealed on these subjects to gratify curiosity ; but much to satisfy faith. If we know not God, we may be expected to think lightly of sin, and meanly of the Saviour ; and if, in consequence of this, we disown his atone ment, and perceive no need of his interces sion and advocateship with the Father, there will be nothing surprising in it. With such a state of mind we might have lived at the time when " God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preach ed unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory," and have * The doctrine of free will, as opposed to that of free grace, is not that, in doing good, we act according to our choice, and require to be exhorted to it, and warned against the contrary ; this is mani festly scriptural and proper : but that it is owing to our free will that we are disposed to choose the good and refuse the evil ; if not to the exclusion of divine grace, yet to the rendering it effectual by properly improving it, and so to mat:' ig ourselves to differ. t Mr. Belshani's Review of Mr. Wilterforce'g Treatise, p. 85. 314 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. been no more interested by any of these events than were the unbelieving part ofthe Jewish nation. But, if we entertain just sentiments of the moral character and gov ernment of God, we shall perceive the evil of sin and the need of a divine Saviour, shall consider his atonement as the only ground of a sinner's hope, and his interces sion and advocateship with the Father as necessary to our being saved to the utter most. To satisfy ourselves that such were the sentiments of the apostles, it is sufficient candidly to read then writings. If their au thority be rejected, so it must be ; but it is vain to attempt to disguise their meaning. And, before we reject their authority, it will be well to consider the force of their testimo ny concerning themselves and their doctrine : " We are of God : he that knoweth God, heareth us ; he that is not of God, heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." They were either what they professed to be, or presumptuous impostors ; and what they said of hearing their doctrine as a test of being of God was either true, or they were false witnesses of God ; and, as all that we know of Christ is from their writings and those ofthe evan gelists, if theirs be false witness, Christian ity itself has nothing to authenticate it " My little children," said the venerable apostle, "these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." This is the bearing of all my writings, as well as of all my other labors. Yet, while I warn you against sin, knowing that there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth not, let me remind you that " we have an advocate with the Fa ther, Jesus Christ the righteous." Such is the doctrine of the apostle, an antidote both to presumption and despair. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear it Let us observe I. The general charge which Chris tianity gives to its adherents : " These things write I unto you that ye sin not." This is to repress presumption. This is the bearing not only of the writings of John, but of the whole Seriptures: this is the ob ject at which every doctrine and every pre cept aims. It may be thought, and has sometimes been said, that " all religions tend to make men better," and, therefore, that this pro perty of the apostle's doctrine has nothing peculiar in it. But this is a gratuitous as sumption. All religions do not tend to make men better ; but, many of them, much worse. Nay, so far is this assumption from being true, that Christianity is the only religion that, strictly speaking, is opposed to sin. That men.of all religions have paid some at tention to morals is true ; but, in doing so, they have not been influenced so much by their religion as by the necessity which all men feel of maintaining somewhat of a cor rect conduct towards one another. As to sin against God, there is no religion but that of the Bible that pays any regard to it. And even Christianity itself, in so far as it is cor rupted, loses this property. Every system of religion may be known by this whether it be of God or not If it delight in calhng sin by extenuating names — or represent re pentance and good works as sufficient to atone for it — or prescribe ceremonial reme dies for allaying the remorse which it pro duces — it makes light of sin, and is not of God. Every doctrine and precept in the Bible makes much of sin ; and this is as much a distinguishing peculiarity of the true religion as any principle that can he named. Some doctrines are directly of a warning nature. Are we taught, for instance, the omniscience and omnipresence of God? — What can be more pungent than such sen timents as these? "O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou know est my down-sitting and mine up-rising; thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Tbou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me." — "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit ? or whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; — if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." Every sentiment here saith to us, " Sin not" Are we taught the holiness of God ? — It is that we may be holy : " Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods ? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders ? " — " Ye cannot serve the Lord : for he is a holy God ; he is a jealous God ; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins." Such is the object of all the divine precepts and threatenings. Let us seriously read the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, and ask ourselves, What could induce the kindest and best of beings thus strictly to enjoin his will, and thus to scatter his curses against the breach of it ? Finally : Such is the object of all the ac counts of justice and judgments as executed on transgressors. The histories of the flood, of the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, of the plagues of Egypt and the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red sea, ofthe punish ments on the rebellious Israelites in the wil derness, of the destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, first by the Chaldeans and afterwards by the Romans, all speak one language ; all are written to us that we " sin not." There is another set of scripture truths THE ANTIDOTE TO PRESUMPTION AND DESPAIR. 315 which are of a consolatory nature ; yet they are aimed at the same thing. For what pur pose was the Son of God manifested in hu man nature ? Was it not that he might "de stroy the works of the devil ? " To what are we elected? That we should "be holy, and without blame before him in love." To what are we predestinated ? That we might "be conformed to the image ofhis Son." Why did he give himself for us, but that he " might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zeal ous of good works ?" Why are we called out of a " state of darkness into his marvel lous light, but that we might walk as child ren oflight?" Of what use are the "exceed ing great and precious promises" of tiie Scriptures ? Is it not that, having them, we should "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God ? " That is not Christianity that does not operate in this way. He that sinneth habitually is of the devil, and hath not seen or known God. Wicked men seek a system of religion which may consist with their lusts ; and God, in righteous judgment, often suffers them to find it ; but it is not the gospel : the language of the gospel is, " These things are written to you, that ye sin not ! " The Scriptures guard the doctrine of grace, not indeed by limiting its operations to lesser sinners, but by insisting on its mor tifying and sanctifying effects. The apos tle Paul, notwithstanding all that he had written on justification by faith, exempts none from condemnation, but those that were "in Christ Jesus;" and admits none to be "in Christ Jesus," but those who "walk not after the flesh, but after the Spir it" He still declared, " If ye five after the flesh, ye shall die." There is a universality pertaining to true holiness which distin guishes it from all that is spurious. We must be " holy in all manner of conversa tion" or there is no real holiness in us. A single " wicked way " will lead to destruc tion. The certain perseverance of the saints is not that a person, having once believed, whether he depart from God or not, shall be finally saved : but that, God having put his fear in his heart, he shall not be suffered wholly to depart from him. If any man, therefore, depart utterly from God, he ought to conclude that the fear of God was not in him. If the blossom go up as the dust, the root was rottenness. If, in times of tempta tion, we fall away, it is because we have " no root in ourselves." "If," says the apostle John, " they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us : but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." Even our partial departures from God must render our state doubtful. When the Galatians doubted the gospel, the apostle stood in doubt of them ; declaring he was afraid of them, lest he had "bestowed upon them labor in vain." And had they judged ac cording to evidence, as he did, they must have stood in doubt of themselves. To represent, as some do, that doubts and fears of this kind are the temptations of Satan, or the workings of unbelief, and require to be resisted, as that which is dishonorable to God, is to promote the most dangerous de lusion, and to bring the blood of souls upon their own heads. The things which they call the temptations of Satan may be found to be the dictates of an awakened con science, which they endeavor to lull asleep. Doubts of the goodness or veracity of God, or of the all-sufficiency or willingness of the Saviour to receive those that come to him, are, indeed, dishonorable to God ; but doubts of our own sincerity, founded upon our departures in heart and conduct from him, are so far from being sinful that they are necessary to awaken us to self-exami nation. Thus the Corinthians, who had sunk into many and great evils, were called upon, not to hold fast the persuasion that, notwithstanding this, their state was safe ; but to "examine themselves whether they were in the faith, and to prove their own- selves ; " and assured that, except indeed they were reprobates, or disapproved of God, Jesus Christ was in them — that is, by his word and Spirit, bringing forth fruit. We proceed to observe IL The specific provision for their faults and failings : — " And, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." This is to pre vent despair. It is here supposed that, though it is the habitual aim of true Christians not to sin, yet, in this world, they are not free from it. Some have fallen into grievous sins, as we too well know, from Scripture, observation, and, in many instances, from painful expe rience. Others, who have not fallen so as either to disgrace themselves or the name of Christ, yet have much sin wherewith to reproach themselves, in deeds, or words, or unlawful desires. The petition in the Lord's prayer, "forgive us our trespasses," shows that we sin, and need forgiveness, as often as we need our daily bread. If any man imagine himself to have arrived to sinless perfection, he must be wofully blind to the spirituality of the divine law, and to the ex tent ofhis obligations. " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Farther : It is here suggested that, what ever be our sin, yet, if we confess it with a contrite heart, and believe in Jesus who died for sinners, and rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father, he will be our advocate, and our sins shall be forgiven for his sake. It was in this way that David 316 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. was forgiven. It is true, Christ had not then died, nor risen, nor ascended to be the advocate with the Father ; but his peniten tial prayer shows that he believed in him according to the light that he possessed, which might be much greater than we im agine. His prayer to be purged with hys sop, doubtless, alluded to the purgations under the law, by dipping a bunch of hys sop in blood, and sprinkling it upon the unclean : but, as none of these ceremo nial cleansings were admissible in cases of adultery or murder, he cannot be under stood as speaking literally. He must, there fore, have believed in a purgation of which this was only a shadow. It was in this way that the Israelites were forgiven, when praying with their hands spread towards the temple. It was not to the building that they directed their prayer, but to Him who dwelt therein, between the cherubim, upon the mercy-seat. It was to the Lord God of Israel, as thus dwelling upon the mercy-seat, that Jonah, at the last extremity, looked and lived : " Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight ; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple." In this way, whatever sins we have com mitted, we must seek for mercy ; and, for our encouragement, we are assured of an " advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But here we must be a little more partic ular. Here are three parties concerned ; the Father, the criminal who has sinned against him, and the Advocate who under takes his cause. The Father, in this case, sustains the character of a Judge : " God the Judge of all." The criminal is supposed to stand before the judgment-seat; not, however, in an impenitent state of mind, but like Job when he said, " Behold I am vile ; what shall I answer thee ? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer ; yea, twice, but I will proceed no further. — I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes ! " Or like David when he said, "I acknowledge my trans gressions ; and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight ; that thou might- est be justified when thou speakest, and clear when thou judgest ! " Here comes in the Advocate. The sinner could not be heard for himself, nor pardoned in his own name: but, believing in Christ, he under takes to plead his cause. He had said him self, in effect, Do not condemn me ! — To this the Advocate adds, Do not condemn him! On this part of the subject, we must be still more particular. An advocate, especial ly one that undertakes the cause of sinners, requires to have an interest with the Judge ; to be interested for the sinner ; while plead ing for him, not to palliate, but condemn his sin ; to be fully acquainted with his case ; and to have something to plead that shall effectually overbalance his unworthiness. Let us inquire, whether all these qualifica tions be not found in our " Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1. He has the highest interest in the favor ofthe Judge. For why? He is his only- begotten Son, who dwelleth in his bosom, and who never offended him at any time, but always did that which was pleasing in his sight. So well pleased was the Father with his obedience unto death, that he high ly exalted him, giving him " a name which is above every name, that at the name of Je sus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." — " The Father loveth the Son, and hath giv en all things into his hand." Well might he say, when on earth, " I knew that thou hearest me always : " for he had, in prophe cy, invited him to prefer his request : " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Who can doubt the success of a cause in the hands of such an advocate ? 2. He is deeply interested in favor of the sinner. If we had to be tried before an earthly tribunal, and wished to engage an advocate, we should certainly prefer one that would so identify himself with us as to be deeply interested in the issue. When, at Horeb, Moses pleaded for Israel to be forgiven, he requested to die rather than not succeed : " Oh," said he, " this people have sinned a great sin, — yet now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin ; and, if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written ! " This was the true spirit of an advocate ; and he succeeded. But our Ad vocate has gone further than requesting to die : he actually died for us ; and his death " is the propitiation for our sins," on which his advocateship is founded. 3. While pleading for sinners, he does not palliate, but condemns their sin. If Moses had attempted to apologize for Israel's idola try, his interposition must have been reject ed. And, if it had been possible for Christ himself to have been an advocate for sin, he could not have been heard. But he was no less averse from sin than the Judge himself. If he was made "in the likeness " of sinful flesh, yet was there no participation of it. Though he descended, and lived among sin ners, yet, in respect of character, he was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate" from them. While advocating" their cause, it was in his own proper character of " Je sus Christ the righteous." It was because of his proceeding on these just and honora ble principles that the Father approved and honored him: "Thou lovest righteousness THE ANTIDOTE TO PRESUMPTION AND DESPAIR. 317 and hatest iniquity: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 4. He is perfectly acquainted with the case of those whose cause he undertakes. There are cases which, if the advocate had known all, he would not have undertaken ; and which, for want of his being in possession of the whole truth, fail in his hands. But our Advocate knows the worst of us. He needs not that any should testify of man ; for he knows what is in man. When Si mon the pharisee saw a woman that was a sinner standing at the feet of Jesus, wash ing them with her tears, wiping them with the hairs of her head, kissing them, and anointing them with ointment, and all this without receiving any repulse from him, he suspected that he was deceived, and conclu ded in his own mind that he could not be that prophet that should come into the world. Had he known her true character, he sup posed, he would not have permitted her to touch him ! To convince Simon that he was not ignorant of her character, he, by answer ing his private thoughts, proved himself to be fully acquainted with his ; and proceed ed to plead the cause ofthe penitent sinner, though her sins were many, and to justify himself in receiving and forgiving her. Our Advocate not only knows all our sins, but all our wants ; and therefore knows how to provide for them. If previous to the prayer for Peter, it had been referred to him what should be asked on his behalf, hav ing no suspicion of any peculiar temptation being at hand, he might not have been able to say what it was that he most needed. But his Advocate, knowing the temptation that awaited him, framed his plea on his be half accordingly : "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." 5. Though he finds no worthiness in the sinner, on which to ground his pleas, but the greatest unworthiness, yet he has that to plead which effectually overbalances it. It is remarkable that, in that admirable speech of Judah on behalf of Benjamin, he did not fetch his pleas from the innocence of the young man, nor from the possibility of the cup being in his sack without his knowledge, nor from the smallness of his offence ; but from his father's love to him, and his own engagement to bring him back, and set him before him! I need not say that on this principle our Advocate has proceeded. The charges against Benjamin were mysterious and doubtful, yet, as Judah could not prove his innocence, he admitted his guilt. But our guilt is beyond doubt ; in pleading our cause, the Advocate is supposed to rest it on the propitiation in consideration of which our unworthiness is passed over, and our sins are forgiven. The connection of things is often signified by the order of time in which they occur. Thus the out-pouring of the Spirit, that it might appear to be what it was, a fruit of the death of Christ, followed immediately after it : and thus, on his hav ing died, and risen from the dead, his follow ers are directed to pray in his name. His directing us to pray in his name conveys the same idea, as to the meritorious cause of for giveness, as his being our Advocate with the Father on the ground ofhis propitiation. From the whole : We are directed to com mit our cause to Christ. We have a cause pending, which, if lost, all is lost with us, and that forever. We shall not be able to plead it ourselves ; for every mouth will be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. Nor can any one in heaven or earth, besides the Saviour, be heard on our behalf. If we believe in him we have ever lasting life ; but, if not, we shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on us. We are also directed, by this subject, how to obtain relief under the distress to which our numerous sins subject us as we pass through life. We all have recourse to some expedi ent or other to relieve our consciences, when oppressed with guilt. Some endeavor to lose the recollection of it among the cares, company, or amusements of the world ; others have recourse to ceremonial observ ances, and are very strict in some things, hoping thereby to obtain forgiveness for others ; on some the death and advocateship of Christ have the effect to render them un concerned, and even to embolden them in their sins. Painful as our burdens are, we had better retain them than get relief in any of these methods. The only way is to come unto God in the spirit of Job, or of David, before referred to, seeking mercy through the pro pitiation. Thus, while we plead, Do not condemn me, our Advocate will take it up, and add, Do not condemn him ! Finally: From the all-sufficiency ofthe propitiation there is no room for despair. When Jonah was cast into the sea, and swallowed by the fish, still retaining his con sciousness, he concluded that all was over with him: "I said I am cast out of thy sight; yet," even in this condition, the thought occurred, " I will look again toward thy holy temple." His body was confined, but his mind could glance a thought toward the mercy-seat, whence he had heretofore received relief. He looked and lived. ' Let this be our determination, whatever be our circumstances or condition. Jesus is " able to save them to the uttermost that come un to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." 318 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. SERMON XXV. the sorrow ATTENDING WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE. " And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly : I perceived that this al so is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge, in- c/easelh sorrow." — Eccles. i. 17, 18. We have in this book an estimate of hu man life. Most of the things that are seen under the sun here pass under review ; and each, as it passes, is inscribed with vanity. It may be thought, from the pensive strain of the writer, to be an effusion of melancho ly, rather than the result of mature reflec tion; but it should be considered that no man had greater capacity and opportunity for forming a just judgment; that the book was written at the most mature period of life ; and, what is more, that it was written under divine inspiration. As wisdom and knowledge, in the writings of Solomon, commonly include true religion,, so madness and folly seem here to be used for irreligion. He studied the nature and effects of both good and evil. In ascribing "vanity and vexation of spirit " to almost everything that passed be fore him, he does not mean that they were in themselves evil, or of little or no value ; but that every good had its alloy, or some thing attached to it which subtracted from it Thus it was even with wisdom and knowledge. It is because these were not only good in themselves, but ranked high in the scale of what is estimable, that they are introduced. If the best things pertaining to human life have their alloy, the same must be said of the rest In discoursing on the subject, we shall endeavor to show the justness ofthe remark, and to draw some conclusions from it. I. Let us endeavor to show the just ness of the remark, or its agreement with universal experience. Knowledge may be distinguished, by its objects, into three parts, or branches : the knowledge of men and things about us — the knowledge of ourselves — and the knowledge of God. Each of these is good, and the practical use of it is wisdom ; but each has its alloy, sub tracting from the enjoyment which it would otherwise afford. First: Let us try the justness of the re mark in respect of the knowledge of men and things about us. None can deny that the thing itself is good and valuable, and the want of it to be regretted as an evil : "That the soul be- without knowledge it is not good." It is this which distinguishes men from brutes,and raises some men much high er in the scale of being than others. Minds thus qualified are susceptible of much greater enjoyments than others, and are able to do much more good in their generation than others. The greatest and best things that have been done in the world have been done, in general, not by the ignorant, but by men of understanding. Yet, with all its advanta ges, there is that attached to it which in creaseth sorrow. 1. He that knows the most of mankind will see the most of their faults and defects, and so be compelled, upon the whole, to think the worst of them; and this, to a good man, must needs be a source of sorrow. I would by no means wish to cherish a spirit of misanthropy. I remember, in a speech delivered in a very respectable assembly, meeting with this sentiment : "I think well of man, but ill of men." On the contrary, I should say, I think ill of man, but well of men, till I see cause to think otherwise. Scripture, observation, and experience, con cur to justify me in thinking ill of human nature ; but as, in our world, there is, through the grace and goodness of God, a good number of upright and benevolent characters, it becomes me to hope the best of every man I meet, till I am obliged, by his conduct or conversation, to form a differ ent judgment ; and this I feel to be a princi ple at a much greater remove from misan thropy than the other. There are cases in which the more we know of men the more we shall see reason to esteem them ; but this is not true of man kind in general. The longer we five, and the more we are acquainted with them, the more evil we shall see in them. The char acters of the greater part of men will not bear scrutinizing. If we look but a little below the surface, whether it be in high life or low life, or even in middle life, we shall see enough to sicken our hearts. Many a favorable opinion, formed under the philan thropic feelings of youth, has been obliged to give way to observation and experience ; and many a pleasing dream, into which we have fallen from reading books, has disap peared when we came to read men. 2. He that knows the most of mankind will know most of their miseries; and, if he be a man of feeling, this must be another source of sorrow. Who can make himself acquainted with the privations and hardships of the afflicted poor without participating of their sorrows ? This may be a reason why some who are in opulent circumstances de cline visiting them. They seem to count the cost, not merely what it will require to supply their pecuniary wants, but what they shall lose by a diminution of their pleasure. If, in addition to the state of the afflicted poor of our own country, we knew the mise ries of slavery, would it not increase our sorrow ? Who, that has only acquainted himself with the facts which have been established during the late parliamentary THE SORROW ATTENDING WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE. 319 discussions on the African slave trade, can forbear weeping over the miseries which the avarice of one part of mankind brings upon another ? And if, in addition to this, we knew the miseries of war, must it not still more increase our sorrow ? We hear of great battles, on which depend the fate of kingdoms, and rejoice or are sorrowful as they affect the interests of our country ; but, did we know all the individual misery pro duced by the most glorious victory, how dif ferent would be our feelings ! Did we hear the cries ofthe wounded, and the groans of the dying; could we know the state of mind in which they died; were we acquainted with the near relations of the dead, the widows and orphans that they have left be hind them ; alas, were we in the midst of them, we might be reduced to the necessity of trying to get away, and to forget them ! If, leaving these scenes of woe, we turn our eyes to the abodes of ease and opulence, we shall not find things as we might expect. How often are men envied, when, if we knew all, we should pity them ! We form our estimates of human happiness more by appearances than by realities. We little think how many things are necessary to make us happy, any one of which, if wanting, will render all the rest of little or no account. What are riches, and honors, and amuse ments, to one whose hfe hangs in doubt, from some threatening disorder which he feels to be preying upon his vitals ; or to a mind smitten with melancholy, or corroded with remorse ; or to one whose peace is de stroyed by domestic feuds, jealousies, or in trigues ? 3. He that knows most of the sentiments oi mankind on everlasting subjects will, if he be a believer in divine relation, know most of their devious and destructive tendency ; and this must be a source of sorrow. There is what is called charity that excites no sorrow on this account ; but viewing all religions as nearly alike, all leading to one happy end, it renders the subjects of it quite easy and unconcerned. But Christian charity is another thing. It bears good will to all mankind, but does not think lightiy of their alienation from God. He that should doubt whether the sentence passed against a num ber of traitors was ever designed to be exe cuted, and should persuade them into his way of thinking, might call himself a charit able man; might boast.of his own happiness, and the happiness he produced in others; and insist upon it that, by entertaining- such views, he did more honor to the government than they who yielded to the gloomy appre hensions of an execution ; but if, after all, his opinions should prove false, and be found to have originated in his own disloyalty, would not his charity be considered as cruel, deceit ful, and destructive? The only difference between this and the charity in question is, that the one goes to destroy men's lives, and the other their souls ! Genuine charity would have endeavoured to convince them of their guilt, and to persuade them to sue for mer cy to their justly offended sovereign. He that can view whole nations of men, who, from time immemorial, have lived " without Christ, having no hope, and without God in the world," and not feel a wish to burst their chains, of whatever religion he may profess to be, must himself be in the same state. To read the controversies of former ages, and those of the present age, even in the Christian world, must be depressing to a serious mind. He is either perplexed, and tempted to indulge in scepticism, or, if he feels his own ground, still he must perpeive great numbers wandering in the paths of error ; and who, unless God give them re pentance to the acknowledging of the truth, will continue to wander, notwithstanding all that can be said or written to reclaim them. They that have done the most towards bend ing the mind of man to that of Christ, and inculcating just sentiments of religion, will find, after all their labor, much remaining undone ; so much, both of tbe devious and the defective, that he may retire with the words of the wise man, " That which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered ! " 4. He that knows most of the religious world will see the most of its faults and im perfections ; and this is another source of sor row. Among his friends, he will find some will prove false, and others fickle ; and, what is worse, many turning their back on Christ, and "walking no more with him." The longer we live in Christian society, and the closer we are connected with it, the more jealousies, envies, evil surmisings, whisper ings, and backbitings, we shall discover. Those Christians who have to travel to hear the gospel, and only see their fellow-chris- tians once in a week, are apt to consider them selves as under great disadvantages ; and, in some respects, they certainly are so ; but, in others, the advantage may be on their side. They do not hear so many sermons, but, having to travel, they may be more likely to profit by those which they do hear. They miss much social intercourse ; but they also stand aloof from the evils which frequent ly attend it. On looking round the place on a Lord's-day, they .see then Christian friends, as we say, in their best dress.; know ing just enough to love them and pray for them, and to part with them with affection ate regret ; while those who are acquainted with their faults, as well as their excellen ces, know to the increase of their sorrow. Once more : He that knows most of the things of this world will feel the greatest por tion of disappointment from them ; and this will be a source of sorrow. Riches, honors, and pleasures, promise much, and, wliile in- 320 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. experienced, we may hope much; but a thorough trial will convince us that happi ness is not in them. Even knowledge itself, the treasure of the mind, is not only attained with great labor, but is attended with much painful disappointment. He that makes the greatest researches, as Mr. Poole observes, often finds himself deceived with knowledge falsely so called ; often mistakes error for truth, and is perplexed with manifold doubts, from which ignorant men are free. Secondly : Let us try the justness of the remark in respect of the knowledge of our selves. Self-knowledge is, doubtless, good and of great importance. Without it, what ever else we know, it will turn to but little account: yet this also is accompanied with sorrow. He that knows the most of himself sees most of his own faults and defects. It was by comparing his own mind with the word of God that David exclaimed, " Who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins." The more we know of ourselves, the worse we shall think of ourselves. We know but little of our selves at the outset of the christian life. We see evils in others, and are shocked at them, and are ready to suppose ourselves incapa ble of any such things ; but, as the Lord led Israel through the wilderness to humble them, and to prove them, and to know what was in their heart, so he deals with us. We have seen rich men high-minded, and may have thought, if God should give us wealth, how humble and generous we would be with it : we have seen poor men full of envy and dis content, and may have thought, were we in their situation, we would not repine : we have seen men fall in the hour of temptation, and may have joined in heaping censures upon them. If it please God to try us in these ways, it may be to humble us; and the knowledge that we gain may be accom panied with not a little sorrow. Thirdly : Let us try the justness ofthe re mark in respect of the knowledge of God. No one can suppose but this, in itself, is good, and a source of the highest enjoyment ; yet it is no less true that he that increaseth in it increaseth in sorrow. The more we know of God, the more we shall perceive our contrariety to him. If, like Joshua the high-priest, we were clothed with filthy garments, yet, while surrounded with darkness, and in company with others like ourselves, we should be, in a manner, insen sible of it ; but if brought to the light, and introduced to one who was clothed in white raiment, we should feel the disparity. It is thus that not only those who are strangers to divine -evelation, buf those who read it with out believing- it, have no just sense of sin. It was thus that sin, " by the commandment," became to the apostle Paul exceedingly sin ful ; and that the prophet Isaiah, on behold ing the glory of God, exclaimed, " 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 ! " Beside this, the knowledge of God draws upon us the hatred, and frequently the perse cutions, of wicked men ; which, though we may be supported under them, yet, in them selves, must needs be sources of sorrow : " I have given them thy word," said our Lord, in committing his disciples to the Father, " and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not ofthe world." I add, The knowledge of God will, in some cases, draw upon us the envy of false breth ren. If a good man engage in the work of God from the purest principles, and, by the divine blessing on his diligence and perse verance, make such progress in useful knowledge as to draw upon himself a portion of public admiration, he may be expected soon to become an object of envy. Men shall rise up who will do their utmost to de preciate and eclipse him. " I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbor. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit" II. Let us draw some conclusions from the subject. If things be so, some may think we had better be without knowl edge, and be contented to live and die in ig norance. This is not the consequence, however, which the writer wished to have drawn from what he wrote. He says, "That the soul be without knowledge ibis not good ;" and " wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness." He must, therefore, have judged that, whatever disadvanta ges attended wisdom and knowledge, the advantages arising from them were far great er. Much of the sorrow arising from a knowledge of ourselves and of God is to be desired, rather than dreaded ; and, as to that which arises from a knowledge of the evils of the world, and even of the church, it is best to know the truth, though it may give us pain. That exemption from sorrow which arises from ignorance is seldom enviable. To know the evils that are to be found among men is necessary, not only to enable us to guard against them, but to know how to deal with them in religious concerns. If we be ignorant of their faults and defects, we shall be at a lossjto carry conviction to their minds, and so to make them feel the need of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. So, to be ignorant of the faults and defects of men professing religion, must be injurious both to them and to ourselves. Without knowing the truth.concerning them, we can not reprove them, and so cannot reclaim them. If those of the house of Chloe had not written to Paul on the state of things at Corinth, it would have saved him much sor- THE SORROW ATTENDING WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE. 321 row, but then what had been the state of the Corinthians? To all appearance they were in the way to ruin ; and so a tribe, as it were, would soon have been lacking in Israel. And, as to ourselves, by knowing in a certain degree the evils that are to be found, even in the church of Christ, we are better prepared to meet them, and less in danger of be ing stumbled, or tempted to think the worse of religion, on account of them. By knowing things, in some good degree, as they are, we are enabled to make up our minds. Thus it is that the falls, and even the falling away of some, while it causes pain, yet does not shake our faith. We learn to think well of religion, let those who profess it prove what they may : " Let God be true and every man a liar ! " And, in knowing the faults and de fects even of sincere Christians, we are not led to think ill of them as Christians, or light ly of christian communion. If a true friend ofhis country could say, " England, with all thy faults, 1 love thee still !" much more will a true friend of the church of Christ consider Christians, with all their faults, as the excellent of the earth ; better than the best of worldly men ! And, if we love them, it will be in our hearts to live and die with them ! Nor is it unnecessary that we should be acquainted with the miseries of mankind, whatever sorrow they may occa sion : otherwise we cannot sympathize with them, nor reheve them, nor pray for them, nor feel so great an anxiety for the coming of that kingdom whose healing influence shall remove their sorrows. Three things, however, are taught us by this subject : — First : To be moderate in our expectations, as to things pertaining lo this life. If " vex ation of spirit " be attached to wisdom and knowledge, what can be expected from less valuable objects ? We need but little, nor that little long. The trial made by the wise man, of mirth and pleasure, of building and planting, of the gathering together of silver and gold, &c, is doubtless recorded to teach us that substantial good is not to be found in them. The consequence drawn by the apostle from the brevity of life is designed to moderate both our attachments and our sorrows. " The time is short : it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none ; and they that weep as though they wept not; and they that rejoice as though they rejoiced not ; and they that buy as though they possessed not; and they that use this world as not abusing it; for the fashion (or scenery) of this world passeth away." It may seem, to some, that if we were to feel and act up to this precept it would de prive us of half our enjoyments ; but this is a mistake. To be moderate in our expecta tions is to increase our enjoyment, while the contrary diminishes it. Expectation, raised beyond what truth will support, must be dis appointed ; and disappointment will imbitter that which, if enjoyed in moderation, would have been sweet: " Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure, and trouble therewith." Secondly : We are taught, hereby, to seek the favor qf God as the crowning blessing to all our enjoyments. The vexation of spirit which belongs to the portion of a good man is not as that which attends the wicked. The one is accompanied with a blessing, the oth er with a curse : " God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom and knowledge and joy : but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather, and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God." After all the particulars enumerated in the blessing of Joseph, as the precious things of heaven, the dew, and the deep that coucheth beneath, the precious fruits brought forth by the sun and the precious things put forth by the moon, the chief things of the ancient moun tains, the precious things of the lasting hills, the precious things of the earth, and the ful ness thereof, the crowning blessing follows — " and the good will of him that dwelt in the bush ! " If this be wanting, all the rest will be unsatisfying. If this be on our heads, our sorrows, whatever they be, will be turn ed into joy. Thirdly : We are taught, hereby, to aspire after a state in which good will be enjoyed without any mixture qf evil as a subtraction from ti. If our wisdom be that of which the fear of the Lord is the beginning, and the object of our knowledge be the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, we shall soon reach that state of holiness and blessedness that is without alloy. "Wis dom, and knowledge, and joy," will then be given us, and all the sources of sorrow which have been enumerated will be dried up. The more we know of the inhabitants of that world, the better we shall think of them, and the more we shall love them. Among all the nations of the saved we shall not find one whose character will not bear scrutinizing. If every heart were as naked to us as ours now are to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, we should find nothing in them but love. No hypocrisies will be there, nor envies, nor jealousies, nor hard thoughts, nor evil surmisings, to embit ter the cup of joy. No surrounding mise ries shall damp our bliss; no error shall throw a mist over our minds, or lead ua aside from God. And, what is stiU more, no im perfections shall mar our services, nor in dwelling sins pollute our souls. To this blessed state may we, by ti'.l thu soxrows of the present life, he ledurremittingly to bend our course ! Vol. 2.— Sig. 41. 322 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. SERMON XXVI. the magnitude of the heavenly in heritance. " For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the mani festation ofthe sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by rea son of him who hath subjected the same ir. hope : because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty ofthe children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth,and travaileth in pain together until now : and. not only they, but our selves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."— Rom. viii. 18—23. Thrre is, in this part of the epistle, a richness of sentiment and a vast compass of thought. The apostle, having established the great doctrine of justification by faith, dwells here on things connected with it ; some of which are designed to guard it against abuse, and others to show its great importance. " There is, therefore, now no condemnation," says he, " to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. — If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die : but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. — As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Hav ing thus entered on the privileges of believ ers, the sacred writer is borne away, as by a mighty tide, with the greatness of his theme. " Heirs of God ! " what an inheritance ! Such is the tenor of the covenant of grace : " I will be their God, and they shall be my peo ple." — "Joint-heirs with Christ!" what a title! We possess the inheritance not in our own right, but in that of Christ ; who, being " heir of all things," looketh down on his conflicting servants, and saith, " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit down with me in my throne, even as I also over came, and am set down with my Father in his throne." It is true, we must suffer awhile; but, if it be "with him," we shall be glorified together. By " the glory to be revealed in us " is meant, not that glory which we shall receive at death, but the consummation of it at the resurrection. It is the same as that which, in the following verses, is called "the mani festation of the sons of God" — "the glorious liberty ofthe children of God" — " the adop tion, to wit, the redemption of our body." It is " that blessed hope, and the glorious appear ing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," for which Christians are taught to look ,; that grace in pursuit of which we are exhorted u< ''¦ gird up tlie loins of our minds, to be sobei, and hope to the end," and which is to be "brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ." On this great inheritance, to which the sons of God are heirs, the apostle enlarges in the words of the text. It is an object of such magnitude, says he, that .all the suffer ings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with it ; of such magnitude as to interest the whole creation ; and, finally, of such magnitude that our highest enjoyments do not satisfy us, but we groan earnestly after the full possession of it. To review these three great points is all that I shall attempt. I. Such is the magnitude of the GLORY TO BE REVEALED IN US THAT THE SUFFERINGS OF THE PRESENT TIME ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE COMPARED WITH IT. In speaking of these opposites, the apostle, as by a kind of spiritual arithmetic, seems to place them in opposite columns. The amount ofthe column of sufferings, if view ed by itself, would appear great. Much evil attends us, both as men and as good men. The misery of man is great upon him ; and great are the afflictions which have been endured by the faithful for Christ's sake. For his sake they have been " killed all the day long," and " accounted as sheep for the slaughter." He who entered on this reckoning could not have made light of the sufferings of this present time, for want of an experimental acquaintance with them. In answer to those who depreciated his min istry, he could say, " Are they ministers of Christ ? — I speak as a fool — I more ; in la bors more abundant, in stripes above mea sure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was 1 stoned, thrice I suffered ship wreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in joumeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilder ness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren ; in weariness and painful- ness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh uppn me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak ? Who is offended, and I burn not ? " Yet the same person assures us that he reckons the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. They may be heavy and tedious, when viewed by them selves ; but, weighed against a far more ex ceeding and eternal weight of glory, they are light and momentary. It is thus that, in the subject before us, he considers our sufferings as confined to " this present time." The short duration of suffering ordinarily renders it tolerable, even THE MAGNITUDE OF THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 823 though, for a time, it may be acute ; and, if succeeded by lasting enjoyment, we con sider it unmanly to make much of it ; and if it be in the service of a beloved sovereign, and in support of a cause of great impor tance, and which lies near the heart, it is usually treated as a matter of still less account. Thus it was that the apostle reckoned his sufferings not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed in us. To say of two things that one of them is not to be compared with the other is a strong mode of expression. It is in this way that the great God expresses his infi nite superiority to the most exalted crea tures: "Who in the heavens can be com pared unto the Lord ? who among the sons ofthe mighty can be likened unto Jehovah ? " So,- when two things of an opposite nature come in succession, and the latter so entirely prevails over the former as to obliterate it, or in a manner to efface the remembrance of it, it may be said of the one that it is not to be compared with the other. Thus the joy that followed the resurrection of Christ was to the sorrow that preceded it: "Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice : and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow : but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." Such also will be the joy of the heavenly inheritance that it will ef face from our remembrance the few years of sorrow which have preceded it ; so ef face them, at least, that we shall never think of them with regret, but as a foil to heighten our bliss. II. Such is the magnitude of the GLORY TO BE REVEALED IN US AT THE RES URRECTION THAT ITS INFLUENCE EXTENDS TO THE WHOLE CREATION. This I take to be generally expressed in the 19th verse : " For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." That which follows, in verses 20 — 22, explains and accounts for it, by showing how the creatures were brought into a state of bondage by the sin of man, and how they shalfbe liberated from it when he is liberated: "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by rea son of him who hath subjected the same in hope ; because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of cor ruption into the glorious liberty of the chil dren of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." The "creature" — the "whole creation" —and "every creature," are the same thing, and denote, I apprehend, not man, but every creature around him which has been brought under the influence of his revolt. As, when Achan sinned, all that pertained to him suf fered ; so, when our first parents sinned, the whole creation, in so far as it was connected with man, partook of the effects. This ap pears to be meant by the creatures being "made subject to vanity," and coming under " the bondage of corruption." The creation was brought into this state of bondage, " not willingly," as was the case with man, but by the sovereign will ofthe Creator. He could have stopped the machinery of the material world, and at once have put an end to rebellion ; but he thought fit to order the laws of nature to keep their course ; and, as to the abuse that man would make of them, he should be called to account for that another day. The bondage of the creatures, however, was not to be perpetual : he who subjected them to it, subjected them " in hope, because the creature itself also," as well as the sons of God, shall be delivered from its thraldom, and, as it were, participate with them in their glorious liberty. The redemption of our bodies will be the signal of its emanci pation from under the effects of sin, and the birthday, as it were, of a new creation. As by man's apostacy every thing connected with him became, in some way, subservient to evil ; so, by the deliverance of the sons of God at the resurrection, they shall be dehv ered from this servitude, and the whole cre ation, according to the natural order of things, shall serve and praise the Lord. But we must inquire more particularly into this " bondage " of the creatures, and into their deliverance from it. It is true that the ground was literally cursed for man's sake, so as spontaneously to bring forth briers and thorns, rather than fruits ; the animals also have literally been subjected to great misery and cruelty ; but it is not of a literal bondage, I conceive, that the apostle speaks ; nor of a literal de liverance, as some have imagined, by the resurrection of animals; nor of a literal groaning after it. The whole appears to be what rhetoricians call a prosopoposia, or a figure of speech in which sentiments and language are given to things as though they were persons. Thus, on the invasion of Sennacherib, the earth is said to mourn and Lebanon to be ashamed ; and thus, at the coming of the Messiah, the heavens are called'upon to rejoice, and the earth to be glad, the sea to roar, the floods to clap their hands, and the trees of the wood to rejoice. When God created the heavens and the earth, every thing was made according to its nature and capacity to show forth his glory. Thus "the heavens declare the glory of God ; and tiie firmament showeth his handy work. Day unto day uttereth 324 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. speech, and night unto night showeth know ledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard." Thus also heaven and earth are called upon to praise their Maker : " Praise ye him, sun and moon : praise him, all ye stars of light Praise him, ye heaven of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. — Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons and all deeps : fire and hail ; snow and vapor ; stormy wind fulfilling his word ; mountains, and all hills ; fruitful trees, and all cedars ; beasts, and all cattle ; creeping things, and flying fowl." Such was the natural order of things estab hshed by the Creator : every thing, con sciously or unconsciously, furnished its tri bute of praise to Him who is over all blessed forever ? But, by the entrance of sin into the world, the creatures became subservient to it ; as, when a rebellion breaks out in an empire, the resources of the country being seized by the rebels are turned to the support of their cause, and against their rightful own er ; so every thing which God had created for the accommodation of man, or in any way rendered subservient to his' comfort, was turned aside from its original design, perverted to the purposes of corruption. The Lord complains of the corn, and wine, and oil, and flax, and wool, which he had given to Israel, being prostituted to Baal ; and threatens to recover them. Who can count the sacrifices and offerings which have been made of God's creatures to Jupi ter, Mars, Venus, Bacchus, and other abomi nations of the west ; or to Bramah, Vishnu, Seeb, Dhoorga, Juggernaut, and other abominations of the east? And, though gross idolatry has in many nations been .dispelled by the light of the gospel, yet still the bounties of providence furnished for the accommodation of man are made to serve his lusts. The sun cannot emit his illuminating and fructifying beams but to furnish food for the corrupt propensities of man. The clouds cannot pour down their showers, but the effects of them are made subservient to sin. Rich soils and fruitful seasons become the hot-beds of vice, on which, as in Sodom, men become ripe for destruction at an earlier period than ordinary. The creatures have not only been subject ed to the vanity of serving the idols and lusts of men, but have themselves been turn ed into gods, and worshipped to the exclu sion of tiie Creator, who is blessed forever! There is scarcely a creature in heaven or on earth, but what has been thus drawn into the service of corruption. Not only the sun, and moon, and stars ; but gold, and silver, and brass, and wood, and stone, and birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things ! And though the light of the gospel has dwv- en this species of stupidity out of Europe (which the science of Greece and Rome did not so much as diminish,) yet it is in no want of advocates among her degenerate sons. And they that would be ashamed to plead the cause of gross idolatry, yet in a manner idolize the works of God, hy oppo sing them to his word. The sweet singer of Israel, after celebrating the former, held up the latter as greatly exceeding them. With him the light of nature and that of revelation were in harmony ; but unbelievers place them at variance. Nature with them occupies the place of God, and the light im parted by it is admired at the expense ofhis word. They have no objection to acknow ledge a Supreme Being as the author of the machinery of nature, provided he would give up his moral government over them; but the Scriptures are full of hard sayings which they cannot hear! The works of God are silent preachers : in their mouth there is no reproof but what a hard heart can miscon strue into the approbation of the Creator, understanding his bounties as rewards con ferred on his virtuous creatures : this, there fore, is the only preaching which many will hear. In these and a thousand other ways the creatures of God have been subjected to vanity. Had they been possessed of intel ligence, they would from the first have risen up against us, rather than have submitted to such bondage. Yes ; rather than have been thus forced into the service of sin by the rebel man, they would have conspired together to destroy him from the face ofthe earth. The sun would have scorched him ; the moon with her sickly rays would have smitten him; the stars in their courses would have fought against him ; air, earth, fire, water, birds, beasts, and even the stones, would have conspired to rid creation of the being, who, by rebelling against the Crea tor, had filled it with disorder and misery. And though tlie creatures are not possessed of intelligence, yet, from a kind of instinc tive tendency to vindicate the cause of God and righteousness, they are naturally at war with rebellious man. Were it rtot so; there would be no need of a covenant to be made on our behalf with the beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven, the creeping things of the ground, and even with the stones. God in his infinite wisdom saw fit to sub ject the creatures to this vanity for a season, " contrary as it was to their nature ; but it is only for a season, and therefore is said to be in hope ; in the end they that have abused them will, except they repent, be punished, and they themselves be liberated from their hateful yoke. Thus for a season he subject ed the seed of Abraham his own servants to serve the Egyptians; but "that nation," says he, " whom they shall serve, will I judge ; and afterward shall they come out with great substance." The time fixed for the deliverance of the THE MAGNITUDE OE THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 325 creatures from the bondage of corruption is that of "the manifestation of the sons of God." Hence, they are in a manner identi fied with them: "The earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God ; " looking for it as for their own deliverance. The redemption of our bodies from the grave will be the destruc tion ofthe last enemy, or, in respect of be lievers, the termination ofthe effects of sin ; and, as the thraldom of the creatures com menced with the commencement of sin, it is fit that it should terminate with its termina tion. Thus our resurrection will be the sig nal of emancipation to the creatures, and their emancipation will magnify the glory that shall be revealed in us. Heaven, earth, and seas, and all that in them is, will no longer be worshipped in the place of God, nor compelled to minister to his enemies ; but, in that renovated state " wherein dwell eth righteousness," shall exist but to praise and glorify their Creator. The terms used to express the tendency of the creatures towards this great crisis are very strong. Nature is personified and represented as upon the utmost stretch of expectation ; as groaning and travailing in pain to be delivered. Assuredly that must be a most important object, the accomplish ment of which thus interests the whole crea tion. This object is "the glory that shall be revealed in us — the manifestation of the sons of God — the glorious liberty of the children of God ; " and thus it is that the apostle establishes his position — That such is the magnitude of the inheritance of be lievers that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with it. But we must not dismiss this part of the subject without noticing more particularly these descriptions of the heavenly inherit ance — " the glory to be revealed in us— the manifestation ofthe sons of God" — and "the glorious liberty of the children of God." They all refer to the perfecting of salvation through the death of Christ, which -is the greatest display of the glory of God that ever has or will be made. This is the last of that series of events which have been car rying on from the beginning of the world, and to the accomplishment of which they have all been subordinate. " The glory that shall be revealed in us." — There will, doubtless, be a flood of light and joy that will then open to our admiring minds ; but the words seem rather to denote the manifestation qf the divine glory in our salvation than barely its being revealed to us. Thus the .Lord Jesus will " come to be glo rified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that beheve." The great Physician will appear with his recovered millions, and, in the presence of an assembled universe, will present them to the Father. Thus the glory of God will be revealed to the universe in our salvation. All his glorious perfec tions will be manifested in such a light as they never were by any other of his works, nor, by this till it was completed. And that which is revealed to the universe in us will not be less, but more, of an enjoy ment to us, than if it had been revealed to us only. The joy of the returned captives was not diminished, but increased, by the surround ing nations saying, "The Lord hath done great things for them ! " " The manifestation ofthe sons of God." — The foregoing description of the heavenly inheritance had respect to God's manifesting his glory ; this to his manifesting ours. We have been familiar with the terms "sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty ; " but who has been able to comprehend the mag nitude of the blessing ? Even an inspired apostle was overwhelmed in thinking of it, and confessed his ignorance: "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestow ed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God ! therefore the world knotveth us not, because it knew him not. — Beloved, now are we the sons of God ; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when he shall appear we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is ! " Then the importance of being- " heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ," will be apparent The sons of God have here been but little known. Not being distinguished by any thing pertaining to circumstances, or out ward condition, and that which has ' distin guished them being of a still and unosten tatious nature, they have generally passed through the world without attracting much of its notice, unless it were to despise and persecute them. If they have been acknow ledged as pious men, and have escaped the persecutions and reproaches of the wicked, yet, being mostly poor, and undistinguished by brilliancy of talent, they have ordinarily been considered as beneath attention. But, at that day, the Judge of heaven and earth will distinguish them as the sheep that he will place at his right hand, and as the bless ed ofhis Father, whom he will welcome to the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world ; while those who have despised and persecuted them shall be sentenced to everlasting punishment. " The glorious liberty of the children qf God." — The children of God have possess ed a glorious liberty from their first believ ing in Christ. The Son then made them free, and they were free indeed ! And when the earthly house of their tabernacle is dis solved, and they are received among " the spirits of just men made perfect," this is a liberty more glorious. But, while then- bodies are imprisoned in the grave, the de liverance is not complete. They are, as yet, under thraldom. The promise of Christ to raise us up at the last day is yet unful- 326 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. filled. They have been delivered from the dominion of sin, and from the existence of it in their minds ; but not from its effects. It is reserved for the second coming of Christ, when he will come " without sin unto sal vation," to accomplish this. This is the destruction of the last enemy ; this, there fore, puts an end to the war. In the ac count of Christ's second coming, there ap pears to be an allusion to the blowing of the trumpet of jubilee, and the liberation of the captives : " The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first ; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord." The resurrection, then, will be to believers a jubilee, a day of deliverance. The account of it by the same apostle, in the 15th chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, gives us the tri umphant song which believers shall sing, standing over the graves in which they have been so long imprisoned : " O death, where is thy sting ? 0 grave, where is thy victo ry ? The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! " This is the glori ous liberty of the children of God, in which the whole creation shall participate. Ill: Such is the magnitude of the GLORY TO BE REVEALED IN US AT THE RES URRECTION THAT THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE POSSESSED THE HIGHEST ENJOYMENTS IN THIS WORLD WERE NOT SATISFIED WITH THEM, BUT GROANED WITHIN THEMSELVES, WAITING FOR THE POSSESSION OF IT. " And not only they (the creatures) but ourselves also, — even we ourselves groan within our selves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." By "we ourselves" I understand the apostle to mean, not believers in general, but those believers in his own times, who, with himself, possessed so large a measure of grace and peace as habitually to rejoice in the Lord. If we read the first chapters of the Acts ofthe apostles, we shall perceive a mighty tide of joy in the minds of these Christians : " And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people." They did not merely rejoice not withstanding the persecutions which they met with, but in them : " They departed from the presence ofthe council (where they had been beaten) rejoicing that they were count ed worthy to suffer shame for his name." These good men seem to have found heaven upon earth. They had " the first-fruits of the Spirit," or those rich communications of the Holy Spirit which, as the first-fruits under the law were the best of the kind, showed what might be expected under the gospel dispensation. The Holy Spirit was imparted to them, not only in a greater de gree than usual, but under the peculiar char acter of the " Spirit of adoption," by which they were admitted to near communion with God, as children with a father. Nor was this confined to the day of Pentecost, and the times immediately succeeding: forty years after this, Peter could say ofthe stran gers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, "Whom having- not seen, ye love ; in whom, though now. ye see him not, yet, believing, ye re joice with joy unspeakable and full of glory : " and this, too, at a time when the fiery trial of persecution was coming or come upon them. But, notwithstanding the spiritual enjoy ment possessed by these Christians, they looked forward with earnest desire for the coming of the day of God ; not only as those who hasted towards it, but by their hopes and prayers would seem to hasten its ap proach. Such are the accounts given of them in the New Testament: "Ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God ; and to waitfor his Son from hea ven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." — " He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly ; Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus." The enjoyments of the first Christians, instead of abating their desire for the coming of their Lord, appear to have heightened it The more they possessed of the first-fruits, the more they desired the lump. The fruits of Canaan, brought into the wilderness, were not designed to satisfy Israel, but rather to excite them to go up and possess the land. It is this ardent desire that is expressed by the terms " groaning within ourselves." The groaning of the creation was in a figure, but this is real. These are those " groanings which cannot be uttered" (verse 26,) and which the Spirit of God excited in the way of hope and patience and prayer. The terms by which the resurrection of believers is expressed, namely, "the adop tion," and "the redemption of our body," serve to heighten our ideas of the glorious event. It is observable that the apostle, throughout this description, makes use of what may be called old terms in a new sense. " The glorious liberty of the children of God" was, as we have seen, enjoyed by them, in one sense, from the day that they believed in Jesus ; but, in describing this event, a new sense is put upon the same words. The idea of adoption also had long been familiarized to Christians by the apos tolic writings ; but, as used here, it has a new meaning attached to it From the day THE MAGNITUDE OF THE HEAVENLY INHERITANCE. 827 they received the Saviour, they received power to become the sons of God ; the Lord Almighty, as by a judicial act and deed, put them among his children : but still, the body being doomed to die because of sin, till this dishonor is wiped away there is something wanting to complete the execution of the deed. Our vile body must be changed, and fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body, ere we can be actually and fully introduced into the heavenly family. We must put on immortality, before we shall be fit company for immortals. We must be made equal to the angels, ere we can associate with an gels. Finally: To be completely "the children of God," we must be " the children of the resurrection." The disparity between Old and New- testament believers was such that the for mer were represented as children in a state of minority, kept under tutors and governors till the time appointed of the Father ; while the latter are supposed to be come to the possession of their inheritance (Gal. iv. 1 — 6 :) how much greater, then, must be the disparity between believers in a mortal, and in an immortal state : both are adopted into the family of God ; but the one in a much higher sense than the other. Similar observations might be made on the term redemption, as here applied to the resurrection of the body. This term was familiarized to Christians by the apostolic writings. They had "redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins ; " but here the word is used in a new sense, denot ing the last act of deliverance, even that of the body, from under the thraldom of death and the imprisonment of the grave. It is in reference to this last act of deliverance that Christ is said to be "made unto us — re demption." The redemption of our souls by his blood preceded his being made unto us wisdom, or righteousness, or sanctifica tion ; but the redemption of our body, as be ing the last act of deliverance, succeeds them. The body is a part of Christ's pur chase as really as the soul. It is on this principle that the Corinthians were dissuad ed from polluting it by fornication: "Ye are not your own, but bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." The resur rection of the body, therefore, is the recovery of the last part of the Redeemer's purchase, signified by that expressive sentence, so often repeated, " I will raise it up at the last day." This is the glory that shall be revealed in us, with which the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared ; this is the great crisis of creation, to which all that precedes it tends, as to its last end ; and the result to which believers, who have pos sessed the richest communications of grace in this life, look with earnest expectation. To conclude : We see here what a glori ous hope the gospel sets before us. In point of magnitude, crowns and kingdoms are but baubles when compared with it: yet it is not for crowns and kingdoms that the bulk of mankind set at nought the heavenly prize, but for things of still less account. Thirty pieces of silver were, in one case, reckoned of more account than Christ ; and, in another, a mess of pottage ! " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear With him in glory." Farther: We here see what encourage ment there is to pray and labor for the promo tion of Christ's spiritual kingdom in the world. The glory to be revealed at the resurrection is not to be considered as a solitary event ; but rather as the consummation of a series of events which shall have preceded it. Christ, we are told, " must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." The reign of Christ, therefore, is now mak ing progress towards this great crisis ; and, as it proceeds, it produces, in a degree, the same effects as it will when perfected. As, in proportion to the prevalence of the cause of corruption, the creatures of God are sub jected to the vanity of supporting it ; so, in proportion as the gospel prevails, and men are freed from the dominion of sin by be lieving in Christ, the creatures also are emancipated with them : from that time they are used to the glory of God and not abused to support the cause ofhis enemies. Thus, in promoting the cause of Christ, we con tribute to the deliverance of the creation. Finally: We must not forget that the possession of all this glory stands connected with justification by faith in Jesus Christ. The whole is an inference arising from this doctrine. Whom he thus "justified, them he also glorified." It is a very serious question on what ground we rest our acceptance with God. It was at this doctrine that the Jew ish nation stumbled and fell. Let their fall be our warning. " The Gentiles, which fol lowed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which follow ed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Where fore ? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law : for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone." 328 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. SERMON XXVII. [Delivered at the Funeral of the Rev. J. Sutcliff, ofOlney, June 28, 1814.] THE PRINCIPLES AND PROSPECTS OF A SER VANT OF CHRIST. " But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." —Jude 20, 21. I feel a difficulty in speaking on this oc casion. A long and intimate friendship, cemented by a similarity of views and a co operation in ministerial and missionary la bors, produces a feeling somewhat resem bling that of a near relation, who, on such an occasion, instead of speaking, must wish to be indulged in silent grief. But the request of my deceased brother cannot be refused. In selecting a passage for so solemn an occasion, it was natural for our dear friend to fix on one that should express his last sentiments and his future prospects. He wished, no doubt, to leave a testimony ofhis firm persuasion of the truth of those princi ples which he had believed and taught, and to the hope which they inspired in tbe pros pect of eternity. The occasion on which the passage is in troduced is deserving of our notice. Cer tain men, of pernicious principles, had crept unawares into the churches, so as to render it necessary for the apostle to write even on " the common salvation," and to exhort the brethren earnenstly to " contend for the faith once delivered to the saints." Nor was it confined to principles: those who had de parted from the faith had also gone far into impure and dissolute conduct ; " turning the frace of God into lasciviousness, defiling the esh, despising dominion, and speaking evil of dignities." It is no new thing for devia tions in Christian doctrine to be followed by those in practice. As truth sanctifies the mind, so error pollutes it. It was to turn the apostacy of these ungodly men to the advantage ofthe faithful that the apostle ad dressed them as he did : " But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep your selves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." Having exposed the wicked ways into which these men had turned aside, he points out the good and the right way, and holds up the end to which it leads. In discoursing on the subject, we shall notice the principles which we have suggest ed to us, and the prospects which they fur nish in respect of a blessed hereafter. 1. Let us offer a few remarks on the PRINCIPLES WHICH ARE HERE SUGGESTED TO US, AS CONSTITUTING TRUE RELIGION. Whatever ideas we have entertained of truth and true religion, it is necessary to bring them to the Scriptures, as to the standard. 1. True evangelical religion is here re presented as a building, the foundation qf which is laid in the faith of Christ : — " Build ing up yourselves on your most holy faith." Whether it relate to personal or to social religion, this must be the foundation of the fabric, or the whole will fall. Many persons are awakened to some serious concern about futurity, and excited to inquire what they must do to be saved ; and, in that state of mind, it is not unusual for them to have re course to reading and prayer, as a prepara tion for death. Many preachers, too, will think it sufficient to direct them to the use of these means. But, if the death and me diation of Christ be overlooked, it is not reading, or prayer, or any other religious exercise, that will avail us. Why did John the Baptist, Christ, and his apostles, lay the foundation of tlie gospel kingdom by caUing on sinners to " repent and believe the gos pel ? " Was it not because all other duties, prior to these, were of no account ? When some, who followed Christ for loaves, in quired what they must do to work the works of God, his answer was, " This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent ; " plainly intimating that no work, prior to this, could be pleasing to God. The Scriptures direct men to pray, but it is in faith. To the question, " What must I do to be saved ? " there is but one answer — " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Christ is the door ; by him if any man enter in he shall be saved. To direct inquirers to any thing short of this is to direct them to that which, if complied with, will leave them short of salvation. This the Scriptures never do : there is not a direction in the oracles of God but, if truly followed, will lead to everlasting hfe. One lays the foundation of his religion in what he calls reason; but which in fact is his own reasoning. The same inspired writer who in one sentence commends un derstanding, in the next warns us against leaning to our own understanding. To strengthen ourselves and one another in this way is to build up ourselves on our own con ceits. Another founds his religion on his good deeds. Good deeds undoubtedly form a part of the building, but the foundation is not the place for them. They are not the cause, but the effects of faith. They pre pare us for heaven, as meetening us for it, but not as rendering us deserving of it. A third builds his religion on impressions. It is not from the death of Christ for sinners or any other gospel truth that he derives his comfort, but from an impulse on his mind PRINCIPLES AND PROSPECTS OF A SERVANT OF CHRIST. 329 that his sins are forgiven, and that he is a for the success of the gospel. I have seen favorite of God, which is certainly nowhere enough to furnish me with matter of thank- revealed in the Scriptures. We may build fulness, but, had I prayed more, I might have ourselves up in this way, but the building seen more. I wish I had prayed more than 7vj. u ¦ ^ fourth founQ3 his religion on I have for the salvation of those about me, Jaith, but it is not a holy faith, either in re- and who are given me in charge. When the spect of its nature or its effects. It is dead, father of the lunatic doubted whether Jesus being alone, or without fruit. The faith on could do any thing for him, he was told in which the first Christians built up them- answer that, if he could believe, all things selves included repentance for sin. As, were possible. On hearing this he burst when forgiveness is promised to repentance, into tears, saying, " Lord, I believe ; help faith in Christ is supposed ; so, when justifi- thou mine unbelief!" He seems to have cation is promised to believing, repentance understood our Lord as suggesting that, if is supposed. However distinct they are, the child was not healed, it would not be as to their nature and objects, they have owing to any want of power in him, but to no separate existence. Hence, in the preach- his own unbelief. This might well cause mg of John, Christ, and the apostles, they him to weep and exclaim as he did. The are united; and hence the faith of Christ, thought of his unbelief causing the death of supposing a renunciation of everything op- his child was distressing. The same thought posed to it and including a cordial acquies- has occurred to me as applicable to the neg- cence in the gospel-way of salvation through lect of the prayer of faith. Have I not by his death, is most holy. this guilty negligence been accessary to the These principles your dear deceased pas- destruction of some that are dear to me ? tor has long believed and taught May And, were I equally concerned for the souls you long continue to exemplify their holy of my connections as he was for the life of influence. his child, should I not weep with him ? I 2. That religion which has its foundation wish I had prayed more than I have for my in the faith of Christ will increase by "pray- own soul : I might then have enjoyed much ing in the Holy Spirit." As there is no true more communion with God. The gospel af- practical religion without faith in Christ, so fords the same ground for spiritual enjoyment there is no true prayer but "in the Holy as it did to the first Christians. I wish I had Spirit" It is true " that men ought always prayed more than I have in all my undertak- to pray, and not to faint ; " but it is no less ings : I might then have had my steps more true that we know not what to pray for as directed by God, and attended with fewer we ought, but as the Spirit helpeth our infir- deviations from his will. There is no inter- mities : clear proof this, by the way, that course with God without prayer. It is thus that may be man's duty which yet owing to that we walk with God, and have our con- his depravity cannot be performed but by versation in heaven. divine grace ; and that the Holy Spirit 3. We are given to understand that by works that in us which God as the governor means of building on our most holy faith, of the world requires of us; writing his law and praying in the Holy Spirit, we "keep upon our hearts, or working in us that which ourselves in the love of God." The love of is pleasing in his sight God here is to be understood not of his love The assistance of the Holy Spirit, how- to us, but ours to him ; as when our Lord ever, is not that of which we are always sen-- told, the unbelieving Jews that they had not sible. We must not live in the neglect of " the love of God " in them. To keep alive prayer at any time because we are uncon- this sacred flame amidst the temptations of scious of being under divine influence, but the world is in a manner the sum of the rather, as our Lord directs, pray for his christian life. If this be preserved, every Holy Spirit It is in prayer that the Spirit other grace will thrive, and we shall prosper of God ordinarily assists us. Prayers be- in all that we set our hands to in the service gun in dejection have often ended in joy of God. Not only must natural affection to and praise : of this many of the Psalms of our dearest friends and relations give place David furnish us with examples. to the love of God, but even the love of our One of the sentences uttered by your de- christian brethren must be on account of ceased pastor, when drawing near his end, their obedience to him: "Who is my mother? was, " I wish I had prayed more." This and who are my brethren ? — Whosoever shall was one of those weighty sayings which are do the will of my Father which is in heaven, not unfrequently uttered in view of the so- the same is my brother, and sister, and mo- lemn realities of eternity. This wish has ther." often recurred to me since his departure, as This is a subject into which your dear equally applicable to myself, and with it the pastor entered with deep interest, consider- resolution of that holy man, President Ed- ing it as essential to true religion. ' He wards, "so to live as he would wish he had dwelt much in his preaching on the glory of when he came to die." In reviewing my the divine character and government, as dis own life, I wish Ihad prayed more than I have played in the law and the gospel, and scru- Vol. 2.— Sic. 42. 330 SERMONS AND SKETCHED. pled not to declare his firm persuasion that all religious affections which disregarded this were spurious, and would prove of no account at the great day. He was persuad ed that as sin must be hated as sin, or it is not hated at all ; so God must be loved as God, or he is not loved at all. But to love God as God is to love him for what he is, as well as for what he has done for us. He had, indeed, no such notion of loving God for his own excellency as should render us indifferent to our own salvation. On the contrary, he considered it as essential to the love of God to desire his favor as our chief good. But we can no more desire this, ir respective of what he is, than we can desire any other object without considering it as in itself desirable. Unless we love God in respect of his character, his favor would be no enjoyment to us. In these views I am persuaded that our brother was in the right, and that, instead of their being mere metaphysical subtilties, they enter into the essence of true religion. The glory of the gospel consists in an ex hibition of the glory of the divine charac ter. Had it been possible for sin to have been forgivep, and sinners accepted, in a way inconsistent with righteousness, how ever agreeable it might have been, as furnish ing us with the means of escape from wrath, there had been no glory in it, and, had we truly loved God, no satisfaction to our minds. In judging of what is true or false, right or wrong, the love of God is that to the mind which an ear for music is to harmony, or which a dehcate sense of fitness is to our speaking and acting with propriety. It is thus that the apostle represents it in his epistle to the Philippians : " And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excel lent ; " or — in all sense ; that ye may try things that differ. In short, there is no cal culating the bearings of this principle : it is the life-blood that flows through all the .veins of true religion. Hence the prayer of the apostle : " The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God." It is by building up ourselves on our most holy faith, and praying in the Holy Spirit, that we are supposed to keep alive this heavenly flame. These are the means adapted to that important end : they are to the love of God that which oil is to the fire, tending to feed and to enliven it. It is by a growing acquaintance with the word of God, accompanied with habitual prayer, that the love of God increases and abounds more and more. There are things which are incon sistent with tbe love of God, such as tlie love of the world and the indulgence of its lusts : " If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." But a life qf faith and prayer will subdue these weeds, no less than they, when indulged, are knoWfl to choke the word of God; and to render it unfruitful. Let tbe field be but well oceu" pied with good seed, and there will be' _ he" room for the weeds : "Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts ofthe flesh." 4. We are taught that, when we have done all, in looking for eternal life, we must keep our eye singly and solely on the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was this part of the subject that our dear brother particularly repeated, as expressive, I doubt not, of both the ground and object of his hope. Every one who knew him can bear testimony that he was ajust and holy man, and that it was his great concern, in every station he filled, to maintain good works ; but his dependence for acceptance with God was not on them. He looked for eternal life through "the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ." The best characters have always been the most sen sible of their own unworthiness, and the farthest from self-righteous boasting. Af ter all their labors in the cause of God, they feel to have been unprofitable servants, as having done only what was their duty to do, and that with so much imperfection as to furnish matter of humiliation and self-abase ment. It is true that a servant of God may enjoy a portion of solid satisfaction in re viewing those things which, by the grace of God, he has been enabled to accomplish, and this without any mixture of self-right eous boasting. This was the case with the apostle of the Gentiles. He could say, on the approach of death, " I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the right eous Judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." But, if Paul himself had been speaking- of the consideration on which he hoped to be accepted and saved, he would, like Jude, have resolved it into " the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ." You know, brethren, that this is the doc trine which your pastor has preached among you for nearly forty years. It is true he did not so represent the grace of God as to cherish a spirit of slothfulness or wantonness, but, in all his labors, it was his uniform de sign to direct his hearers, whether they would hear or whether they would forbear, to the only way of salvation marked out in the Holy Scriptures : " By grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of your selves ; it is the gift of God." He preach ed the doctrine of sovereign grace in such a manner as to warn every man against trust ing to his own righteousness, and teach every man in what way he must be saved, if saved at all, as well as to lead those who had be lieved in Jesus to ascribe it to the grace of PRINCIPLES AND PROSPECTS OF A SERVANT OF CHRIST. 331 God that they were what they were. And now, having, as I said, for nearly forty years, pointed you to the good and the right way, he has himself walked in it ; leaving you and all the world with this sentiment upon his lips—" Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life ! " Let us now proceed to the latter part of the subject; namely, II. The prospects which these prin ciples FURNISH AS TO A BLESSED HEREAF TER: " Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." By "the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ" I understand that which is communicated through his death, and with the dispensa tion of which he is invested, both now and at the day of judgment: "Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. — The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day." We have already received much of the mercy of Christ. It was mercy that induced him to assume our nature, and undertake our salvation ; to give himself an offering and a sacrifice to God for us ; to send his Holy Spirit to renew us, when we were dead in sin ; to intercede for us at the right hand of God ; and to be with us in all our labors and sufferings for his name's sake : but, in respect of actual enjoyment, there is much more yet to be expected. The mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ is communicated in greater and greater degrees, till, like riv ers terminating in the ocean, it issues in eternal life. The first exercise of mercy which the Scriptures direct us to look for, on our leav ing the body, is an immediate reception into the presence qf Christ, and the society of the spirits of just men made perfect. " The beg gar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. — Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. — Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. — We are con fident and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with tlie Lord. — I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better. — Ahd I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : yea, saith tlie Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them." What this overwhelming tide of mercy will prove we have yet to learn. When the Lord turned again tiie captivity of Judah they were like those that dream : the deliverance seemed too great to be real. And thus it may be with believers on their departing from the body, and entering into the joy of their Lord. But of this our dear brother knows more, since his taking leave of us, than we should be able to discover in a series of years on earth, even though_ we should make it our constant study. If an inspired apostle could say, " We know not what we shall be," it is vain for us to think of forming an adequate conception of it. I do not know whether I ought not to reckon under this particular the glorious progress of Christ's kingdom in this world. Why should we suspect whether our breth ren who rest from their labors be from hence interested in this object ? If there be joy in heaven among the angels over one sinner that repenteth, why not among the glorified saints ? And, if over one sinner, much more over the multitudes that shall be gathered in the latter days from every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.* There is a sense in which the dead know not any thing; "their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished, neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." All this is true, as to the tilings of this world ; but it does not follow that those who die in the Lord have no more a portion in his spiritual kingdom. As well might we infer that their love of him and hatred of evil shall perish. But I ask leave, on this subject, to refer to A Meditation on the nature and progressive ness of the heavenly glory , contained in a small volume of "Dialogues, Letters, and Essays," published in 1806. Another stream of mercy for which we are directed to look will attend the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and con sist in the dead being raised, and the living changed. " The Lord himself shall descend from heaven, — with the voice of tiie archan gel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to gether with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord." It has been usual for na tions to reserve the most notable acts of grace to the appearance or coronation of their kings, as tending to honor their en trance on the government. And thus both the first and second appearing of Christ are periods which God has distinguished by tiie most glorious displays of mercy. The former was a jubilee, to the Gentile world; and tiie latter will be the same to the whole creation. As, on tlie sounding of the jubi lee trumpet, the captives were liberated ; so, when the trump of God shall sound, the righteous dead shall be raised, and their resurrection will be to the creatures of God the signal of emancipation from under the effects of sin. View tiie grave as a long, dark, and comfortless abode, and it is sufficient to * Such, we know, were the ideas of our dear departed brother ; which, as some may remember, he enlarged upon at the Thursday-morning meet ing of the Association, held at Kettering, in 1813, 332 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. appal the stoutest spirit: but take into consideration that here the Lord lay — that he was raised from the dead, that he might be the first fruits of them that slept — and that of all that the Father gave him he will lose nothing, but will raise it up at the last day — and it will wear a different aspect. Job, when contemplating tlie grave as a long and dreary habitation, describes it in the most plaintive language : " Man lieth down, and riseth not till the heavens be no more ! " But, when his views are fixed on the deliverance which he should obtain, at that great and glorious day, his complaints are exchanged for triumphs. It is delight ful to observe the erection of soul which a believing prospect of the resurrection gave him, after all his depression : " Oh that my words were now written ! oh that they were printed in a book ! That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forev er ! For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day up on the earth: and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see for my self, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another ; though my reins be consumed within me." In a strain very similar to this, the apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Corin thians, describes the victory over death and the grave, representing believers as actual ly raised from tiie dead, and as standing up on their graves, looking the conquered ene my in the face, and exclaiming, " O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." By looking for this part of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be reconciled to death, even before we meet it. But there is another stream of mercy be yond this, to which we are directed to look, and which pertains to the last judgment. We have an impressive idea given us of this in Paul's prayer for Onesiphorus : " The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus ; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain : but, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord, in that day." We have needed mercy on many days, and have found it; but that is a day in which we shall need it more than ever. It is a fond notion, entertained by some, that tlie sins of believers will not be brought into judgment. We are assured, however, that we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christy that every one of us shall give an account of himself to God ; and that of every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof at the day of judgment. The mercy of the Lord in that day will not consist in connivance ; but, as in all other instances, be exercised consist ently with righteousness. In our present state of mind, we may wish to have it other wise. David might wish that tlie evil he had wrought in secret should be kept secret ; but the Lord determined to expose it before tlie sun. It does not comport with tiie char acter of God to conceal the truth, but to make it manifest. If the sins of believers were not brought into judgment, there would be no occasion for the exercise of forgiving mercy. It is from the strictness ofthe trial, and the awfulness of the sentence to which, if dealt with according to their deserts, they would be exposed in that day, that mercy will be needed. The world shall know their guilt, and their repentance, and the way in which they are forgiven ; so as to glorify God, though it be unwillingly, and to feel the justice of their own condemnation. In this view of the last judgment, the manifesta tion of guilt, and wrath, and mercy, will each surpass all our present conceptions. It is commonly represented, in the Scrip tures, that every man will be judged " ac cording to his works : " and true it is that all our actions and words, and even thoughts, will undergo an impartial scrutiny, and be considered as the test of character. They, for example, who have ministered to Christ's members in their necessities, will be treated as having ministered unto him ; and they that have disregarded them as having disre garded him : but if, by being judged accord ing to our works, were meant that God will proceed with us on the principles of mere justice, giving to every one his due, we should all be condemned : " If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, OLord, who- shall stand ? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." Nor will tlie mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, in that day, be confined to the for- fiveness of sin : even the rewards of that ay, though expressive of righteousness and faithfulness, yet have their origin in mercy. The crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give in that day to all who love his appearing, will not be a reward of debt, but of grace. But for grace, we should have had no good deeds to be rewarded ; or, if we had, they could no more be named in tbat day than the good be haviour of a murderer will bear to be alleged as a balance against his crimes. But, being accepted in Christ, what is done for him is rewarded for his sake. Hence the crown of glory that shall be bestowed on his ap pearing is denominated " tlie grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Je sus Christ." After this, nothing remains but that eter nal life into which, as into an ocean, all these streams of mercy flow : "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit tlie kingdom prepared PRINCIPLES AND PROSPECTS OP A SERVANT OF CHRIST. 333 for you from the foundation of the world." Such was the object of your dear pastor's hope. May such be yours and mine : let our last end be like his ! The separation of a pastor and his people is a serious event He is gone to give ac count of his ministry, and his account will include many things pertaining to tlie peo ple of his charge. Some of them, I trust, will be found to have received the love of the truth, and will be his joy and crown of rejoicing. Could he have uttered his heart to you, his children, it would have been to press upon you a perseverance in the thing that you have received and learned. Nay, he did so far utter his heart as to say, to those about him, " If any thing be said as from me, let the last word be, ' As I have loved you, see that ye love one another.' " I doubt not but it has been his endeavor that, after his decease, you might have these things always in your remembrance ; and that he was less anxious that you should re member him than them : but I trust you will remember both. Others, I fear, will be found to have sat under his ministry in vain. The word preached has not profited them, not being mixed with faith. It is an affect ing case to perish from under a faithful min istry : for, if he be pure from your blood, on whose head must it be found, but on your own? Let us hope that, if the warning voice of your minister has not been heard before, it may be heard now. His last end furnishes a lesson of instruction, by which he being dead yet speaketh. You see here that, if a man keep Christ's saying, he will never see death. Death to him is not death, but the introduction to everlasting life. But know also that he that believeth not the Son will never see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. I shall conclude with a brief account of our deceased brother ; which I give partly from my own knowledge, and partly from the communications of others. I am aware that some great and good men have imposed silence on these occasions. Witiiout impeaching their motives, I take the liberty to differ from them. It is true that for sinful creatures, as we all are, to heap encomiums on one another, is vain and sinful : yet we may err, on the other hand, by concealing what the grace of God has done for us. In this view one may, on oc casion, speak of himself, as did the apostle Paul ; and, if so, why not of another? Da vid did not withhold a tribute of affection to the memory of his brother Jonathan. Nor did Luke conceal the fruits of faith and love which appeared in Dorcas. She might have left an injunction that at her decease nothing should be said of her: but the widows must weep and show the garments which she had made for the poor in her lifetime. It is not for us to suppress the feelings of nature, and still less those of grace. Our deceased brother was born near Hali fax, in Yorkshire, on the 9th of August, 1752, O. S. His parents were both of them pious characters, and remarkable for their strict attention to the instruction and government of their children. Of course he would be taught the good and the right way from his childhood. It does not appear, however, that he was made wise unto salvation, through faith in Christ Jesus, till about the sixteenth or seventeenth year of his age. This was under the ministry of his reverend friend and father Mr. John Fawcett, pastor of the church meeting at Hepden Bridge. Of this church he became a member, on May 28, 1769. Being of a serious and studious turn of mind, he appeared to his friends to possess gifts suited to the ministry, which was pro posed to his consideration. The proposal met with his own wishes, and, being desi rous of obtaining all the instruction he could, he went, in January, 1772, to the Bristol Academy, then under the care of Messrs. Hugh and Caleb Evans. Ofhis conduct in this situation, it is sufficient to say that it procur ed him the esteem ofhis tutors to the end of their lives. In 1774 he left the academy, and, after stopping a short time at different places, in July, 1775, he came to Olney. It was in the spring of the following year, when the As sociation was held at Olney, that my ac quaintance with him commenced ; and, from that day to this, all that I have known of him has tended to endear him to me. I cannot say when it was that he first be came acquainted with the writings of Presi dent Edwards, and other New England di vines; but, having read them, he drank deeply into them : particularly into the har mony between the law and the gospel — be tween the obligations of men to love God with all their hearts and their actual enmity against him — and between the duty of min isters to call on sinners to repent and be lieve in Christ for salvation and the necessi ty of omnipotent grace to render the call effectual. The consequence was that while he increased in his attachment to the Cal vinistic doctrines of human depravity, and of salvation by sovereign and efficacious grace, he rejected, as unscriptural, the high, or rather hyper, Calvinistic notions of the gospel which went to set aside the obligations of sinners to everything spiritually good, and the invitations of the gospel as being addressed to them.* Hence it was that his preaching was disapproved by a part of his hearers, and that, in the early part of his ministry at Olney, he had to encounter a considerable portion of individual opposition. * His views of the gospel may be seen by a small piece, first published in 17S3, entitled The First Principles ofthe Oracles of God, repre sented in a Plain and Familiar Catechism for the Use of Children. It has gone through seve ral editions. 834 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. " By patience, calmness, and prudent perse verance, however," says one of his friends, " he lived to subdue prejudice ; and, though his beginning was very unpropitious, from a small and not united interest, he raised it to a large body of people, and a congregation most affectionately attached to him." He had a largeness of heart that led him to expect much from the promises of God to the church in the latter days. It was on his motion, I believe, that the Association at Nottingham, in the spring of 1784, agreed to set apart an hour on the evening of the first Monday in every month for social prayer for the success of the gospel, and to invite Christians of other denominations to unite with them in it. It must have been about this time that he became acquainted with Mr. Carey, who then resided at Hackleton. Mr. C. had been baptized by Mr. (now Dr.) Ryland, at North ampton, on the 5th of October, 1783, and, after a while, joined the church at Olney, by whom he was sent into the ministry. With out reading any thing material on Christian doctrine, besides the Scripture, he had form ed his own system ; and, on comparison, he found it to be so near to that of several of the ministers in his neighborhood as to lay the foundation of a close and lasting friend ship between them. But to return to our deceased brother — In all the conversations between the years 1787 and 1792, which led on to the formation of the Baptist Missionary Society, and in all the meetings for fasting and prayer, both before and after it was formed, he bore a part. In 1789 he republished President Edwards's "Humble Attempt to promote Ex plicit Agreement and Visible Union of God's People in Extraordinary Prayer for the Re vival of Religion." How much this publi cation contributed to that tone of feeling which, in the end, determined five or six in dividuals to venture, though with many fears and misgivings, on an undertaking of such magnitude, I cannot say ; but it doubtless had a very considerable influence on it. In April, 1791, there was a double lecture at Clipstone, and both the sermons, one of which was delivered by brother Sutcliff, bore upon the meditated mission to the heathen. His subject was Jealousy for God, from 1 Kings xix. 10. After public worship, Mr. Carey, perceiving the impression that the sermons had made, entreated that something might be resolved on before we parted. Nothing, however, was done but to request brother Carey tq revise and print his " Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen." The sermons also were printed at the request of those who heard them.* From the formation of the Society, in the * If lie published any other sermons, or anything else, besides his Cateehism, and the Introductory autumn of 1792, to the day ofhis death, our brother's heart and hands have been in the work. On all occasions, and in every way, he was ready to assist to the utmost of his power. In 1796 he married Miss Jane Johnstone, who was previously a member of his church. This connection appears to have added much to his comfort. For eighteen years they lived together, as fellow-helpers to each other in the ways of God ; and their separa tion has been but short. The tomb that re ceived his remains has since been opened to receive hers. He died on the 22d of June, and she on the 3d of September following, possessing the same good hope, through grace, which supported him. A sermon was preached at her interment, by Mr. Geard, of Hitchen, from Rom. v. 2 : " By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope ofthe glory of God." Mr. Sutcliff had been in a declining state of health for several years past. On the 3d of March, 1814, being- on a visit at Lon don, he was seized, about the middle of the night, with a violent pain across his breast and arms, attended with great difficulty of breathing. This was succeeded by a dropsy, which, in about three months, issued in his death. Two or three times, during his affliction, I rode over to see him. The first time he had thoughts of recovering ; but, whatever were his thoughts as to this, it seemed to make no difference as to his peace of mind. The last time I visited him was on my way to the annual meeting in London, on the 19th of June. Expecting to see his face no more, I said, on taking leave, " I wish you, my dear brother, an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ!" At this he hesitated; not as doubting his entrance into the kingdom, but as questioning whether the term abundant were applicable to him. " That," said he, " is more than I expect. I think I under stand the connection and import of those words — 'Add to your faith virtue — give dili gence to make your calling and election sure — for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly.' I think the idea is that of a ship coming into harbor with a fair gale and a full tide. If I may but reach the Discourse at the Ordination of Mr. Morgan of Birmingham, it has escaped my recollection. He, however, wrote several of the Circular Letters of the Northamptonshire Association; namely, that of 1799, On Providence; of 1786, On the Authority and Sanctification of the Lord's-Day; of 1797, On the Divinity of the Christian Religion; of 1800, On the Qualification for Church Fellow ship; of 1803, On the Lord's Supper; of 1805, On the Manner of attending to Divine Ordinan ces; of 1808, On Obedience to Positive Institu tions; and of 1813, On Reading the Word of God. PRINCIPLES AND PROSPECTS OF A SERVANT OF CHRIST. 335 heavenly shore, though it be on a board or broken piece ofthe ship, I shall be satisfied." The following letter received from his brother, Mr. Daniel Sutcliff, who was with him the last month, will furnish a more par ticular account of the state ofhis mind than I am able to give from my own knowledge. " From the commencement of his illness I found, by his letters,* that his mind was in general calm and peaceful. ' All,' said he, ' is in the hands of a wise and gracious God. We are the Lord's servants, and he has a right to dispose of us as he pleases, and to lay us aside at any time.' Nearly a month before his end I went to see him — to see the chamber where the good man dies. " His mind was generally calm and happy ; though, as to strong consolation, he said he had it not. When something was mention ed of what he had done, in promoting the cause of Christ, he replied, with emotion, ' I look upon it all as nothing : I must enter heaven on the same footing as the converted thief, and shall be glad to take a seat by his side.' " His evidences for heaven, he said, were a consciousness that he had come to Jesus ; and that he felt a union of heart with him, his people, and his cause ; and Jesus had said, 'Where I am, there shall my friends be.' The heaven that he hoped for, and which he had in no small degree anticipated, was union and communion with Christ and his people. He said, ' The idea of being for ever separated from him appears to me more dreadful than being plunged into non-exist ence, or than the greatest possible torture.' " He often intimated that his views of divine things were far more vivid and im pressive than they had ever been before. He had a greater sense of the depravity of the human heart, and of the exceeding sin fulness of sin, as consisting in disaffection to the character and government of God, than at any former period of his life. He had, he said, an inexpressibly greater sense of the importance of ministers having correct views of the import of the gospel-message, and of their stating and urging the same on their hearers, than he had ever had before. He was ready to think, if he could communi cate his present views and feelings, they must produce a much greater effect than his preaching had ordinarily done. ' If I were able to preach again,' said he, 'I should say things which I never said before : but God has no need of me ; he can raise up men to say them better than I could say them.' He would sometimes say, ' Ministers will never do much good till they begin to pull sinners out of the fire ! ' " To Mrs. Sutcliff he said, ' My love, I commit you to Jesus. I can trust you with him. Our separation will not be long : and *They had been used to correspond in short-hand. I think I shall often be with you. Read frequently the book of Psalms, and be much in prayer. I am sorry I have not spent more time in prayer.' At another time he said, ' I wish I had conversed more with the divine promises: I believe I should have found the advantage of it now.' Others of his expressions were, 'Flesh and hearfJfail. — All the powers of body and mind are going to pieces. — Shortly this prison of my clay must be dissolved and fall. — Why is his chariot so long a coming? Igo to Jesus: let me go — depart in peace — I have seen thy salvation.' " A day or two before he died, he said, ' If any thing be said of me, let the last word be, As I have loved you, see that ye love one another.' " On the 22d of June, about five in the af ternoon, an alteration took place : he began to throw up blood. On perceiving this, he said, 'It is all over; this cannot be borne long.' Mr. Welsh of Newbury being pre sent, said, ' You are prepared for the issue.' He replied, ' I think I am : go and pray for me.' About half an hour before his depar ture, he said, ' Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. — It is come — perhaps a few minutes more — heart and flesh fail — but God — That God is the strength of his people is a truth that I now see as I never saw it in my life." These - were the last words he could be heard to speak. "' Life, take thy chance -, but O for such an end.* " Mr. Daniel Sutcliff adds the following lines, as having been frequently repeated in his illness : " We walk a narrow path, and rough, And we are tired aud weak ; But soon we shall have rest enough In those blest courts we seek. Soon in the chariot of a cloud, By flaming angels borne, I shall mount up the milky way, And back to God return. I once have tasted Canaan's grapes, And now I long to go To where my Lord his vineyard keeps, And where the clusters grow ! " In saying a few things relative to his character, talents, temper, &c, I would not knowingly deviate in the smallest degree from truth. He possessed the three car dinal virtues, integrity, benevolence, and prudence, iq no ordinary degree. To state this is proof sufficient, to every one who knew him. He was economical, for the sake of enabling himself to give to them that needed. The cause of God lay near his heart: he denied himself of many things that he might contribute toward promoting it. It was from a willingness to instruct his younger brethren whose minds were toward the mission, that, at the request of the So ciety, he took several of them under his care : and, in all that he has done for them and others, I am persuaded he saved noth- 336 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. ing ; but gave his time and talents for the public good. I have heard him sigh under troubles ; but never remember to have seen him weep but from joy, or from sympathy. On his reading or hearing the communications from the East, containing accounts of the success of the gospel, the tears would flow freely from his eyes. His talents were less splendid than use ful. He had not much brilliancy of imagi nation, but considerable strength of mind, with a judgment greatly improved by appli cation. It was once remarked of him, in my hearing, by a person who had known him from his youth, to this effect — That man is an example of what may be accomplished by diligence and perseverance. When young he was no more than the rest of us ; but by reading and thinking he has accumu lated a stock of mental riches which few of us possess. — He would not very frequently surprise us with new or original thoughts ; but neither would he shock us with any thing devious from truth or good sense. Good Mr. Hall of Arnsby, having heard him soon after his coming to Olney, said familliar- ly to me, " Brother Sutcliff is a safe man : you never need fear that he will say or do an improper thing." He particularly excelled in practical judgment. When a question of this nature came before him, he would take a. compre hensive view of its bearings, and form his opinion with so much precision as seldom to have occasion to change it His thoughts on these occasions were prompt, but he was slow in uttering them. He generally took time to turn the subject over, and to digest his answer. If he saw others too hasty for coming to a decision, he would pleasantly say, "Let us consult the town-clerk of Ephesus, and do nothing rashly." I have thought for many years that, among our ministers, Abraham Booth was the first coun sellor, and John Sutcliff the second. His advice in conducting the mission was of great importance, and the loss of it must be seriously felt. It has been said that his temper was nat urally irritable, and that he with difficulty bore opposition ; yet that such was the over bearing influence of religion in his heart that few were aware of it. If it were so, he must have furnished a rare example of the truth of the wise man's remark, " Better is he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." Whatever might have been his nat ural temper, »t is certain that mildness and patience ' tnd. gentleness were prominent features in his character. One of the stu dents who '" «ith him said he never saw him lose Im tamper but once, and then he immediately retired into his study. It was observed by one of his brethren in the min istry, at an Association, that the promise of Christ, that they who learned of him was "meek and lowly in heart should find rest unto their souls," was more extensively ful filled in Mr. Sutcliff than in most Christians. He was " swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." Thus it was that he exemplified the exhortation of the apostle, " Giving no offence, that the ministry be not blamed." There was a gentleness in his reproofs that distinguished them. He would rather put the question for consideration than make a direct attack upon a principle or practice. I have heard him repeat Mr. Henry's note, on Prov. xxv. 15, with approbation : " We say, Hard words break no bones ; but it seems that soft ones do." A flint may be broken on a cushion, when no impression could be made on it upon an unyielding sub stance. A young man, who came to be un der his care, discovering a considerable por tion of self-sufficiency, he rgave him a book to read on self-knowledge. He is said never to have hastily formed his friendships and acquaintances, and, therefore, rarely had reason to repent of his connections ; while every year's continued intimacy drew them nearer to him ; so that he seldom lost his friends : but his friends have lost him ! He had a great thirst for reading, which not only led him to accumulate one of the best libraries in this part of the country,* but to endeavor to draw his people into a habit of reading. Allowing for a partiality common to men, his judgment of characters was generally correct. Nor was it less candid than cor rect : he appreciated the good, and, if re quired to speak of the evil, it was with reluctance. His eye was a faithful index to his mind ; penetrating, but benignant His character had much of the decisive, without any thing conceited or overbearing. In his person he was above the ordinary stature, being nearly six feet high. In the earlier stages of life he was thin ; but dur ing the last twenty years he gathered flesh, though never so much as to feel it any in convenience to him. His countenance was grave but cheerful ; and his company always interesting. I shall, conclude with a few extracts of letters concerning him, which I have receiv ed since his decease from those who knew him intimately. " His zeal for the cause of Christ," says one of his congregation, "was uniform and increasingly ardent to the end of his life. One of the last conversations that he had with me, he concluded in these words : — ' Farewell ! Do your utmost for the cause of Christ I have done a little, and am * This library is left, by his will, to the Brad ford Baptist Academy, only on condition of tho trustees paying /1 00 to his relations ; a sum far short of its value Paul's prayer for the philippians. 337 ashamed that I have done no more. I have such views of its importance that, had I ability, I would spread the gospel through the world.' His knowledge of books was very extensive : he appeared to have a facil ity in extracting the substance of them in a short time, as a bee extracts the honey from the expanded flower. He possessed an equal facility in knowing men, more espe cially ministers, and that not confined to his own denomination : so that in a few minutes he could give you an account who they were, what places they had occupied, and what was their general reputation. From this he was many times able to give seasonable advice." "I believe," says a minister who had been one of his pupils, "I was the first young man placed under the care of our dear de ceased father Sutcliff. From my first ac quaintance with divine things, on seeing and hearing him occasionally in my native village, I formed a very high opinion of the general -excellence of his character; and the intimate knowledge I had of him, from residing in his family, so far from diminish ing my esteem and veneration for him, great ly increased them. His piety was not merely official and public, but personal and habitual. The sphit of devotion rested on him. He was the man of God in all his intercourse. He conducted the worship of his family with singular seriousness, ardor, and constancy, never allowing any thing to interfere with it, except great indisposition. He manifest ed a parental tenderness and solicitude for the welfare of his pupils, and took a lively interest in their joys or sorrows. I have seen him shed the sympathizing tear over them in the hour of affliction. Such was the kindness and gentleness of his deport ment that they could freely impart their minds to him; but, while his affectionate spirit invited their confidence, the gravity of his manner and the commanding influence ofhis general character effectually prevent ed any improper freedoms being taken with him. Such, too, were the sentiments with which he was regarded among his people : they loved and venerated him. He heard the sermons of his younger brethren with great candor, and, if he saw them timid and embarrassed on public occasions, would take an opportunity of speaking a kind and en couraging- word to them, and aim to inspire them with a proper degree of confidence. He was singularly regular and punctual in fulfilling his engagements, whether in preaching or visiting, not only in attending, but in being there at the time ; and earnest ly inculcated it on his pupils, if they wished to command respect. He endeavored to preserve and promote the order and regular ity of Christian families where he visited. I never saw him out of temper but once, and that was produced by want of punctu ality in another person. I often regret that Vol. 2,— Sie. 43. I did not profit more by his instructions and example. He has many times, by his judi cious council, been ' the guide of my youth.' His name and his memory will ever be dear to me. ' My father ! my father ! ' " " I have just heard, " says another who had some years since been his pupil, " of the death of Mr. Sutcliff. It has returned upon me, whether alone, or in company. Such an event may well do so. In him I saw bright lines of resemblance to our Lord and Master, such as are seldom, very seldom, to be met with in poor mortals. Such amiable- ness of manners, so much of the meekness and gentleness of Christ, of sound judgment and of warm affection, we seldom see united. While memory holds her place, his name and manner will be cherished by me with pleasing melancholy, not without anticipa tions of meeting him in another and better world." " The memory of Mr. Sutcliff," says ano ther, who had been his pupil, and who was present at his death, " will live in my warm est affections while I possess the powers of recollection. It seems impossible that I should ever forget such a friend, or speak of him without blessing God that I ever knew him. I am grieved that he is gone, yet grateful that he was continued with us long enough for me to receive his instructions, and to witness his example. You have heard some of his dying sentiments. As his ad dress to me may be considered as his dying advice to the young men who were under his tuition, I communicate it, leaving it to your discretion what use to make of it. About three in the morning of the day on which he died, like Israel he strengthened himself, and sat up on his bed. Calling me to him, he, in the most affectionate manner, took hold of my hand, and expressed him self as follows : — Preach as you will wish you had when you come to die. It is one thing to preach, and another to do it as a dying man. I am glad you are settled where you are. I think you may say, I dwell among my own people. I am glad we ever knew one another. Spiritual unions are sweet. I have fled to Jesus : to his cross I am united. The Lord bless you, and make you a blessing ! ' " XXVIII. — Paul's prater tor the phi lippians. (SIcetch of a Sermon preached at Maze Pond, June 2Slh, 1800.) " And this I pray that your lo>-s - .&; abound yet more and more in knowledge n alt judg ment, that ye may approve thinsc .iai. are excel lent, that ye may be sincere a- 7itho»t offence till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God." — Philip, i. 9 — 11. It is pleasant to review the history of the first plantation of this church, and compare 338 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. it with its state at the time this epistle was written. You recollect Paul's journey to Philippi in company with Silas. You recol lect how he first preached the gospel by the river side, and how the Lord opened the heart of Lydia, and she attended unto the things which Paul spoke. You recollect what an uproar was raised in the city, and how all were stirred up to persecute them. The mob did their part, the magistrates did their part, and God did his part. The apos tles being thrown into prison, in the midst of pain and affliction, burst forth into a song of praise at midnight. You recollect the sequel of the story : how the jailor and his household were by these means effectually converted, brought to embrace the gospel of Jesus, and were baptized in his name; We hear no more of them in the history of the New Testament ; but by this epistle we see this small family of the jailor — (for as to Lydia, probably she, and her household like wise, being natives of Thyatira, had left the city ;) but this single family of Chris tians had by this time so increased that a Christian church was planted, properly or ganized with her bishops and deacons ; and such was their progress in Christianity that the apostle tells us that always in every prayer of his he made request for them with joy, which shows that true religion so ope rated at Philippi as to give joy to the apos tle's heart, and we know how that must be. The apostles rejoiced, as John says, when their children walked in the truth, and we may thence infer that the Christians at Phi lippi were eminent for their walk in the truth. Eminent, however, as they were — (and there is not, that I recollect, a single reflection on them in all this epistle, which is very singular, and very different from those at Corinth and Galatia and several other places) — eminent, however, as they were, Paul did not consider them as having reached the mark. " This I pray that your love may abound yet more and more." The best and most amiable societies of individ uals in this world are holy but in part : they need stirring up, and provoking yet more and more. I think I need say nothing to prove that the prayer of the apostle on behalf of the believers at Philippi is applicable to other churches, and other congregations. You all know that what was written to them was ad dressed to the church in all succeeding ages. I shall, therefore, drop the character of the Philippians, and let me suppose that this pray er is applicable to the church meeting in this place_to all the believers in Jesus Christ who assemble here. " And this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and in all judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent," or,. as the margin renders it, that ye may try things that differ, "that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the praise and glory of God." Brethren, I am sure that there is no prayer that I or any other could offer up on your behalf that would be better and more desirable. In attempting to illustrate the subject, we shall notice particularly three things : — The objects for which the apostle prays — the me*- dium through which all these excellences are to be communicated, namely, by Jesus Christ — and the end to which they were di rected ; " to the praise and glory of God." Let us notice, in the first place, the objects for which the apostle prays for these primi tive Christians : " And this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowl edge and in all judgment," and so on. In general it may be proper to remark that some of these things for which the apostle prays are the root, and others the branches. He prays that your love may abound, that it may abound in knowledge, that it may abound in all judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent. I apprehend the abounding, and that in knowledge and in all judgment, is the root ; and that the approving of things that are excellent, and the being sincere and without offence till the day of Christ, and filled with the fruits of righteousness, are all the branches. But, more particularly, the first thing that the apostle holds up as an object of desire is the abounding of love. Love is one of the first principles of all religion ; shall I say it is the essence of all true religion. It is the cement ofthe moral world. It is that by which God proposes to govern all holy intelligen ces. It is, as our expositor, Mr. Henry, re marks, "the law of Christ's kingdom, the lesson of his school, and the livery of his family." It is the law of Christ's kingdom ; for " this command I give unto you, that ye love one another." It is the lesson of his school ; for " ye are taught of God to love one another." It is the livery of his family ; for " by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Love, however, as here spoken of, is not to be taken for every thing- that may bear that name. Natural affection may be denomina ted love ; but this is not it. Party attach ment may be called love ; but this is not it. Christian love, how shall I distinguish it? By what medium shall I distinguish Chris tian love from every thing else that bears the name? I know of no better criterion than this : The object of it is holy; for it is the love of that in the divine character, or in the human character, or in things, which is holy. It is the love of the holy God — it is the love of holy ways — it is the love of holy men — it is the love of a holy gospel — it is the love of a holy religion — it is that distin guishing quality in all objects, persons, or Paul's Prayer eor the philippians. 339 things, which attracts ; and it is this which distinguishes Christian love from all other ; and it is this which the apostle prays the Philippians might abound in yet more and more. He takes it for granted that they possessed love, and he only prays that they might abound in it. And may I take it for granted on behalf of you my hearers, this morning, that you love the Lord, that you love the Saviour, that you love the gospel, and that you love your fellow Christians ? If I take it for granted, I do not wish or re commend that you should. It may be prop er for you to examine yourselves on this head; but, however, taking it for granted that love exists in your hearts towards these objects, still there is reason to pray that this love may abound yet more and more. There are none of us so abounding in love, but that there is great reason for increase. Your af fection towards God, towards Christians, and towards all men is faint in comparison of what it is fit and proper it should be. But notice, secondly, he prays not only that love might abound, but that it might abound in knowledge. Knowledge is a ne cessary accompaniment of love, and that for two reasons ; to feed it and to regulate it. It is by the knowledge of God, it is by the knowledge of divine truth, it is by drinking deeply into the gospel of Jesus Christ, that love is fed. The knowledge of divine truth is that to the mind which food is to the body ; it nourishes it and keeps it alive. We can not love an unknown being ; we cannot love an unknown gospel ; we eannot so much as love one another to any effect, but in propor tion as we know one another. It is'necessary, therefore, that we read and pray, and hear and labor, to cultivate the knowledge of God. Grace and peace are multiplied by the knowl edge of God, and of Jesus Christ our Lord. If we love the Lord Jesus Christ in any de gree, the more we know him the better we shall love him, and consequently our love will be perfected in glory, because there we shall see him as he is, and then we shall be like him. The more our minds are expand ed, and we drink deeply into evangelical truth, the more our hearts will burn with holy affections to wards him. " I pray, there fore," says the apostle, " that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and in all judgment." Christian love is not a blind attachment ; it is not that commotion of the affections whieh tumultuates towards some object, we know not why or wherefore : but solid Christian love is accompanied with knowledge; it has reason for its governor; it isj truly rational in all its operations. The Christian, therefore, is enabled to give a reason ofthe love that is in him, as well as the hope that is in him, with meekness and fear. But this is not all: knowledge is a necessary companion of love, to regulate it, as well as to feed and inspire it. Love with out knowledge is not good ; it is in danger of running into innumerable improprieties and irregularities ; it was this kind of love which made Peter declare that his master should never die. There was love; but it was without knowledge, and the Lord Jesus rebuked him for it. It was this species of love, without knowledge, that made the dis ciples so extremely unwilling for him to go without them. Says our Saviour, "If ye loved me," he means if ye loved me with a wise love, " ye would rejoice that I go to my Father, for my Father is greater than I ;" that is, the glory that I shall possess with my Fa ther is greater than the glory I possess in this present state of humiliation ; so that it was like one Christian saying to another — like a dying Christian saying to a surviving friend — " Why weep ye at my departure ? if ye loved me properly, ye would rejoice that I go to my Father ; for the glory that I am going to possess is far greater than the glory I at present share. — The love ofthe disciples, therefore, was a sort of interpreted hatred (not intentionally certainly,) and our Lord would not own it for love. Let your love, therefore, abound with knowledge. We might apply it to many more things ; to the love which you bear one towards another in church fellowship, or to the love you bear one towards another in your fami lies. If your love be without knowledge, it will operate in a way of screening one another from faithful discipline, in a way of blinding you to each other's faults ; but if your love be accompanied with knowledge, it will operate aright : it will seek the good of the person, while it abhors his evil con duct. The love of a parent that is unaccom panied with knowledge degenerates into foolish fondness, and is in danger of ruining the object of it. "This, therefore, I pray, that your love," whether it be to God or to one another, or to those with whom you are connected, "may abound in knowledge.". But, to go on a step further, the apostle prays not only that it may abound in knowl edge, but "in all judgment." This is still more. There is a difference between knowl edge and judgment : knowledge is more of the speculative, judgment more of the prac tical. Judgment is knowledge ripened into maturity ; knowledge, as I may say, collects the evidences, and judgment sums them up and passes a decision. A man may possess much knowledge, but little judgment. We have known characters who have been very learned, have read many books, have seen many tbings, have had large acquaint ance, and yet had no talents at associating the particulars, so as to form a solid and practical judgment of things. This I speak even of temporal and natural things. That which the apostle here calls judgment is in the margin called sense ; that ye may abound in all sense, and wherefore ? Because the 340 sermons and sketches. judgment of which he speaks is that which arises very much from a holy sense of right and wrong: it is a compound of the feelings of the heart. That which is here called judgment, or sense, is that to a Christian which a delicate sense of propriety is to a well educated mind. You know what this is ; it is something different from mere learn ing ; it is different from mere knowledge ; it is that quick sensibility which promptly, and, as I may say, instinctively determines the right from the wrong, the good from the evil : it dictates the path of propriety in the twink ling of an eye. This is what we call a deli cate sense of propriety in common life ; and that which this is to a natural man, such is a holy tenderness of heart, such is a holy ten derness of conscience, to a good man. This is what he means in the next phrase, " That ye may approve things that are excellent," or, as the margin renders it, that ye may try things that differ. As a delicate sense of propriety enables a man in the common con cerns of life to try things that differ ; that is, he judges of propriety and impropriety by an immediate instinct, as I may say ; so he that possesses a holy tenderness of heart, and a holy tenderness of conscience, tries in stinctively those things which differ ; chooses the good and rejects the evil. Perhaps you may ask what things are they that differ, to which the apostle may here refer, and which such a holy judgment tends to distinguish ? I answer, things earthly, and things heaven ly ; things true, and things false ; things good, and things evil. Now all these things are continually passing before us, perpetual ly presenting themselves to our choice, to our practical judgment, as I may say, and we must decide upon them every day and every hour. Every hour, you must decide either in favor of things heavenly or things earthly. Oh that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and in all judg ment, that you may try things that differ, and prefer the excellent! Choose heavenly things in preference to earthly, as your por tion ; things true and things false are continu ally presenting themselves before your eyes or your ears : false doctrine as well as true doctrine is continually soliciting your atten tion. In books, in sermons, in company, and in conversation, you are continually hearing of false doctrine : atheistical, or some corruption of the pure doctrine ofthe text. Here is the beauty of things — to have such a holy sense maintained in our souls as in a moment to see which is false that you may reject it, and the truth that you may im bibe it. Things good and things evil are also continually passing before your eyes : the temptations and snares of the world are con- timm'\ soliciting you; gold sparkles in your eyes, s..--ust'.at pleasures is continually pre senting itself, and soliciting your affection, and God himself deigns to stoop and ask your heart, and he says, " Set your affections on things whch are above, and not on things below." How happy you and I, if we pos sess that spiritual judgment, that divine sense, to abhor the one, and embrace the other. This is that holy judgment which the apostle prays for on behalf of the primi tive Christians, and which is accompanied with nearness of communion with God. I must pass on : I see here are several other things which the apostle supposes will be the fruit of this, and which he also speci fies, and prays for — " that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ." Sincerity is one of the prominent features of genuine Christianity. That holy love, that heavenly knowledge, that spiritual judg ment, of which we have been speaking, will give you a single eye, and you will be a sin cere Christian. You will have one object in view through life. You will leave others to deal in dark intrigue, duplicity, and un derhand practices, and you will have one object through life, to glorify him in body and in spirit whose you are. Sincerity par ticularly respects our approaches to God, our professions before men, and our deal ings with the world. Oh, that we may be all sincere in these! In your approaches before God, dread the thought of disguis ing or appearing under a mask in his house. Study to approach God with your hearts ; for nothing but truth will stand before him. Let us be equally so in our professions when we converse with one another. Do not let us be anxious to be thought highly of by one another. Beware of that spirit which aspires only to retain a character among men — a name in the church of God ; but rather be concerned to be sincere, " an Israehte indeed, in whom is no guile." If you look round the world, you will see that the great concern of mankind is to appear to be ; but make it your concern to be. There is a great difference between a good man and a mere professor. The one is con cerned to be what he professes, the other only to appear to be. What an awful differ ence ! And, I may add, let sincerity distin guish us in all our worldly dealings. Reli gion is not a matter to be cooped up in a closet, nor yet in a place of worship. It must be carried out into the world — into our dealings. The object ofthe apostle's prayer is that we may be men of honor, and that we may he sincere in all our dealings. Oh what a blessed world would it be if every man acted on this principle in all his deal ings with men! "And without offence," says he, " until the day of Christ." I think this means that we should cultivate an inof fensive spirit, that is, the spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, we all know, was not of a turbulent discontented spirit : he did not deal in such sort of censures as were only adapted to provoke. He dealt in cen- TUB PEACE OF GOD. 341 sures, but they were aimed at the good of the party, whatever his condition. The apostles and the primitive Christians studied an inoffensive conduct. They endeavored to live peaceably with all men, and they sub mitted to many injuries rather than give of fence, rather than throw a stumbling-block in the way of unbelievers. Christians, be it your care to study an inoffensive life. There is a great deal of what is called faithfulness by many people that is very far from deserv ing that name, and. is the mere exercise of corrupt passion. Under what passes by the name of an honest bluntness, some persons will be always giving offence — unnecessary offence, and thereby cause the name of Je sus Christ to be evil spoken of. Give no offence to Jew or Gentile, nor to the church of the living God. Finally, he prays that this may not merely be the exercise of a day, a week, a month, a year, but " till the day of Christ." A thought has occurred to me that has pained me upon this clause. We have seen characters who have promised fair, who have been affection ate, who have been shining characters, and yet have not continued without offence " till the day of Christ." Towards the latter period of life, if they have not turned back and walk ed no more with him, still they have given offence ; their misconduct has undone all the little good that they have done in the for mer part of their lives. These things ought to make us fear and tremble, and pray not only that we may be without offence, but that we may be without offence "till the day of Christ," till the Lord and bridegroom shall call us to himself. But I proposed just to notice, and it must be briefly, the medium through which all these excellences are communicated, and this is by Jesus Christ. Methinks all holi ness is communicated through Jesus Christ in two ways. Jesus Christ is the medium through which the Holy Spirit is given ; for God would never have sent his Holy Spirit, any more than he would have given us any other spiritual blessings, but out of regard to Jesus Christ, who is the medium through whom all are communicated. But this is not all— Jesus Christ is the medium of all holiness as revealed in the gospel. It is by a knowledge of and faith in him that we come to the excellences here described. It is by preaching Jesus Christ that these fruits are cultivated, and it is by being ac quainted with Jesus Christ — it is by our learning and drinking into the doctrine of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Scriptures — that all these fruits will abound in you. Read, therefore, learn, and be concerned to drink deeply into the system of the gospel of Jesus Christ, into the doctrine of the text. It is not only proper that ministers should resolve to " know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified ; " but private Chris tians also make this the grand central point of all your conduct and all your pursuit ; that " you may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." This is the only stock upon which this sort of fruit will grow. You cannot graft holiness upon any other stock than that of faith in Jesus Christ. All the labor and all the toil that may be bestowed by education, example, or any other means you can use, will amount to nothing as to the production of these fruits, unless it be by faith in Jesus Christ, and intimate ac quaintance with him. Lastly, notice the end to which all is to be directed : " To the glory and praise of God." This is carrying upthe subject where it should be carried — to the throne of God himself. This is the great end to which all things are directed by God himself, and should be di rected by us, "to the glory and praise of God." The glory of God, let me notice, is either es sential or manifestative. The essential glory of God respects what God is in himself, and which he is irrespective of what we think of him, or what we do. All that you or I can do, all that angels in heaven can do, all that the church in glory in connection with them can do to all eternity, cannot add one gleam of glory to his essential character ; and all the iniquity of man upon earth, and all the feroci ty, enmity, and duplicity of man, cannot di minish it in the least degree. It is irrespec tive and independent of what any creature can think or can do. But it is not thus with respect to the glory of God manifestatively. No : in that respect we may dishonor God, or we may honor God, that is, in other words, we may raise him in the esteem of others. God should be raised in the esteem of those around us, or in our own esteem ; and this is the way in which creatures are said to hon or God, by raising him or giving him the just glory due to his name in all our own thoughts, and communicating such senti ments of him to those around us. Keep this end in view. Glorify him to whom glory is due. Glorify Him to whom be glory for evermore. Amen. XXIX.- -THE PEACE OF GOD. {Sketch of a Sermon preached at the Baptist Meeting, Devonshire Square, London, June 26, 1796.) " And the peace of God, which passeth all un derstanding, shall keep your hearts aud minds through Jesus Christ." — Philip, iv. 7. Read this passage in connection with the three foregoing verses ; " Rejoice in the Lord always : and again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be k.own unto all men. The Lord is at hand, iie careful for noth ing : but in every thing by prayer and sup- 342 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. plication, with thanksgiving, let your re quests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understand ing, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Peace, it will be allowed, is an inestimable jewel. No man that has been at all acquainted with the calamities of war, the distresses of domestic confusion, or the horrors of a guilty conscience, can dissent ftorn this proposi tion. Under such circumstances, how often has the heart yielded a sigh on the desirable ness ofthe blessings of peace ! But if peace, in the general, be so desirable, what must be said of the peace of God, which passeth all understanding ! Peace among men is very desirable : it is healing to the human heart — it is transporting to the human breast — ¦ to see the bloody sword sheathed in its scab bard. It is pleasing to see amity and con cord prevail, and old friends meet that have been separated, perhaps by jealousy and misunderstanding ; but all this is only be tween man and man. The peace of God exceeds every thing of this sort as much as God's ways are above our ways, and his thoughts above our thoughts. As much as the heavens are above the earth, so much is peace with him greater than peace with each other. It is on this subject that we shall now discourse. Could the apostle have pointed to a bless ing of greater value than this : " The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ ? " In discoursing on this subject, we shall, First, ask in what this peace consists- — Se condly, endeavor to justify the apostle's en comium on it — Thirdly, consider its great use in the Christian life — Latsly, inquire by what means it is to be attained. I. Let ds try to ascertain what il ls — What is this invaluable jewel? What is this peace of God ? Depend upon it, it is something valuable, or rather invaluable, or our Lord Jesus Christ would not have singled it out as his last bequest, at the time he was about to leave his disconsolate dis ciples, and when his heart was overflowing with tenderness for them. He left them one great blessing. What was it? Not crowns — not kingdoms — No. It was some thing far superior to these : " My peace I five unto you, not as the world giveth give unto you. Let not your hearts be trou bled." The word which is here rendered " the peace of God" signifies oneness — union — being gathered into one — reconciliation. It is the blessedness of being in a state of re conciliation with God. I should suppose it may include the following ideas : — 1. That sweet tranquillity qf soul which arises from a well-grounded persuasion of being accepted by (rod. j This is what the apostle means when he says, " Being justn fled by faith, we have peace with God." — > Being accepted through the righteousness of the Redeemer, we have peaGe With Godi I need not inform you that, in our native state, we are all at war with God, and God with us. Sin is the great enemy. It has sepa rated great friends. God and man, you know, were once great friends ; but sin separated those chief friends, and drew a veil of sep aration between them. Man became an en emy to God, and God to man. God in the character of a righteous governor was requir ed — his own rectitude required him — to be an enemy to man. For he hateth all the workers of iniquity : but, through the medi ation of the Son of God, atonement is made — the blood of the cross heals the breach, and opens the way of communion. God declares himself well pleased with his dear Son ; and every poor sinner who sues for mercy in his name finds relief. The past is forgiven — is forgotten ; the soul is justified through the redemption of Jesus Christ. — The effect of all this is sweet peace. Who can estimate the sweetness of that enjoyment which arises from a well-ground ed persuasion that God is my Father? To be permitted to say, I am an heir of bless ing : I am no longer under the law, but un der grace : I am no longer an alien, but a son or daughter : the blessings ,of the gos pel are to be made my own. — Where such are the persuasions, there is the peace of God. 2. The peace of God, I should think, in cludes that sweet satisfaction which possesses the mind from a view qf God sitting at the helm of the universe, and having the manage ment of all our concerns. We are like peo ple who are sailing on the ocean in a storm. This troubled ocean casts up mire and dirt, and we are continually subject to. tempests : and were it not for the consideration that we have a pilot at the helm — a God who has the turbulent ocean under his control — were it not for the consideration that the cares of the world were under his direction, what peace could we enjoy ? Let me ask you, thinking Christians, when you consider the temper of the world — when you see man hating his fellow-man, and see them com bining against one another by thousands — When you see the enmity of the heart to be such that there is hardly any rational hope of peace under the sun, what would quiet your heart but the consideration that God reigns, and " that the inhabitants of the earth are but as grasshoppers" — that he "maketh the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder thereof be doth restrain ?" The thought that Jesus Christ is head over all things to his church, and that all shall contribute to the spread of the gospel, be gets that peace in the mind that enabled the Psalmist to sing, in the midst of tumult and THE PEACE OF GOD. 343 confiision, "Though the mountains be cast into the depths of the sea, there is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God." There is a source of conso lation to the children of God to which others are strangers. ^God will help his people, and that right early. •3. It is necessary that we should feel some degree of peace in our oion consciences. We cannot experience the peace of God, and joy in the Holy Ghost, unless we have the testimony of our own consciences that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had cur conversation in the world. Enoch had the peace of God, when he had this testi mony — that he pleased God. By the history which we have of him, which is very short, it appears that he pleased very few people. He was a thundering preacher in his day — the object of the ill-will of his hearers ; but he had the testimony that he had pleased his God. That Christian, or that minister, who •enjoys a solid, well-grounded, persuasion that he possesses the favor of Jesus Christ, whose confidence is in him who sits at the helm of the universe, who walks with God and has the testimony of a good conscience, possesses the peace of God. II. We proceed to justify the apos tle's encomium. He tells us that " it passeth knowledge." It is a very strong expression ; but I apprehend it is literally true — it is no hyperbole. Some have inter preted it, that it passeth the understanding ¦of carnal men. That is very true ; but that is not a thousandth part of the truth. It is of such value that the understandings of neither men nor angels are capable of ap preciating its worth; the peace of God none can fully estimate. None but God himself can know its real worth. We estimate most things by contrast : so the worth of national peace is best known by those who see the effects of war ; so the worth of do mestic peace is best known by those who suffer by domestic feuds ; so the value of peace with God cannot be known in any tolerable degree but by those who experi ence the horrors of a guilty conscience. Go, then, if you would know the value of the peace of God, look at the case of a man who is borne down by worldly sorrow, and who is a stranger to God. Go, visit a poor man, on whom the Lord hath poured out much trouble and distress, under which he almost sinks, and yet he is a stranger to God. He has no refuge to which he can flee in the hour of distress. From this you will judge, in some degree, what a blessed thing it is to have the peace of God. This it was which made our Lord say, " I send you forth like sheep among wolves ;" but I give you that which shall be a balance to every load : " into whatsoever house ye enter, say, Peace be to this house." Would you know some thing of the value of this blessing ? — go to the room of a poor sinner whose eyes are opened, whose conscience is awake, but who is without God, in a dying hour. Did you never visit a dying sinner, and take notice of him when he did not expect that he had an hour to live ? Did you never see with what a frighted countenance he views you ? O ! that pale face ! that frighted counte nance ! — that mind that looks upon the past, with bitter regret, as gone forever, that looks on that which is to come with horror and dismay ! Did you never know such a case ? You might know many such cases — they are not rare. There you might learn some thing, of the value of the peace of God ; there a man would give a thousand worlds, if they were all his own, for a well-ground ed hope that his sins were forgiven ; there he that once despised religion, the man that has joked and derided serious people, is alarmed, and wishes that those very people whom he once derided would come and pray with him. Who can estimate the value of the peace of God? If you can tell the worth of the salvation of a soul — if you can estimate the pains of the damned in hell — if you can reckon the loss of an im mortal creature — then can you tell the value of the peace of God. If you can calculate the worth of celestial enjoyments — all the pleasures resulting from God's favor — then you may calculate the value of the peace of God. That which endears this blessing to us is not only the importance of it, but the medium through ivhich it comes. The text says — "through Christ Jesus." Do not you think, for example, that the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to Joseph his son was endeared to Joseph because it was the dying bequest of his beloved father ? No doubt it was ; that was the singular portion he gave to his son Joseph: and what made it still more valuable was that his father had wrested it from the Amorites : " which I took out of the hand ofthe Amorites with my sword and with my bow." — And the peace of God must be endeared, because it was obtained by the shedding of Christ's blood. How it will en hance its value to the people of God that it was the price of blood — the blood of the Lamb ! Heaven itself would not be a thou sandth part so pleasant to us if it had not been obtained in this way. It was obtained by the shedding of Christ's blood ! But we pass on to consider III. The great use of peace in the christian conflict; "the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds." — The word here translated "keep" is very expressive : it is a military term, and alludes to soldiers that are in a besieged town ; or rather to sol diers that come in aid of others that are be sieged. So the peace of God is that to a 344 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. believer's heart and mind which a relieving army is to those who are besieged. The heart and mind are supposed to be besieg ed by the temptations ofthe present world, and in danger of being taken ; and tbe peace of God, like a reinforcement thrown in, af fords relief, and prevents their being obliged to give up the contest. This word might perhaps be expressed by the term fortified, — "the peace of God, which passeth all under standing, shallfortrfy your hearts and minds." The terms heart and mind comprehend the whole soul ; the one is put for the affec tions'; the other for the judgment — the peace of God serves as a relief, a fortifica tion, for both. Let us here be a little more particular. There is one set of temptations which as sail the heart, another the mind ; and the peace of God serves to fortify our souls against them both. 1. Let us inquire what are those tempta tions which assail the heart? In times of persecution, the wrath, enmity, and outrage of a wicked world, were such as assailed the heart. It must have been trying to the feel ings of the primitive Christians, and all others who have lived in times of persecu tion. As for our parts, we have so long enjoyed religious peace that we can scarce ly realize the scene. But only consider that those who were persecuted were men like you and me, and their property was, perhaps, obtained by the sweat of their brow — and it was hard to have that wrested from them by fines and imprisonment. They had families. It was hard to be tom flesh from flesh — bone from bone. Perhaps the tears ofthe wives and children might say, " Spare him for our sakes!" It was cruel — it must needs come close to the heart — they had the feelings of men. Nothing but the peace of God could fortify them. " Be hold I send you forth as lambs among wolves." If they throw you into dungeons — if they deprive you ofthe honest fruits of your in dustry — of your friends — your liberty! If they deprive you of all these, they shall not deprive you of one thing — the peace of God ! This you shall be able to carry with you in to the darkest dungeons, and it shall cause you to sing praises to God at midnight. There is another set of temptations which assail the heart — these are the allurements of the world. The former were in the days of yore principally — these in our times. The world seems to be friendly to us ; its pleasures melt resistance. It sometimes captivates the heart; and I know not but enemies of this description are more danger ous to Christians i^an the others. Many have stood in the ho of persecution — they could fight like Samson against thousands when the Philistines seion them ; but, when the smiles of a Delilah come upon them, they, like him, would fall. There is nothing so good an antidote to this as the peace of God in the heart. But peace in tiie heart does not include carnal ease. I grant that this is no friend, but an enemy. Peace and union with God are the best fortification of the heart against the allurements of sense. Not all the terrors of Sinai, nor the curses of the law, are so good a preservative as the peace of God in the heart — and why so ? It affords superior pleasure to that of the world. It rises infinitely above it You know very well that when a superior light shines forth it eclipses an inferior one ; so, when the sun shines forth, the smaller lights, the moon and stars, hide their beads — -they are lost. The peace of God affords a so much superior pleasure in the soul as to overcome flesh and sense. Thus it is that faith overcomes. You have often read that expressive passage — " Who is he that over cometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Faith penetrates futurity ; it rends the veil and pierces into an unknown world ; it fixes its eye on eternity, and these little worlds dis appear — the heart becomes dead to the pleasures of sense. It was thus that Moses, "seeing him that was invisible," became dead to the pleasures of tlie Egyptian court. It is not, then, very difficult to perceive how the peace of God — a solid, well-grounded peace, communion with God through our Lord Jesus Christ — tends to make a man dead to the world through the cross of Christ. Again, there is a third temptation with which the heart is assailed, and this is, The sorrows of the world. The losses, the be reaving losses, trials, and disappointments, which befal the children of God, which on some occasions are so complicated, so heavy, and so lasting, that the heart is in danger of yielding to despondency. "O that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together ! For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea ; therefore my words are swallow ed up," that is, I want words to express my grief — to express that intolerable grief that rankles in my bosom. — My heart is in dan ger of yielding to despbndency. Nothing but the peace of God can now preserve it. The thought that God rules and overrules all — that whatever befals us is under his ap pointment — that every evil is overruled by him for our good. Such thoughts as these, which constitute the peace of God, bear up the soul, and keep it from sinking under all the loads of distress by which it is bur dened. Once more : — There is another tempta tion; and that is despair under a load of guilt. I do not know but this may be the heaviest of all. When guilt is fixed on the conscience, and fixed with such strong chains that it becomes impossible for us to THE PEACE OP GOD. 345 break them, the temptation to sink into des pair becomes very great. O! how many wretched souls, under a consciousness of guilt, are swallowed up in desperation ! It was thus that Cain was swallowed up — " My punishment is greater than I can bear." It was thus that Judas was swallowed up — " I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood;" and, in his despair, he went and hanged himself. Such a load of guilt as this is greater than a poor sinner can bear. But there is that which will bear us up — the peace of God will keep, will sustain, will fortify the heart, even under this load. Here is the difference between a good man, when he falls into sin, and a bad man. When Saul rebelled against God, and God expressed his displeasure against him, he sunk into despair! When David sinned against God, and God by Nathan had re proved him for his sin, he flew into the arms of divine Mercy. — "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." A view of the divine goodness bore him up. Though at a great distance from God, yet some faint gleam of the mercy of God preserved him from despair. It is true the waves of sin rolled over him ; but the mercy of God was like a rope held out to him, by the laying hold on which he was saved. " Out of the depth shave I cried unto thee, O Lord ; Lord, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand ? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared." What phrase, what terms, could the apos tle have used that could be more expres sive ? — " The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds " — shall support you under afflic tions, and afford relief under the impres sions of a guilty conscience. But we pass on — 2. The mind also is assailed by various temptations and difficulties. The peace of God is a fortification to the mind as well as the heart. The mind is expressive of the intellectual part of man. The tempta tions to which the mind is exposed are, chiefly, pernicious principles and distract ing cares. The pernicious principles that are circula ted in the world are like so many poisoned arrows aimed at the heart, and we need to be as much fortified against these as against any others which I have mentioned. God has thought fit to try his people by suffering them to go forth. It must needs be that there must be scoffers walking after their own un godly lusts. — There must be infidels who should ridicule the Bible and those that pro- Yoh. 2.— Sie. 44. fess its doctrines. These are so many fans by which God thoroughly purges his floor, which is composed, methinks, of grain and chaff. There are many professors who are merely chaff; and these pernicious princi ples — these scoffs — these jeers, that are ut tered against the gospel, are like so many blasts of wind by which the chaff is blown away, while the grain shall stand and with stand. God permits pernicious principles, under the name of Christianity, to go forth. There must needs be heresies among you — these are poisoned arrows that are aimed at the mind, the judgment, and, if they- stick, the poison of them very soon infects the whole frame ; for that which once fixes on the judgment presently affects the whole soul — the whole man. Here we need, therefore, to be particularly fortified — we need the arm of God to keep us. One ofthe seven church es is commended because it had kept the faith ; and therefore God says, " I also will keep you in the hour of temptation." Keep right with God — keep close to God — keep conversant with the gospel of peace — walk close to the God of peace, and these arrows shall not touch you. You shall be secure from every fiery dart To these I would add distracting cares. For, as the mind is in danger of being pierced and tainted with pernicious principles, it is equally liable to be hurt and interrupted by distracting cares. The mind, or the judg ment, is in man like one who sits at the helm of a ship — it is that superior thing which gov erns and controls all other things. ¦ The mind has the reins of the soul in its hand, and the apostle says, " In patience possess ye your souls." But, when distracting cares come upon us, the mind is in danger of be ing swept away from the helm — the mind, if once confounded, is in great danger. But I may say, as I said before, the peace of God — that sweet peace which arises from com munion with God — is the best preservative. Let that once get possession, and you will ride out the storm, and enjoy serenity amidst all the tumultuous scenes which are passing before your eyes. III. The means by which this inesti mable BLESSING IS TO BE OBTAINED. You have only to look at the preceding context You may observe there are three things pointed out by which it is to be obtained. One is; that we should feel an habitual joy in God: "Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice." O what a blessed art is this to be able to rejoice in God, come what will ! The primitive Christians had learned this heavenly art cf not being moved by any ofthe vicissitudes of fortune : fThey rejoiced always." T" persecutions broke oujt against them, they rejoiced that they were thought worthy *~j suffer— scheme what will, they would rejoice. The/ were like 346 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the industrious bee, who extracts honey from every opening flower. Be it to others sweet or bitter, it is all alike to him. Such is Christianity ; and, if we entered into it, it would teach us to rejoice in God, whatever befalls us ; though there should be no fruit on our vine, or no flock in our folds, yet we should rejoice in God. Cultivate this spirit, and then the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds. You will be armed with this armor of God, and will be able success fully to defend yourself, against any enemy. _ The thing next recommended is " modera tion." Do not be concerned at either the smiles or the frowns of this world. If prov idence smile upon you, do not be elated : be moderate in your attachments. Or, if she frown upon you, do not be immoderately cast down. It is not the smiles of providence that can make you, nor her frowns that can unmake you. Your possessions are in anoth er state. You have not hazarded all your substance in one vessel, I hope. The man ofthe world may be greatly interested, be cause, if one vessel sink, all his treasures are lost ; but your chief treasures are em barked on board another vessel— one that cannot sink. You may cultivate a noble de pendence. " The Lord is at hand." Time is passing away, and then all those little things which now distract men's minds will distract them no longer. The Lord is about to de scend from heaven, and all these little things will disappear. Let your moderation be seen by all about you. If this spirit be cultivated by you, you will be fortified against every evil. You will have a better armor than Ahab had in the day of battle- nothing can pierce it. — But, Lastly : We are here recommended to cul tivate a noble indifference respecting things in this state, and to commit them to God. " Be careful for nothing." The apostle does not here mean that we are to care for noth- ing-r-^hat; we are not to be contriving schemes, but that we are to divest ourselves of that kind of distracting care which unfits us for religion. Be careful in this way for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your re quests be made known unto God, with re signation to his will, and the peace of God will most assuredly keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Amen. XXX. — S OUL-PRO SPERITY. ISkelch of a Sermon delivered at the Old Jewry Chapel, London, Dec. 27, 1797.] " Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."— 3 John 2. ' There are two or three characters men- Jaoned in the New Testament of the name of Gaius. I shall not now inquire to which ¦ of them this epistle was directed, but it is sufficiently evident that, whoever it might be, he was an eminently pious and godly man. Gaius seems, by this epistle, to have been a man of an afflicted body, and, per haps, in embarrassed circumstances ; but, however this was, his soul prospered, and it was the desire and prayer of the apostle John that he might be as prosperous in his outward as he was in his inner man. The prayer in the text is something that strikes conviction,' at least to my mind. Here is a prayer for a man that God would prosper him in his outward affairs in propor tion as his soul prospered. Now, if this were made the rule of all our prayers for temporal blessings, if we never were to pray for prosperity to attend ourselves beyond the degree of soul-prosperity which we possess ed, I am afraid that very few of us would pray for much more than we have, if any ; and if we made this the rule of our prayers for one another (and why should we not?) I am afraid that we could pray for the outward prosperity of but very few. If our soul- prosperity were made the rule by which to pray or wish for worldly prosperity, which is the cose here with Gaius, we should very- few of us be found qualified so much as to desire it. In discoursing on this subject we will first consider a few of the leading qualities of soul-prosperity as exemplified in the be loved Gaius — and then consider this soul- prosperity as the standard by which it is safe to pray for prosperity of other kinds. A thriving soul ! This is a matter of se rious import, my brethren. A plant is, said to thrive and prosper when it brings forth fruit — a field when it abounds with grain — a human body when it is healthy, vigorous, and active. It is to the last of these that the apostle makes an allusion. When he speaks of Gaius's soul as prospering he op poses it to his body. You, my friend, as if he had said, you have a weak and sickly body, but you have a prosperous soul, and I pray that your bodily health and your cir cumstances may be as thriving and as pros perous as your soul is. This was not the language of compliment ; neither need I say that it was not the practice of the apostle to deal in unmeaning compliments. The tree was known by its fruits, and Gaius was known by his conduct to have a prosperous soul. I. What then are those marks of a PROSPEROUS SOUL WHICH IT BEHOVES US to aspire after ? I would mention four- or five, each of which will be found to be exemplified in the beloved Gaius, 1, A prosperous soul is one in whom the truth dwells, and dwells richly. You must have remarked, in reading the first eight verses, how much the apostle Paul makes of SOUL-PROSPERITY. 347 truth. He describes Gaius as having the truth dwelling in him, as walking in the truth, as beloved for the truth's sake, and as being a. fellow-helper of the truth. All these expressions are found in those verses. It seems then to enter into the very essence of a prosperous soul that the truth dwelt in him, and that it dwelt richly in him. Truly, my brethren, gospel truth is that to the soul which wholesome food is to the body, and wholesome words and sound doctrine have an effect on the soul similar to that which wholesome food has on the body ; they render it strong, vigorous, and active. Thus the great principles of evangelical truth being imbibed by Gaius afforded a constant spring of activity. He was a lively, active, generous man. It is of great importance what principles we acquire. Principles will be active — will be influential. Indeed this is the very reason why divine truths are call ed principles. We read of the first princi ples of the doctrines of Christ, and principles you know signify the first moving causes which he at the foundation and source of action. Merely speculative notions or spec ulative ideas, that have no influence on a man's heart, are not principles ; they may be called more properly opinions : but, if the truths of God are imbibed as a thirsty man would drink in water from a fountain, they become in him a well of living water springing up in the disposition to do good, and terminating in everlasting glory. Principles, whether good or evil, will be influential if they are thoroughly imbibed. Hence we read of false doctrines having a fatal influ ence. The Scripture speaks of God giving men up to strong delusion, or to the energy or efficacy of deception or error. All principles, if they deserve the name of principles, lie at the bottom and source of affections -and actions. If they be gen uine, evangelical, and true, they are the spring of a holy life and lie at the bottom of evangelical obedience ; but if they be false principles they lie at the bottom of a course of alienation and apostacy from God, In deed, as right principles stimulate to right actions, so where a person imbibes wrong principles, or is indifferent to right, it ener vates right actions : even good men, who have swerved in a greater or less degree from the truth, have sunk into a spirit of in difference with regard to evangelical princi ples — it has had the effect of stagnating their souls in divine actions. 2. The prosperous soul is a soul where the doctrinal and the practical parts of religion bear lovely proportion and are united. We may often observe with regard to the health iness or unhealthiness of the body two op posite extremes. We see some who are epicures, and they are of no use in society. They live to themselves and glut them selves in sordid and sensual enjoyments. We see others pining away who are mere slaves. There is a great resemblance in these two characters to different species of professors. There is a kind of religious epicures — men, I mean, who are all clamor ous for doctrinal truth, but have no regard to the practical part of godliness, whose whole object is to enjoy the comforts of re ligion, to be soothed with its promises, to be flattered with its privileges, to be comforted in the prospect of something great and glo rious hereafter. Their whole attention, their whole object, isto grasp as much of this as possible, and they are regardless of every thing of a practical nature. On the other hand, there are some who, at the ex pense of truth, are constantly crying up mo rality and practical religion. My brethren, these things ought not to be divided ; doc trinal and practical religion should be united. To attempt to cultivate the former at the expense of the latter is to constitute an epi curism — to reverse it is to have a body of slaves whipped to duty, without a motive. It is the great concern of the Scriptures to furnish men with the most constraining and evangelical principles, that should render practical godliness pleasurable. The true Christian is like the husbandman who labors that he may enjoy his food with an appetite, that he maybe strengthened to future labor, and thus, with a happy mixture of enjoy ments and labor, becomes a happy man In himself and a blessing to those about him. 3. The prosperous soul is a soul in which is united a happy mixture of the retired and the active — a happy attention to the duties of retirement mingled with an equal atten tion to the duties of active life. Great have been the extremes of men in these cases ; some have pleaded for a religion that should^ make men hermits, and shut them up in a cell secluded from the society of man. As to oth ers again, their religion is always in public ; they scarcely ever retire to converse with their own souls. No man can enjoy plea sure in his soul without uniting these. It is not to be always plunged in an active course of life, nor to be shut up always in the closet. Christians must be the salt of the earth, and in order to this they must be spread in every circle of society. They must mingle amongst mankind. It is not improper to mingle in every kind of society where duty calls. But they must retire ajone frequent ly, or they will not carry a savor of God and religion with them. They must be spread like salt, but it will be salt without the savor, if they do not retire. It is by retiring to our closets, reading the word of God in pri vate, thinking and praying over it;. by con versing with our own souls in secret, by dwelling on divine things, by giving such a tone to the soul that it falls naturally and easily into divine things j it is in these holy exercises that we may expect to meet a di- 348 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. vine blessing, and to acquire such a savor of spirit that when we go out into the world we shall carry the savor of Christ with us. This is a prosperous and thriving state of soul. 4. The prosperous soul may be known by this that it is accompanied by a good degree of public spirit, and largeness of heart. A man that is concerned principally about him self can never have a prosperous soul. Such was not Gaius — he was a fellow-laborer and helper of the truth. He was habitually con cerned in promoting the cause of God and religion in the world by every means in his power. A man that takes up six days out of seven and thinks himself warranted to pursue nothing else but the acquiring of a fortune, and thinks it quite sufficient if he serves God one day out of the week, cannot be a Christian at all. He has not the first principles of religion in him. I grant that one day in seven ought to be devoted es pecially to the service of God, but the true Christian's aim is to serve God in the whole course of his life : whatever he may do, — whether he eat or drink, buy or sell, — to do all to the glory of God. What a contrast to him is the man whose sole or main object it is to get a fortune, to accumulate a few thousand pounds, and who says to himself, after a few more prosperous years in trade, I hope to take a country seat and enjoy my self; to attain this object I must save all I can, now and then giving a guinea to some pious object ! Such a man may pass through life as a respectable member of society, but a Christian he cannot be. He whose main object is to amass a fortune — he whose main object is to live to himself — lives not to Christ. Christianity cultivates a public spirit, a largeness of heart — not that narrowness of mind by which we consecrate all that we have and are to ourselves. I may mention, besides this, a sort of re ligious narrowness of mind in that person whose chief concern it is to get comfort to his own mind — whose chief and almost sole concern it is that he may obtain a good ground to hope for everlasting life in the world to come — who cares little or nothing about the interest of Christ on the earth, the cause of God, the cause of righteousness, truth, and humanity — who does not grasp within the circle of his prayers his fellow- men, his fellow-Christians — he whose reli gion centres principally in himself. Alas! it is doubtful whether that man can be a Christian: at any rate he cannot have a prosperous soul ; and I have generally re marked that those religious people who are continually poring over their own case, who are only anxious to discover evidences of their Christianity, who are perpetually por ing over past experiences to spell out whether they were truly converted or not, who hear sermons and read the Scriptures only to find out whether they can come in for any thing to comfort them — I say I have found that those who spend their whole time in this are, generally, disappointed. You selfish soul, that care little for the souls of others, take a course directly opposed to your own interest. Seek to bring peace to the souls of others ; that will be the way to find comfort for yourself. Seek the good of the poor and the afflicted, and in seeking that you will find your own. By seeking the public good we should find a private good. I never knew a man of a large heart— whose soul grasped the well-being of others, who laid out his time and property for the good of others — greatly troubled about his own interest in Christ. It is in seeking the good of God's cause in the world, and promoting the good of our fellow-creatures, that God will give us the earnest of eternal life. A public spirit is the spirit of the gospel, and largeness of heart is the mark of a prosperous soul. 5. One remark more, and I have done on this part ofthe subject: The prosperous soul is dispossessed of an ambitious spirit — it is meek and lowly. If a man were ever so public-spirited and active, but withal ambi tious, vain-glorious, and noisy, I should say of that man whether he be a Christian at all is at least doubtful, but he cannot be a thriving one, he cannot be possessed of a healthful soul. A haughty, self-sufficient, self-important, clamorous, ostentatious pro fessor, is a very doubtful character. High minds, like high hills, are blasted and barren. It is the lowly mind which, like a well wa tered valley, is productive : God's promises are made to such. It is asserted that the Lord is nigh to them that are of a lowly spirit and a contrite heart ; and we are told elsewhere that God " giveth grace to the humble, but the proud he knoweth afar off." In proportion, therefore, as we entertain such a spirit, we shall be far from God and God from us, and we shall be possessed of a soul far from prosperous. II. Having enumerated a few marks of soul- prosperity,! proceed to observe the stand- ARn WHICH PROSPERITY OF SOUL AFFORDS TO OUR SAFETY IN PROSPERITY OF OTHER kinds. John prays for prosperity for Gaius ; and wherefore ? because his soul prospers. Prosperity of soul is that which renders pros perity of body an object of desire, for two reasons : — One is that prosperity of soul makes prosperity of other kinds safe — we can bear it, which we cannot without There are few men capable of bearing outward pros perity, but almost every man is vain enough to think that he could. There are very few of us that are not so blinded as to think that we could bear a little more than we have. We flatter ourselves that if God would but give us plenty we should do good with it. One says, if I had but such a one's riches, SOUL-PROSPERITV. 349 what good should I do ! Alas ! this evinces an ignorance of your own hearts. Is your soul so well that you are in no danger of be ing selfish ? You cannot but have remarked that prosperity, in worldly circumstances elates men. You may have seen some per sons who were very sober, modest, useful, generous people, to all appearance, when in a mediocrity of circumstances ; but when providence has smiled upon them, and im proved their circumstances, their hearts have been lifted up in proportion. You must have observed that worldly pleasure and worldly prosperity have had a similar effect on a man : each has detached the heart from God. It is an old saying that an additional weight put into a bag draws the strings the closer ; but you think there is no danger of your being so affected, and therefore you wish, above all things, that your circumstances may improve. And is your soul so prosper ous that there is no danger of your becom ing- forgetful ofthe poor and needy ? Alas ! there is nothing but prosperity of soul will enable us to bear worldly prosperity. Bless ed be God, we have seen a few to whom it has presented no temptation. I have heard of a good man whose soul prospered alike in temporal prosperity and adversity. He had an intimate friend who used to make free with him, and, observing his prosperity, he one day thus addressed him : " Do not you find the smiles of this world, my friend, to be a snare unto you ? " He paused, and said, " I am not conscious that I do ; for though I enjoy much of this world, yet I think I enjoy God in all things." By and by providence turned another way ; he lost all his property ; he sunk into indigence ; he had scarcely a competency to support him. His old friend thus addressed him, "Well, my friend, how is it with you now ? do not you find your heart dejected in these circum stances ? " " I am not conscious," said he, "that I do; as before I enjoyed God in all things, now I enjoy all things in God. I find God to supply' all my wants, and a little, with his blessing, is enough." This, my friends, was a prosperous soul. A soul of this description might well bear prosperity, and his friend might well follow the example of John with respect to Gaius, and say, " Be loved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." But the second reason which renders prosperity of soul a proper standard for that of our bodies and circumstances is that thus the general good is promoted. If we retain prosperity of soul under temporal prosperity, then for God to bless us is to bless all around us. A man with a truly prosperous soul will not eat his morsel alone — will not keep it to himself; the poor, the fatherless, the widow, will participate the kindness of God to him : so that for providence to bless him is to bless the neighborhood, and to bestow a public blessii.g. Wherever you see a man of that character the whole neighborhood will concur with the apostle, and say, " May the Lord prosper thee," or with Boaz's reap ers, "The Lord bless thee," and I dare say Boaz himself was such a character, or they would not have said, " the Lord bless thee." — " The Lord be with you," said the master. — " The Lord bless thee," said the servants, for we know that in this blessing we all shall be blessed ; the town will be blessed, the whole neighborhood will be blessed, the fa therless will be blessed, the widow will be blessed ; every one shall share, and there fore we wish that thou mayest prosper, for thy soul prospereth. These few remarks I submit to your seri ous attention. I leave them with you, my brethren; they may lead you to consider whether there be not many who have pros perous circumstances but not prosperous souls ; on whom the world smiles and loads them with its benefits, but from whom scarcely any one receives good; whether there be not many such in all places, even in this city, this opulent city ! I grant that I think there is a greater proportion of gener ous characters in this city than perhaps in any other in the world : this I am inclined, without flattery, to say. But I am sure that there are great numbers who live wholly to themselves, and there are some who profess a regard to religion, and lay their account for eternal life, but who never live to others. Let such consider whether their Christianity be not exceedingly doubtful ; or, if it must be admitted that they have the root of the mat ter in them, still is it not clear that they have unprosperous souls ? I bless God, however, that there are many who have prosperous souls, and that over and above their circum stances. Generosity is not confined to the rich, my brethren : a poor man may feel as much as another ; and he who does but little by his substance may do it in other ways. If we are poor in circumstances, yet, if our hearts be tender, we may relieve tbe poor by our visits, our conversations, and our prayers. I grant that this would not be suffi cient without money. He who has money^ and who would wish to save his money and give his prayers, will not be received — his very prayers will be an offence ; but for the man who has no money, but who has this compassionate and kind disposition, who will not unite with the apostle in interceding " I pray above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, as thy soul pros pereth?" Such, my brethren, is my wish and prayer for you; such is my wish particularly for those institutions in this city which are now, I bless God, pretty numerous, for the visiting and relieving the afflicted poor.* I have * This sermon it appears was preached on be half of " a society to relieve the sick and dis-. tressed.'' 550 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. said, and still say, that, of all the benevolent institutions which adorn this metropolis, I know of none which excel in their principle and their effects institutions of this kind, especially in such times as these, when the poor are suffering privations and afflictions perhaps unknown but to those who visit them -and search out afflicted cases. True chari ty does not consist in merely giving a penny to a beggar to get rid of his solicitations, or in giving a guinea to a public charity. Many of these things may be done by per sons who have very little genuine benevo lence about them ; but that is genuine chari ty which leads us to search out the abodes ofthe wretched, and to make ourselves ac quainted with their wretchedness in order to relieve them. I do not say that every one can give his time to these engagements, but he may assist those whose professed object it is to do so. To this I may add that the relieving of men's bodies to get access to their minds is a primitive and an excellent practice. The Son of God himself — and who can doubt that he had access wherever he pleased ? — has set us the example ; he went among the poor, the blind, the lame, the diseased. He mingled himself with them, and healed their bodies, that he might find access to their souls. The Almighty God, in human nature, would not overturn the laws of humanity : his desire was to es tablish and sanctify them. Let us operate by a system he himself has established, and do good to the bodies of men with a view to obtain access to their minds, thus relieving the temporal wants ofthe afflicted poor, and administering the balm of consolation unto the wounded spirit. XXXI. — THE COMMON SALVATION. ^.Sketch of a Sermon delivered at the Associa tion of Baptist Ministers and Churches at Oakham, June 3, ISO!.] " Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needlul for me to write unto you, and exhort you, thit ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." — Jude 3. The writer of this epistle is, in the Gos pel of John, called "Judas not Iscariot." The epistle itself is called "general," not being addressed to any particular person or people ; and may, therefore, be of more com mon concern. In the passage which I have now read we may notice, First, The occasion there was for writing: "it was needful." The apostle did not write for writing's sake ; but to guard them against " certain men " who had crept into the churches " unawares " — "turning the grace of God into lascivious ness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ." — Ver. 4. Secondly : The earnestness with which he engaged in k-. he " gave all diligence." The word signi fies haste, forwardness, diligent care ; some what like that which a person would feel in pulling a child out of the fire. — Ver. 23. Thirdly : The subject on which he wrote : " the common salvation." This furnishes a reason for his being so much in earnest! — The very vitals of Christianity were struck at. Had not this been the case, it may be, they would not have heard from him. When Haman had conspired against the Jews, you may recollect the petition of Esther, and the manner in which it was addressed to the king. After having invited him to her ban quet, and postponed the matter until she had whetted his desire to the uttermost, she at length uttered her request. "If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request ! For we are sold, I and my people, to be de stroyed, to be slain, and to perish : but, if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwo men, I had held my peace, although the enemy could not countervail the king's dam age ! " , Something like this seems to be the spirit of this passage. It is as if the writer had said, If the enemy had levelled his weapon against any thing but the very heart of the gospel, I might have held my peace. The amount is: The common doc trines of the gospel are of the first importance to be taught by us as min isters and retained by us as christians. In discoursing on this subject, I shall en deavor to ascertain wherein tbe common salvation consists — inquire why it is so call ed — and show the importance of its being made the grand theme of our ministrations, and the first object of our attachment. I. Let us endeavor to ascertain wherein THE COMMON SALVATION CONSISTS. There can be no doubt, I think, that by this phrase is meant the gospel salvation. It is the same thing as " the faith once de livered to the saints : " the " common faith," after which Titus is said to have been be gotten. In a word, it is that which in the Now Testament is peculiarly denominated " the gospel." But the question returns: What is the gospel ? Great diversity of opinion prevails on this subject. One denomination of pro fessing Christians tell you it is one thing, and another, another ; and how shall we judge amidst such discordant accounts ? If I were to tell you that such and such doc trines constitute the gospel, you might an swer, This is only your opinion, which is subject to error, equally with that of other people. For this reason I shall not attempt to specify particulars, but mention certain scriptural mediums by which you yourselves may judge of it. 1. We may form a judgment wherein the gospel consists by the brief descriptions which are given of it. — The New Testament THE COMMON SALVATION. 351 abounds with these descriptions ; it delights in epitome. For example : " God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This is the common salvation ; and surely I need not ask whether the doctrine which denies the perishing condition of sinners by nature, and supposes the unspeakable gift of heaven to be a -mere fellow-creature, sent only to instruct us, and to set us a good exam ple, can comport with this representation. Again : " The Jews require a sign," or mira cle, "and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; but unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." This is the common salvation. We hear of preachers knowing their auditors, and preaching ac cordingly : but Paul went straight forward, regardless of the desires of men. Again : " I determined not to know any thing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified." In each of these passages the gospel is suppos ed to be summarily comprehended in what relates to the person and work of Christ. This is the foundation which God has laid in Zion : this is the common salvation. Again : " I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in me mory," or hold fast, " what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures." Here also we see what is the gospel, and what that is on which the present standing anifinal salvation of Christians depends : and I ap peal to every thing that is candid and impar tial in my hearers, whether such importance can be attached to the death, burial, and re surrection of Christ upon any other principle than that ofhis dying in our stead, and rising again as our forerunner? Finally : " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accepta tion, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners ; of whom I am chief." This language supposes that, in coming into the world, our Lord was voluntary, or that it was with design, which supposes his pre existence ; and that this design was to save sinners, the chief of sinners. In calling it a faithful or true " saying," it is intimated that it was so much the theme of the apostle's ministry, and so well known amongst Chris tians, as to become proverbial. A saying grown into credit by experience of its truth is the definition which has been given of a proverb; and such was the true saying of Paul. This, therefore, must be the gospel — " the common salvation." 2. We may judge wherein the " common salvation " consists by the brief descriptions which are given of the faith of primitive Christians. — This, as well as the gospel, is frequently epitomized in the New Testa ment ; and it may be expected tnat the one will agree with the other. "So we preach, and so ye believed." The creed ofthe first believers, it has often been remarked, was very simple. "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." — " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." — ¦ " Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" Believing is called "receiving the witness," or record, "of God. And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and that this life is in his Son." There are many other important truths, no doubt, the belief of which is necessary to salva tion ; such as the being and perfections of God, the evil of sin, &c. ; but they are all involved in the doctrine of "Christ and him crucified." This all-important principle is a golden link which, if laid hold of, draws with it the whole chain of evangelical truth. Let a man cordially embrace this, and you may trust him for the rest. There are, I conceive, four things which essentially belong to the " common salva tion ; " its necessity, its vicarious medium, its freeness to the chief of sinners, and its holy efficacy. If we doubt whether we stand in need of salvation, or overlook the atone ment, or hope for an interest in it any other wise than as unworthy, or rest in a mere speculative opinion, which has no effectual influence on our spirit and conduct, we are at present unbelievers, and have every thing to learn. II. Let us inquire wherefore it is CALLED THE COMMON SALVATION. Three reasons may, perhaps, be assigned for this. 1. It is that in which all the sacred writers, notwithstanding their diversity of ages and gifts, are agreed in teaching. — The Old Tes tament writers understood it much less than the New : but they all died in the faith of it. They " testified of the sufferings of Christ, and of the glory that should follow." — " To him gave all the prophets witness." The New Testament writers, differed widely as to talents. Paul reasoned ; but Christ and him crucified was his theme. John had more ofthe affectionate: he was baptized, as it were, in love ; but the Lamb that was slain was the great object of it " There is no other name," said Peter, "given under heaven, or among men, whereby we must be saved;" and John stood by his side and assented. If any of the New Testament writers could be supposed to dissent, it would be James, who wrote fully upon the necessity of good works ; but he was of the same faith, and only pleaded for showing it by his works. 2. It is that which is addressed to sinners 352 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. in common, without distinction of character or nation. The messages of grace under the Old Testament were principally ad dressed to a single nation ; but under the gospel they are addressed to all nations, to every creature. The promises of the gos pel are indeed made only to believers ; but its invitations are addressed to sinners. The gospel feast is spread, and all are pressed to partake of it, whatever has been their previous character. 3. It is that in which all believers, not withstanding their different attainments and advantages, are in substance agreed. — It is fitly compared to milk, which is the natural food of children. There may be great dark ness, imperfection, and error; and many prejudices for and against distinctive names : but let the doctrine of the cross be stated simply, and it must approve itself to a re newed heart. A real Christian cannot ob ject to any of those four things which were considered as belonging to the common sal vation : — to the necessity of it, the vicarious medium of it, the freeness of it, or its holy efficacy. III. Let us show the importance of its BEING THE GRAND THEME OF OUR MINISTRA TIONS, AND THE FIRST OBJECT OF OUR AT TACHMENT. It is that which God has ever blessed to the salvation of sinners, and the edification of believers. The primitive Christians lived upon it. Times of great revival in the •church have always been distinguished by a warm adherence to it. In the dark ages of popery, the schoolmen, as they are called, ¦employed themselves in deciding curious points ; but, at the time of the reformation, the common salvation was the leading theme. Those ministers whose labors have %een more abundantly owned for the promo- -tion of true religion have been distinguished 9>y their attachment to the common truth ; and those churches which have abounded *he most in vital and practical godliness are ¦such as have not descended to curious re searches, nor confined their approbation to elegant preaching; but have loved and lived upon the truth, from whomsoever it has pro ceeded. There' are three things, in particu lar, from which we are in danger of neglect- inc the common salvation, both as preachers and as hearers : — 1. A pretended regard to moral and practi cal preaching, to the disregard of evangelical principle. All preaching, no doubt, ought to be practical; and there are no greater enemies to the cross of Christ than men who can bear nothing but what soothes and com forts them ; but this is not the only extreme. Almost all the adversaries of evangelical truth endeavor to cover their dislike to it un der an apparent zeal for "morality, the christian temper, and christian practice." If we neglect the common salvation in our or dinary labors, morality will freeze upon our lip's, and neither the preacher nor the hearer will be much inclined to practise it. To lose a relish for the common salvation is the first step towards giving it up ; and the effects of this we are warned against from the example of "the angels who kept not their first estate." 2. The love qf novelty. Both preachers and hearers are in danger of making light of common truths, and of indulging in a spirit of curious speculation. This will render preaching rather an entertainment than a benefit to the soul. We are commanded to feed the church of God — not their fancies or imaginations ; nor merely their understand ings; but their renewed minds. It indicates a vicious taste, and affords a manifest proof of degeneracy, where the common salvation is slighted, and matters of refinement eager ly pursued. The doctrine of Christ cruci fied is full of the wisdom of God, and will furnish materials for the strongest powers ; and here we may dig deep in our researches. But, if this subject has no charms for us, what are we to do in heaven, where it is the darling theme ? 3. A partial attachment to one or two par ticular truths, to the neglect ofthe great body of truth. It has frequently been the case that some one particular topic has formed the character of an age or generation of men ; and this topic has been hackneyed in almost every place, till the public mind has become weary of it ; while other things of equal importance have been overlooked. Beauty consists of lovely proportion; and herein consists the holy beauty of religion. When every part of truth has its due regard, and every part of holiness its share in our affections, then will the " beauty of Jehovah, our God, be upon us," and then will he " es tablish the work of our hands." Finally : The common salvation, though it affords grounds for a universal application for mercy, yet will be of no essential bene fit to us, unless it be especially embraced. Notwithstanding the indefiniteness of gos pel invitations, it is nevertheless true that " he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned." XXXII. — THE GOOD MAN'S DESIRE FOR THE SUCCESS OF GOD'S CAUSE. [Sketch of a Sermon delivered at the opening of a new Baptist Meeting-house, al Boston, Lincolnshire, June. 25, 1801.] " Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us : and establ-sh thou the work qf our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." — Psa. xc. 16, 17. In every undertaking we have an end or ends to answer, to which all our labors are directed. It is no less so in religious under- THE GOOD MAN'S DESIRE FOR THE SUCCESS OF GOD's CAUSE. 353 takings than in others ; and, as these are pure and worthy of pursuit, such is the good or evil of our exertions. What are, or at least should be, the great ends of a christian con gregation in rearing a place for divine wor ship ? What are the main desires of serious people among you now it is reared ? If I mistake not they are depicted in the passage I have read : — That God's work may appear among you in your own time — that it may be continued to posterity — that God would beautify you with salvation — and prosper the work of your hands ? The psalm was written by Moses, proba bly on occasion of the sentence of mortality passed upon the generation of Israelites which came out of Egypt, on account of their unbelief, as recorded in the fourteenth chapter of Numbers. It was a heavy sen tence, and very affectingly lamented by the holy man ; but he discovers a greater con cern for the cause of God than for the loss of temporal comfort. He prays that they may be taught to make such a use of this awful providence as to apply their hearts un to wisdom ; and that however God might af flict them, during forty years' wandering in the wilderness, he would bless them with spiritual prosperity. This prayer was answered. That genera tion which was trained in the wilderness was, perhaps, the best that Israel exhibited during their existence as a nation. It was of them that the Lord himself spoke, saying, " I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou went est after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel then was holiness to the Lord." May our prayer for the pros perity of God's cause among us be thus an swered ! All I shall attempt will be to review the objects desired, and show the desirableness of them. The objects desired, though expressed by the Jewish lawgiver, have nothing in them peculiar to that dispensation ; but are equal ly suited to our times as to others. They prove that the cause of God is one, through every dispensation, and is directed to one great end — the "establishment of truth and righteousness in the earth. The first branch of this comprehensive petition is that God's work might appear unto his servants. All God's works are great. Creation is full of his glory : provi dence is no less so : and each is sought out by them that have pleasure therein. But it is evident that by the work of God, in this connection, is meant the operation of his grace. When the Almighty took Israel to be his. people, he bestowed blessings upon them of two kinds — temporal and spiritual. He gave them the promise of a good land, and of great prosperity, in case of their obedience to his will. But this was not all : he set up Vol. 2.— Sig. 45. his cause among them. They were his visible people, by whom true religion was practised, and its interests promoted. It is the carrying on of this cause that is here in tended. It was begun from the time when God made promise to Abraham their grand progenitor, and was carried on during the lives of the patriarchs. When they were brought out of Egypt with a high hand, and formed into a people for himself, it became more apparent, and wore a more promising aspect : but, when they were doomed to die in the wilderness, it seemed as if it must sink. Hence Moses, who was tenderly af fected with what concerned the honor of God, pleads as he does. Thus he pleaded his great name on a former occasion : and thus the prophet Habakkuk pleaded when Judah was going into captivity, and the cause of God was likely to be ruined: "O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years ; in the midst of the years make known: in wrath remember mercy." The work of God may be said to appear among us when sinners are converted to himself. Conversion is not confined to Jews and heathens ; but extends to sinners of all ages and natibns. It is not enough that we are born and educated under the light of revelation, nor that we yield a traditional assent to it. Nicodemus could boast of all this, and more : yet he was told by the faithful and true Witness that, " except a man be born again, he cannot see the king dom of heaven." Conversion work is pecu liarly the work of God. Ministers and pa rents may be the instruments ; but God is the proper cause of it. None but he who made the heart of man can turn it from its rooted aversion to the love of himself. Min isters and parents know this by painful experience ; and therefore can each adopt the prayer here presented as their own. Wherever this work is, it will appear by its holy and happy effects. The drunkard will become sober, the churl liberal, the unclean chaste, and the malignant persecutor of Christ's people a humble sufferer for his name's sake. The work of God will also appear among us if Christians grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The power of divine grace is no less apparent in the carrying on of God's work, than in the beginning of it. Nothing short of an almighty arm can preserve crea tures, so prone to fall away, from falling, and present those who are so faulty " fault less before the presence ofhis glory." And, where this part of the work is, it will appear also by its holy and happy effects. Such Christians bear the most impressive testi mony to the world ofthe reality and impor tance of religion. A second branch of the petition is that God's work might so appear as that there 354 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. might be an illustrious display of his glory. All God's works display his glory ; but the work of grace in the salvation of sinners most of all. Other things manifest his wis dom and power; but this his holy nature. The carrying on ofhis cause in the world, by the conversion and sanctification of sin ners, gives a kind of visibility to the divine character. It is seen, and even felt by the most abandoned of men. God is said to have appeared in his glory in building up Zion, after it had been broken down by the Chaldeans. Even the heathen, when they saw what he had wrought, could not forbear to acknowledge " the Lord hath done great things for them ! " But the building up of the gospel church, by turning the captivity of those who were the slaves of Satan, is still more glorious. The Lord could accomplish the former merely by his providence ; but the latter is the effect of the travail of his soul. It is requested, thirdly, that God would impart to them his beauty : " Let the beau ty of the Lord our God be upon us ! "• — All God's works are beautiful ; but saints, who are his workmanship, are tbe subjects of a holy beauty, or of the beauty of holiness. They are comely through the comeliness which he puts upon them. Conceive of the camp of Israel after they had been humbled, and taught to fear the Lord their God. Two or three hundred thousand godly young people, following him implicitly in the wil derness, and trembling at the idea of repeat ing the iniquities of their fathers ! This was a sight at which even a wicked prophet was struck with awe, and could not forbear ex claiming, " How goodly are thy tents, O Ja cob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! " Pow erful are the charms of genuine piety. There is something in it that disarms ma lignity itself, and extorts admiration even from those who hate it. Milton represents the devil himself, on his approaching para dise, as awed by innocence, as staggered, as half inclined to desist from his purpose, and feeling a kind of perturbation within him, composed of malignity and pity. Something like this existed, methinks, in Balaam. He wanders from hill to mountain, seeking for curses, but scattering blessings : sometimes half inclined to unite with God, and con cluding with a vain desire to die the death of the righteous. Powerful, I repeat it, are the charms of genuine piety. Conceive of a society of Christians drinking into the spirit of Christ, and walking according to his commandments ! What an amiable sight ! " Beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Je rusalem, and terrible as an army with ban ners ! " So much as we possess ofthe spir it of true religion, so near as we approach its original simplicity, so far as our doctrine is incorrupt, our discipline pure and impar tial, and our conversation as becometh the gospel, so much of "the beauty ofthe Lord our God " is upon us. A fourth branch ofthe petition is, that God would set his seal to their undertakings, and establish the work of their hands. " Estab lish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." It was the work of Moses and Joshua, and the rest of God's servants, to mould and form the people, especially the rising gen eration; to instruct them in the words of the Lord, and impress their hearts with the vast importance of obeying them. And this has been the work of God's servants in every age. This is our object in our stated and occasional labors, in village-preaching, and in foreign missions ; this is the object in the present undertaking : but all is noth ing, unless God establish the work of our hands. "Except the Lord build the house, the builders labor in vain." As we must never confide in God to the neglect of means; so we must never engage in the use of means without a sense of our depen dence on God. It is requested, finally, that these bles sings might both appear in their own times, and be continued to their posterity : " Let thy work appear unto thy servants " who are now alive, " and thy glory unto their chil dren," when they are no more. It is desira ble that true religion should be promoted in our time. This, indeed, should be our first and chief concern. Worldly men may care nothing about this. If they gain but the corn, the wine, and the oil, it is enough for them : but God's servants cannot be happy with mere temporal prosperity, if the inter est of Christ do not prosper. Nehemiah might have lived in affluence at the court of Persia ; but he could not enjoy it while the city of his God was going to ruins. The true laborers in God's husbandry long to see it abound in fruits : the builders of his tem ple desire to see it rise. — And, though our times lie nearest us, yet our prayers and efforts must not be confined to them, but ex tend to posterity. The succeeding genera tion should lie near our hearts. In them we hope for materials for God's building. The prayer of David would fit the lips of every godly man, and especially of every godly parent; "that our sons may be as olive- plants, grown up in their youth ; and our daughters as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace ! " Such were the particular objects desired : I shall only add a few words on their desira bleness. We have seen already that the manifesta tion of the glory of God depends on tlie progress of his work : by how much, there fore, we are concerned for the one, by so much shall we be importunate for the other. It is for the glory of God that Satan's king dom should be overturned, and the kingdom PRAYER OF DAVID IN THE DECLINE OF LIFE. 855 of his Son established on its ruins. This work is the harvest of all God's other works of glory. It was glorious in him to promise to give his Son the heathen for his inherit ance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession : but the glory of this also depends upon its being performed. It was glorious for Christ to die, that he might purify unto himself a peculiar people, zeal ous of good works: but it is by the actual accomplishment of this object that his glory is perfected. It was glorious for God in his providence to drive out paganism and Popery from this kingdom ; but, if it stop here, what are we the better? .The cutting down of weeds will be of but little use, if the pure seed be not sown, and spring up, and bring forth fruit in their place. The progress of God's work in heathen countries has a close connection also with our spiritual prosperity at home. There is much beauty and propriety in the petitions offered up in the sixty-seventh psalm. " God be merciful unto us ... . that thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations ! " God blesses the world by blessing the church, and making it a blessing. A statesman would wish for an increase in population, that the army and navy, and every other department of society, might be filled ; and shall not we pray for the prosperity of the church of God, that faithful ministers, missionaries, and every other description of Christians, may not be wanting ? Finally : The regard we bear to the souls of men, especially to the rising generation, must render these blessings desirable. It is not yours, but you, that we seek. Our hearts' desire, and prayer to God for you, is that you may be saved. If we recommend you to attend the gospel and embrace it, is it because we want to enlist you under the banner of a party? God knoweth! Yet we shall say to you, and especially to the rising generation, as Moses said to Hobab, " Come with us, and we will do you good ; for the Lord, " we trust, " hath spoken good concerning" us . . . "And it shall come to pass that whatsoever good thing the Lord shall do unto us, that will we do unto you." XXXIII. PRAYER OF DAVID IN THE DE CLINE OF LIFE. [Sketch of a Sermon lo the Aged.] 44 Cast me not off in the time of old age, forsake me not when my strength faileth." — Psa. lxxi. 9. This psalm is supposed to have been written about the time of Absalom's con spiracy. God had cast off his predecessor Saul, and things looked as if he now meant to cast him off. His people also seemed disposed, by their joining with Absalom, to cast him off: hence the force of the peti tion. Old men do not always put up this peti tion. If the desires of many of them were put into words, their request would be that they might save money, retain power, and many other things. Covetousness is par ticularly the sin of old age. The reason may be that in early life corruption has a number of channels in which it flows; but in old age these are stopped up, or nearly so, by the decay of natural powers and pas sions ; and hence the whole flows in one or two channels. But these things will soon forsake us, or we must forsake them. The favor and presence of God should be the ob ject, the supreme object, of our desire. I. There are some peculiar circum stances OF OLD AGE WHICH RENDER THIS BLESSING NECESSARY. 1. Old age is a time of but little natural enjoyment, as Barzillai acknowledged. 2. Sam. xix. 35. There is the more need, therefore, for other enjoyments. It is a soil on whicb that kind of pleasure will not grow ; — but the joys of religion will, and there may be fruit in old age. Be this, therefore, our object. Psa. xcii. 14, Isai. xl. 30, 31. 2. It is a time in which the troubles of life are often known to increase. Many are poor and can struggle no longer, and so sink under their hardships. Others have families, and live to see their children's miseries : or what, if we fear God, will grieve us more, their evil courses. How fit then, is the prayer of David to the lips of those whose grey hairs are going down with sorrow to the grave ! — Others lose their friends by death. Youth is the time for forming con nections, which is a source of pleasure ; and age, of those connections being dissolved, which is a source of pain. How many poor widows may hear this address, who are left in a world of care and sorrow, to serve alone ! Does not this prayer fit your lips ? — At this period we often have to reap the bitter fruits of the sins of earlier years. Disobedience to parents is often followed by disobedience in children ; neglect of family government by family ruin, as in the case of Eli ; and criminal indulgences in youth by similar practices among our chil dren. David had his troubles in his younger days, but they were light compared with those which respected Amnon, Tamar, and Absalom. Here impurity and blood* re-ap peared, and wounded his heart. 3. Old age is a time in which the troubles of life not only increase, but become less tolerable. Young people will weather the storm, but it is not so with the aged. Pains of mind resemble pains of body ; young peo ple will work them off, but in old people they remain, and are carried to the grave. 356 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. Jacob had hardships at Padanaram, the heat by day, and the frost by night ; but he for got them in a little time ; not so after hav ing lost his beloved Rachel. A garment was brought to him covered with blood ! Is this, or any thing like it, your condition? So much the more necessary the petition. 4. Old age is a time that ought to com mand respect, and does so among dutiful children, and all serious Christians ; but it is often known to be attended with neglect. This is the case especially where they are poor and dependent. It has been the case where public characters have lost their youthful vivacity, and the brilliancy of their talents. In these cases, also, how fit is the ^petition: " Cast me not off in the time of old age, forsake me not when my strength faileth ! " 5. It is a period bordering on death and eternity. The enjoyments of life are more than half gone, and the remainder hangs up on a thread more than half broken. - But it may be worth while to inquire II. In what cases there are grounds TO HOPE THE BLESSING WILL BE GRANTED. Not all old men enjoy God's favor and presence. There are some tottering on the grave, who are yet wicked ; yea, ripe in wickedness — mercenary, deceitful, crafty, and oppressive. Even those sins which they can no longer act, through a failure in their natural powers, they will recal in their defiled imaginations, and repeat in conver sation, to the corrupting of youth. Ah, wicked old man ! God will cast you off. Age itself entitles you to no respect from man, nor will you find mercy from God. Think particularly of two passages. " The sinner, a hundred years old, shall be ac cursed — God shall wound the hairy scalp of him who goeth on still in his trespasses." Isai. Ixv. 20. Psa. lxviii. 21. Who then shall be found sharers in this blessing ? 1. It is certain that, if we have been God's servants from our youth, he will not cast us off in old age. David pleaded this, in the fifth and seventeenth verses of this psalm. " Oh God, thou hast taught me from my youth; and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works." How was this truth also verified in the old age and death of Jacob, Moses, Daniel, Paul, and others ! 2. Though we should not have been his servants in our youth, yet in old age, even from thence, if we seek him with all our hearts, he will be found of us. He will not reject us even at the eleventh hour. 3. Though you should never have been his servant to this day, but have grown grey under Satan's yoke, and now a poor misera ble creature, just ready to fall into hell ; yet if from hence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, with all thy heart and with all thy soul, | he will be found of thee ; for the Lord our God is a merciful God; and through the death of Christ he can save thee to the utter most. If with all your heart you only put up this prayer, " Cast me not off in the time of old age, forsake me not when my strength faileth ; " he will not cast you off, but stand your friend when forsaken by the whole world. Deut. iv. 29—31. Heb. vii. 25. XXXIV. — ADVANTAGES OP EARLY PIETY. [Sketch of a Sermon to Young People.] " O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." — Psa. xc. 14. The season is returned, my dear young people, in which you expect I should address you on your eternal interests. I hope what I have heretofore said to you, not only on these occasions, but in the ordinary course of my labors, has not been altogether in vain. Some of you, I hope, have already set your faces Sion-ward. Happy should I be to see many more follow their example ! The words which I have read to you ex press the desire of Moses, the man of God, in behalf of Israel, and especially of the rising generation. That generation of men which came out of Egypt with Moses were most of them very wicked. Though God divided the sea to save them, and caused manna to fall from heaven to feed them, with many other wonderful works ; yet they did little else than provoke him by their re peated transgressions. Ten times they tempted him in the wilderness ; and, to com plete their crimes, they despised the good land, and disbelieved His promises who had engaged to put' them in possession of it. The consequence was, Jehovah swore in his wrath, " They shall not enter into my rest." So they were all, except Joshua and Caleb, doomed to die in the wilderness. On occa sion of this melancholy sentence (the account of which you will find in the fourteenth chapter of Numbers,) it is supposed that Moses, the man of God, wrote this plaintive psalm ; in which he laments over the mortal ity of man, and supplicates divine mercy to migitate the doom; and the doom as it respect ed Israel was mitigated, or at least mingled with much mercy. Though the fathers were sentenced to perish in the wilderness, yet the promise was accomplished in the rising generation. " Your little ones," ' said the Lord, " which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised." This younger generation, from that time, became the grand object of hope to Moses and his companions. Their great business in the wilderness, for thirty-eight years, was to teach them the good knowledge of God, and to form their spirit and manners for his service. How earnestly did Moses pray for the Lord's ADVANTAGES OF EARLY PIETY, 357 blessing upon these their labors, towards the close of this psalm : " Let thy work ap pear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children ; and let the beauty of Jeho vah our God be upon us : and establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." To the same purpose is the petition which I first read. " 0 satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." These petitions, too, were graciously an swered. God's work did appear to Moses and his associates, and his glory to their children, and that at an early period. His spirit was richly poured forth upon the Isra elitish youth. The beauty ofthe Lord their God was upon them, and the work of their hands was established. It was this amiable generation that extorted the admiration of Balaam himself: " How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! " It was of them that the Lord declared, that " Israel then was holiness to the Lord, and the first fruits ofhis increase." I hope I need not say that this prayer of Moses, on behalf of the Israelitish youth, is expressive of the desires of your minister and of your parents : you know it is so. O that it may also express your own ! There are two things pertaining to this subject which require particular notice ; namely, the object desired, which is an early participation of divine mercy ; and the influ ence of such a participation of mercy on the happiness of future life. I. Let us notice the object desired. — This is mercy, a being satisfied with mercy, and a being early satisfied with mercy. Pay attention, young people, to each of these particulars. 1. The grand object that you need is mer- cy, the mercy of God against whom you have sinned. — Holy angels worship God; but this prayer would not fit their lips. They are guilty and undone sinners to whom the voice of mercy is addressed ; and such are you, and therefore it becomes you to sue for this all-important good. Mercy is of two kinds, common and special. Every good we enjoy is mercy ; but they are not common mercies only, nor chiefly, that are' here de sired. They would not have satisfied Mo ses, nor will they satisfy us. That which he soughton behalf of the Israelitish youth, and which we seek on behalf of you, is sa ving mercy, renewing mercy, forgiving mer cy ; that which Saul the persecutor obtained, having sinned in ignorance and unbelief. 2. The blessing here sought is not only mercy, but a being satisfied with mercy. — If the rising generation among the Israelites obtained mercy, Moses and Aaron, and all their godly associates, would feel satisfied on a review of their labors ; and if you, young people, obtain a similar blessing, we shall feel the same. Nor shall we be satisfied with any thing short of it. We are glad to see you sober, intelligent, ingenious, and industri ous ; we rejoice in your temporal prosperity ; but this will not satisfy us. How should it ? To care for the less and not for the greater were cruel beyond expression. Nor will any thing short of saving mercy satisfy you. You may think that pleasure will, but it will not; nor fame, nor riches, nor aught else under the sun. Immortal minds can be satisfied with nothing short of an immortal good. Read, and carefully consider, the first three verses of the fifty-fifth chapter of Isaiah. But, in order to be satisfied with mercy, you must possess a thirst after it. Nothing satisfies but that which corresponds with our desires. Have you such desire ? Do you call upon the Lord for mercy ? and that with your whole heart? How many heathens are there in a Christian country who live without prayer ! and how many who pray in form, without any earnest or sincere desire after those things for which they pray ! Such will never be satisfied. But, if mercy be the one thing desired, you need not doubt being satisfied with it ; for there is enough in God, enough in Christ, to assuage all your thirst. " With the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption." — " Open your mouth wide, and he will fill it."—" The Spirit," in the invi tations ofthe word, " says, Come ; the bride," or church of Christ, "says, Come ; and who soever will, let him eome, and take of the water of life freely." 3. The blessing to be sought is, not only a being satisfied, but satisfied early with di vine mercy. — Moses desired that his prayer might be speedily answered ; and, if genuine piety appeared in the young people at an early period of life, this his desire would be accomplished. Piety is a beautiful flower at any age, but most so in early life. How amiable did it appear in these young people ! It is called "the love of their espousals," which the Lord afterwards remembered for the sake of their posterity. How amiable did it appear in Isaac, in Joseph, in Samuel, in David, in Abijah, in Josiah, and in many others! But let us proceed to observe — II. The influence which a participa tion OF DIVINE MERCY, AND ESPECIALLY AN EARLY ONE, WILL HAVE ON THE HAPPINESS- of your future life. This good obtain ed, you will rejoice and be glad all your days. — It is a notion imbibed by many who are strangers to true religion that it makes peo ple melancholy and miserable. But this is false. The contrary is the truth. Every one that has known it has spoken well of it. The reproaches of those who know it not are unworthy of notice. To render this evi- . dent, let me request your attention to a few remarks. 1. To have participated of mercy is to have all your sins forgiven ; and is not this a 358 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. source of joy and gladness ? You may think but little of these things in the hour of health and thoughtless dissipation ; but wheneyer you reflect, whether it be under a sermon, or on a bed of affliction, or on any other occa sion, you will feel the force of such truths as these: "Blessed is the man whose trans gressions are forgiven, and whose sin is covered ! " — " Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee ! " I cannot perceive what grounds there can be for joy or glad ness while your sins are unforgiven.' To rise every morning, and to retire every evening, with the curse of the Almighty on your heads, must needs be a dreadful thing ; and, if you be not shockingly hardened in unbelief and stupidity, it must render your life far from happy. You may rejoice and be glad in many things, but it is only while you forget your true condition. One thought on this subject dissolves the charm, and sinks you in melancholy. O, my dear young peo ple, drink but at this fountain, and it will prove the water of life ! It will banish sus pense and dread ; and will take away all that is terrible from the most terrible of all words — Death, Judgment, and Eternity. 2. The partaking of divine mercy will furnish you with great sources of enjoyment in the study of truth. — While blinded by your own carnality, the things of God will appear uninteresting, if not foolishness ; but, having known the gift of God, you will ask, and he will give you more and more of this living water. Knowledge of any kind is food to an ingenious mind ; but mere science has not that rich and interesting quality which attends evangelical truth. Astrono my may amuse you, and even delight you, by showing you the wonderful works of God ; but the gospel gives you an interest in all. If you are Christians, whether Paul, or Apol los, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours. The study of nature is a source of pleasure ; but the gospel, of joy. It has with great propriety been called "the wis dom that speaks to the heart." Such was the decision of the earl of Rochester in his wisest days. Joy, and especially the joy of the gospel, possesses much of that charming perturbation of spirit which is not excited but by great, interesting, and transporting objects. Happiness may cause a smile, but joy will add to that smile a tear, and perhaps a flood of tears. What a delicious enjoy ment! Thus may you rejoice and be glad all your days ! 3. By a participation of divine mercy, all your duties will be converted into pleasure. — Without this, every duty will be a task: Praying, reading and hearing, sabbaths and all other religious opportunities, will either be disregarded, or, if through custom you attend to them, yet your heart will not be in them. They will appear as lost time ; and such, indeed, they will prove. Time so spent will to you be lost, and worse than lost. But true religion will inspire your hearts with love ; and this will render every religious duty a delight. 4. A participation of the mercy or grace of God will shed a lustre on all your natural en joyments. — To have only natural enjoyments is to have a slender, short-lived, and uncertain portion. To have to reflect, in the midst of your pleasures, Now I am receiving my good things, and these, for aught that appears, are to be my all, is sufficient to spread a damp over every thing : but to have earthly good with a blessing, with the good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush, must give it a tenfold sweetness. Art thou but a Christian, " Eat thy bread with gladness, and drink thy wine with a cheerful heart, for God now ac cepteth thy labor." 5. A participation of divine mercy will sup port your hearts under the heaviest afflictions, and enable you to rejoice and be glad, while others are sinking under those burdens. — You are young, but you must lay your accounts with those ills which are common to men. Some of you who may be engaged in trade may sustain heavy losses ; but this will bear you up. If you have Christ, you will never have lost your all. When poor Moab was wasted, she had nothing left. Well, there fore, might Jeremiah bewail her condition. — Chap, xlviii. 36. But, when Judah was gone into captivity, she could yet say, " The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, tberefore will I hope in him." Others of you may pass through life in poverty. Hardly bestead and hungry, you have little to lose ; and, if desti tute of religion, may be tempted tP " curse your king and your God, and look upward." But the hope ofthe gospel will cause you to rejoice, even in this situation. Though no fruit appear on your vine, nor flock in your fold, nor herd in your stall ; yet you will re joice in the Lord, and be glad in the God of your salvation. 6. A participation of God's special mercy affords an assurance that all the blessings be fore mentioned are but the beginnings qf joy, the earnest of everlasting bliss. — Here we are at a loss. " Now are we the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but this we know that we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." O happy peo ple ! Well are they exhorted to " rejoice always, and again to rejoice " — " to sing aloud upon their beds " — " to count it all joy, even when they fall into divers trials, know ing that these light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work for them a far more ex ceeding and eternal weight of glory." To all this may be added, the earlier you obtain these blessings the greater will be your enjoyments. — Early piety will save you from much wickedness. The conversion of a soul, especially at this period, hides a multi- THE CHOICE OF MOSES. 359 tude of sins ; and renders life much more happy as well as useful. Evil habits are broken with difficulty. Those who return to God in old age seldom do much for him, or enjoy much from him. Manasseh, though he obtained mercy, yet did but little towards undoing the mischief which he had wrought in Israel. Pie could lead his people and his family into wickedness while he was wicked ; but he could not lead them back again when he returned. Amon, his successor, imitated Manasseh the idolater, not Manasseh the penitent. And as to himself, though he cast the idols out of the temple, and out of the city, yet the far greater part of the work of reformation was left for his grandson Josiah. That amiable young prince began, in the sixteenth year of his age, to seek after the Lord God ofhis fathers; and in the twenti eth he set about a thorough work of reforma tion; "and God was with him, and blessed him, and he," like his ancestor Abraham, " became a blessing." O young people, a thousand arguments and examples might be adduced to show the force and propriety of the petition ! If you have a spark of ingenuousness towards God in your hearts, you would not desire to put him off with the refuse of a life spent in the service of sin. You would offer him the firstfruits of your days; the best of your time, strength, talents, and influence. And this is not all. Time flies, years roll over in quick succession. Death sweeps away the young as well as the aged. Of the bu rials that we have had this year in our con gregation five out of six have been young people ; some of them under twenty years of age, and others of them but little past that period. None of them seem to have thought much of dying, yet they are gone from the land of the living ! Hark ! from their tombs I hear the language of warning and solemn counsel! "Whatso ever thy hand findeth thee to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge in the grave, whither thou goest." Join with your pastor, join with your parents, join with all that seek your welfare, in praying, " O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." What shall I say more ? Will you, my dear young people, will you drink and be satisfied at the fountain of mercy ; a foun tain that is wide open, and flows freely through our Lord Jesus Christ? You can not plead the want of sufficient inducements. Ministers, parents, Christians, angels, the faulteririg voice of death, the solemn assur ance of a judgment to come, and, above all, the sounding of the bowels of Jesus Christ, all say, Come. But if, like those who re fused the waters of Siloah, you prefer the follies and pursuits of the present life to the joys of immortality, our souls shall weep in secret places for you. Tribulation and an guish will overtake you even in this life; and under it, instead ofthe consolations and hopes ofthe gospel, you will have to reflect, This I have brought upon myself; and these are but the beginnings of sorrows ! XXXV. — THE CHOICE OF MOSES. " By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter ; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of GoJ than to enjoy t'ie pleasures of sin for a sea son ; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt ; for he had re spect unto the recompense of"reward." — Heb. xi. Common history generally overlooks the servants of God as unworthy of its notice. The world has thought it worth while to hate and persecute them in all ages, but not to record either their lives or deaths. States men, warriors, philosophers, poets, and the like, are held up to view, while they and their memorial are consigned to oblivion. It is not so however in God's history. The world loves its own, and God loves his own. God's history takes as little notice of the sons of the mighty as man's history does of the sons of the holy, exhibiting them as a succession of wild beasts, who have rendered themselves conspicuous only by their rapa city ; while it holds up the characters whom they have traduced as men " of whom the world was not worthy." What a catalogue is given us in this chapter ! To have a name in such a record is true honor. Among these worthies stands the name of Moses. From his early childhood he was an object of the special care of heaven ; and when arrived to years of maturity he was a believer, and an eminent servant of God. It is pleasing to observe how the' apostle finds an evangelical spirit in Old Testament saints. Moses was distinguished as the lawgiver of Israel, and he venerated the law which he had the honor to dispense. He did not, however, trust in his obedience to it for acceptance with God, but in Christ, in whom he believed. Yes, the religion of Moses was an attachment to Christ, though at that time he was known only by promise. Moses had also an expectation ofthe earthly Canaan, of that goodly mountain and Leba non, though for his sin in a single instance he was deprived of it : but his principle " re spect" did not terminate here, but on a " recompense of reward " beyond the grave, even in that better country in the faith of which the patriarchs lived and died. To illustrate and vindicate the choice of Moses, which is here celebrated, is all I shall attempt. There are three remarks which offer concerning it. 1. The choice of Moses is ascribed to 360 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. failh. — He believed in the Messiah who was promised covertly to Adam, and to Noah, and more explicitly to Abraham, as the Seed in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed. He also believed in the invisible realities of a future state. And thus his faith determined him to embrace even the reproach of Christ, and to relin quish every thing which stood in the way of the heavenly prize. The choice of Mo ses was free ; yet it was not the effect of free will, but of faith in Christ, and which was the gift of God. And, if we make the same choice, it will be owing to the same cause. 2. It was made under the strongest temp tations. — The refusing to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter was in effect refusing a crown ; for she is supposed to have been the only daughter of the king of Egypt, and to have had no children of her own. Moses therefore appears to have been designed for a successor to the throne. For this also he seems to have received a suitable educa tion, being "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians." All things conspired to tempt him. Fortune, with her flattering smiles, invited him to her banqueting house, and to think no more of his abject relations. Forget also thine own people, and thy fa ther's house, was her language. Apis must be thy God, and worship thou him. We who are -stationed in the common ranks of life may think but little of such a temptation. A crown never having been within the reach of our expectations, it may possess but few charms for us. We cannot be ignorant, however, that for such stations men in high life have frequently sacrificed every thing. Poor Henry IV., king of France, about two hundred years ago, though a protestant in principle, and a truly great man, yet rather than relinquish a crown, ab jured his religion. It is true our James II. lost his throne through his attachment to popery ; but he meant not so, and even his friends ridiculed him for it. " There is a certain good man," said they, " lately come to Rome, who has resigned three crowns for a crucifix ! " There is no principle that is equal to the choice which Moses made, but faith. No thing else can find an object that will out weigh it. " Who is he that overcometh the world, but he who believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" 3. In making such a choice, the best of this world was weighed against the worst of religion, " the reproaches of Christ ; " and yet the latter was preferred. — If the best on Christ's side had been weighed against the worst on the side of the world, or even the best on both sides against each other, the triumph had been less glorious. But here we see in one scale the pleasures of sin, and the treasures of a mighty empire ; objects for which men are continually sacrificing their health, peace, conscience, character, lives, and souls ; in the other, Christ and religion, with the greatest outward disadvantages ; yet the latter preponderates. An attach ment to the cause of the Messiah would at any time excite the reproaches of proud men ; but at this time more especially, when his kingdom seemed so unlikely to prevail that his subjects were actually in a state of slavery. "The people of God" are at all times, more or less, in an afflicted state ; but now waters of a full cup were wrung out to them : yet, with all these disadvantages, faith obtains the victory. Many are daily choosing the world, with not a thousandth part of this to choose ; and setting light by Christ and his people, with not a thousandth part of this to refuse. To a mind blinded by carnality, the choice of Moses will appear fanatical and foolish : but it was not so. Faith and right reason are not at variance. His decision was as wise as it was just. He did not choose af flictions and reproaches for their own sake ; for he had all the feelings of a man as well as we. His choice terminated on " the re compense of reward," which, like the joy that was set before the great Object of his faith, enabled him to endure the cross, and despise the shame. — More particularly, 1. The things which he refused would last only for a season : but the things which he chose were of everlasting duration. We measure periods in all other estimations ; and why should we not in this ? Who would give so much for a short lease, or ra ther an uncertain tenure, as for a full pur chase, and a lasting possession ? 2. The society of the people of God, though afflicted, reproached, and persecuted, exceeds all the pleasures of sin while they do last. It is delightful to cast in our lot with them ; for the bond of their union is holy love, which is the sweetest of all sweets to a hoiy mind. If we have once tasted of this, every thing else will become comparatively insipid. How sweet a bond of union is the love of Christ ! — how sweet is the fellow ship of saints ! Even when borne down with reproaches and afflictions, how sweet are the tears of sympathy ! What are the country and the gods of Moab to Ruth, after having lived in a religious family, and be come acquainted with the true and living God ? And what are the discouragements which Naomi presented, on the ground of future poverty and neglect ? " Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from follow ing after thee," was her answer : " for whith er thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. Jehovah do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me ! " — The Lord, PAUL S PRAYER FOR THE EPHESIANS. 361 Christ Such was the zeal of Paul, in en deavoring to accomplish the former, that he counted not his life dear to him, but was willing to die for the name of the Lord Je sus. Nor was he less desirous of the lat ter, making it the leading object in all his epistles, and the matter of his prayer day and night. In the apostle's words there aro three things which require our notice— the object desired— its importance— and the encour agement we have to seek it. I. The object in which the apostle WAS SO MUCH INTERESTED ON BEHALF OF the ephesians: "That he would grant you to be strengthened with might by his , , , , - sPlnt in the inner man." Nothing good is It becomes the servants of found in fallen man; nothing grows* spon- '"" ! "lm;l,'h ;i " "- taneously in that soil but what is evil. Ii moreover, hath spoken good concerning his people, and he delights to do them good. I his motive was held up by Moses to Ho- bab, to induce him to cast in his lot with them; and, in persuading his friend, he doubtless made use of the same considera tions which had prevailed on himself. 2. The very reproaches of Christ contain greater riches than all the treasures of this world. They carry with them, not only the testimony of a good conscience, but the ap probation of God ; and these are substantial riches. They are accompanied with the fellowship of Christ; for, in suffering for him, we suffer "with him^" and these also are substantial riches. Nor is it a small thing to be counted worthy to suffer for his name sake. It becomes the servants of Christ to consider the reproach of his ene mies as their honor, and to bind it to them as a crown. Let us then inquire what is our choice. We may not have the offer of a crown ; or, if we had, it might have but little influence upon us. The desires of man are mostly confined to things a little above his present situation, or which are next within his reach. A good estate, or a well watered plain, might weigh more with many of us than a king dom. Nor may the people of God in our day lie under such reproaches and afflictions as in the time of Moses. But this only proves that our temptations are not so strong as his ; and, consequently, that if the world conquer us, we shall be the less excusable. But the world and Christ are in competition for our choice, and we are required to give a decisive and immediate answer. Choose ye this day whom ye will serve. There are many who can and do say as Joshua did, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." His people shall be our people, and his cause our cause. If any refuse, and prefer the present world before him, be it known to them that, as is their choice in this world, such will be their portion in that which is to come. XXXVI.- -PAUL'S PRAYER FOR THE SIANS. " For this cause I bow my knees unto the Fa ther of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches ofhis glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the in ner man." — Eph. iii. 14 — 16, The writing and preaching of the apos tles had two distinct objects in view. They preached to make men Christians ; to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. They wrote to make them eminent Christians ; to quick en believers in their heavenly race, to pro mote in them a growth in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Vol. 2.— Sig. 4C. any thing holy be found there, it must be produced by the Spirit of God, who worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. Nor is divine influence less necessary in carrying on the good work after it is begun. Such is our proneness to relax, to grow weary and faint in our course, that we need to be continually " strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man." The object prayed for is not bodily strength. That is of but little account in the sight of God, though in many cases it be comes the matter of human boasting. Sam son was possessed of might in the outward man to a high degree, and a poor use he made of it. Perhaps a more feeble charac ter is not to be met with among those whom the Scriptures mention as good men : with all his wonderful exploits, he weakly yield ed to the tempter, and became an easy prey to his enemies. Nor is it mere mental ability that is here intended; that was the strength of Solo mon. Paul did not pray that we might be made great men, but good men ; not that we might be poets or philosophers, but Christians ; not that we might excel in genius or learning, but in grace and good ness ; that our souls may prosper and be in health, and that we may be strengthened with might in the inner man. This part ofthe subject will be better un derstood by considering some of the symp toms of spiritual might : — 1. The manner in which we perform reli gious duties may serve as a criterion by which to judge of our strength and weak ness. — If we be Christians, we shall wor ship God in our families, and in secret; we shall search the Scriptures, frequent the house of God, and aim to discharge the va rious duties which pertain to our stations in life. These things we shall feel it incum bent upon us habitually to regard : but the question is how, and in what manner, do we perform these exercises ? If our souls be in a languishing state, they will become a 362 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. task, and not a pleasure to us ; we shall be weary of the Lord's service, feel his yoke to be grievous, and, while we keep up a round of duty,, our devotions will be cold, feeble, and unprofitable. But if we be "strong in the Lord,- and in the power ofhis might," we shall count of the return of sa cred opportunities, and find that wisdom's ways are ways of pleasantness, and that all her paths are peace. When David longed for water of the well of Bethlehem, three mighty men broke through the hosts of the Philis tines to obtain it, hazarding their lives for his sake ; while men of weaker attachment would have murmured at the severity of such an enterprise. If we possess a warm heart for Christ, we shall not think much of the time, the talents, the property, or the influence, which we may devote to his ser vice ; nor count our lives dear to us, if we may but promote his kingdom and glory in the world. " This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments : and his com mandments are not grievous." Nor will this pleasure be confined to the public exer cises of religion, but will extend to those of a more personal and private nature. It is possible we may feel much animation, and possess much enjoyment, in the outward means, while we are cold and lifeless in the duties of retirement ; and this will be the case where the religion of the heart is not cultivated, nor close walking with God care fully maintained. But, if we be strength- •ened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, communion with God will be earnestly sought after ; private duties will be vigor ously attended to, and the closet will yield us pleasure, as well as the tabernacles of the Lord of hosts. There are but few of whom it may be said, as of Caleb and Joshua, that they " follow the Lord fully." Multi tudes of professors appear to be but half hearted in religion ; they neither wholly relin quish it, nor take it up in earnest ; but are desirous of following the Lord so far as is consistent with their carnal ease, their world ly interest, or their sinful passions, and no farther. But, if the object of the apostle's prayer be accomplished in us, we shall be decided for God, and prompt in our manner of serving him : not consulting with flesh and blood, not attempting to accommodate our principles and practice to those of the generality, nor wishing to do as little as pos sible for God, consistently with our own safety ; but, delighting to do his will, we shall run in the way ofhis commandments. 2. The degree of our spiritual strength may be determined %by the manner in which we resist temptations. — All men are tempted, but all do not resist temptation : this is pe culiar to the Christian character. Mere worldly men go with the stream ; they walk according to the] course of this world, and are hurried along with the impetuous torrent. But, if we be Christians, we are not of the world, and are in the habit of resisting temptations. Yet if our resistance be fee ble and indeterminate — if we hesitate where we ought to be decided — if we look back on Sodom, like Lot's wife, with a lingering de sire after those sinful pleasures which we profess to have given up, and regret the loss of sensual gratifications — are we not carnal, and walk as men ? He who is strength ened with might in the inner man will not pause when temptations meet him, nor par ley with the tempter ; but will readily an swer, " Thus it is written." It will be suf ficient for him to know that God has forbid den this or that. Like a dutiful child, the will ofhis father is the guide ofhis conduct, and that alone will furnish sufficient motives for obedience. " Thus it is written." 3. The spirit in which we endure affliction will tend fo discover the degree of religion we possess. — Affliction is the lot of man, as well as temptation ; and we must all get through our difficulties in some way or other; but the manner in which we get through them will show whether we be strengthened with might in the inner man or not. If we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is small. If we be fretful, and murmur at the hand of God — if we sink un der the burden and wish in ourselves to die — we either have no religion at all, or pos sess it only in a small degree. Great grace would enable us to bear affliction with sub mission, and even to rejoice in tribulation. Primitive Christians were destitute, afflict ed, tormented; and yet how happy were they with their lot ! They took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake, and counted it all joy when they fell into divers temptations. Out of weakness they were made strong, and waxed valiant in fight : thus they were more than conquer ors through him that loved them. 4. The sense we entertain of our own weak ness is also a criterion of our being strength ened in the inner man. — An apostle could say, " When I am weak, then am I strong." To a worldly mind this may appear highly paradoxical, but a babe in Christ can under stand it. When we have the greatest sense of our own insufficiency for what is good, and feel that we are nothing, and without Christ can do nothing; then are we "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." But if we feel self-sufficient, confident, and dis posed to lean to our own understanding, then are we weak indeed, and become an easy prey to the enemy. Peter was never so weak as when he thought there was no danger of falling, and boldly said, "Though all men should forsake thee, yet will not I." Paul was never so strong as when he felt himself to be " nothing." When most sen sible of our own insufficiency, we shall pray INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL RELIGION. 363 most for strength from heaven, and watch most against temptation ; and by this means we shall be strengthened with strength in our souls. II. The importance and desirable ness OF THE BLESSING PRAYED FOR. Paul would not have been so importunate in his request if it had not been ofthe greatest im portance that we should not only be Chris tians indeed, but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ But there are other reasons which might be offered. 1. The Scriptures lay much stress on this as tending to glorify God. — " Herein is my Father glorified," says our Lord, " that ye bear much fruit: so shall ye be my disci ples." Every field will bear some fruit in the ordinary course of things ; but it is to the more abundant honor of the husbandman when his field brings forth thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold. So it is not merely by our being Christians that God is glorified, but by our being eminent Christians. Nor is this all : if we are desirous only of so much grace as may carry us safely to heaven, it is doubtful whether we shall ever arrive there at last Abounding in the fruits of right eousness is considered by our Lord as es sential to the very existence of true reli gion; for, says he, "so shall ye be my dis ciples." Christ himself brought forth much fruit, and it is necessary that we resemble him. 2. Our usefulness depends much on our be ing strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might — If our souls be in a languishing state, what good can we do in the world ? "Ye are the salt ofthe earth : but, if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted ? It is thenceforth good for nothing." What good can we do in society, amongst our immediate connections, or in our fami lies, but as we diffuse a savor of Christ ? And how can this be done, if we ourselves have lost that savor, and are become lifeless and unfruitful in the ways of God ? At the close of every day it becomes us to inquire, Has any one been improved by our conver sation ? Will any one think the better of Christ from what they have heard or seen in us ? Or have we been amongst men merely as men of the world ; and might they not say of us, What do you more than others ? He who possesses much religion will impart more or less of it to those about him : he will not make a show of it, yet it must be seen. There is that in the outward mien, the in ward temper, and daily conversation of a man of genuine piety, which indicates that he has been with Jesus. The modesty of his countenance, the meekness and cheerful ness of his disposition, the sweet familiarity and seriousness of his intercourse with men, enliven the circle in which he moves, and recommend the religion which he professes. III. The encouragement we have to PRAY THAT WE MAY BE STRENGTHENED WITH MIGHT BY HIS SPIRIT IN THE IN NER man is intimated by the phrase that the Lord would grant it " according to the riches ofhis glory." When men are both rich and generous, and willing to give to the neces sitous according to their ability, it suggests a very powerful motive to solicit their as sistance. But who can estimate ' the riches of God's goodness and the boundless extent ofhis grace ? And, if he gives " according to the riches of his glory," what encourage ment is here for prayer ! " Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it, saith the Lord."— " Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." Let us ask much, and we shall have much : " the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that hope in his mercy." He who had but one talent, and went and hid it in the earth, lost it : but he who had five talents, and went and traded with the same, gained five other talents. Men who live to God, and whose whole con cern it is to promote his glory, shall find their sphere of usefulness enlarging with their activity, and that God is girding them with strength proportionate to their labors. Like their divine Master, their reward is with them, and their work before them. "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly ; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." XXXVII. — INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL RE LIGION. [Sketch, of an Address delivered on laying the Foundation of a Neio Chapel.\ " To whom coming, as unto a living stone, dis allowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."— -1 Pet. ii. 4, 5. Having been requested to say a few words on this, occasion, I wish, my friends, to direct your attention, not so much to the place about to be erected as to the use to which, I trust, it will be appropriated. Un der the gospel it is not place, but the wor shipping of God in sphit and in truth, that is of account. Much of the religion of the Old Testa ment consisted in the building and worship of the temple ; when therefore the New Testament was introduced it was usual to speak of its religion under this imagery. Thus the passage which I have read al ludes partly to the building and partly to the worship of the temple. As the stories were laid on their foundation, so, believing in Je sus, we "come to him as unto a living 364 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. stone," and are "built up a spiritual house ;" and, as the priests offered up their sacrifices, so believers are " a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." Yet there are great dispar ities between the Jewish and Christian tem ple. The stones of the former, being mere unconscious matter, were brought ; here, be ing conscious and voluntary agents, they " come : " the foundation there also was mere matter, but here it is " a living stone : " that was literally a house ; this is " a spirit ual house : " priesthood was there distin guished by descent; here by character: their sacrifices were taken from the herd or the flock; ours from the heart — the offer ing of prayer and praise, presented in the name of Jesus Christ. But, laying aside the imagery, we may consider the whole as furnishing a descrip tion of individual and social religion. So cial religion begins with individual, and in dividual religion with "coming " to Christ. I. With respect to personal religion, the Scriptures make much of our coming to Christ. However correct we may be in our deportment, and devout at the stated sea sons of worship, if Christ be " disallowed," all is nothing. Election itself no otherwise secures our salvation than as it secures our coming to Christ for it : " All that the Fa ther giveth .me shall come to me." The atonement of Christ does not avail us but as coming to him. It was thus in the atonements under the law : in some cases sins were confessed by the party laying their hands on the head ofthe victim, and in others by the priest on their behalf: but in no case could they derive benefit but as "comers thereunto." The first operations of true religion in the mind are in this way. Christ may not be the first object to which a sinner's thoughts are turned; this may be his sin and ex- posedness to the wrath of God ; but let our thoughts of sin and misery be as pungent as they may, if they lead us not to Christ for salvation, there is no true religion in them. He is " the way " to God : " no man cometh unto the Father but by him." We may be burdened under guilt and fear ; but, till we come to him with our burden, there will be no gospel rest for our souls. The promise is not made to us as burdened, but as -coming to Christ with our burdens. — Matt. xi. 28. Nor is it confined to the time of our first believing ; the Christian life consists in com ing habitually to Jesus. " I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life that I now live in the flesh is by the faith qf the Son of God, who loved me, and gave him self for me." That which food is to the body the doctrine of Christ crucified is to tbe mind. "Except we eat his flesh, and drink his blood, we have no life in us." Our estimation of other objects is often governed by public opinion, but we must appreciate Christ not by what men think of him, but by what he is in the account of God. He may be "disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious;" and, if we are of God, we shall be of God's mind; he that is precious to God will be so to us. May there be many characters of this description, my friends, among you ! You will then have materials for building up the spiritual temple, and for the offer ing up of spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. II. Add a few remarks on social re ligion, under the same idea of a temple ; particularly on the materials with which it must be built — the important character it sustains — the employment of its priest hood — and the medium through which all their sacrifices must be accepted. 1. The proper materials for the Chris tian temple are " lively stones ; " else they will not fit a living foundation, nor unite with other living stones in the building. Beware that the desire of being a large and opulent people may never induce you to overlook this. If it ever come to this, that your members are admitted on any principle short of faith in a living Re deemer, Ichabod will be written upon your doors. 2. The important character you sustain is that of a temple for God to dwell in. If the word of truth be preached among- you, the worship of God preserved in its purity, and the ordinances of Christ ob served according to their primitive simpli city, God will dwell in you, and walk in you, and ye shall be his people, and he will be your God. He makes great account of Christian churches, as being the appointed means of establishing his kingdom among men. With what complacency did he speak of ancient Zion ! " This is my rest forever, here will I dwell, for I have desired it." — " The Lord loveth the gates of Zion, more than all the dwellings of Jacob." What a high degree of interest is Christ described as talring in the concerns of the seven churches in Asia ! The same idea is conveyed by the judgments denounced against those who have persecuted or cor rupted them. " If any man defile the tem ple of God, him shall God destroy." It was this that opened the gates and broke down the walls of old Babylon ; and it is on ac count of this that another Babylon, the an tichristian church, shall come down even to the ground. " They have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy." 3. As to your employment as a holy priest hood, this is to offer up " spiritual sacrifices." We have heard much ofthe Christian priest hood, as applied to ministers ; but Christian- VANITY OE THE HUMAN MIND. 865 ity knows of no priesthood, except what is common to all believers. It knows of pas tors, bishops, and elders ; but it is a mis nomer to call them priests. It is for you all as Christians to offer up prayer and praise, both for yourselves and others ; and may you continue on this spot to offer them! 4. Be not forgetful of the medium through which all your offerings become acceptable — " Jesus Christ." We must not carry our offerings in our hand, like Cain, presum ing to be accepted on account of them. The order of the divine proceedings is the reverse of this. The Lord had respect, not to the offering of Abel and so to him, but to Abel and so to his offering. The good works of sinful creatures, even those which are most " spiritual," are no otherwise ac ceptable to God than by " Jesus Christ." The case of Job and his three friends serves to illustrate this principle. The Lord was so displeased with them that he refused to accept even a petition at their hands. " My wrath," saith he, "is kindled against you. Take your offerings, and go to my servant Job : he shall pray for you, and him will I accept, lest I deal with you after your folly." Such is our case, and such the intercession of our Redeemer. Him God accepts, and through him our prayers and praises become acceptable to God. XXXVIII. — ON THE VANITY OF THE HU MAN MIND. 44 The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." — Psa. xciv. 11. Surely it is the design of God in all his dispensations, and by all the discoveries of his word, to stain the pride of all flesh. The dust is the proper place for a creature, and that place we must occupy. What a hum bling thought is here suggested to us ! Let us examine it. 1. If vanity had been ascribed to the meaner parts ofthe creation — if all inanimate and irrational beings, whose days are as a shadow, and who know not whence they came nor whither they go, had thus been characterized — it had little more than ac corded with our own ideas. But the humili ating truth belongs to man, the lord of the creation — to man, that distinguished link in the chain of being which unites in his person mortality and immortality, heaven and earth. The "Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." 2. Had vanity been ascribed only to the exercises of our sensual or mortal part, or of that which we possess in common with other animals, it had been less humiliating. But the charge is pointed at that which is the peculiar glory of man, the intellectual part, his thoughts. "It is here, if any where, that we excel the creatures which are placed around us. We can contemplate our own existence, dive into the past and the future, and understand whence we came and whith er we go. Yet in this tender part are we touched. Even the thoughts of man are vanity. 3. If vanity had been ascribed merely to those loose and trifling excursions ofthe im agination which fall not under the influence of choice, a kind of comers and goers, which are ever floating in the mind, like insects in the air on a summer's evening, it had been less affecting. The soul of man seems to be necessarily active. Everything we see, hear, taste, feel, or perceive, has some in fluence upon thought, which is moved by it as the leaves on the trees are moved by every breeze of wind. But "thoughts" here include those exercises of the mind in which it is voluntarily or intensely engaged, and in which we are in earnest ; even all our schemes, contrivances, and purposes. One would think, if there were anything in man to be accounted of, it should be those exercises in which his intellectual faculty is seriously and intensely employed. Yet the Lord knoweth that even these are vanity. 4. If, during our state of childhood and youth only, vanity had been ascribed to our thoughts, it would have been less surprising. This is a truth of which numberless parents have painful proof; yea, and of which chil dren themselves, as they grow up to maturi ty are generally conscious. Vanity at this period however admits of some apology. The obstinacy and folly of some young peo ple, while they provoke disgust, often excite a tear of pity. But the charge is exhibited against man. " Man at his best estate is al together vanity." 5. The decision proceeds from a quarter from which there can be no appeal : " " The Lord knoweth " it. Opinions dishonorable to our species may sometimes arise from ig norance, sometimes from spleen and disap pointment, and sometimes from a gloomy turn of mind, which views mankind through a distorted medium. But the judgment given in this passage is the decision of Him who cannot err ; a decision therefore to which, if we had no other proof, it becomes us to accede. But that which is here declared as the result of divine omniscience, is abundantly confirmed by observation and experience. Let us take a brief view of the thoughts of man as exercised on two general topics — the world that now is, and that which is to come. I. With respect to the present WORLD, CONSIDER WHAT MULTITUDES OF THOUGHTS ARE EMPLOYED IN VAIN. 1. In seeking satisfaction where itis not to be found. — Most ofthe schemes, and devices of depraved man go to the indulging of his * 366 SERMONS AND SKETCHES, appetite, his avarice, his pride, his revenge, or in some form or other to the gratifying of himself. Look at the thoughts of such a man as Nabal: "Shall I then take my bread and my water, and my flesh, that I have killed for my shearers, and give to I know not whom ? " Or of such a man as Haman : now aspiring to be the man whom the king delighteth to honor; now contriving the death of a whole people, in revenge of the supposed crime of an individual. — Esther iii. Such, alas ! is a great part of the world to this day. What desolations have come up on the earth through the resentment of a few individuals ! And those whose situation has afforded them the greatest scope for self-gratification in all its forms are general ly the farthest off from satisfaction. 2. In poring on events which cannot be re called. — Grief, under the bereaving strokes of providence, to a certain degree, is natural, it is true, and allowable : but when carried to excess, and accompanied with desponden cy, and unthankfulness for continued mer cies, it is a great evil. I knew a parent who lost an only child and who never after appeared to enjoy life. It seemed to me that, if his spirit had been expressed in words, they would have been to this effect : Lord, I cannot be reconciled to thee for having taken away the darling of my heart, which thou gavest me ! — All such thoughts are as vain as they are sinful, seeing none can make straight what God has made crooked. ,3. In anticipating evils which never befal us. — Such is our folly that, as though the evils which necessarily attend the present state were not enough for us to carry, we must let loose our imaginations and send them into the wilderness of futurity in search of ideal burdens to make up the load. This also is vanity. 4. To these may be added the valuing of ourselves on things of little or no account. — If providence has given one a little more wealth than another — if he lives in a better house, eats better food, and wears better ap parel — what a multitude of self-important thoughts do such trifles breed in the mind! But all is vanity, and rejoicing in a thing of nought. 5. In laying plans which must be disconcert ed. — The infinitely wise God has laid one great plan, which comprehends all things. If ours accord with 'his, they succeed: if not they are overturned, and it is fit they should. Men, in their schemes, commonly consult their own private interest; and, as others are carrying on similar designs for them selves, they meet, and clash, and overturn one other. Thus men, partly by their plans being at variance with that of God, and partly with those of then fellow creatures, are ever exposed to disappointment and cha grin. Their lives are wholly occupied in building Babels, having them thrown down, and fretting against God and their neighbors on account of their disappointments. In looking at the struggles of different parties for power, whether in a monarchy, an aristocracy, one sees a dangerous rock, which multitudes are climbing at the utmost hazard, and from which great numbers fall and perish : and the same spirit operates through all degrees of men, according to the opportunities which they enjoy. II. Let us see what are man's THOUGHTS WITH REGARD TO RELIGION, AND THE CONCERNS OF A FUTURE LIFE. It might be expected that, if in anything they be other than vanity, it is in this. The thoughts of a rational and immortal creature upon its eternal interests, one would think, must be serious and solemn. When the objects of thought are — God — ouraccounta- bleness to him — our sin against him — our salvation from it, or condemnation for it — surely we shall not trifle and deceive our selves ! Yet, alas ! so far is man "from ex celling in this solemn department, that there is nothing on which he thinks to so little purpose. The truth of this remark will ap pear from the following questions : — 1. What are the thoughts of the heathen world about religion ? — In them we see what the thoughts of man, left to himself, amount to. To call them vanity is to call them by a tender name. I speak not merely of the common people, who are enveloped in igno rance and superstition, but of their wisest philosophers. To what do all their inquiries about God, the chief good, amount? To nothing at all. All is vanity ! A babe in the Christian religion, with a page of God's word in his hand, knows more than they have been able to discover in the space of three thousand years. 2. What are all the thoughts of the Chris tian world, where God's thoughts are neglect ed? — Men who have the Bible in their hands, but who, instead of learning the mind of God in it and there resting contented, are ever bent on curious speculations, prying into things beyond their reach, vainly puffed up with a fleshly mind ; to what do their thoughts amount? Nothing! They may presently lose themselves, and perplex oth ers ; they may obtain the flattery of unbe lievers, and compliment one another with the epithets of candid and liberal ; they may comfort themselves in the idea of being moderate men, and not like those bigots who refuse to yield or make any concessions to the objections of unbelievers : but all that they gain is the friendship of the world, which is enmity to God. Were a monu ment erected to the memory of all those who have perished by falling from the precipice of unscriptural speculation, it could not have a more appropriate motto than this : " Vain man would be wise." SENTENCE OF THOSE WHO LOVE NOT CHRIST. 367 3. What is all that practical atheism which induces multitudes to act as if there were no God? — Great numbers of people in every part of the world, whatever they may call them selves, are practical atheists. They " work iniquity in the dark, and say in their hearts, The Lord seeth us not : the Lord has for saken the earth." The Lord, they think, takes no cognizance ofthe world now, what ever he may have done formerly ; but leaves us to shift for ourselves, and do as well as we can. — Such characters there were in the times of David ; and their presumptuous fol ly seems to have given occasion for the words on which these reflections are founded. They are denominated " proud ; " described as " triumphing and boasting " in their wick edness, as " uttering hard things," as " break ing in pieces God's people and afflicting his heritage," as "slaying the widow and the stranger and murdering the fatherless ; " yet as saying, " The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard." Well did the Psalmist admonish them, saying, " Un derstand, ye brutish among the people : and ye fools, when will ye be wise ? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear ? He that formed the eye, shall he not see ? He that chastiseth the heathen " (who are without the light of revelation) " shall not he cor rect" those who possess and despise it? " The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity." 4. What are all the unbelieving self-flatter ing imaginations of wicked men, as though God were not in earnest in his declarations and threatenings ? — Nothing is more solemn ly declared than that " except we be convert ed, and become as little children, we cannot enter the kingdom of God "—that "whatso ever a man soweth, that shall he also reap " — that "neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor ex tortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." — and that " without faith it is impossible to please God." Yet the bulk of mankind do not seem to believe these things, but flatter themselves that they shall have peace, though they add drunkenness to thirst; that to talk of a man, born in a Christian land, re quiring to be born again, is enthusiastical ; that God is merciful, and will not be strict to mark iniquity ; and that if we do as well as we can — that is, as well as we can find in our hearts to do — the Almighty will desire no more. The vanity of these thoughts, prevalent as they are in the world, will ap pear, if not before, when God shall judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ. 5. What are the conceits ofthe self-righteous, by which they buoy up their minds with vain hopes, and refuse to submit to the right eousness of God ?— Of the two first-born sons who presented their offerings to God, one came without a sacrifice ; and the greater part of professed worshippers in all ages, it is to be feared, have followed his example. It is deeply rooted in every human heart that if the displeasure of God be appeased to wards us, or if he show us any favor, it must be on account of some worthiness found in us. To go to God as utterly unworthy, pleading the worthiness of a Mediator, and building all our hope of acceptance on his obedience and sacrifice, is a hard lesson for a proud spirit Yet, till we learn this, we in effect learn nothing; nor will God accept our offering, any more than he accepted .he offering of Cain. Such is the vanity of man's thoughts, in things of everlasting moment. But, it may be asked, are all the thoughts of men of this description ? No : the charge is direct ed against men as depraved, and not as re newed ; for though there be much vanity in the thoughts of the best of men, yet they are not mainly so. There are thoughts which, though we are not sufficient of our selves to obtain them, yet being imparted to us by Him in whom is all our sufficiency, are not vanity. If we think of God with appro bation, of sin with contrition, of ourselves as nothing, of Christ as all, of earth as the house of our pilgrimage, and heaven as our home : this is thinking justly, as we ought to think, Such thoughts also are an earnest of that state where themes of unutterable glory shall forever present themselves ; and where all our powers, being corrected and sancti fied, shall ever be employed in exploring the wonders of grace. XXXIX. — EQUITY OF THE SENTENCE RE CORDED AGAINST THOSE WHO LOVE NOT THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. " If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema mar'an-atha." — 1 Cor. xvi. 22. A sense ofthe excellence of Christ, or of his worthiness of being loved, is of great importance in religion. Without this we can never truly love him, nor prize any thing which pertains to him. Destitute of this, we shall see his name degraded without in dignation, and hear it exalted without de light. Without this, we shall esteem his salvation itself no otherwise than a happy expedient to escape eternal misery. In short, without this, we shall be mere statues in Christianity, bring no glory to its Author, and enjoy none of its refined pleasures. A spirit very different from this possessed the great apostle, when he uttered the above passage. Twenty years ago, if a soldier, who had fought under the late Marquis qf Granby, had heard the language of detrac tion against his noble commander, deeply impressed with a sense of the hero's worth, he would have been ready to exclaim, If any 368 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. man love not the Marquis of Granby, let him be banished the British dominions ! Proba bly, some such feelings might possess the heart of Paul, who had long served under the Lord Jesus Christ, and was deeply im pressed with an idea ofhis innate worth. Indeed the sentence is awful. " Let him be accursed when the Lord cometh ! " It probably alludes to the Jewish excommuni cations, which they tell us were of three sorts, or degrees. In the first, the offender was put out of the synagogue, or merely ex communicated; in the second, he was not only excommunicated, but anathematized, or cursed ; in the third (which was only for the worst, and most incorrigible,) he was not only anathematized, but consigned over to the judgment of the great day! The meaning of the word here seems to be, Let him be, excommunicated from the presence of God and all holy beings : and, as he did not love the Lord Jesus Christ as a Saviour, let him fall before him as a Judge ! This sentence, however awful, is strictly equitable. The truth of this will appear by the joint consid eration of three things. I. He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ must be an enemy to god, to virtue, and to all moral excellence. — Such a one ness is there between God as a Lawgiver and Christ as a Saviour that what is done to the one is done to the other. The Jews, in our Saviour's time, wished to be thought . friends to God, while they were enemies to Christ: but "If God were your father," saith he, " ye would love me." And again, " I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not." The same thing is observable now, among the Deists, who would be thought friends to the one Supreme Being, but enemies to Christianity. And indeed this deistical spirit seems greatly to prevail in multitudes that are not professed Deists, especially among some in the higher ranks, who, though they can now and then assume so much fortitude as to speak re spectfully of the Supreme Being, yet would be ashamed that a word should be heard from their lips in defence of Christ or Chris tianity. It were to be wished, too, that none of those who sustain the character of Chris tian ministers had ever discovered the same spirit. This is very awful ! But whatever we may think here, and whatever character we may sustain, it will be found at last that " whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father ! " 1. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he can have no regard to the authority of God as a Lawgiver, seeing it was this that he came into the world to maintain. When devils bad cast off God's yoke as grievous, and practically declared him a tyrant ; and men had followed their example ; judging it too mean a thing, it seems, for ever to be so kept under rule ; then the Son of God came down, and, in the presence of these revolfers, was subject to the very law which they had discarded. Though he was under no natural obligation to come under the law, yet, that he might show how worthy he thought it of being obeyed, and thus wipe off the foul reproach, "he learned obedi ence." Yea, that it might be seen how " easy " a yoke it was, and thence the un reasonableness and wickedness of their re volt, he declared, whatever others might think, it was his " meat to do the will of his Father ! " If any man, therefore, love not the Lord Jesus Christ, ' he cannot love the law of God, but must be of Satan's mind, accounting it a severe law, and obedience to it slavery ; and thus he must be an enemy to God. 2. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he can have no regard to the honor of God's justice being secured. If we had a proper regard to the justice of God, we could not bear the thought of salvation it self being erected upon its ruins. To desire such a thing would be nothing less, than desiring to depose the King of the universe ; for justice and judgment are the basis of his throne. If a fallen creature loved God, and could see no way for his own salvation but what must be at the expense of truth and equity, his soul must be filled with inexpres sible distress. If the way of salvation by Jesus Christ were then to be preached to him — a way wherein, through his glorious sacrifice, God could be just and the justifier of him that believed in Jesus — how would his spirit revive within him! With what joy of heart would he acquiesce in a plan wherein mercy and truth could meet togeth er ! The more he loved God, the more he would love Him who out of love to equity invited the sword of vengeance to plung-e itself in his heart, saying, " Father, glorify thy name ! " But if Christ and his way of salvation have no charm in our eyes — if we would barely like to be justified (that is, freed from condemnation,) but care not how ; and think, as to God being just therein, he must see to that — is it not evident that we have no love to God, truth, or righteousness ? 3. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ," he gives proof that God's grand enemy being defeated, and all his counsels turned into foolishness, affords him no plea sure ; and consequently he can be no friend of God, but an enemy. If we love our prince, we shall rejoice at his enemies being overthrown, and admire that noble com mander who, by hazarding his life in the high places of the field, should put them to confusion. If any monster had been so un feeling, in the day when David slew Goliath and saved Israel, as to have had no love to the young hero, would he not have been deemed an enemy to his king and country, SENTENCE OP THOSE WHO LOVE NOT CHRIST. 369 and suspected of being on the side of the Philistines? Now, as the Lord Jesus Christ entered the field, and with his own arm spoiled principalities and powers, broke tiie serpent's head, routed his forces, and ruined his scheme ; if we love not him, whatever we may pretend, we must be enemies to God, and on the side of Satan. 4. In short, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, he must be an enemy to all moral excellence ; for of this he was a per fect model, both living and dying. God himself hath borne witness of him that " he loved righteousness, and hated iniquity." He lived to set forth the amiableness of the one, and died that God in him might show his abhorrence of the other. He lived and died that God's character in saving sinners might be untainted with moral turpitude. It may well therefore be said of him — " The uprigld love thee ! " Christ is the sum and centre qf all excellence. Perhaps we cannot form a better idea of him than as an assem blage of all goodness, a being in whom all excellences meet. To have no love to him, then, is to have no love to moral excellence, and so to be an enemy to all good. Such a character surely deserves to be anathematiz ed from God and all holy beings ! IL He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ must be an enemy to mankind. Perhaps it might be asked, Cannot people be possessed of humanity without being the subjects of Christianity ? It is answered, No, not in the full extent of that term. It is not denied but that people may wish well to one another's temporal interests — may wish to promote their health, and wealth, and reputation — may live in friendship with mankind, and be of a compassionate spirit to the poor — and may have no design in what they do to destroy their souls. But all this is. no more than an over indulgent parent may feel, who yet interpretatively, by sparing the rod, is said to hate his son ; and it is common to say, in such cases, the parent was the child's enemy. Yea, it is very little, if any thing, more than thieves and robbers may exercise towards their comrades. Here is one of that character, for instance, draws a young man into his practices : he has no intention to bring him to the gallows, or himself either ; and he may wish his health and prosperity, and pity and relieve him in distress. All this is good ; but could it ap pear from this that he was not his enemy in setting him against his own interests, and seducing him away from his best friends ? Is he not his enemy? But to come nearer to the point — The Lord Jesus Christ is the best friend to mankind that ever existed : if" therefore any man bear true love to the souls of men, and seek their real welfare, it is impossible but that he should love the Lord Jesus Christ. We should deem him an enemy to Vol. 2.— Sig. 47. mankind, who, if a skilful and generous physician came into our parts and healed all gratis who applied to him, should endeavor to prejudice the minds of people against him. An enemy to Joseph, who was the saviour of Egypt and the adjacent countries, would have been deemed an enemy to man kind. But what were these? Christ has healed the tremendous breach between God and man, has rescued millions and millions from eternal ruin, and is still " able and wil ling to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by him." If any man there fore love not the Lord Jesus Christ, surely he deserves, as an enemy to the public good, to be excommunicated from the society of the blessed. But may there not be a neutrality exercis ed in this affair? If some do not love Christ, does it follow that such are his ene mies? Yes, it does. This is a cause wherein the idea of neutrality is inadmissi ble and impossible. They that are not with him are declared to be against him. III. He that loves not the Lord Jesus Christ must be an enemy to himself. — To be an enemy to Christ is to be guilty of the most awful kind of suicide. " All they that hate him " are said to " love death." Christ is the only door of hope for any lost sinner : to hate him, therefore, is to hate ourselves.' Had Naaman continued to despise the wa ters of Jordan, people would have thought that he had no love for himself. If a com pany of wretches who had escaped a ship wreck were in an open boat at sea, and ifj on the appearance of a friendly vessel bear ing down upon them, they were so infatua ted that, instead of imploring assistance, they should treat it with every mark of indignity and contempt, we should say, they love death — they deserve to perish. If the power of Christ's anger he considered, it will amount to the same thing. For a man to rouse a lion would seem as if he were weary of his life : much more to provoke the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Of him it may well be said, " Who shall rouse him up ? " If a person then be an enemy to God, to mankind, and to himself, surely it is but right and fit he should be excommunicated from the society of God, and all holy beings, as an enemy to being in general. Surely he that loves riot God ought to be accursed from God ; he that loves not mankind ought to be banished, to take his lot among devils, as we should banish a murderer from the society of men ; and he that loves not him self, but seeks bis own ruin, ought to find it. Upon the whole, if the foregoing thoughts be just, then that distinction has been made without ground, that sinners will not be punished for their not loving the Lord Jesus Christ, but only for the breach of God's law ; as if the want of love to Christ were not a breach of the law. So far from this, it is 370 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. such a breach of it as perhaps cannot be equalled by any other case whatever. It is at once a breach of the whole law, and that in the highest degree. What doth the law require, but love to God, love to our neighbor, and love to ourselves ? These are the whole of what is included in that summary given of it by our Lord ; and these we have seen are all broken, and that in the highest degree, in the want of love to Christ. O how is it that we are not all excommu nicated and accursed of God? Are we better than others ? No, in no wise. God might justly have banished us from the abodes of the blessed. It is all of grace, free, sovereign, and great grace, if we are brought to love him, and so escape the awful curse ; and for this we can never be suffi ciently thankful. XL. — FELLOWSHIP OF GOD'S PEOPLE JN EVIL TIMES, " Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and Iieard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make UP my jewels : and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." — Mai. iii. 16, 17. _ We often hear people complain of the times, and of the low state of religion ; but good men will be good men in the worst of times, and that which others make an ex cuse will to them furnish a motive to speak often one to another. In the Jewish wor ship, all who were of Abraham's seed min gled together; yet even then the godly found one another out: "I am a companion of all those that fear God." I. Notice the character of these times. The prophet Malachi lived some time after Nehemiah, when the Jews were become very degenerate. 1. Great degene racy among the priests — sordid despisers of religion. God speaks of what a true priest should be, but charges them with the re verse.— Chap, ii. 5—8. The consequence was, as might be expected, they were de spised by the people. 2. Great degeneracy among the common people — profane to wards God, and treacherous towards one another — frequent divorces for trivial causes, yet full of excuses. 3. Even the professed worshippers of God had a great deal of hy pocrisy. 4. All these things put together proved a stumbling-block to people in gene ral. Wicked men were reckoned happy and promoted, and providence seemed to favor them; hence infidelity and atheism abounded : yet even « then they that feared tt"tT Si>oii"' often one t0 another." 11. Ofservl: Tin; chakacterand con duct OF THE G0E1.Y >N THESE TIMES. 1. They are characterized as fearing tbe LbrcL The phrase may be more expressive of the Old Testament than the New; but it is characteristic of good men under any dis pensation. It denotes that filial reverences of God's name, and fear of offending or dis honoring him, which a truly good man pos sesses. 2. They are described as keeping up a close communion with one another. The world was alive, and they were alive. The seed of the serpent leagued, and the seed of the woman communed together. You may be sure their conversation was edifying, or it would not have been record ed. They might have occasion to reprove, to admonish, to counsel, to exhort, to en courage, to instruct. Such a state of things is necessary, especially in evil times. The more wicked the world, the more need of Christian fellowship. 3. Their doing this is called thinking upon God's name. Think ing here is not opposed to speaking (for they that speak are the same persons as those who think,) but to forgetting. While others cared not for God's name, their thoughts were occupied about it. God's interest lay near their hearts ; they grieved for its dis honor, and concerted plans for its promotion. If we love his name it will occupy our thoughts. III. The favorable notice taken of this conduct. It seems they were retired from the notice of the multitude ; perhaps like the disciples, for fear of the Jews. They might be apprehensive lest any should hearken and hear them. One, however, did so, and took down their conversation too, not literally, for God needs no book but his own mind. This will be brought out at judgment.— Matt. xxv. They that think of him here will be remembered by him there, and when they have forgotten it. "They shall be mine in that day." That day shall be a day of general destruction, like that of a tempest to shipping, and then nothing is spared but the most valuable things or per sons, as jewels. Cities, nations, sea, land, heaven, earth, all will be one general wreck ; or, lest this should notbe sufficiently strong, he will spare them as a man spareth his son — as his own son, whose life is bound up with his own. Which of these characters is ours ? Will our conversation bear writing in a book ? XLI. — public worship. " Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord from the fountain of Israel : There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes of Judah and their cguncil, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength : strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us."— Psalm lxviii. 26—28. This psalm was sung, it is probable, on the removal of the ark into the city of Da- PUBLIC WORSHIP. 371 vid. — Numb. x. It was now that the ark had rest, and the tribes assembled three times a year at Jerusalem, the place that God had chosen. The text is a lively description of their worship. I. Offer a few remarks by way of , expounding the passage. 1. Israel had their lesser congregations in ordinary every sabbath-day, and their national ones three times a year. Their business in all was to bless God. 2. This business was to be carried on by all Israel, beginning at the fountain-head, and proceeding through all its streams. God had blessed Israel; let Israel bless God. 3. All the tribes are ¦supposed to be present ; four are mentioned in the name of the whole as inhabiting the confines of the land. Their union was a source of joy: they had been divided by civil wars, but now they are met together. 4. Those tribes which are named had each something particular attending it. Little Benjamin (see Judges xxi.) had nearly been a tribe lacking in Israel, but now appears with its ruler. Judah had been at war with Ben jamin : Saul was a Benjamite ; David was of Judah: yet they happily lost their antipa thies in the worship of God. Zebulun and Naphtali were distant tribes, yet they were there ! dark too — yet there. 5. The prin ces and the people were all together. 6. They were supposed to be strong, but were reminded that what they had of strength was of God's commanding. Their union and success, as well as that degree of righteous ness among them which exalted the nation, was of God. 7. They are not so strong but that they need strengthening, and are direct ed to pray as well as praise. " Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us." II. Apply the subject. Two things are here exemplified, namely, diligence and brotherly union; and three things recom mended, namely, united praise — united ac knowledgment that, for what they are, they are indebted to God — and united prayer for future mercies. Each of these affords a rule for us. 1. The worship of God must be attended with diligence. There are the princes of Zebulun arid Naphtali. They had to travel above 200 miles three times a year, thither ¦and back again, that is, 1200 in a year, twenty-four miles a week. Those who neg lect the worship of God for little difficulties •show that their heart is not in it ; and, when they do attend, cannot expect to profit: "they have snuffed at it." Those whose hearts are in it often reap great advantage. God blessed the Israelites in their journeys, as well as when there, Ps. Ixxxiv. 6, " the rain filleth the pools:" and so Christians. There is a peculiar promise to those that seek him early. 2. The worship of God must be attended to with brotherly love. All the tribes must go up together. It is a kind law that en joins social worship ; we need each other to stimulate. " O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together." God has made us so that we shall be greatly in fluenced by each other, both to good and evil. It greatly concerns us to cultivate such a spirit : to this end we must cherish an affectionate behavior in our common in tercourse — bear, forbear, and forgive ; and, whatever differences we may have, not suf fer them to hinder our worship. The tribes, as we have seen, had their differences, yet they were there. When all Israel met- at Hebron to anoint David king, what should we have said if some had kept away because others went ? 3. Our business, when assembled, must be to bless God in our congregations ; and a pleasant work tiris is. Israel had reasons, and great reasons — and Christians more. Thank him for his unspeakable gift — bless him for the means of grace and the hopes of glory. Bless him — he "healeth all thy diseases," &c. — Ps. ciii. This is an em ployment that fits for heaven. The tears of a mourner in God's house were supposed to defile his altar. We may mourn for sira; but a fretful, discontented, and unthankful spirit, defiles God's altar still. 4. Another part of our business is to unite in acknowledging that, whatever we are, we owe it to God alone : " Thy God hath com manded thy strength." We possess a de gree of strength both individually and social ly. Art thou strong in faith, in hope, in zeal ? It is in Him thou art strong. Are we strong as a society ? It is God that in creased us with men like a flock ; it is he that keeps us in union, gives us suc cess, &c. 5. Another part of our business must be to unite in prayer for future mercies. We are not so strong, either as individuals or societies, but that there is room for increase, and this is the proper object of prayer. God has wrought a great work for us in regen eration, God has wrought much for us as a church in giving us increase, respect, and room in the earth. Pray that each may be increased ; or, in the words of the text, " Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us." Are there none who are strangers to all this? XLH.— great sinners encouraged to return to god. " But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul."— .Deut. iv. 29, There is a mixture of mercy and judg ment, in all the sacred writings. The New 373 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. Testament contains some awful threaten ings. "He that believeth not shall be damned" — "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maran- atha." On the other hand, the law of Moses is interspersed with mercy. As the whole passage has immediate respect to Israel, it doubtless refers to their sins, their captivity and troubles, and to God's great mercy to them in remembrance of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And, as men tion is made of " the latter days," it seems to be not merely an encouragement to them to return, but a prophecy which has yet to bo accomplished. Yes, when the spirit of grace and supplication is poured out upon them, it shall be fulfilled. But, though it may specially refer to Is rael, it is no less applicable to us Gentiles. We are sinners, and have brought innume rable miseries on ourselves, and there is but one refuge for us to seek to — and, if we seek him with all our heart and soul, we shall find mercy ; for the Lord our God is a merciful God. I. Notice a few cases to which this language applies. — The description given of an impenitent people is — " No man spoke aright, saying, What have I done ? " Were we to institute such an inquiry, and answer according to truth, what would the answer be ? 1. One would say, I have gone great lengths in sin : I lived without restraint; I was a drunkard, a blasphemer, an injurious person to all I had to do with ; and now God has brought me into troubles — I am hated and despised by my relations and neighbors — I cannot live long, and yet fear to die. Yet, " if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." 2. Another says, I was born of religious parents ; I was long weary of religion and wished, to be free. At length my father died, and I gave myself up to evil ; and, now my troubles are come upon me, no one respects me, nor eareth for my soul ; I was undutiful to my parents, and now my phildren are so to me. But, "if from thence," &c. 3. Another may say, My conduct has been correct and orderly, so as to obtain the approbation of those about me; but I have valued myself upon it, have lived without God, and never sougbt mercy as a guilty creature ; I have lived a pharisee ; and now I feel the want of something in which to appear before God. Well, "if from thence," &c. 4. Another — I have made a profession of religion and thought well of my state, and talked to others, and was thought well of by others ; but I indulged first in little and se cret sins, and after this they became greater and more exposed ; and now I am an out cast — every one shuns me. Yet, " if from thence," &c. 5. Though I havenot lost my character, yet I have lost my peace of mind ; I have not walked with God, and God seems to have departed from me ; I cannot pray, nor read, nor hear to profit ; I can enjoy no pleasure in the world nor in religion ; I feel myself a backslider in heart, and God has filled me with my own ways. But, " if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." II. Observe the grounds on which the encouragement rests. 1. The merciful character of God. Isa. Iv. 7, "Let the wicked forsake his way," &c. No sins are so great or numerous but that he can forgive them : " if — with all thy thy heart," &c. 2. The covenant which God made with the fathers, and much more with his Son. There is this difference between uncove- nanted and covenanted mercy : the one has no promises ; the other has many. God has pledged his perfections that whosoever believeth in him shall be saved. No ground therefore to despair : whatever thy condition, how far soever from God, return to him through his dear Son, and you will obtain mercy. XLIII. — consolation to the afflicted. "I go to prepare a place for you : and, if I go- and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know* and the way ye know." — John xiv. 2 — 4. If our Saviour had been going to some unknown place, where we must not follow him, we might weh be unhappy: but " whither I go ye know." It is true we know nothing of an hereafter beyond what God in his word hath told us : but those lively ora cles are a light in a dark place, whose cheer ing beams pierce the otherwise impervious gloom of futurity. When a dying heathen was asked whither he was going, he replied, Oh my friends, we know nothing of an here after ! Such also must have been our an swer, but for the glorious gospel of the blessed God. As it is, we know whither our Redeemer is gone. He is gone to his Father, and to our Father ; to his God, and to our God. He has gone to mount Sion, the city of the living God ; to the innumerable com pany of angels, to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to God the judge of all. Whither he is gone we know, for we have had a foretaste of the bliss. As believers we also are already come to mount Sion. The church below and the church above are only different branches of the same family, CONSOLATION TO THE AFFLICTED. 373 so that he who is come to one is come to the other. But how are we to follow him, unless we " know the way ? " If he " come and receive us," he will be our guide. And this is not all : " the way we know." Thomas thought he knew not whither his Lord was going, nor the way that led to him : yet he knew his Lord, and believed in him as the Son of God and the "Saviour of sinners. Jesus therefore answered him, " I am the way, the truth, and the life ; " knowing me, you know the way to the heavenly world. Yes, we not only know whither our Saviour is gone, but the way that leads to him. The doctrine of the cross, as dear Pearce observed, is the only religion for a dying sinner. If an affectionate father had resolved to remove to a distant country, he might not take his family with him in the first instance, but might choose to go by himself, to en counter and remove the chief difficulties in the way, and make ready a habitation to re ceive them. Such in effect was the con duct of our Saviour. " I go to prepare a with his inheritance. Hence it follows that every accession to the heavenly world af fords an influx to the enjoyment of its in habitants. Every one that goes before may be said to contribute to the preparing of the place for them which follow after. The pure river of the water of life has its origin in the throne of God and of the Lamb ; but in its progress it passes through various me diums, which swell its streams, and render it more and more delectable. From the en trance of righteous Abel into the new Je rusalem, to this day, it has been rising high er and higher, and will continue to do so till all the nations of the saved are gathered to gether. 3. Christ prepares a place for us, in su perintending the concerns of the universe, and causing all events to work together and produce the highest ultimate good. Glory awaits the righteous immediately up on their departure from the body, but a much greater glory is in reserve. Innumer able events in the system of providence must remain inexplicable, till the mystery of God be finished. It is impossible for spec- place for you : and if I go and prepare a place tators to comprehend the use of all the parts for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." His passage through the territories of death was attended with the most dread ful of all conflicts ; but, having overcome, it renders ours an easy one. Death to us is Jesus " coming to receive us to himself." 1. The presence of a beloved object is the grand preparative of any place, and that which gives it its principal charm. Such is the preparation of a place in the future world for us. Jesus is there, and that is quite enough. If any thing will operate as a magnet to attract us from earth to heaven, it is the consideration of being " where Je sus sitteth at the right hand of God." Think what an accession of joy his triumphant en trance must have occasioned through all the heavenly regions, and what a source of un interrupted bliss his presence affords. What would some societies be without certain in teresting characters, which are in effect the life of them ? And what would heaven be without Christ? The zest of all its bliss consists in his being there, and this is urged as the grand motive to "setting our affec tions on things above." Col. iii. 1, 2. 2. There also he will gather together the whole family of heaven and earth. His re- of a complicate machine, till it is construct ed and put into motion. And as our Fore runner is now preparing the scenery of this grand exhibition, and hastening it to its de sired issue, it is thus that he is preparing a place for us. Hence we are encouraged to be looking for, and hasting unto, the coming of the day of God, and directed to consider it as the period when we shall be fully " satisfied." How solemn, and yet how sweet, is the de scription of it ! " The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." A " shout " perhaps denotes the universal joy of heaven, for the arrival of the day when the war is terminated in vic tory, and the last enemy is destroyed. The blowing of a " trumpet " may probably al lude to that of the jubilee, on which the prison doors were thrown open, and the cap tives set at liberty. Such were the consola tions presented to the Thessalonians, on the death of their Christian friends. Our Lord did not absolutely forbid his apostles to weep at his departure : he him self wept at the grave of Lazarus: but he dissuaded them from excessive grief. "Let demption brings multitudes to glory, out of not your heart be troubled." I think I every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and every one that enters adds to the enjoyment. In order to connect us to gether in the closest bonds of affection, God has so ordained that both in this world and that which is to come our blessedness never felt what may be called heart trouble, or deep distress, for the loss of any person, however near to me, whose death I consid ered merely as a removal to the church above. The words of our Saviour are here applicable : " If ye loved me, ye would re- should be bound up with that of each other; joice, because I go to the Father; for my in seeing the good ofhis chosen, rejoicing Father is greater than I." That is, the in the gladness of his nation, and glorying glory I go to possess with my Father is S74 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. greater than any thing I could inherit upon earth;- and therefore, if ye loved me, and your love operated in a proper way, you would rather be glad for my sake than sor ry for your own. XLIV. — on covetousness. " And he said unto them, Take heed, and be ware of covetousness ; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possessed)." — Luke xii. 15. When our Lord was preaching on sub jects of eternal importance a certain young man interrupted him, requesting him to speak to his brother to divide the inherit ance with him. It seems as if his father had lately died, and that his brother could not be induced to do him justice in the division of the estate. He might possibly have heard of some such case as that of Zaccheus ; in which Jesus, by a few words speaking, had rendered a selfish man both just and generous. Jesus, however, instead of complying with his wishes, disclaims having anything to do in such matters ; and warns others, from his example, to " take heed and beware of covetousness." Allowing the propriety of our Lord's de clining to be cumulate a fortune, and then to spend it ori himself. And what harm (most men will ask) was there in this ? Truly, it is the general opinion of mankind that this is all fair and right. If a man regard not God, but him self only, so long as he acts well towards them he will not only be acquitted, but ap plauded at their tribunal : " Men will praise thee when thou doest well to thyself." How beit, this is not the doctrine of Christ. In his account, itis not the miser only that is covetous, but he who sets his heart upon the world, rather than God, even though he lays out a part of his substance in building and other accommodations ; and proposes, when he has got things a little in order, to " eat, drink, and be merry " with the sur plus. In the case ofthe young man who came to Christ on a secular errand, we see that things in themselves lawful, by being pur sued out of place and out of season, may become sinful. It is lawful at proper sea sons and in subordination to higher objects to follow our worldly affairs ; but, if we go to the house of God with this end in view, it is profaning it. The same is true if while we are there our thoughts are employed in forming plans and schemes for the week, by which we may promote our temporal interest. Such things are : nor is it confined to the house of God. Even when upon our knees,. the busy mind will wander after this and that pursuit, till we have in a manner for gotten where we are ! Nor does the evil of such things consist merely in a few vola tile wandering thoughts, but in that of which they are an indication ; namely, a mind cleaving to the earth instead of ascending to God. In the case of this young man, we may also see the danger of regarding Christ and religion in only a secondary or subordi nate manner, while the world is treated as supreme. Religion may have changed a bad husband into a good one, or induced a customer to leave off his expensive habits, and to pay his bills with punctuality and promptitude, and as such you may respect it ; but such respect will not be approved of Christ. If we have any thing to do with him it must be in his proper character of Lord and Saviour. To attempt to render his religion subservient to worldly interest is to lean upon him while you are worship ping in the temple of mammon. It was not without cause that our Saviour said, on this occasion, " Take heed and be ware of covetousness ! " Truly, this is a sin which presents itself under so many specious forms and names, which so insen sibly insinuates itself on almost all occa- ON COVETOUSNESS. 375 slons, and which may be indulged with so little danger of losing our good name among men, that without much prayer and watch fulness against it, and much communion with Christ, there is no hope of overcoming it. In observing my own mind, and the be havior of my acquaintance, I see matter for both pleasure and pain. I see a goodly number of professing Christians who appear to me to live " not unto themselves, but un to him that died for them and rose again." I see some of this description into whose hands God is pouring plenty, and who, though continually imparting, still increase. The poor people of Glasgow used- to say of a late great and good man in that city, " Da vid Dale gives his money by sho'elsful, and God Almighty sho'els it back again." Characters like-minded still live ; and long may they live and be blessings to the world ! They afford a striking contrast to those de scribed by David : "Let them be as grass upon the house-top, which withereth be fore it groweth up ; wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom ; neither do they that go by say, The blessing of the Lord be upon you ! — we bless you in the name of the Lord ! " Nor is it in men of opulence only that this grace shines ! I see men who have learned to be economical in order to be gen erous ; men whose deep poverty abounds to the riches of their liberality ! This is to " cast our bread upon the waters ; " and this may be more in the esteem of Christ than the most splendid donations of those who, in giv ing, exercise no self-denial. But I see, on the other hand, not only sor did misers, but men who profess godliness, and who would be thought liberal, full of anxiety about appearance. They must dress, visit, and show away in their circle. The consequence is, they have nothing to spare in the way of doing good; or, if they give a little, it is chiefly to save appearances. It may be thought this belongs to vanity rather than covetousness ; it is, however, living to ourselves rather than God ; and this is the covetousness against which our Saviour warns us. There are three descriptions of men, each of which, if I mistake not, has some peculiar temptations to this sin ; and who, if destitute of grace, are likely to be carried away by it : these are the prosperous, the aged, and the professor of religion. With respect to the prosperous, it is a fact which falls under common observation that men, who while possessing little were com passionate and willing to communicate, when they come to rise in the world are hard-heart- ed, and part with their money with great re luctance. This is not difficult to be account ed for. While necessity calls for nearly the whole of what is received, there is no room for a plan of accumulation; but when money flows in, and rises beyond the mark of imme diate want, and the advantages of it begin to be felt, a saving system is adopted, and the mind is employed in caiculcating the number of years necessary to the arrival at such and such a point; and, when this comes to be the case, every application for benev olence strikes a damp upon the spirits, as interfering with the system, and lengthening the time ere it will reach the proposed point. Hence arises the force of the caution, " If riches increase, set not your heart upon them." Hence also we perceive the folly and self-deception of thinking — If we had such a one's estate, what great things we should do ! or, if we should live to possess so and so, then how charitable we will be ! All such thoughts are framed to excuse the neglect of present duty, and are as if a person engaged in a race should desire, in order to make swifter progress, to have his feet la den with thick clay. With respect to the aged, it is a fact which also falls under common observation that persons as they get older get more cov etous. This observation, however, is not universally true. There is a goodly number of men who bring forth other " fruits in old age ;" or who, as they draw nearer to heav en, become more heavenly-minded. The truth seems to be that, as every principle tends to maturity, those who have been cov etous in their younger years, provided there be no change of heart, will be more covet ous in old age. The stream of depravity in early life had several channels, — such as the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, and these would of course diminish the strength of avarice; but in the last stages of life those channels are in a manner stopped by the de cay of the natural powers, and the whole current flows in one direction. Hence we perceive many an old wealthy churl living to himself, and repelling every application for a divine or benevolent object : " Who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? There be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be ? " When I see such a spirit in aged people, recollecting that every principle, as was said, tends to maturity, I cannot help considering it as a strong indication that they have all their lives been under the dominion of his vice, only that it has been checked by a re gard to appearances, and it may be by other vices ; and that they are now fast ripening for destruction. But in what way, it will be asked, are the third class, namely, professors of religion, subject to this sin, more than other men? 376 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. As a fact it has long impressed my mind, and I conceive it is not difficult to be ac counted- for. Supposing a person to be merely a professor, whatever impedes his evil propensity in all directions but one, will be certain to strengthen it in respect of that one. This is exactly the case as to a pro fession of religion. If you would be thought a Christian, you must not be a drunkard, nor a debauchee, nor a gamester, nor a liar, nor a blasphemer,- nor an injurious person ; but you may love the world more than God : for this, being confined to things between God and your own conscience, does not fall under human cognizance ; or though it may affect your liberality to men, yet as the discipline ofthe New Testament leaves every man to judge of his own ability, and to give what he gives not as it were of necessity, but will ingly, you may here live undetected, and with a little management unsuspected by your brethren. Of this the case of Judas Iscariot will furnish you with a notable ex ample ! In this view, perhaps, dissenters from the established church may be more in danger of indulging in covetousness than in most other evils. They are shut out from things which are principally adapted to feed other dispositions as well as this ; such as promo tion in the church, in the army, and in the navy. The chief openings for them are found in manufactures, trade, and husbandry ; openings which it is certainly very lawful for them to embrace, but which, in case of success attending them, are often great temp tations to covetousness. I close with two remarks : — First, that the danger of falling into covetousness is not confined to the mere professor : a Christian may be greatly impeded by it in his way to heaven, and like Lot, whose heart was se duced by the well-watered plains of Sodom, may die under a cloud. Lastly, that the most effectual preservative from tbis sin, as well as others, is believingly to converse with the doctrine ofthe cross. By this the world was crucified to the apostle, and he unto the world. XLV. — mysterious nature of man. " I am fearfully and wonderfully made." — Psal. exniv. 1-1. The term " fearful " is sometimes to be taken subjectively, for our being possessed of fear. In this sense it signifies the same as timid. Thus the prophet was directed to say to them that were of a " fearful heart, be strong." At other times it is taken object ively, for that property in an object the con templation of which excites fear in the be holder. Thus it is said of God that he is "fearful in praises," and that it is a " fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." In this sense it is manifestly to be understood in the passage now under con sideration. The human frame is so admira bly constructed, so delicately combined, and so much in danger of being dissolved by in numerable causes, that the more we think of it the more we tremble, and wonder at our own continued existence. (l Huw poor, how rich, how abject, how august, How complicate, how wonderful is man ! How passing wonder He who made him such, Who mingled in our make such strange extremes Of different natures, maivellously mixed ! Helpless immortal, insect infinite, A worm, a god — I tremble at myself! " To do justice to the subject, it would be necessary to be well acquainted with anato my. I have no doubt that a thorough ex amination of that "substance which God hath curiously wrought," ver. 15, would fur nish abundant evidence of the justness of the psalmist's words ; and even those things which are manifest to common observation may be sufficient for this purpose. In gen eral it is observable that the human frame abounds with avenues at which enter every thing conducive t;o preservation and comfort, and every thing that can excite alarm. Per haps there is not one of these avenues but what may become an inlet to death, nor one of the blessings of life but what may be the means of accomplishing it. We live by in halation; but we also die by it. Diseases and death, in innumerable forms, are con veyed by the very air we breathe. God hath given us a relish for divers aliments, and rendered them necessary to our subsistence : yet, from the abuse of them, what a train of disorders and premature deaths are found amongst men! And, where there is no abuse, a single delicious morsel may, by the evil design of another, or even by mere ac cident, convey poison through all our veins, and in one hour reduce the most athletic frame to a corpse. The elements of fire and water, without which we could not subsist, contain proper ties which in a few moments would be able to destroy us ; nor can the utmost circum spection at all times preserve us from their destructive power. A single stroke on the head may divest us of reason or of life. A wound or a bruise of the spine may instantly deprive the lower extremities of all sensa tion. If the vital parts be injured, so as to suspend the performance of their mysterious functions, how soon is the constitution brok en up ! By means of the circulation of the blood, how easily and suddenly are deadly substances diffused throughout the frame! Through this fearful medium, not only the taint of vice rankles in the veins of the de bauchee, but virtue itself may destroy us. The putridity of a morbid subject has been imparted to the very hand stretched out to save it. The poisoned arrow, the envenom ed dart, the hydrophobic saliva, derive from THE BROAD AND NARROW WAY. 377 hence their fearful efficacy. Even the pores ofthe skin, necessary as they are to life, may be the means of death. Not only are poisonous substances hereby admitted, but, when obstructed by surrounding damps, the noxious humors of the body, instead of be ing emitted, are retained in the system, and , become productive of numerous diseases, always afflictive, and often fatal to life. From these few instances we may learn our absolute dependence upon divine pres ervation. So numerous are 'the avenues at which death may enter that no human fore sight can possibly render us secure for a single moment: and even those dangers which may in a measure be avoided require for this purpose the regular exercise of rea son ; but reason itself depends upon a varie ty of minute causes, over which we have no control. Instead of wondering at the num ber of premature deaths that are constantly witnessed, there is far greater reason to wonder that there are no more, and that any of us survive to seventy or eighty years of age. " Our life contains a thousand springs, And dies if i»ne be gone: Strange that a harp of thousand strings Should keep in tune so long." Assuredly, it can be ascribed to nothing short of the mighty power and all-pervading providence of God. A proper sense of this truth, while it would prevent us from pre sumptuously exposing ourselves to unneces sary injury, would induce us to commit our selves to the divine protection in every dan ger which duty calls us to encounter. Nor is this all. If we are " fearfully made " as to our animal frame, it will be found that we are much more so, considered as moral and accountable beings. In what relates to our animal nature, we are in most instances constructed like other animals ; but, in what relates to us as moral agents, we stand dis tinguished from all the lower creation. We are made for eternity. The present life is only the introductory part of our existence. It is that however which stamps a character on all that follows. How fearful is our sit uation ! What innumerable influences is the mind exposed to from the temptations which surround us ! Not more dangerous to the body is the pestilence that walketh in darkness than these are to the soul. Such is the construction of our nature that the very word of life, if heard without re gard, becomes a savor of death unto death. What consequences hang upon the small and apparently trifling beginnings of evil ! A wicked thought may issue in a wicked purpose, this purpose in a wicked action, this action in a course of conduct, this course may draw into its vortex millions of our fel low creatures, and terminate in perdition, both to ourselves and them. The whole of this process was exemplified in the case of Vox. 2.— Sio. 48. Jeroboam the son of Nebat. When placed over the ten tribes, he first said in his heart, " If this people go up to sacrifice at Jerusa lem, their hearts will return to Rehoboam ; and thus shall the kingdom return to the house of David."— 1 Kings xii. 26—30. On this he took counsel, and made the calves of Dan and Bethel. This engaged him in a course of wickedness, from which no remon strances could reclaim him. Nor was it con fined to himself: for he " made all Israel to sin." The issue was, not only their destruc tion as a nation, but, to all appearance, the eternal ruin of himself, and great numbers of his followers. Such were the fruits of an evil thought ! Oh, my soul, tremble at thyself! Trem ble at the fearfulness of thy situation ; and commit thine immortal all into his hands " who is able to keep thee from falling, and to present thee faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." XLVI. — life and death, or the broad AND THE NARROW WAT. " Enter ye in at the strait gate ; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruc tion, and many there be which go in thereat : be cause strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."— Matt. vii. 13, 14. The whole world are travellers : there is no rest for the sole of man's foot : the ways in which they walk are extremely various, yet all reducible to two : — " To heaven or hell we daily bend our course." These two are here described by their properties and end. The one is attended with things which are smooth and agreeable to the flesh ; but the end is destruction : the other with things which are hard and disagreeable ; but the end is everlasting life. I. If you incline to the former of these ways, it has. many things, it must be owned, to recommend it ; particularly, 1. You have no difficulty in your entrance upon it : it is a ivide gate : it just suits your depraved inclinations. As soon as the pow ers of your souls begin to act, they will in cline that way : so of every particular evil course that you may take — it is easy to get into it: the gate of temptation is wide, and is set wide open to invite you : you are in, ere you are aware. Evil habits are readi ly contracted ; the transition from occasion al to habitual indulgence is very short, and that of which you are scarcely sensible at the time. 2. You have also full scope for your incli nation iny our progress : " Broad is the way." Though there is but one way to heaven, and that a strait one ; yet there are many ways to hell, out of which you may take your choice. The broad way admits of many di- 378 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. visions, and sub-divisions. You may walk Denying self, taking up the cross, and follow- in the path of gross immorality ; may swear ing him, will then be no hard service, but and lie, or drink and commit lewdness; or, your very meat and drink. Ihe way ol if you covet a degree of reputation which salvation through his atoning blood will also does not comport with such a life, you may be a source of joy unspeakable, and ot pursue a much more decent course in the peace which passeth all understanding: and indulgence of avarice or pride. You may you will be amazed at your former lgno- be a mean sycophant, cringing to the great ; ranee and aversion. or a haughty overbearing opuressor to those 2. There may be hard struggles attending^ who are beneath you ; nay, you may be both your progress ; for " narrow is the way. these at the same time. You may revel with You may meet with contempt from the the vulgar, or banquet with the genteel, as world, persecution from your connections, circumstances and inclination may lead you. and, if you be faithful, with many a hard You may scoff at all religion ; or, if that speech, and hard measure, from loose pro- does not suit, you may be religious yourself, fessors ; you maybe annoyed by temptations You may be righteous in your own eyes ; or, from without, and confounded by strong if that does not accord with your creed, you struggles from within ; old companions may may be an advocate for grace, and turn it, invite you to turn back ; the allurements of when you have done, into lasciviousness. the world may be placed on the right hand 3. Moreover, you will be in no want qf and on the left, to induce you to turn aside ; company; for many go there. Rich and and, through the remaining corruption of poor, rude and learned: it is impossible you your nature, you may be too apt at times to should be at a loss for agreeable society, listen to their counsels : you may also ex- You will have the majority on your side, pect to meet with things thatwill make your and that with many is a great matter; yea, heart sink within you; despondency may the majority in all the nations, cities, towns, lay fast hold of you ; and the very hand of and villages in the world. You will hard- God be stretched out against you. Let me ly go into any company or place, but you add, however, that this way is infinitely less will find fellow-travellers to keep you in rugged than that in which Jesus walked to countenance . . . . " but the end thereof is accomplish your salvation : and, if your destruction ! ! " heart be with his heart, I need not add more II. If, on the other hand, you incline to to reconcile you to it. the latter of these ways, I must direct you 3. In pursuing the narrow way, you may to count the cost: be assured it will be hard have but little company; for "few there be and disagreeable to the flesh. The difficul- that find it." Compared with the ungodly, ties which attend it are given as the reason religious people are but as the gleanings of why it is so little occupied. the vintage ; and your lot may be cast in a ¦1. If you incline to this way, there may part of the world where few of those few be great difficulties attending your entrance ; are to be found. You may reside in a village for " strait is the gate." While you are where no one cares for Christ, or in a family under convictions, and your hearts are not that calls not upon his name. In such cir- subdued to the obedience of Christ, these cumstances, you may be the object of deri- difficulties will appear insurmountable. To sion, a man wondered at, and persecuted ; escape the wrath to come, it will appear and even hated by your nearest relations ! absolutely necessary that you should enter But be of good cheer : though there be but in: yet to forego all hope of mercy on the few who will accompany you, yet those few ground of your good deeds, or even of your are the excellent of the earth. You will prayers and penitential tears, and to sue for also hold society with an invisible host of pardon as one of the chief of sinners, whol- heavenly spirits that watch over you; a host ly for the sake of Jesus Christ, is hard work so numerous that more are they that are for a proud heart. If you enter in, it is also with you than they that are with your adver- necessary that you give up all your former saries ; and, what is more than all, the nar- idols without a single reserve ; but this also row way "leadeth unto life." is hard work to a corrupt heart : these are Thus life and death are set before thee ; things which make many people hesitate which wilt thou choose ? Recollect that the about religion for a long time, laboring un der darkness of mind, and unable to find rest for their souls. But, let me add, these difficulties exist only in your own mind: " ye are not straitened in God, but in your own bowels." If you can be contented to accept of mercy as one of the chief of sin ners, all will be easy. Come to Jesus as such, and you will find rest unto your souls destruction which awaits the ungodly is not a loss of being, but of well being ; it is the loss of all that is desirable, and an exposed- ness to all that is dreadful ; the weeping of desolation, the wailing of despair, and the gnashing of teeth which attends the most intolerable anguish. Consider also that the life which awaits the godly is not mere being, but well being ; it is an entire free- ana, if his name be precious unto you, his dom from evil and an eternal enjoyment of yoke also will be easy, and his burden light, bliss, "which eye hath not seen, nor ear HOPE IN THE LAST EXTREMITY. 879 heard, and which hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive." It will also be heightened by the trials through which we pass to the possession of it. If you enter the strait gate, and walk in the narrow way, an abundant entrance will be ministered unto you, into the ever lasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ: but, if found pursuing the broad way, you shall hereafter strive to enter into that king- . dom, and shall not be able. XLVII. — HOPE IN THE LAST EXTREMITY. " Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight ; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple." — Jonah ii. 4. The greater part of the writings of the prophets contain little history ; but this book is an exception. It is a history of a prophe cy against a city which at that time was the metropolis of the world. It affords a singu lar example of the influence which the true religion, as presented among the Israelites, had upon the* surrounding nations. When we read of the idolatrous gentiles, we are apt to think they were altogether sunk in ignorance, and without any means of know ing better, except what were afforded by the light of nature. But in those early times God had a people, as he has now, who were witnesses for him, and whose testimony left a strong impression on the minds of man kind about them. If Jonah, when overtaken by the tempest, had been a heathen, and had committed a crime, the mariners might have been alarmed, concluding, from their gener al notions of an unseen providence, that vengeance had overtaken him; but when they were told that he was a Hebrew, — and feared Jehovah, the God of heaven,- who made the sea and the dry land, but had fled from his presence, — then they were "ex ceedingly afraid." They had heard, no doubt, of this God of gods, who was wor shipped by the Hebrews, and trembled at his judgments. So when Jonah entered into Nineveh, and threatened its overthrow, if he had been a heathen soothsayer, his message might have influenced a few ; but govern ment would doubtless have apprehended him, and either have punished him as a disturber of the public peace or confined him as a madman ; but finding him to be a prophet sent by Jehovah, the God of Israel, whose judgments upon Egypt and other nations had rung through the world, they were struck with amazement. The king rises from his throne, lays aside his robe, covers himself with sackcloth, sits in ashes, and causes a fast to be proclaimed, accompanied with an admonition for every one to turn from his evil way, saying, " Who can tell if God will repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not ? " Great is the force of truth and true religion upon the conscience ! But let us observe more particularly the history of Jonah, in which we see an affect ing example of human depravity, and ofthe mystery of Providence. God commands him to go and prophesy against Nineveh, a great city, north of Judea. He dislikes the er rand ; and, in downright rebellion, takes a ship for Tarshish, a seaport of the Mediter ranean, in nearly a southern direction. But whither can he flee from God's presence ? Though suffered to take his course for a while, he is soon pursued. A tempest over takes him. One would have thought his restless mind must have anticipated it, and been the first to interpret it; but, instead of this, all parties are alarmed before him ; — he is asleep at the bottom of the ship. A guilty mind cannot be always on the rack of reflection ; yet its repose is not peace, but the stupidity of horror and wretchedness. The rebuke ofthe ship-master seems scarcely to have awakened him. At length, however, the lot of God falls upon his guilty head : and now we have to witness a most humiliating sight — a prophet ofthe most high God arraigned at the bar of a company of heathen sailors ! We should have said, Let it not be known unto the heathen!— He, i£ he could have prayed at all, would have said, Make me not a reproach to the foolish. — But God says, It shall be known. He knows how to vindi cate the honor of his name, without having recourse to the little arts of concealment of which creatures commonly avail themselves. The whole must come out — his country, his religion, his character, his sin ! And do the heathens reproach him? If they had, we could not have wondered ; but it operates in a different way. God knows how to soften the hearts of men by that which we might expect would harden them ; and things which appear to us injurious to his cause shall tend to establish it. They inquire of him what they shall do ; and he pronounces his own doom. Humanity, notwithstanding, and the fear perhaps of incurring the displeasure of his God, struggle hard for his deliverance ; but struggle in vain. He must be cast away, or they must all perish. No time is to be lost ; they must come to a decision. Lifting; up their eyes to heaven, they appeal to God for the painful necessity under which they acted ; and then, taking up the unhappy man, they cast him into the sea ! Reader, had you and I been spectators of this affecting scene, and in possession of our present views, we should probably have not only dropped a tear over the watery tomb of the prophet, but have exclaimed, "How unsearchable are God's judgments, and his ways past finding out ! " Viewing the effect of all upon the mariners, we should have seen men, who till now were strangers to Jehovah,, calling up on his name ; we should have seen, perhaps, 380 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the joyful conversion of some, and rejoiced in the " sacrifices and vows " which on this mysterious occasion were offered: but what would have been a damp to our pleasure we should have seen Jonah himself committed to the deep, prayerless, and, to all appear ance, without a ray of hope ! But " O the depth ofthe riches ofthe wisdom and knowl edge of God ! " When the closing waves had parted him from human observation, divine providence still follows him. He is swallowed by a " great fish," probably a shark.* In this perilous situation his life and consciousness are preserved ; and here he is brought to his right mind. Hence he who could not offer one petition while in the presence ofthe mariners "prays unto Jeho vah his God." What were his prayers, and the workings of his mind, he recorded after his deliverance. A part of this record is contained in the sentence on which this ad dress is founded: "Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight ; yet I will look again to ward thy holy temple." It describes the crisis of his distress the moment he was sunk to the greatest despondency, bordering on utter despair ; out of which he is recov ered by the hope of divine mercy. " I said, I am cast out of thy sight." Did he mean that he was now beyond the reach of God's omniscience ? No ; though mortal eyes could follow him no farther, he was well aware of his being naked to the eyes of Him with whom he had to do. His meaning was, I suppose, that he was cast out of God's favor ; alluding to the practice of princes and great men, who admit their friends into their presence, but banish those who have offended them out of their sight. Thus the divinely favored land of promise is described as that on which " the eyes of the Lord were set, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year ; " and thus the children of Israel, when they had for a long time offend ed God, are said to be removed by captivity out of his sight. Now Jonah had been fa vored of God in several ways : As an Israel ite, he had long enjoyed the means of grace, of which those of other nations had been destitute ; but now he is deprived of them. No more shall I peruse the lively oracles of Jehovah. No more frequent his temple, in company with his people ! No more join in the melody of Zion! Far from the holy abodes of hope and peace, I die alone ! No fellow-servant of God to attend me in my last hours ! no eye to pity me, nor hand to help me ! I die an outcast, an outcast ofthe heathen ! — He had also been highly honored in being made a prophet. The Lord had employed him as an ambassador extraordi nary ; but, having offended him, he appears now to be cast off. God, as if he should say, will employ me no more. In this shameful * See Parkhurst's Greek Lexicon, on »»t«. and painful manner ends my stewardship. — Finally : As a; religious man, he had enjoyed communion with God, and cherished hopes of everlasting life ; but now what can he think of himself, and of his prospects for eternity ? If by this language he meant that all was over with him, for this world and that to come, it is no more than might be expected. Sin must needs cloud our evidences for heaven, and render our state doubtful. "They that observe lying vani ties, forsake their own mercies." There is something in this language pe culiarly awful. Of all the ills that can befal us, being cast out of God's sight is the most to be dreaded, because this is the source and sum of evil. As God's presence is heaven, to be cast out of it is hell. Deprived of his favor, what is life, even though we were pos sessed of every earthly comfort, and could insure it for a long series of years ? What then must it be to one in the very article of dissolution ? To live without the divine fa vor is dreadful ; but to die without it is much more so ! It is also observable how the punishment corresponds with the nature of the offence ; and this we shall find to be a general char acter of the divine administration. They that receive not the love of the truth are given up to believe a lie ; deceivers are de ceived ; adulterers are cast into a bed, and those who have committed adultery with them ; and they that love cursing, the curse shall come upon them, as oil into their bones. Thus Jonah fled from the presence of the Lord ; and now his conscience forebodes the issue — " I am cast out of thy sight." There are two other remarks which pre sent themselves from this desponding sen tence, of a more pleasing complexion. One is that, happily for him, it was only he that said it. It was the punishment awarded by conscience at the time ; but the awards of conscience are not final. They respect what ought to be, if we had our desert ; but not always what shall be. Sovereign mercy reserves to itself the right of revising and reversing these decisions. If tlie Lord had said Amen, all had been over with Jonah ; but "his thoughts are not as our thoughts, nor his ways as our ways : as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his thoughts higher than our thoughts, and his ways than our ways."—" Zion said, the Lord hath for saken me;" but the Lord her God did not say so too ! The other remark which offers is, the piety or godliness which appears even in the despondency of this good man. How different is the spirit of it from that of Cain ! Future punishment is sometimes distinguish ed into a punishment of loss and a punish ment of sense. The latter is the dread of tlie wicked. Could they but be exempted from positive misery, they would not be much concerned for the loss of God's favor ; nor HOPE IN THE LAST EXTREMITY. 881 indeed at all, but as depriving them of natu ral enjoyment. But it is not thus with a good man. The loss of G od's favor is, to him, the heaviest of all punishments. This was the distress of Jonah. One sees in him also, in his darkest state, a tenderness of sinning against God by being any otherwise acces sory to his own death, than as owning what was his desert. Some men, if they had felt half his burden, would have plunged them selves into the sea ; but he, humiliating as it must be, pronounces his own doom, and submits to be cast away by their hands ! But we have now arrived at the period of his dejection. Lo, when he was just giving up all for lost ; nay, when he had actually pronounced his doom ; when death had laid hold upon him, and he seemed already in his grave ; a thought glances across his mind ; a gleam of hope accompanies it: yet, before I die, " I will look again toward thy holy temple!" Thethought proves a resurrec tion to his soul. But let us observe what it was on which his hope at this affecting crisis caught hold. Was it the temple, the material building, to which hex looked for relief? Surely not. An Israelite in name only might have in dulged a superstitious confidence in the place : but Jonah looked farther. It was to the temple with respect to Him that dwelt therein, and the manner in which he dwelt therein, namely, upon the mercy-seat, or pro pitiatory, that he looked. If expressed in New-testament language, it would be look ing to God through a Mediator, who is our Advocate with the Father, and whose advo cacy is founded on his having been made a propitiation. The encouragement which the prophet felt to look toward the temple for relief ap pears to have arisen from two sources, name ly, Scripture and experience. The prayer of Solomon at the dedication was recorded in the Scriptures, and must have been familiar to every godly Israelite. After havmg enu merated divers particular cases, he adds, " What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Isra el, who shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house, then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and do, and give." This was doubtless a direc tory for Jonah, when other help failed ; and the answer given to Solomon, "I have beard thy prayer, and thy supplTcation that thou hast made before me," turned all his peti tions into promises. Here, therefore, was rest for the soul of every distressed Israel ite, throughout all their generations ; and for Jonah, though in the most deplorable state. "I will look," saith he, "toward thy holy temple ; and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling-place; and forgive, and do, and give." To scripture direction was added former experience. The language implies that this was not the first time that Jonah had looked to the temple for relief. He had looked before, and would now look again. It had long, no doubt, been his practice, un der every load of guilt or sorrow of any kind, to repair to the mercy-seat, where Jehovah had promised to commune with his people. This, to Old-testament believers, was as common as coming " to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in time of need," is to believers un der the New Testament; and, having for merly found relief in looking, they would be encouraged to look again. It is a good use to make of past experiences, to take encour agement from them to make renewed appli cations for mercy. They are not designed for a pillow of repose under the load of a guilty conscience ; nor the source from which our comfort is to be derived ; but a di rectory to point us to the Saviour, and an en couragement that we shall not apply to him in vain. From the whole, we learn the following im portant instructions :— First : the great evil of departing from God, and of flying in the face of his commands. The story of Jonah leaves an impression behind it of the justness of his own reflection, " They that observe lying vanities, forsake their own mercies." What are all the reasonings of the flesh against God's revealed will ? Vanities, ly ing vanities; the end of which, if grace pre vent not, will be death. Secondly : Yet if any one have sinned, let him not despair. While there is a propitiation, an Advocate with the Father, to despair were to add sin to sin. Thirdly: If, through sin, we have lost the light of God's countenance, and would recover it, it must be sought in the same way as that in which we first obtained it. If ever we regain rest to our souls, after having backslidden and lost it, it must be by applying to him, as guilty, unworthy, and perishing sinners, intreating to be forgiven through the blood-shedding of the Saviour. This was the manner in which we first looked ; and in this manner we must look again. Fourthly : Draw no positive conclu sions ofthe state ofthe dead from what we see in the last hours of life. There may be no ground to conclude any thing in their favor ; yet the case of Jonah is sufficient to deter us from concluding that they are lost. Had we been present when he was convicted and cast away, and seen the manner in which he went down to the watery grave, we might have drawn an unfavorable conclusion of him. All that took place of a favorable kind was after every human eye had left him. Such a case proves the possibility of a penitent and believing look to the mercy-seat, when the party is removed beyond the ken of hu man observation ; and this is sufficient to teach us our own ignorance, and our incom- 38S SERMONS AND SKETCHES. petency to judge of the future state of any individual. XLVIII. — PAST TRIALS A PLEA FOR FUTURE MERCIES. " Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hasi afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil, — Psa. xc. 15. This "prayer of Moses the man of God," as it is entitled, is thought to have been oc casioned by the sentence denounced against that generation of Israelites which came out of Egypt, viz. that they should perish in the wilderness. In it we see much of the plain tive, and yet much ofthe man of God, cleav ing to God under his judgments, and hoping in his covenant mercy and truth. Forbidden to enter their promised dwelling place, they are directed to make up their loss in God. — Ver. 1, 2. Cut short as to the number of their days, to apply their hearts to wisdom. — Ver. 12. And though they, and himself with them, were doomed to die, they are taught to pray that the cause of God may live.— Ver. 16, 17. The language of the text implies that it is usual for God, in dealing with his people in this world, to balance evil with good and good with evil. He neither exempts them from chastisement, nor contends with them forever. If he had dealt with us on the mere footing of justice, we had had a cup of wrath only ; but through his dear Son it is mixed with mercy. The alternate changes of night and day, winter and summer, are not more fixed in the course of nature, than the mixture of judgment and mercy in the present state. The children of Israel were long afflicted in Egypt, and, when delivered from that grievous yoke, their numerous sins against God brought on them numerous evils in the wilderness ; till at length it issued in the dismal sentence which is supposed to have occasioned this plaintive song. Yet this dark night was preparatory to a morning of hope and joy. The people that were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness. The judgments upon the first generation proved a source of wholesome discipline to the second, who appear to have been the best of all the generations of Israel. It was of them that God spoke in such high terms by Jeremiah : — " I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilder ness, in a land not sown. Israel was holi ness unto the Lord, and the first fruits of his increase." All that God had done for them till then was but ploughing up the fallow ground : but now he began to reap the fruits of his work. Now Balaam, instead of be ing able to curse them, is compelled to bless and envy them. And now the- prayer of the man of God is answered. They are made glad according to the days in which they were afflicted, and the years in which they had seen evil. God's work appeared to his servants, and his glory unto their children. His beauty was upon them, and he prospered the work of their hands. We might refer to numerous instances in the Scriptures in which the same truth is ex emplified. In the first hundred and thirty years of Adam's life, he drank deeply ofthe bitter effects ofhis fall. He had a son ; but, after high hopes had been entertained of him, he proved wicked. He had another son, but him his brother murdered ; and, as the mur derer was spared and his family increased, it would seem as if the world was to be peo pled by a race of wicked men. But it did not end thus : God gave Adam another seed, instead of Abel whom Cain slew ; and soon after this men began to call upon the name of the Lord. It must have been very afflic tive for Noah to have been " a preacher of righteousness" century after century, and at last, instead of seeing his hearers con verted to God, to see them all swept away by the deluge. But, as the waters were assuaged when they had risen to their height, so the wrath of heaven issued in mercy. God accepted the sacrifice of his servant, and made a covenant of peace with him and his posterity. Similar remarks might be made from the histories of Jacob, and Joseph, and David, and many others : these were made glad according to the days wherein they had been afflicted, and the years wherein they had seen evil. Nor is it confined to indi viduals. When idolatrous Israel drew down the divine displeasure in Hazael's wars, Je hu's revolution, and Elisha's prophecies, it was very afflictive. Yet, when Jehoahaz be sought the Lord, the Lord hearkened unto him, and was gracious to his people,*in re spect of the covenant which he had made with their fathers. — 2 Kings xiii. 3 — 5, 23. Thus the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, were succeeded by the still small voice. — 1 Kings xix. 11, 12. Finally, the great afflic tions of the church during the successive overturnings of the monarchies issued, ac cording to Ezekiel's prophecy (chap. xxi. xxvii.,) in Christ's coming and kingdom. It is not difficult to perceive the wisdom and goodness of God in thus causing evil to precede good, and good to follow evil. If the whole of our days were covered with darkness, there would be but little of the exercise of love, and joy, and praise ; our spirits would contract a habit of gloominess and despondency ; and religion itself would be reproached, as rendering us miserable. If, on the other hand, we had uninterrupted prosperity, we should not enjoy it. What is rest to him that is never weary, or peace to one that is a stranger to trouble ? Heaven THE CHANGES OF TIME. 883 itself would not be that to us which it wih be, if we came not out of great tribulation to the possession of it. Evil and good being thus connected to gether, the one furnishes a plea for the other. Moses pleaded it, and so may we. We may have seen days of affliction, and years of evil, both as individuals and families. Borne down, it may be, with poverty and disappointment, our spirits are broken. Or, if circumstances have been favorable, yet some deep-rooted disease preys upon our constitution, and passes a sentence of death within us long before it comes. Or, if nei ther of these evils has befallen us, yet rela tive troubles may eat up all the enjoyment of life. A cruel and faithless husband, a peevish and unamiable wife, or a disobedi ent child, may cause us to say with Rebec ca, What good does my life do me ? Or, if none of these evils afflict us, yet if the peace of God rule not in our hearts, all the blessings of life will be bestowed upon us in vain. It may be owing to the want of just views of the gospel, or to some iniquity regarded in our heart, that we spend days and years with but little communion with God. Finally : If, as in some cases, a number of these evils should be combined, this will make the load still heavier. But whatever be our afflictions, and however complicated, we may carry them to the Lord, and then turn them into a plea for mercy. Though the thorn should not be immediately extract ed yet, if God cause his grace to be suf ficient for us, we shall have reason to be "we have wrought no deliverance in the earth, neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen." But all these things furnish a plea for better times. Even the wicked ness of the wicked may enable us to plead with the psalmist, "It is time for thee, O Lord, to work, for they have made void thy law." We may urge the prayer oi faith too on this subject; since glorious things are spoken of the city of God. Both the world and the church have their best days to come. It is necessary, however, to recollect that the happy issue of all our troubles depends upon our union with Christ. If unbelievers, our troubles are but the beginning of sor rows. It is a fatal error in many that great afflictions in this life indicate that we have had our evil things here. Few men have been more miserable than Saul was in his latter days. But if, renouncing every other ground of hope, we believe in Jesus the crucified, whatever our sorrows may be in this life, they will be turned into joy. We have also seen days of affliction and years of evil as a nation. It is true we have less cause to apply this language to our selves than most other nations at the present time : yet to a feeling heart there is matter for grief. What numbers of widows and fatherless children have been left even among us, within the last sixteen years! Let the faithful of the land turn it into a prayer, not only in behalf of our country, but of a bleeding world. Many of our churches, too, have experi enced days and years of evil. The loss of faithful and useful pastors, disorders, scan dals, strifes, divisions, the consequent with- drawment of the Holy Spirit, are evils which many have to bewail. Let the faithful rem nant in every place carry these things to the throne of grace, and there plead with the God of mercy and truth, by whom alone Jacob can arise ; and, though weeping may continue for a night, joy will come in the morning. The whole church of God has seen much evil hitherto. Its numbers have been few •and despised. It has often been under per secution. Compared with what might have been expected, in almost six thousand years, XLIX, -THE CHANGES OF TIME. [Sketch of a Sermon delivered at the commence ment of a New Year.] "The acts of David, first and last, behold they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, with all his reign, and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms ofthe countries." — 1 Chron. xxix. 29, SO. There is something in the manner of the sacred writers peculiar to themselves. A common historian might have glanced at the reign of David, and referred to other books in which it was described ; but, viewing the events of it only with the eye of a politician, his diction, though elegant and instructive, would leave no impression upon the heart. The sacred historians felt what they wrote. Eyeing the hand of God in all things, they conceive of them, they represent them, in an affecting light. There is something in the phraseology of this passage which is singu larly impressive. It opens at once to our contemplation the constant vicissitudes of human affairs. We see and feel, as in a moment, that the same affecting scenes which are passing over the world in our times have passed over it in former ages. Society may assume different shapes and forms ; but it is essentially the same. " The things that are, are the things that have been ; and there is no new thing under the sun." We are also led to view the great cur rent of human affairs as moving on without our consent, and without being subject to our control. We bear a part in them, butit is like the fishes playing in the stream ; which passes over them independent of their will, 384 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. and returns no more. What an idea does it give of our insignificance and entire depend ence upon God ! But, though our influence in counteracting the great events of time be very small, yet their influence upon us is great. They bear a relation to us, as they formerly did to David and Israel, and the kingdoms of the countries, and leave an im portant impression upon us. We are either the better or the worse for the times that have gone over us, and may be so to eterni ty. The vicissitudes that pass over us during a single human life, and the impres sions which they leave behind them, are sub jects which, if realized, would overwhelm the mind. There is a current of national changes which is passing continually. What times have passed over the nations of Europe within our remembrance ! Some have risen, some have fallen, some enlarged, and some contracted. What multitudes of lives have been lost! How much of human nature has been developed ! What evidence has been afforded of the enmity of man's heart against the gospel, and the insufficiency of all human devices to give happiness to the world without it ! What seeds have been sown for future change, the fruits of which may be seen to the end of time ! And while the page of history records the acts of the great, whether good or bad, there are others which it overlooks, but which are no less interesting on account of the near relation they bear to us. There is a current of changes within the circle of our immediate acquaintance. What a number of deaths, of new faces, and of new circum stances ! Property, power, and influence, have changed hands ; those whose fathers were abject are raised on high ; while others, who have been delicately educated, are sunk into wretchedness. Nor do these changes extend merely to our acquaintance, but to ourselves. There are few of us but have had our times of sickness and of health, of prosperity and of adversity, of joy and sorrow. Times when unions were formed, and times when they have been dissolved ; times when children have been born, and times when they have died ; times when we have been so happy that we have thought nothing could make us miserable ; and times when we have been so miserable as to de spair of ever again being happy. But these are things mostly of a civil na ture. There is also a current of changes continually passing over us of a religious kind. The cause and kingdom of Cbrist while in this world is subject to constant vicissitude. In some places it prospers, in others it declines. Upon the whole, how ever, it is going on, and it becomes us to mark its progress. It was in one life that Israel forsook Egypt, and was planted in Canaan ; in one life they were carried into captivity; and in one life brought back again : in one life the Son of God became incarnate, and accomplished our redemption ; in one life the gospel was preached almost over the whole earth ; in one life the refor mation was effected ; and it may be in one life that Antichrist may come to his end, and the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Our life has been cast in an eventful period, and that of our children may be more so. But if, as has been remarked, the events of time bear a relation to us, and leave an impression upon us, it becomes us to inquire what impression those times which have passed over us have left upon our minds : — Great numbers of them are disregarded, and they can leave no good impression. All that was wrought in Judea, in the times of Augustus and Tiberius, was overlooked by the great mass of mankind. It filled some few with joy unspeakable ; but the world in general took but little notice of it. The Greeks, Romans, and other nations, went on just as we do ; scheming, intriguing, buy ing, selling, amassing fortunes, spending them, waging wars, and struggling for the highest posts of honor. Many never heard of it, and most that did cared for none of these things. With what contempt did Festus speak of a cause which came before him, relative to faith in Christ. — "Certain questions of Jewish superstition, and of one Jesus, who was dead, and whom Paul affirm ed to be alive ! " Many of those who be held the miracles of Christ, and heard the preaching of the gospel, wondered and per ished. Thus things of the greatest moment may pass over us disregarded, and conse quently can leave no good impression. It was the same at the reformation from Popery. God wrought a great work in that day : but the mass of mankind saw it not. They were each pursuing their schemes of ambi tion, or covetousness, or sensuality ; and so did not profit by it : and thus it is at this day. The principal actors upon the theatre of human affairs have their respective ob jects in view ; but they see not God's hand. Nor is it much otherwise with the specta tors : some admire, others fear, and others are filled with abhorrence : but few regard the works of the Lord, or discern the opera tion of his hands. In others, the things which have passed over them may have made some degree of impression upon them, and yet the issue of it may be doubtful. Under threatening provi dences or close preaching, they have been affected not a little — have heard the word gladly, and done many things — have been greatly moved, and reformed in their beha vior; but, after all, it is doubtful whether their hearts be divorced from their idols. On some, however, the things which have passed over us have bad a good effect, and require to be recollected with thankfulness. TRUE WISDOM. 385 One can remember a providence which brought him under the word, or into a pray ing family or religious connection ; another, a conversation, a sermon, or a solitary walk, in which he saw and felt the light of life, and from which period his feet were turned from the ways of death. Finally : A recollection ofthe times which have passed over us, over Israel, and over the nations, will furnish matter for much humility and trembling, even though we should have profited by them; and, if we have not, it is a subject the realizing of which would overwhelm us. What oppor tunities have we had of glorifying God, which have passed by unnoticed ! what in structive lessons, under which we have been dull of learning ! what rebukes, without be ing effectually corrected ! and what narrow escapes from temptation, the falling into which had been worse than death ! Neither have we sufficiently regarded the operations of God's hand upon the world and the church, so as to be properly affected by them. And, if such reflections be furnished in regard of good men, what must be the retrospection ofthe wicked ! Youth has passed over them, and left only the impression of guilt, shame, and remorse ; or, what is worse, a gust to re-act its follies, even when they have lost the capacity. Prosperity has made them proud, and adversity filled them with hard ness and rebellion of heart. They have been afflicted, and have not called upon God ; or, if they have, no sooner has it sub sided than they have ceased. Death has approached them, and in their fright they have entered into solemn vows ; but all have quickly been forgotten. How many slight ed opportunities, solemn warnings, tender sermons, and powerful convictions will come into account at the last day ! Li. — ON TRUE WISnOM. 41 The wisdom ofthe prudent is to understand his way : but the folly of fools is deceit." — Prov. xiv. 8. This proverb teaches us that true wisdom is of a useful or practical nature. There is a great difference between the wisdom of some worldly men and that of others. Some deal in mere speculation : their discoveries are of no use either to themselves or man kind. Others, who are of a more prudent turn, bend their talents to useful purposes. The philosophy of a Lunardi exhibits an air balloon — that of a Franklin is applied to ob jects of real utility. But Solomon seldom, if ever, writes of mere natural wisdom. That on which he chiefly dwells has its origin in " the fear of the Lord."— Chap. i. 7. The passage may, therefore, be considered as giving the char acter of holy wisdom, as distinguished from Vol. 2.— Sio. 49. the wisdom of this world : it directs fo the understanding of our way, in matters of the highest importance. And this is the proper opposite of the folly described in the last clause, which is said to be deceit. Wicked men are the greatest fools in God's account ; and their folly consists in self-deception. While the wisdom ofthe truly wise turns to a, good account, the folly of the wicked puts a cheat upon their souls. The wisdom of some men is to understand things which cannot be understood. — When David appealed to God, saying, "Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty ; neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me " — " My soul is as a weaned child " — It implies that there were men who did, and so there are still. "Man," says Locke, "should know the length of his tether." What a deluge of ab stract speculations has been poured upon the world in all ages, especially since the inven tion of printing ! There is no end to ques tions upon such subjects. Instead of find ing out truth, we presently lose ourselves. Ask, What is a spirit ? What is eternity ? What is immensity? How came a pure creature to become sinful ? Why did God create man, seeing what part he would act? All these, and a thousand more questions of the kind, belong to the wisdom of the impru dent. It does not lead us a step .towards heaven, but in a contrary direction. Again : The wisdom of others is to pry into things which, if understood, are of little or no use. — Long and elaborate treatises have been written on the question, What is space ? But cui bono ? Even those things which are of use (astronomy for instance,) if pursued to the neglect of our way, are fol ly, and will deceive the expectation. We should blame any man, and count him a fool, notwithstanding his learning, if he employ ed himself in studying the distances of the stars while his family were pining for want, and his affairs going to ruin : and why not if in the same pursuits he neglects the salva tion of his soul ? Further : The wisdom of some is to un derstand the way qf other men. — We meet with many who are exceedingly censorious on public measures. For their part, they are wise : and happy would it be for the world if it were under their direction ! but whether it be' that the affairs of religious and domes tic duty are too little for their expanded minds, or whatever be the reason, so it is, that their own concerns are generally neg lected. We meet with others who under stand all the private concerns of a neighbor hood, and can point out the faults and de fects of every one about them, but forget their own. We have even met with profes sors of religion, who understand the faults, defects, and errors of almost all the religious world, and, whenever they meet together, 386 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. these are the topics of conversation by which they edify one another. Surely this is not " the wisdom of the prudent ! " But, it will be asked, what is " the wisdom of the prudent?" And I may answer, Itis that which leads to the understanding of our way through life, and to the heavenly home. Particularly : It will lead us above all things to see that our way be right. There are many by-ways, and many who are walk ing in them ; but true wisdom will not rest till it find out the road that leads to everlast ing life. It will know whom it trusts, and whether he be able to keep that which is committed to him. It will lead us also to attend diligently to the directions of the way. We shall read the oracles of God: the doctrines for belief, and the precepts for practice ; and shall thus learn to cleanse our way by taking heed thereto, according to God's word. It will moreover induce us to guard against the dangers ofthe way. We shall not be ignorant of Satan's devices, nor of the numerous temptations to which our age, times, circumstances, and propensities expose us. It will influence us to keep our eye upon the end of the way. A foolish man will go that way in which he finds most company, or can go most at his ease : but wisdom will ask, " What shall I do in the end thereof? " To understand the end of the wrong way will deter : but to keep our eye upon that of the right will attract. Christ himself kept sight ofthe joy that was set before him. Finally: as holy wisdom possesses the soul with a sense of propriety at all times, and upon all occasions, it is therefore our highest interest to obtain this wisdom, and to cultivate it by reading, medi tation, prayer, and every appointed means. "My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding ; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if thou seekest her as silver, and searches? for her as for hid treasures ; then shalt thou understand the fear qf the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom ; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and under standing. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous ; he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly." LI. — IRREMEDIABLE EVILS. " That wliich is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be num bered." — Eccles. i. 15. The wise man inquires, "What is that good for the sons of men which they should do all the days of their life?" At the close ofhis inquiries he answers, " Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man." But before he comes to this conclusion ofthe matter, as he calls it, he takes a large survey of human affairs, the result of every inquiry concerning which is, " All is vanity and vexation of spirit." Every thing that passeth under his review was either void of substantial good or con nected with some evil which embittered it. Two of the marks of vanity inscribed on earthly things are, that a great number of them are inveterately crooked, or devious from the line of what is good for the sons of men ; and that a still greater number are wanting, or defective, so that though there were nothing in them repugnant to what is good, yet they are insufficient to satisfy the mind. That devious and defective things should be found in the world is not surprising ; but they are found also in the church, and our endeavors to rectify and supply them are often ineffectual. It is too much to infer from this that we are to sit down in de spair and attempt nothing; but it will be profitable to know the limited extent of our powers, so as not to waste our time and en ergies on that which will answer no good end. Many have been employed during the greater part of their lives in striving to cor rect the errors and disorders of the church, and to supply its defects. This has certainly been a good work. What else were the labors of the Reformers, of the Puritans, of the Nonconformists, and indeed of all the servants of God in every age, but so many attempts to bend the minds of men to the mind of Christ ? Nor have they labored without effect. When we compare the present state of things with what we wish, we seem indeed to have done nothing : but, when with the state of things in times past, we may say, " What hath God wrought ! " Paganism has been excluded from Europe ; popery has been so diminished as to have lost its wonted energies ; and Christianity, cherished under the wing of religious free dom, has of late taken a notable flight, alighting in the very heart of the Pagan world. But with all this there are many crooked things among us, and things which by human hands cannot be made straight. The spirit of infidelity has pervaded the minds of millions in Europe whose fathers were once the decided friends of the reftns mation. The systems of many who would be thought to be Christians are so tinged with it as to become antichristian. And, among those who profess to believe the doc trines of the reformation, many content themselves with the name of orthodoxy, without the thing. There is a tendency in the human mind to deviate from divine truth. Had it not been for the illuminating influ ence of the Spirit of God, we should never have understood it ; not because of its ab- IRREMEDIABLE EVILS. 387 struseness, but on account of the unconge- niality of our minds : and, when we do un derstand and believe it, there is a continual tendency in us to get wrong. It might seem that, when a person has once obtained a just view of the gospel, there is no danger of his losing it : but it is not so. There is a partiality in all our views, and, while we guard against error in one direction, we are in equal danger from a contrary extreme. Many, in shunning the snare of self-right eous pride, have fallen into the pit of anti- nomian presumption ; and many, in guard ing what they consider as the interests of practical religion, have ceased to teach and preach those principles from which alone it can proceed. Besides this, there are many ways by which a minister may get beside the gospel without falling into any palpable errors. There may be nothing crooked, yet much wanting. We may deliver an inge nious discourse, containing nothing incon sistent with truth, and yet not preach that truth "in which believers stand, and by which they are saved." We may preach about the gospel, and yet not preach the gospel, so as to " show unto men the way of salvation." And if we get into a vain, car nal, and worldly frame of mind, this is al most certain to be the case. It is no breach of charity to say, of hundreds of sermons that are ordinarily delivered by those who are reputedly orthodox, that they are not the gospel which Jesus commissioned his ser vants to preach: and, if it be thus among preachers, it is marvellous that a large pro portion of religious people are not strictly evangelical, but imbibe another spirit? And, if the doctrine of Christ be neglected (not to say corrupted,) the effects will appear in a neglect of faithful discipline, in a worldly spirit, and in a gradual disregard of a watch ful, circumspect, and holy individual con duct It is no breach of charity to suppose that many who profess evangelical principles are Christians only in name, and that these principles are professed merely on account of their popularity in the circles in which they move. The ways of such must be crooked. Like Saul, they know not how to go about obedience to God, but are al ways stumbling, or turning aside in pur suit of some carnal object. There are few things more spoken against in the present times than party zeal; but there are few things more common. To unite with those whom we consider on ma ture examination as being nearest the mind of Christ, and having done so to act up to our principles, — is our duty ; but few things are farther from the mind of the partisan than this. Having enlisted in the cause of a party, he sees no good but that which is within its pale, and will say and do almost any thing to keep up its reputation. ' >> > « >• »< 'Many things have I seen in the days of my vani ty ? " There is a man whose heart unites, with every one who loves our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and who rejoices in the work of God wherever he sees it ; but, not being of the right party, he is of little or no account : and there is a man who gives no other proof of his liberality than that of boasting of it ; yet, being of the right par ty, he is liberal. Genuine candor and liberality are not to be looked for in parties, but in individuals of various parties. There are men who, while seeking the good of their immediate connections, consider them not so much as their party as an integral part ofthe king dom of Christ, and who know how to rejoice in the success of truth and true religion wherever it is found : but is it thus with the bulk of any denomination, established or unestablished ? I fear not. He that has lived thirty or forty years in religious so ciety, and has not met with things that must needs have shaken his confidence in pro fessions, must either be a very happy man or very unobservant of what has passed be fore him. What shall we say then ? Shall we sigh, and say, " That which is crooked can not be made straight ? " Be it so ; Let us distinguish between Christianity and the conduct of its professors ; so that, while we are grieved at the latter, we may not think the worse of the former. " Let God be true, and every man a liar!" Let us also ex amine our own hearts, and pray that we may have grace at least to correct the de viations, and supply the defects, that are to be found in ourselves ; in which case, what ever may befal others, we shall find rest for our souls. I shall conclude with a few remarks on misrepresentation. Some men in the course of their lives are exposed to a large portion of this, accompanied, it may be, with much foul abuse, the correction of which often becomes an object of despair. " He that is first in his own cause," says the wise man, "seemeth just, but his neighbor cometh and searcheth him." But how if a man should be so deluged with misrepresenta tions, and his hands so occupied with more important concerns, as to have neither time nor inclination to refute them ? There are two ways left him. First: He may safely treat the foulest and most unworthy ofhis opponents with neg lect. Their calumnies will not do him much injury ; and, if he attempt to answer them, he may be in danger of imbibing a portion of their spirit. This seems to be tbe fool that should not be answered according to his folly, lest we be like unto him. Secondly : He may give a brief statement of the truth, and leave the misrepresenta tion and abuse to fall of its own accord. When the Jews, after their return from 388 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. Babylon, began building the temple, it caused a great sensation among then ad versaries. They first offered to join them in the work, thinking, no doubt, to come in for a share, and perhaps the chief share, of the glory ; and, when their offer was re fused, they accused them to the Persian government, so that the work for a time was stopped. We may wonder that the Jews did not by a counter-statement correct these vile misrepresentations, and expose the insincerity of their accusers : yet they did not ; but, as appears from the history, held their peace. When the storm had blown over, encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, they renewed the work ; and, when interrogated anew by their adversa ries, contented themselves with a simple statement of the truth. The substance of it was this: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth. We are engaged in rebuilding the house that was built many years ago by a great king of Israel. Our fathers sinned against God, and he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnez zar, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus there was a decree to rebuild it, and its furniture was at the same time restored to Sheshbazzar, whom he ap pointed our governor. The same Shesh bazzar began this work, which is not yet finished. — This simple statement of truth, which leaves out all reflections on their ad versaries, would bear to be repeated even by them, in their letter to Darius, and in that form was repeated, and ultimately pre vailed. — Ezra iv. v. vi. The crooked things were let alone, and the straight rule exhibit ed, and thus the end was answered. LII. — IMPORTANCE OF UNION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTERESTS IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. [Sketch of a sermon delivered at New Broad- street chapel, July 1, 1800.] " From above the horse gate repaired the priests, every one over against his house. After them re paired Zadok, the son of Immer, over against his house. After him repaired also Shemaiah, the son of Shechaniah, the keeper ofthe east gate. After him repaired Hananiah, the son of Shelemiah, and Hanun the sixth son of Zalaph, another piece. After him repaired Meshullam, the son of JSere- chiah, over against his chamber." — Nehemiah iii. 28—30. I have no desire, my friends, to amuse you with curious speculations on a difficult passage ; but you will readily admit that all Scripture is profitable and is designed to convey some important instruction to us. The zeal and diligence of these good peo ple, m reativ;. tho walls of Jerusalem, are iar from being uninteresting. Were you to read the whole book, you would find your hearts warmed with a view ofthe ardor with which they undertook and finished it. Six ty or seventy years before this, the captives had returned from Babylon, and had rebuilt the city, and after that the temple ; but still there was a wall wanting, and the city and temple were exposed to the depredation of enemies. Nehemiah, a godly Jew, at that time resident at the court of Persia, hearing how Jerusalem was circumstanced, was in great affliction that the gates thereof were burned, that the walls thereof were broken down and the city under great reproach. He wept, he fasted, and went in unto the king, and obtained a commission to go and rear these broken and desolated walls. He met with great impediments : there were deep- rooted enmities amongst some of the Sa maritans, especially Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the Ammonite; and some of his companions did all in their power to hin der the good work ; but Nehemiah had his heart right, and was continually offering up his prayer, " Think upon me, O my God, for good ; " and, having his heart in the work, he communicated his designs to his friends and brethren, and they set to work and wrought mightily with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other, and they labored from the dawn of day till the stars appeared — in short, the wall was begun, and the wall was finished ; for " the people had a mind to work." I think, in this ardor, this zeal on the part both of Nehemiah and of the peo ple, there was not only an amiable patriot ism, but a portion of real piety. It was not merely the city of their fathers — it was not merely their own city — the walls of which they were thus zealous to repair : it was the city of God, the city of Zion. It was for the protection of the worship of God : and here lay the piety of this zeal. I cannot now go over the chapter — you may read it at your leisure. It gives an ac count of the various persons and families who were engaged in this work of building the wall. I will only offer a few remarks. Observe, in the first place, how the work was divided amongst them. You will read all along that every man and body of men, or family of men, had all separate work ap pointed them. All were set at work : one built this part and one that, and thus, by every one taking his proper part, the whole was reared — by union the whole was ac complished. By a number of individuals setting their hands to the same work, uniting in it with all their heart, the work will rise, the work shall not only be begun but com pleted, A second remark that offers itself, from this history, is that though their work was separate, yet they had not separate interests. The place on which each labored was sepa rate — each had his own peculiar spot ap- UNION OP PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTERESTS IN GOD'S SERVICE. 389 pointed him to labor on ; but the object in which all were engaged was the same. Every man by rearing a part of the wall con tributed to the finishing of the whole. It was one city, one wall, one great object, and, by every one accomplishing a part, the whole was completed. This teaches us that there is in the service of God a union of private and public interest, and that, while we each separately attend to our spe cific duty, we all contribute to that great object, the glory -of God, the good of his church, and the good of mankind. Once more, it is worthy of notice, and in deed this is the thought for which I read this passage, that things were so contrived that each man and body of men should, as far as possible, build over against his own dwelling. Nay, we are told in the thirtieth verse of one man who was only a lodger, that is, he inhabited a chamber ; and we are informed " that he built the wall over against his own chamber;" so that the smallest apartment served as a ground to excite all to unite in the general work of rearing the wall. I think, without any forced interpre tation, this teaches us the importance of union of public and private interests in the service of God. Things are so devised that, by thus acting in our own particular charge, we contribute to the general work ; by build ing the wall, so to speak, against our own houses or our own chambers, we help to rear the wall around the city of God — we contribute to the building of the church, to the building of society, to the good of man kind, to the glory of God. You see, by this time, the sentiment on which I mean to enlarge. I need not say, my brethren, that we are all engaged in a work analogous to that of the Jews. It is our business to build God's house : it is our highest honor to build up society, to be blessings in our generation ; and what we are here directed to, as a means, is to attend immediately to those things which are our especial charge — to build, as it were, over against our own houses. God requires that we be of a large heart. We are enjoined to cherish largeness of heart, to seek the good of mankind, to em brace within our affections, and good wishes, and efforts, and prayers, the well-being of the whole human race. Undoubtedly this •is the case; yet the whole human, race do not come within our province. We may pray for them, we may wish them well, we may long for their salvation, we may do something perhaps towards it ; but the main part of our labor lies within our reach — it is over against our own apartments. I. Let us inquire, then, what are those EXERTIONS WHICH MAT BEAR AN ANALOGY TO WHAT IS HERE RECOMMENDED — building the wall over( against our own apartments ? and I answer in a few of the follpwing par ticulars : — By an attention, in the first place, to our own souls, in the next place to our religious connections, and in the last place to our neighbors, to the poor, to those who are within our reach. I apprehend a pro per attention to these different objects will be found to be analogous to building the wall over against our own apartments, and will contribute to raise the wall of Jerusalem, to promote the cause of God and the good of mankind. 1. I would observe that a proper attention to our own souls is of the first importance. — I do not mean by this to deny that there is a duty owing to our bodily welfare, to our temporal interests, and that this is a part of building the wall over against our own houses too. Doubtless, if every one of us by paying a proper attention to our tempo ral concerns, by industry, economy, and the like, providing things honest in the sight of the Lord, and in the sight of all men, that we may have to give to him that needeth — if every one were to build in this way against his own house, we should hear of but few failures, we sbould hear of but few bank' ruptcies, of few that would be incapable of paying their just debts ; undoubtedly this may be included ; but I speak of the chief thing — the soul, and its most important in-r terests. This is the main thing to which our attention should be directed. My dear hearers, you have heard much of the gospel, You have been in the habit, I presume, of hearing the gospel. You have heard much said and have thought much perhaps about spreading the gospel. You have heard anir mating discourses, and read animating writr ings, about missionary labors and efforts to spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus amongst the heathen. You have heard many an ani mating discourse, perhaps, in favor of efforts to spread the gospel in the towns and villa ges of your own country ; but do not forget one thing : do not let your attention be sq taken up about building the wall around the city as to forget to ask, How goes on the building against my own house ? How go on matters as to my own soul ? Am I a Christian ? Do I repent of my sins ? Do I believe in the Son of God for the salvation of my soul ? — Of what account will it be to me that the wall is built all round Jerusalem, if it be down against my door ! Here is the point. Undoubtedly it behoves us to be attentive to the public cause of God and the public interests of man, but not so as to neglect our own souls. On the contrary, it is by at tending first, and principally, to our own good, that we contribute to the general good. Or let me take it for granted that your soul is in a state of salvation — let me take it for granted that you are converted, that you are in the road to heaven and to God— .yet this is not enough. Is your soul in a thriving, prosperous state, or do i|B concerns lie in 390 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. ruins ? It is possible you may be thriving in your business : it may be your fortune may be accumulating: it is possible you may have built yourselves a habitation in the country, as well as in the city: but is the wall repaired in a spiritual sense ? Is thy soul prosperous, and art thou in health ? Perhaps I ought to ask myself this question. I am sure I need it equally with you, and the Lord knows that, while preaching to you in this manner, I do not mean to overlook my self. I often fear lest, while watching tbe vineyards of others, my own should be. neg lected ; and it is one of the snares and temptations that is peculiar to ministers that while they are attentive to divine things, and studying them in reference to their hearers, they should neglect to deal in them for their own souls. I fear it is no unusual thing for a minister to be employed in build ing up the wall against his hearers' habita tions, while it is all in ruins against his own. Let each of us, especially those who are engaged in the sacred work ofthe ministry, say, Oh ! my soul, how is it with thee ? It was not without cause that the apostle said to young Timothy and Titus respectively, " Take heed to thyself and to the doctrine." No, it was not without cause that he charg ed each of them saying, " keep thyself pore." And it is by an attention, both as ministers and people, to our own souls' best interests that we rear the wall of Zion — that we pro mote the glory of God and the good of those around us. Nor can we be useful without it to any considerable degree. No one of us can communicate what he does not pos sess. He, therefore, who sinks into carnali ty and earthly-mindedness in his own soul, will not he able to communicate spirituality to others. How can we communicate what we do not feel ? The Lord may in some instances make us of use, and bless that truth which does not proceed from our hearts ; but, ordinarily speaking, it is the spiritually-minded minister, and the spiritu ally-minded Christian, whom the Lord bless es in making the means of diffusing the sa vor of Christ. It is those that have salt in themselves that are the savor of Christ to those about them. Thus by building the wall, as I may say, against our own houses, we contribute to the well-being of the city of God. 2. Perhaps the next subject that demands our attention, or the object that calls for our solicitude next to our own souls, is the spi ritual welfare of our families. They are our charge. God has given us them as a solemn charge to rear for him. Our children, our servants, all our domestics, are in a sort our solemn charge, and so answer to the wall, or that part of the wall over against our own apartments. ' The godly parent has a very solemn and important charge, and he feels it to be such. It has been remarked more than once, where a child has been born and added to a family, " Now we have not only another body to provide for, but another soul to pray for." A parent has seemed some times like the commander of a convoy, hav ing a number of ships under his charge, to conduct through the boisterous sea of life, and to see them safely brought unto the de sired harbor. Alas! how painful must be the thought, if one, or two, or more of those thus committed to our charge, be wrecked and lost ! How interesting it must be to a serious mind to be able to say, at the last day, " Here am I and the children which thou hast given me ! " It is true that the parent is not accountable for the conversion of his children. He cannot change their hearts. He only that made the human mind can change it ; but the means are his, the blessing is the Lord's. It is of impor tance that we carefully walk before our children, setting them a holy example, walk ing before our families and all our domes tics in such a way as that we can recom mend them to follow us. Oh for the parent to be able to say, on his dying bed, " Be ye followers of me as I also have been of Christ ! " Oh for the parent to be able to say to his family, when taking leave of life, " the things that you have heard and seen of me do ; and the God of peace be with you ! " This, my brethren, wherever it ex ists, is building over against our own apart ment ; this is building the wall of Zion ; this is glorifying God. And it is worthy of no tice that the church of God is thereby rais ed; for what is the church — what is any Christian church — but a number of Christian families associated together ? A Christian family is the first nursery for the church of God. Itis there that the seed of truth is ordinarily sown. It is there that the first principles of true religion are often instilled. The prayers, the tears, the cautions, and the example of a godly parent, who walks in the fear of God before his family, will leave ef fects on the mind. I have seldom known persons converted who were brought up in religious families, but they have dated their first impressions from something which took place in the family. They have dated their early convictions to what has passed in fa mily worship, perhaps, or in the counsel and example of their friends. Thus is the church of God supplied from Christian fa milies — thus are the lively stones furnished, by which the spiritual house is reared. Let this be an encouragement to us to build over against our own apartments. 3. Next to our families, perhaps I may men tion our religious connections. I may sup pose that Christians are in the habit of forming themselves into Christian societies, according to the Christian rule; and, if you are a member of a Christian church, undoubtedly it becomes your immediate charge to labor UNION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTERESTS IN GOD's SERVICE. 391 to build up those particular societies. I do not mean to the exclusion of others. Chris tians should cherish a largeness of heart, as I have said before, and should pray for all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Yet each has a special duty towards those peculiar connections to which he stands re lated. I think, as a Christian, it behoves me to reprove a fault in any Christian man, whether immediately connected with me or not ; but I am under special obligations to watch over those with whom I have enter ed into a solemn covenant so to do. Over those we are bound to watch with tender solicitude, with brotherly love, and to consi der that as a part of our charge. With them we are bound more especially to unite in worship ; and it is our interest as well as our duty so to do. It is an idle notion which I apprehend many people in this city enter tain — I say in this city, owing to the great number of places of worship, and the great variety of preachers — it is an idle notion that people entertain, that, being members of a church, it is an abridgment of their liberty to be obliged to attend there. In fact, your soul will never prosper if you are constantly wandering hither and thither. It is he that is planted in the house of the Lord, and he only, that shall flourish in the courts of our God ; therefore, while you bear good will to all the churches of God, to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ, of every denomination, yet do not forget building up that part of the wall that stands over against your own dwel ling. Fulfil your special obligations ; here by it is that the building will rise. 4. Next to an attention to our religious connections, follows an attention to those who are around about us — our neighbors, particu larly the poor. God has placed us, some in one situation, some in another ; but all of us see those round about us that stand in need of our help. " The poor ye have always with you." God has wisely ordained that we should thus be linked together. The rich could not do without the poor, any more than poor without the rich. Instead of cherishing animosity one against another — instead of the poor envying the rich, and the rich de spising the poor — be as one. You might as well set at variance the eye against the hand, or the head against the feet ; they are differ ent members ofthe same body — they all con tribute to the well-being of the whole — and, provided we cherish this spirit, we shall live as brethren, and feel ourselves to be one fam ily ; and it behoves those who are possessed, not only of opulence, but of a competency of worldly good, to study the well-being of those about them. Self-interest, or a selfish spirit, that lives only to itself, and cares for none but itself, has, I was going to say, all its enjoyments to itself; but I can scarcely say it has any enjoyments. It is in doing good to those around us that we derive good. It is by mingling souls, by feeling for the miseries of others — it is by visiting the fatherless and widows in their affliction, as well as by keeping ourselves unspotted from the world — it is by dropping the tear of sym pathy, with a sorrowing heart — it is by lend ing a hand to the children of the poor, to as sist in doing that which their parents may not be able to do for them — it is by helping those around us, in things essential to their present and future happiness, that we be come blessings to society, and enjoy bless ings ourselves. I apprehend that, if we kept the spiritual good of mankind more in view, we might be much more useful, especially in the way of visiting the afflicted poor. It is in a time of affliction, when the hand of God is heavy on a man, when death appears full in his view, that the mind is opened to serious conversa tion. It is then that a little temporal relief will be acceptable, and that will be the time for serious advice and expostulation. If Chris tians were more disposed to water those who are round about them — to visit the poor, to avail themselves of every opportunity of sug gesting to their minds the principles of the gospel— who can tell what good would be done? And this is a way of doing good without any noise. It is a still, silent mode, and therefore corresponds with the represen tation of the kingdom of God, that cometh without noise or observation. It is thus that we are called upon to build the wall over against our own apartments. But II. I close the whole with a reflection or TWO. 1. If that part of the wall which stood over against any one's apartment was not built, you know the whole city was exposed to dan ger : if but one place remained unreared, the enemy might get in there. Apply this thought — whatever good may be done in the world, whatever good may be done in the church, however zealous our ministers may be, however zealous our fellow Christians, however holy and circumspect they may all be, yet, if one be negligent, if you be loose, if you be worldly, sensual, and devilish, the wall is down over against your own apart ment, the enemy will come in, and the whole. city will be exposed, owing to your miscon duct. Think then of what consequence the ill conduct of an individual may be. It was on this account that David lamented, in the fifty -first Psalm, after his awful conduct in the affair of Uriah and Bathsheba. He had, if I may so say, beaten down the walls of Jerusalem, and the enemy came in ; and, in this Psalm, one part of his prayer is, " build thou the walls of Jerusalem : " as if he had said Lord, I have been the means of pulling them down — the enemy has hereby reproached thy name — the heathen have scoffed at the God of Israel — the walls of Zion lie desolate through my misconduct : Oh ! Lord, heal 392 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the breaches which my sins have caused. Think, oh ! my brethren, ofthe great evil to the church of God, and to society, which the wicked conduct of an individual may oc casion. 2. While attentive to your own soul's concerns, to your own families, and to your neigbors, cherish a public spirit — keep in view the whole interest of Christ, cherish a large ness of heart ; for, while every man was to build the wall over against his own house, the end of it was the repairing of the whole wall — the security of the whole city was to be kept in view ; and hence you will find that there was so much public spirit that some built who had no houses against which to build. We read in the second verse that some men of Jericho builded. Now as they did not live in Jerusalem, the only end they could have in view was tbe public good — the general good : and so we read of several others who were not inhabitants of Jerusa lem ; and, what is worthy of notice, some of those who had a part of the wall allotted to them were so laborious as to get this part finished first, and then to help their neigh bors. They did not stand idle when they had done their share. You will read in the twenty-fourth verse, and several parts of the chapter, that they rebuilt another piece. This should teach us, while we attend to our own personal interests, and the personal interests of those immediately connected with us, to cherish enlargedness of heart. Let no time be lost in idleness ; that which can be spared from our own concerns, let us apply to the well-being ofthe world at large. Seek the good of all mankind. Labor all that in you lies to send the gospel through out the whole land — yea, the whole world. Let your prayers and your efforts grasp noth ing less than the world itself. It is in this way that we shall glorify God and be useful in our generations. LIIL- -CHRIST OUR SUBSTITUTE IN DEATH AND JUDGMENT. [Sketch of a Funeral Sermon, delivered Feb. 28th, 1790.] (' And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment : so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many ; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." — Heb. ix. 27, 28. The truths here taught us are the most serious and interesting. None doubt the reality of death, and few that of judgment ; but many live as if they credited neither. The sum pf the text is, Christ is our substi tute, both in death and judgment ; and yet we die and must appear at judgment. To make this plain, observe we are appointed to death and judgment in two ways: — First, by our subjection to corruption, or corporeal death, and to an appearance before God in judg ment. In this view the appointment takes- place upon mankind in general, good and bad, and notwithstanding the death and me diation of Christ. Secondly, by the sen tence of God as a law-giver. It was the sentence against man : " In the day thou eat- est," &c. In this view death inculdes more than a subjection to corruption ; it includes its sting : and judgment includes more than appearing ; it includes our final condemna tion. This last is the meaning of the text. It speaks not of what actually takes place, hut oi whatmust have taken place had not the mediation of Christ interposed. The text speaks ofthe penal sentence ofthe Law -giv er, and then of our deliverance fr&m that sentence through Christ, our substitute ; so that though in some sense it is still appoint ed for men to die, and to appear before God in judgment, yet not in the sense ofthe text. Believers will find death divested of its sting, and judgment of its terror. — Ver. 28. From the text thus explained we may make a few remarks : — 1. That the sentence which all mankind lie under, as sinners, is no less than a sub jection to everlasting ruin. Some have sup- posd that the threatening, "in the day thou eatest thou shalt die," meant no more than corporeal death, or subjection to bodily cor ruption ; but, if so, the mediation of Christ •does not deliver us from any part of the sentence of the law (for we are still sub ject to this,) which the apostle supposes here it does. 2. That the judgment here referred to is the judgment at the end of the world. Some have supposed it to refer to that which follows death immediately ; but the whole text shows the contrary : it speaks of what we are subject to in death and judg ment, and of Christ as our substitute in both. Two things require our considera tion: I. The doom that lies on men as breakers of God's law. — The sentence is awful. We may judge what death and judgment would have been to us all, by what it is to those who die out of Christ. Think what death was to the old world, Sodom and Gomorrah, Horab and his company, Saul, Belshazzar, the rich fool, Judas, and others. This for substance was the doom upon ns all. Two circumstances in particular in these deaths rendered them awful. 1. They were attended with the loss of all their enjoyments. Their all being in this world, 'tis gone, and gone forever! None of this beyond the grave, nor the hope of it, or of any enjoyment whatever : even wick ed enjoyment is gone. 2. They had a load of guilt upon them when they left the world, which would sink them lower than the grave. This is the sting of death ! " I said therefore unto you, PASTORS REQUIRED TO FEED THE FLOCK OF CHRIST. 393 that ye shall die in your sins : for, if ye be lieve not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." And this is an essential part of that death to which the sentence of the law sub jected us. It was usual, under the law, to transfer guilt by confessing it upon the head of the sacrifice, teaching us that, if our guilt was not transferred to Christ our sacri fice, it must lie upon our heads when we come to die and appear before God. O what a thing it is to go down to the grave with our blood upon our head ! Could we leave this load behind, death would be divested of its chief terror. But this is not all : the sen tence exposes us to a judgment hereafter. Death is not a going out of existence. We are accountable creatures, and must be ac countable for all we do, and must have stood to the issue but for Christ, and must, after all, if we die out of Christ. O, my hearers, this is true ! Do think what judg ment will be to those that die enemies to Christ, and thence learn what it would have been to us, all but for him. Three tbings in particular here deserves notice : — (1) Itis a judgment that takes cog nizance of the heart. — All impositions are at an end. How different will characters then appear to what they have here ! God is not mocked! (2) The character ofthe Judge. — God is Judge himself! His eyes are flames of fire. He cannot be deceived. A God of impartial justice, he cannot be pre possessed or bribed. A God of Almighty power. — Rev. xviii. 8. (3) The importance of the decision. — It is final and decisive ; no appeal from it ! This will be the case of sinners, on whom the sentence of the law is executed, and must have been the case of all but for what follows.— Ver. 28. This leads us to consider II. The deliverance which believ ers OBTAIN FROM THAT DOOM THROUGH THE SACRIFICE AND SECOND COMING OF Christ. — Not from subjection to corruption, nor yet from appearing before God in judg ment. In this respect the text is true of all, though that is not the meaning of it. Good and bad, young and old, healthy and afflicted, wise and foolish : all must die. — We must shortly, without distinction, part with all our earthly enjoyments, friends, property, &c, and all our religious opportunities will soon be over. Our bodies will be reduced to dust, and our souls appear before God. All this we must pass through, whatever we are, and notwithstanding the mediation of Christ ; but yet we are delivered by him from every thing in death or judgment that can render it truly terrible. If we inquire how, we have an answer in the text. 1. It is through his having died for us, " To bear the sin of many." Observe, it is sin that is the sting of death ; and Christ, by his death, has removed this sting away in behalf of all that believe in him ; as the Vol. 2.— Sig. 50. sacrifices bore the sins of Israel, and bore them away, so Christ by his death "hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." — "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chas tisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed." He bore the wrath due to our sin. The shaft of ven geance spent itself in his heart ! Hence death becomes a sleep, sleeping in Jesus — a putting off this tabernacle — a departure. Hence Christians have met death with pleasure, though in himself the king of ter rors. Death was originally under the power of Satan ; but Christ by death has destroy ed that power of Satan over death, and death now becomes Christ's servant and theirs : " Death is yours." — 2. As our deliverance from the sting of death is through Christ's death, so our deliv erance from the terror of judgment will be owing to Christ's standing our friend in that day. The terror of judgment is con demnation for sin, but Christ will be our advocate. Observe (1) He came before to bear sin,hx\tnow without sin. (2) He comes to salvation : to save our bodies from the grave, and body and soul from condemna tion : to give the final blow. " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? " (3) This is to them, and them only, that look for him, — that love his appearing. 2 Pet. iii. 12. 2 Tim. iv. 8.' As to the deceased, we most of us knew little or nothing of him. I only knew that he was not destitute of an expectation of being " forever with the Lord," and I hope that expectation was not in vain. And you, my friend, who are now deprived of your only remaining relative, you are left, it is true, in a world of temptation and affliction ; yet you have, I trust, a friend and a brother who yet liveth, and one who is said to have loved his own that were in the world, and to love them to the end. A word to the congregation. — You have got to die, and it is a very serious matter whether this sentence be executed upon y ou in its terror : it must — it will — if out of Christ. Death will then have its sting, and Christ will come to your confusion. To the church. — We are about to com memorate his death. He hath wrought so great a deliverance — hath borne our sins. Look for him. Be disengaged. Have your work forward. " The Lord is at hand." LIV. PASTORS REQUIRED TO FEED THE FLOCK OF CHRIST. " Feed my sheep." — John xxi. 16. The conversation which passed between our Lord and Peter, of which the text forms a part, was designed to administer reproof, and to communicate forgiveness. The cut- 394 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. ting question was calculated to wound him to the quick ; the kind direction amounted to a full forgiveness. He might expect he had lost his office — but no — he shall be restored — " Feed my sheep." There are a few things suggested by these words which have of late made some impression on my mind ; particularly, the love of Christ to his people — my own duty as a pastor— and the character necessary for you to sustain, if you would thrive under the word. Let me notice I. The love of Christ to his peo ple, discovered in this charge to Peter. — You are to view hiin as a shepherd — the good Shepherd ofthe sheep — the chief Shep herd. The . time also is worthy of notice : he had just laid down his life for the sheep ; nay more, had taken it again (Heb. xiii. 20 ;) and being now about to leave his flock in the world, as sheep among wolves, he commits them to his under-shepherd. There is a close connection between his having died for them and his desire to have them fed ; which is afterward recognized by the apostle Paul, in his farewell address to the elders of the church at Ephesus : " Feed the church of God, which he hath purchas ed with his own blood." Observe three things in particular : — 1. The interest he claims in them: — "My sheep " — " my lambs." They are his as giv en him by the Father. — John x. 29. They are his as having purchased them with his blood. — Acts xx. 28. And they are his as being the travail of his soul, the reward of his death, which "satisfied" him. 2. The qualification he requires in their shepherd — Love ! He would not trust them with one who did not love him. One who did not love him, a hireling, would starve them, or poison them, and flee in a time of danger. — John a. 12. Give him the fleece, the flock may care for themselves. But, if we love Christ, we shall love his people for his sake. We shall feel a subordinate interest in them. It is by this a good shep herd is distinguished from a hireling. — John x. 11. Love will inspire vigilance and bold ness in feeding the flock, and defending them from danger. David was a genuine shep herd, when he risked his life to save a lamb. 3. The provision he has made for their being fed. — Under-shepherds cannot furnish the pasture : the utmost we can do is to lead you into it. But Christ does more. He not only provides shepherds, but pasture — the gospel, of which be is the subject. II. The duty of a minister to his people. — It is to " feed " them. The word here rendered "feed" signifies the whole duty of a shepherd, and not merely to sup ply them with food — to govern them, protect them, to care for them ; or (as Peter himself expresses it) "to take the oversight of them." To discharge this duty as it demands is a great matter. 1. It requires that we be divested of a selfish spirit. — The description of an idol- shepherd, by Zechariah (xi. 16, 17,) has of late been much on my mind. Two evils hang over him who is his own idol, or who wishes to be idolized by his people — a blast on his labors, and a mind void of judgment. 2. It requires that we be conversant with the gospel. — How else can we lead others into it? , If we be worldly-minded, we shall feed your evil principles and propensities ; but not your graces; at best, only your mental faculties. Many are thus fed by ingenious, speculative, preachers. But we must feed your best principles — your faith, hope, and love. Lord ! who is sufficient for these things ? III. The character necessary for YOU TO SUSTAIN IN ORDER TO THRIVE under the word. — You must be Christ's sheep, or you will not know his voice, the gospel will not be the food you will relish. If you are his sheep, you will enter in at the door. Christ is the door. You will know his voice, and follow him. You will enter his fold, uniting yourself to his people ; and you will go in and out, and find pasture. You will enter into the spirit of the church, as described by Solomon : " Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest ; where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon." &c. Sustaining this character, you will not famish for want of food. The gospel is rich pasture. Having led you into it on earth, may I be able at last to give an ac count, both of yOu and myself, with joy, and not with grief ! LV. — SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE AND HOLY LOVE NECESSARY FOR THE GOSPEL MIN ISTRY. [Sketch of a cliarge delivered lo a young min ister at his ordination.*] " He was a burning and a shining light." — John v. 35. In addressing you, my dear brother, on this solemn occasion, I shall not undertake so much to communicate any thing new as to remind you of what you know, and have felt already. You are aware that there are two main objects to be attained in the work of the Christian ministry — enlightening the minds and affecting the hearts of the people. These are the usual means by which the work of God is accomplished. Allow me to remind you that, in order to the attain ment of these objects, you yourself must be under their influence. If you would en lighten others, you must be " a shining light " yourself. And, if you would affect others, you yourself must feel: your own * The ten which follow this were also delivered on similar occasions. KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE ESSENTIAL TO THE MINISTRY. 395 heart must " burn " with holy ardor. You must be " a burning and a shining light." It is not enough that you should be what is called a popular preacher. A man may have gifts, so as to shine in the eyes of the multitude, almost as bright as he does in his own eyes ; and yet possess little or nothing of spiritual light — light, the tendency of which is to transform the heart. So also a man may burn with zeal, as Jehu did, and yet have little or no true love to God, or affection for the souls of men. Spiritual light and holy love are the qualities which Christ here commends. You will give your candid attention, my dear brother, while I endeavor to remind you of the necessity of each of these, in the different parts of your important work : — in the great work of preaching the gospel — in presiding in the church — in visiting your people — and in your whole demeanor through life. I. In the great work of preaching the gospel. — O, my brother, in this department we had need resemble the living creatures mentioned by Ezekiel (chap. i. 18) " full of eyes." We had almost need, in one view, to be made up of pure intellect — to be all light. I shall not attempt to decide how much knowledge is necessary, of men and things, of past and present times, of the church and the world ; but shall confine myself to two or three particulars, as speci mens. 1. How necessary is it to understand in some good degree the holy character of God! — It is this to which you will find that men in general are blind. They conceive of God as if he were such an one as them selves .... And hence they fancy they are not enemies to him. You will have to point out the true character of God, that the sin ner may see his own deformity, and not have the enmity ofhis heart concealed from his eyes. A just view of the holy charac ter of God will also be one of the best pre servatives against error in other respects. Almost all the errors in the world proceed from ignorance ofthe true character of God. To what else can be attributed the errors of Socinianism, Arianism, and Antinomianism ? From degraded views of God's character arise diminutive notions of the evil of sin — of its just demerit — of our lost condition — of our need of a great Saviour — and of the work of the Spirit. O, my brother, may you shed abroad this light with unsullied lus tre ! And, in order to this, commune much with God in private ; since there is no way of knowing the true character of an other so well as by personal, private inter course. 2. A knowledge of Christ, as the Media tor between God and man, is necessary. — " This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Here, also, men are greatly ignorant. He is in the world, and the world knows him not. It must be our concern, as ministers, to know him ; and, comparatively speaking, " to know nothing else " .... and this that we may diffuse the knowledge of him to others. The glory of Christ's character is such that if he were but viewed in a true light, and not through the false mediums of prejudice and the love of sin, but through the mirror of the gospel, he must be loved. John iv. 29, 39 — 42. Here, my brother, we need to be intimately acquainted with Christ, that we may be able on all occasions to give him a just character — that we may be able to tell of his dignity, his love, the generous principles of his undertaking, and how nobly he executed the arduous enterprise. 3. -A knowledge of human nature as creat ed is necessary.— We shall be unskilful workmen, unless we are accquainted with the materials on which we have to work. It is not more necessary for a surgeon or a physician to understand the anatomy of the human body than it is for ministers to under stand what may be called the anatomy of the soul. We had need enter into all the springs of action. In particular, we must be very careful to distinguish between pri mary and criminal passions. God habitu ally addresses the former, and so should we, but not the latter ; the latter being only the abuse of the principles implanted in our na ture. To be more explicit : God has creat ed us with the love of possession, but the , excess of this love becomes covetousness and idolatry. God has implanted within us a principle of emulation ; but the abuse of this is pride and ambition. God has created us with the love of pleasure; but this in dulged to excess becomes sensuality. Now the gospel never addresses itself to our corrupt passions ; but the word of God is full of appeals to those principles of our na ture with which we are created. For ex ample : in his word, God addresses himself to our love of possession ; and points to " an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away" — to the principle of emulation ; and presents to our view " a crown " — to our love of pleasure ; and in forms us that " in his presence there is ful ness of joy, and at his right hand are plea sures for evermore." And, in short, in the same way, he addresses the principles of zeal, love, hatred, shame, fear, revenge, &c. And so must we. 4. A knowledge of human nature as de praved is necessary. — Without this know ledge, we shall be unable to trace and de tect the workings of a wicked heart. Sin is a deceitful thing, and we are apt to be imposed upon by its specious names. Parsimonious- ness is called frugality ; prodigality, gener osity ; bitterness of spirit in reproving, fidel ity ; and resentment, a becoming' spirit. We 396 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. need therefore to know the root of the dis ease, and the various ways in which it ope rates. - In order to effect a cure, the know ledge of the disease is indispensable ; and, in order to attain to this knowledge, we must study the various symptoms by which the disorder may be distinguished. 5. A knowledge of human nature as sanctified by the Spirit is necessary. — With out this, we shall be unable to trace the work of God in the soul ; and unable to fan the gentle flame of divine love in the genuine Christian, and to detect and expose the various counterfeits. You will need also, my brother, a heart warmed with divine things, or you will never be "a burning and a shining light." When we are thinking or preaching, we need to burn, as well as shine. When we study, we may rack our brains, and form plans ; but, unless " our hearts burn within us," all will be a mere skeleton — our thoughts mere bones : whatever be their number, they will be all dry — very dry : and, if we do not feel what we say, our preaching will be poor dead work. Affected zeal will not do. A gilded fire may shine ; but it will not warm. We may smite with the hand, and stamp with the foot, and throw ourselves into vio lent agitations ; but, if we feel not, it is not likely the people will — unless, indeed, it be a feeling of disgust. But suppose there be no affectation, nor any deficiency of good and sound doctrine ; yet, if in our work we feel no inward satisfaction, we shall resem ble a millstone — preparing food for others, the value of which we are unable to appre ciate ourselves. Indeed, without feeling, we shall be incapable of preaching any truth or of inculcating any duty aright. How can we display the evil of sin, the love of Christ, or any other important truth, unless we feel it ? How can we preach against sin, without feeling a. holy indignation against it ? It is this that will cause us, while we denounce sin, to weep over the sinner. Otherwise, we may deal in flings and per sonalities ; but these will only irritate : they will never reclaim. O ! if ever we do any good in our work, it must be the effect of love to God and love to men — love to the souls of men, while we detest, and expose, and denounce their sins. How could Paul have pursued his work with the ardor and intenseness which he manifested, if his heart had not burned with holy love. II. Spiritual light and holy love are equally necessary in presiding in the church of God. Wisdom and love are necessary, calmly to lay down rules of discipline— to solve dif ficult questions — to prepare and digest, in concurrence with the deacons, such matters as require to be laid before tlie church— to nip httle differences in the bud— to medi ate between contending parties, &c My brother, think of the example of the Lord Jesus, who, in his intercourse with his disci ples, saluted them with this benediction — " Peace be with you ! " The' great art of presiding in a church, so as to promote its welfare, is to be neutral between the mem bers, always on the side of God and right eousness, and to let them see that, whatever your opinion may be, you really love them. III. These qualities are necessary in the more private duty of visiting the people. A considerable part of the pastoral office consists in visiting the people, especially the afflicted. Paul could appeal to the el ders of the church at Ephesus that he had taught them publicly and "from house to house." It is of great consequence that, in your pastoral visits, you should preserve the character of " a burning and a shining light." Pastoral visits should not degenerate into religious gossiping — a practice in which some have indulged to the disgrace of reli gion. Unused to habits of reflection, they feel no relish for solitude ; and therefore, to employ the time which hangs so heavy on their hands, they saunter about to see their friends, and to ask them how they are. Nor is this the worst. Satan promptly furnishes a subject where there is such a dearth ; and hence gossiping has generally produced tales-of slander, and practices which have proved a scandal to the Christian name ! I trust, my brother, you know the precious- ness of time too well to squander it away in idle visits. And yet visiting is an essential part of your work, that you may become ac quainted with the circumstances, the spirit ual necessities of your people. They will be able to impart their feelings freely and unreservedly ; and you will be able to ad minister the appropriate counsel to much better purpose than you possibly can from the pulpit, and with greater particularity than would be becoming in a public address. Only let us burn while we shine. Let a savor of Christ accompany all our instruc tions. A minister who maintains an upright, affectionate conduct, may say almost any thing, in a way of just reproof, without giv ing offence. IV. Spiritual light and holy love are necessary in your whole demeanor through life. May you, my brother, shine in holy wisdom, and burn with ardent love. You will need them, wherever you go — in whatever you engage — that you may walk as one ofthe children of light. Allow me to point out a few things which I have found of use, to conduce to these ends : — 1. Read the lives of good men — the lives of such men as God has distinguished for gifts, and graces, and usefulness. Example has a great influence. The Scriptures abound with such examples. And, blessed be God, we have some now. MINISTERIAL ATTENTION TO THE SCRIPTURES. 397 2. Study the word of God, above all other books, and pray over it. — It is this will set our hearts on fire. There are no such mo tives exhibited any where as there — no such exhibitions of wisdom and love. 3. Read men, as well as books, and your own heart, in order that you may read others. — Copyists, you know, are generally bung lers. There is nothing that equals what is taken immediately from the life. We need always be making our observations, wherev er we are, or wherever we go. If we get a system of human nature, or experience, or any thing else, from books, rather than from our own knowledge, it will be liable to two disadvantages. First : It is not likely to be so near the truth ; for systems which go through several hands are like successive copies of a painting, every copy of the pre ceding one is more unlike the original- — or hke the telling of a tale, the circumstances of which you do not know of your own per sonal knowledge : every time it is repeated there is some variation, and thus it becomes farther removed from the truth. Thus Agrippa showed his wisdom, when, instead of depending on the testimony of others, he determined to hear Paul 'himself. Second ly: If it be correct, still it wiil not be so ser viceable to you as if it were a system of of your own working. Saul's armor might be better than David's sling ; but not to him, seeing he had not proved it. 4. Live the life of a Christian, as well as of a minister — Read as one, preach as one, converse as one — to be profited, as well as to profit others. One of the greatest tempta tions of a ministerial life is to handle divine truth as ministers, rather than as Christians — for others rather than for ourselves. But the word will not profit them that preach it, any more than it will them that hear it, un less it be " mixed with faith." If we study the Scriptures as Christians, the more fa miliar we are with them the more we shall feel their importance: but, if our object be only to find out something to say to others, our familiarity with them will prove a snare. It will resemble that of soldiers, and doctors, and undertakers, with death : the more fa miliar we are with them, the less we shall feel their importance. See Prov. xxii. 17, 18. Ps. i. 2, 3. 5. Commune with God in private. — Walk ing with God in the closet is a grand means, with his blessing, of illuminating our minds and warming our hearts. When Moses came down from the mount, his face shone bright, and his heart burned with zeal for the honor of God and the good of his people. Alas! alas! for want of this .... See Jer. x. 21. 6. Hold forth the word of life, not only by precept, but by a holy practice. — " Let your light so shine before men that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven." Without this, in vain will be all our pretensions to being " burning and shining lights." My dear brother, allow me to conclude with an earnest prayer, that you may long continue a "burning and a shining light" to this church ; and that, after having " turn ed many to righteousness," you may shine as a distinguished star in the firmament for ever and ever ! LVI. — ON AN INTIMATE AND PRACTICAL ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE WORD OF GOD. 44 Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments." — Ezra vii. 10. My dear brother, the long and intimate friendship which has subsisted between us will I hope render any apology unnecessary for my occupying this situation upon this solemn occasion. I should certainly have felt a pleasure in hearing some senior mi nister: but with your desire, on the ground of intimate friendship, I feel disposed to comply. I feel a peculiar pleasure in ad dressing you ; for I can speak to you as a friend — a brother — an equal — an acquaint ance, with whom I have often taken sweet counsel, and walked to the house of God. You will not, I am sure, misinterpret my freedom, or suppose that I wish to assume any superiority over you, or to dictate to you. You expect me to insist upon the im portance of the work in which you are en gaged ; and for this purpose I have direct ed my attention to the passage I have read, and would recommend to you the example of Ezra. Example has a strong tendency to excite us to emulation ; and in Ezra the scribe you have the character of an eminent servant of the most high God, held up to your admira tion and imitation. Ministers in the New Testament are called " scribes, instructed unto the kingdom of heaven ; " and in Ezra you have the character of " a ready scribe." There are four things in his character upon which I shall discourse, and which I would recommend to you. I. Seek the law, or will, of God. — I need not inform you, my brother, that the law, in the Old Testament especially, is commonly to be understood as synonymous with the Scriptures, the word, or the revealed will of God. The Scriptures were then as commonly called " the law oi the Lord " as they are now called " the word of God." So the term is to be understood here. To " seek the law of the Lord " is the same as to ascertain his mind and will in his sacred word. You are to " feed the people with know ledge and understanding ; " but you cannot do this without understanding yourself- 398 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. Your lips are to " keep knowledge," and the people are to " seek the law at your mouth ; " but, in order to communicate it to them, you must seek it at the mouth of God. 1. Seekit, my brother. — It will never be found without. It is a mine, in which you will have to dig. And it is a precious mine, which will well repay all your labor. 2. Seek it at the fountain-head. — You feel, I doubt not, a great esteem for many of your brethren, now living, and admire the writings of some who are now no more ; and you will read their productions with attention and pleasure. But, whatever excellence your brethren possess, it is all borrowed ; and it is mingled with error. Learn your religion from the Bible. Let that be your decisive rule. Adopt not a body of senti ments, or even a single sentiment, solely on the authority of any man — however great, however respected. Dare to think for yourself. Human compositions are fal lible. But the Scriptures were written by men who wrote as they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Human writings on religion resemble preaching — they are useful only so far as they illustrate the Scriptures^ and induce us to search them for ourselves. 3. Seek the will of God in every part of the Bible. — It is very true that some parts of the Bible are more interesting than others. But " all Scripture is profitable " and necessary. Do not take this part and leave that. Some people foolishly talk of Arminian texts, and Calvinistic texts, as if Scripture were repug nant to itself! That system, whatever it be called, cannot be the right one, that rejects any one part of Scripture whatever. 4. Seek it perseveringly. — Do not reckon yourself so to have found it as to be self- sufficient. Be open to conviction from every quarter. Seek it by reading, by meditation, by prayer, by conversation — by all the means that offer. Do not reject information from an inferior, or even an enemy. In the study of the Scriptures you will always be a learner. II. Prepare your heart to seek the law of the Lord. — There is a preparation of heart in which we are wholly passive, which is, in the strictest sense, the work of God ; and, without this, woe be to any of us that should dare to set up for teachers of his law and gospel ! — But there is also a preparation of heart in which we are. active ; and this is the preparedness intended in the text. In this, even, God is the cause : he actuates ; but then we act. Of this preparation we have to speak ; and it consists in prayer, and self-examination, and meditation. Your work is a course, and for this you must pre pare by " girding up the loins of your mind " — aflght, and you must " put on the whole armor of God." The work of God should not be entered upon rashly. God frequently brings his servants through a train of in structions and trials, that they may be fitted for it. Moses was forty years at court, and forty years a shepherd. These, were his days of preparation. Christ prepared his disciples by his, instructions during his life, and previous to their great work they pre pared themselves. — Acts i. Such preparation of heart is not only ne cessary for your entrance intothe pastoral of fice, but also for your continuance in it. You will find that every exercise requires it. You do not need being guarded against that er roneous notion of so trusting to the Spirit as to neglect personal preparation for your pub lic labors. But this preparedness is not only requisite for speaking the truth in public, but as well for seeking it in private. Let all your private meditations be mingled with prayer. You will study your Bible to wonderful ad vantage, if you go to it spiritually-minded. It is this which causes us to see the beauty and to feel the force of many parts of Scrip ture, to which, in a carnal state of mind, we are blind and stupid. If we go to the study of the Bible wise in our own conceits, and self- sufficient, we shall get no good. When we would be taught from God's word, we must learn as little children. Again : If we go to the Bible merely, or chiefly, to find some thing to say to the people, without respect to our own souls, we shall make but poor progress. My brother, study divine truth as a Christian, and not merely as a minister. Consider your own soul as deeply interested ; and dread the thought of cultivating others, while you suffer your own heart to remain uncultivated. If you study divine truth as a Christian, your being constantly engaged in the study will promote your growth in grace : you will be like " a tree planted by riv ers of water : " you will not only bring forth fruit for the people, but your leaf shall not wither, and whatever you do shall prosper. But, if merely as a minister, the reverse. I believe it is a fact that, where a minister is wicked, he is the most hardened against con viction of any character. III. Keep the law. — "Do it." The apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, is very particular as to personal religion, in a bishop, or pastor. "Take heed to thyself, and to the doctrine." — " Keep thyself pure." — " Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Observe, too, the connec tion in which this exhortation stands — " Let no man despise thy youth ; " plainly intima ting that a holy example will render even youth respectable. Your Lord and Master both did and taught the will of God. 1. Dread nothing more than recommending that to your people to which you do not attend yourself. — You may preach with the fervor of an angel ; but if your practice, your hab itual deportment, be inconsistent, all you do will be in vain. MINISTERS MUST OPPOSE EVIL AND CHERISH GOOD. 399 2. More is expected from you than from others. — A wicked preacher is of all charac ters the most contemptible. Even the pro fane despise him. 3. You will attend to practical preaching. — But how can you either exhort or reprove, if your people should ever have it in their pow er to say, " Physician, heal thyself?"—" Thou that teachest another, teachest thou not thy self?" 4. Attend not only to such duties as fall under the eye of man, but ivalk with God, — in your family, and in your closet. It will require all your wisdom to bring up your chil dren " in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; " and, if you rule not well in your own house, you cannot expect to maintain a prop er influence in the church of God. Beware also of omitting secret devotions. Convers ing with men and things may brighten your gifts ; but communion with God is necessa ry to improve your graces. IV. Teach in Israel the statutes and judg ments of God. — It is not for me to dictate to you what doctrines you are to teach, or what precepts you should enforce. But I hope you will evince your sincerity by preaching in the main such things as, in your confession of faith, you have just avow ed ; not however to the neglect of other points, which could scarcely be expected to be introduced in such a document. The more you are acquainted with the word of God, the more you will find it abounds with trutbs, reviving truths too, which seldom or never have a place in confessions of faith. But, passing this, allow me to give you a few general hints on the subject of teaching. 1. Let Christ and his apostles be your ex- umples. — Teach as they taught, ft would be worth while to read over the Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, if it were only to discover their manner of teaching. Dare to avow every truth which they avowed ; and address your audience in such language as they addressed to theirs, and that without softening it down, or explaining it away. 2. Give every part of the truth its due pro portion. — Preach every truth in the propor tion in which it is introduced by God in his word. You will find some people attached to one class of truths, and others to another class : but be you attached to all. If you are habitually dwelling upon one truth, it must be to the neglect of others ; and it is at your peril to keep back any part of the counsel of God! If you preach not the great doctrines of the gospel ; such as the entire depravity of our nature, the atonement of Christ, the work of the Spirit, &c, the people of God will be famished. If you preach these doctrines, to the neglect of those practical addresses, they will be in danger of a religious surfeit. If you preach doctrinally, some may call you an antinomi- an; if you preach practically, others may call you a legalist. But go on, my brother : this is a kind of dirt that won't stick. Preach the law evangelically, and the gospel prac tically ; and God will bless you, and make you a blessing. 3. Dare to teach unwelcome truths. — The Christian ministry must be exercised with affection and fidelity. Study not to offend any man ; yet keep not back important truth, even if it do offend. You must not enter the pulpit to indulge your own temper ; but neither are you at liberty to indulge the humor of others. Be more concerned to commend yourself to the consciences of your people than to their good opinion, 4. Give scriptural proof of what you teach. — Do not imagine that mere assertion will do. Evidence ought to form the body of your discourses. Such expressions as "J say," uttered in the most magisterial tone,. will, after all, prove nothing — except the un warrantable confidence of the preacher. 5. Consider yourself as standing engaged to teach all that hear you. — Rich and poor, young and old, godly and ungodly — " warn ing the wicked, lest his blood be required at your hands." Seek the salvation of every man's soul. This was the apostolic method r " warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom." Whether every indi vidual of your congregation will accept your message is another question. Your concern, should be, not to intermeddle with what is- not revealed, but to " preach the gospel to every creature ; " and to pray for all, as Paul did for Agrippa and his court, without dis tinction : " I would that — all that hear me this day were — altogether such as I am." 6. Teach privately as well as publicly. — Make your visits among your people subser vient to instruction and edification. Take the example of Paul. — Acts xx. 20. Let a savor of Christ accompany you in your in tercourse with your flock. This will great ly contribute to your public usefulness. My brother, seek the law of God — seek it with a prepared heart — reduce it to practice — and teach it diligently ; and you will be, not only, like Ezra, a " ready " scribe ; but " a scribe well-instructed in the kingdom of God." LVII. — MINISTERS ARE APPOINTED TO ROOT OUT EVIL AND TO CULTIVATE THAT WHICH IS GOOD. " I have this day set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, and to build, and to plant." — Jer. i. 10. This language, my brother, is not in every sense applicable to the present occa sion. The prophet's was an extraordinary, yours is an ordinary office. His was to be exercised over nations and kingdoms, yours over a church and congregation. Yet, even in his case, there was no civil power — he 400 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. was no pope — nor was he invested with the authority of a modern bishop. All the power he had pertained to his office as a prophet: he had no secular authority : he pulled down and built up prophetically. And though you have no such power as this, by extraordinary inspiration, yet, in a way of declaring the truths of God's word, " whosesoever sins you remit, they are remitted, and whosesoever sins you retain, they are retained." Your labor is less than the prophet's was, but the nature of your work i3 much the same ; and the same spirit of faithfulness is required over a few things as over many things. Your work is divided into two parts. One is, to discourage evil : " to root out, to pull down, to destroy, and to throw down." The other is, to encourage good : " to build, and to plant." The imagery, you perceive, is of two kinds — that of a house, and that of a garden. The church is God's house, God's build ing ; and you are appointed to be a laborer " together with God," to pull down, and de stroy, and throw down the rubbish, and then to build upon a new and good foundation. The church is also God's garden ; and you are appointed to work in it, and keep it in order, to root out the weeds, and to plant and cultivate the goodly fruit. Give me your attention, my dear brother, while I inquire what are the evils you are to oppose, and the good you are to encourage, and the methods to be adopted in pursuing these objects. Let us I. Inquire what are the evils against WHICH YOU MUST CONTEND AND THE METH ODS YOU ARE TO ADOPT IN THIS OPPOSITION. 1. By your public ministry root out errors in doctrine. — Overturn them — not by empty declamation, but by solid scriptural evidence' — not by the wild fury of a bigot, but with the pure love of the Christian pastor, whose care it should be to preserve his charge from things that tend to the, ruin of their souls. — Particularly, if you love God, you will be concerned to root up every thing that op poses the glory of his character and moral government. Vindicate the ways of God to men against all their hard thoughts and speeches. Vindicate his law both in its precepts and penalty. You have observed, I doubt not, that this is the foundation for the grace ofthe gospel. — If you love Christ, you will root up those principles which de grade his dignity and set aside his atone ment. — If you love your people, you will root up those principles'which endanger the sal vation of their souls ; such as self-righteous ness and presumptuous hope. There is plenty of work to remove the covering and to pull down the vain expectations of sinners .... You have seen, and will see, many whose habitual deportment proves them ene mies to the cross, who yet entertain hopes of heaven: try and find out the delusive ground of their hope, and expose it; only be careful to avoid personalities, which will ir ritate rather than convince. 2. By leading the church, in the exercise of faithful discipline, root out evil doers. — Churches which in former years have' been respectable and prosperous are fast falling into decay for want of discipline. Some have pleaded the parable of the wheat and tares as an excuse for negligence in disci pline ; but this is a perversion. The field is the world, not the church. The application ofthe principle to the church would render all the rules ofthe gospel superfluous. 3. By rendering your occasional visits sub servient to the purposes of conviction and cor rection. — You may in this way root up many evils which you cannot by either of the other means. There are cases which you cannot touch in the pulpit, on account of their sin gularity and minuteness, without being per sonal, which, as I just said, will irritate rather than reclaim. There are also cases which do not fall under church censure, which yet should come within the cognizance of a faithful pastor. This, I confess, is a difficult part of your work ; r.nd some for fear of giv ing offence, have declined it: but, suppose offence were given, if you are in the path of duty, what have you to fear? Some will say, "If such and such persons are offended, the cause will sink." Then let it sink. You may safely leave that, however, to Christ: if it should therefore sink, he will not blame you. But what cause must that Tie that is upheld by such unworthy means ? After all, however, there is a way of managing these things by which offence is seldom or ever given. The great secret_is to mingle love with your fidelity. This "was Paul's method with the Corinthians. Consider the peculiar temptations and constitutional or education al tendencies ofthe party, and mingle coun sel and encouragement with censure. We proceed to inquire II. What is that good which you are to encourage, or what is the work denoted by building and planting? — This is a much more agreeable part of the subject than the other, though not more necessary. In general, encourage and impart just sentiments. The truth has ever been God's honored instrument in doing good. — Encour age and cultivate holy tempers and disposi tions. Labor to build up your people in these things. That is not always the best ministry that draws the most followers, but that which does the most good. When I see a company of modest, humble, upright, love ly, diligent, holy people, I see the hest evi dence of a good minister. But let me be a little more particular. First, AS A BUILDER 1. Be sure that you lay a right founda tion. — Christ is the foundation of God's lay ing, the foundation of the apostles and prophets ; and you must lay him, as the MINISTERS SHOULD BE CONCERNED NOT TO BE DESPISED. 401 foundation of faith and holiness. All true holiness is built upon faith in Christ. Many preachers who profess to entertain a great regard for a holy life, and deal much in moral declamations, omit this part of their work. 2. See that your materials be fitly framed together.— -Ephes. ii. 21. Three things be long to this : (1) That the materials be hew ed and squared. — What would a company of proud, self-willed, prejudiced professors do together with the godly ? These sins must be cut off. They ought to be like the stones of the temple before you lay them in the house of God. (2) That they be formed by the same rule. — The stones must not only be cut even, but so as to fit the foundation and each other, or they cannot be fitly framed. Whatever variety there may be in some re spects, there must be uniformity in others. No society can exist without similarity of views. Our hearts must be renewed after the image of Christ ; and, if they fit and fall in with his gospel and government, they will fit one another. But all attempts to build men into religious society without this will be vain. " For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion hath light with dark ness?" &c— See 2 Cor. vi. 14—18. "How can two walk together except they be agreed?" (3) That, in being placed in the building, every one be put in that situation for which he is formed. — Some have splendid gifts, and are like stones in the front of the building, for ornament and strength. Others have more private excel lences ; but, though less conspicuous, they- may not be less useful. Some are like Barnabas, affectionate ; and excel in seek ing out obscure humble inquirers. — Acts ix. 27. Others are wise in counsel and grave in deportment. Every gift should be so disposed of as that it shall be ofthe greatest use to the whole, otherwise the building will not be fitly framed together. Where offices are filled with men because they are men of property, it is often otherwise. 3. So frame the whole as that it may be a fit habitation for God. — It must be God's house, not yours. Beware that you go not about it as Nebuchadnezzar went about Babylon — " This is the house which / have built " — this is my hous.e ! I trust you have no greater desire than that God would take up his abode with you. Well — build you but upon his foundation, and by his rule, and he will dwell with you. All buildings are with a view to habitation. Secondly, as a planter, prepare the soil by searching and convincing doctrine. — Sow "wholly a right seed." When you see the plants growing up, give attention to them. Cultivate them by every means, and pray that they may be watered by the Holy Spirit. Allow me a word or two, my brother, par- Vol. 2.— Sig. 51. ticularly applicable to yourself individually. 1. While you root out and pull down, and build and plant, in God's house and vineyard, do not overlook your own. Person al religion is of the utmost importance to a minister. 2. Take into consideration that you are "a laborer together with God." — He that employs you will reward you. Look, my brother, beyond the grave for your reward. We have but little here ; but, if we had much, it would be an awful thing to receive that for our reward ! LVIII. — MINISTERS SHOULD BE CONCERNED NOT TO BE DESPISED. " Let no man despise thee." — Titus ii. 15. My brother, I feel a pleasure in the work of this day, partly from the love I bear to you, and partly from the love I feel towards the church. I trust you will receive a word of advice on this solemn occasion with candor and attention. You will observe the passage is not an address to the people not to despise their minister ; but to the minister not to be despised by the people. If you ask how you are to prevent this, I answer, Contempt is not a voluntary feeling. It is not in the power of men to despise some characters. They may dislike them ; they may affect to ridicule them; but they cannot in their hearts despise them. If a minister conducts himself in character, no man will be able to despise him. This, then, is the sentiment which I wish to impress upon you. Your work as a pastor may be distinguish ed into three departments — the pulpit, the church, and the world — in each of which I hope you will so conduct yourself as that no man shall be able to despise you. Let me offer to your consideration a few particulars under each. I. What concerns you in the pulpit, or in the work of preaching the gospel. 1. Avoid all affectation in your manner. — Do not affect the man of learning by useless criticisms : many do this, only to display their knowledge. — Nor yet the orator, by high-sounding words, or airs, or gestures. Useful learning and an impressive delivery should by no means be slighted ; but they must not be affected, or men will be sure to despise you. 2. Avoid self-seeking in your ends.— Preach not yourself, but Christ Jesus. Seek not the approbation of men for yourself, but for your doctrine. Study to commend the gospel to the consciences of your hearers, rather than your own orthodoxy, or ingenui ty, or zeal, to their admiration. If, instead of endeavoring to secure their reception of the gospel-message, you are concerned to 402 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. recommend yourself to their applause, you will be sure to be despised. 3. Avoid vulgarity and low wit. — Though the pulpit is not the place for affected pom posity, neither is it the place for mean and low language. Few men are more con temptible than those who study to introduce vulgar nonsense and jocose anecdotes, to make people laugh. Sound speech, sound sense, and the greatest seriousness, adorn the pulpit. Without these, you will be despised. 4. Do not advance sentiments without being able to support them by Scripture evidence. — Many content themselves with assertions without proof, and make vehemence supply the place of evidence. But this will cause you to be despised by men of understanding. 5. Beware that you do not preach an unfelt gospel. — If you do, it will be seen, and you will be despised. - It will be seen that, though you affect to be in earnest, you do not feel ; and that you scarcely believe your own doctrine. We may get into a habit of talking for the truth, and pleading for holi ness, and yet be dead ourselves ; and, if so, we shall be sure to be despised. 6. Let not the fear qf man deter you from declaring the whole counsel of God. — Insist on every divine truth and duty. Where in terest or friendship stand in the way, it may be trying; but, if you yield, the very par ties to whom you yield will despise you. Speak but the truth in love, and speak the whole truth, and you will commend your self to every man's conscience, when you can do no more. 7. Never degrade the pulpit by indulging in personalities. — These are for private admonition. " Rebuke with all authority ; " but let your personal rebukes be in private. To introduce them in the pulpit is unmanly, and would render you despicable. Let us apply the language II. To your behavior in the church, and among your fellow christians. 1. Do not lord it over God's heritage. — You will have to preside in the church, and di rect its measures ; but never assume the lordly priest. Expect your judgment, in some cases, to be overruled, and learn to yield with cheerfulness when the measures you wish to introduce appear to be opposed to the opinion and desires of the majority of your brethren. It is not with a minister of the gospel as with a minister of state — that he must have a majority, or he cannot stand his ground. If we " look on the things of others," we may, in non-essentials, after speaking our minds, yield and be happy. But if we are determined to carry every point which appears to us desirable, in spite of the opinion of our brethren, though we may not always succeed, we shall invariably be despised for the attempt. 2. Yet have u judgment qf your own. — .;. nis-vill become } ou on every subject ; and where it is of importance you ought to be firm and resolute. A minister must not be borne down by the capriciousness of a few. He who is easily turned aside from a good object, and will bear insult without a proper manifestation of his displeasure, will be despised as much as a lordly high-priest. If a minister be not firm, discipline will, in many cases, be neglected. People have their friends, and relatives, and favorites ; and very few, though the operation be blood less, have sufficient regard for rectitude to act upon the principle of the sons of Levi. — See Exod. xxxii. 17 — 29. But you must, or you will be despised. 3. Do not affect the gentleman in your visits. — Do not assume airs of consequence, and take liberties in families, as if, because you are a minister, you are therefore supe rior as a man. I do not say, do not be a gen tleman ; but do not affect the great man. Real gentility, and urbanity, and politeness, are no mean or despicable attainments. There was much Christian politeness in the apostle Paul. But the affectation of the fine gentleman is great folly ; and no men are more despised than those who strut about with lordly dignity, and give them selves consequential airs. You had much better feel yourself a Christian, and consider that you are associating with your fellow Christians, or with those who expect you to exhibit a pattern for their imitation. 4. Yet preserve a dignity of manner and demeanor. — There is no occasion for you, in order to avoid the affectation of gentility to sink into low buffoonery, vulgarity, or drol lery. My brother, the fear of God, and a deep sense of religion, will effectually pre serve you from these extremes, and render you respectable, instead of contemptible. 5. Beware of being a loiterer. — Do not ac quire a habit of wandering about and doing nothing. Visit, and visit "from house to house." But look well to your visits : "preach from house to house." There is work enough in a congregation for a minis ter to do : but nothing renders him more contemptible and despised than a habit of religious gossipping. Let us apply the text III. To your general deportment in the world. 1. Let your conduct correspond with your preaching. — Men will watch you. You may put off the preacher in mixed company ; but you must never put off the man of God — the Christian. Whatever you may be in the pulpit, if in the world you be frothy, vain, contentious, captious, unfeeling, unjust, or make engagements you cannot fulfil, you will be despised. On the contrary, consist ency of character will wear, and live down opposition. 2. Never be ashamed of religion in any company. — There is no need to introduce it on all occasions, and in all companies. This would render you despised one way. But MINISTERS ARE FELLOW-LABORERS WITH GOD. 403 be not the subject of cowardly timidity, supercede the necessity of close application That would render you equally, if not more, — Psa. xxvii. 4. We must be perpetually despicable. There is nothing in true reli- inquiring, and searching. — 1 Peter i. 10—12. gion but what admits of a rational defence. We must " give ourselves " to the word of There wants nothing to defend religion but God and prayer. The very angels are per- firmness of mind. But, if you are ashamed petually gospel students, " desiring to look of the cause you have espoused, its oppo- into" the things that are revealed. Unless nents will heartily despise you. we labor in this way, there can be no proper To conclude. — If the contempt oi men food or variety in our preaching. "Medi- be such a matter of dread, how much more tate on these things : give thyself wholly to the contempt of God ! Then so conduct them." The truths of God's word are wor- yourself that you may not be ashamed, and not be despised, at his coming ! thy of being our meat and drink .... Dig ging in these mines is very pleasant work when we can enter into them. But there are seasons when it is otherwise ; and yet we must go on, though we scarcely know how ; this is labor. 2. Another part is communicating the mind of God so as to apply it to the cases of the people. — It belongs to the work of the ministry to apply truth to the circumstances LIX. — MINISTERS ARE FELLOW-LABORERS WITH GOD. " We are laborers together with God." — 1 Cor. iii. 9. My dear brother, in every address of this kind I wish to be understood as assuming no and consciences ofthe hearers, as well as to kind of authority whatever ; but simply as teach it ; and, in order to this, we must study concurring in the work of the day, and as nien as well as things. We must trace the presenting to the consideration of my workings of a depraved heart, in order to de- brother in the ministry a few observations tect its shiftings and subterfuges — the doubts suited to the occasion. and difficulties of a desponding heart, in or- The words we have selected afford us an der to remove them, and to point out the important view of the Christian ministry Co-operators with God ! Not, indeed, as co ordinate, but as subordinate. We labor un der him. It is not our husbandry, nor our building, but God's ; and the design of the apostle was to cut off the vainglorying in men to which the Corinthians were so ad dicted, saying, I am of Paul, or I am of Apollos, or I am of Cephas. Yet it affords way of life — and the general operations of a gracious heart, in order to distinguish be tween genuine and spurious religion, lest, while we comfort the real Christian, we should soothe the hypocrite. For these important purposes, it is neces sary that we should avail ourselves of two grand sources of information — experience and observation. That which is derived a most honorable and animating view of from these sources is taken from life, and is the Christian ministry — fellow-laborers with generally more profitable than that which is God! I shall consider the passage in two copied from even the most judicious writings views ; viz. as affording us a directory as to the nature of our work, and an encourage ment in our performance of it. I. As affording us a directory as to the NATURE OF OUR WORK. Our work is a labor. — If any man enter upon the ministry from a desire to live an easy, idle life, he is under a great mistake. He may make such a life of it, but he will not fulfil his work. And let him take heed lest he be rejected at the last: " Cast ye out the unprofitable servant into outer darkness." A proper discharge of the Christian minis try must be a labor. This will appear if we consider a few of the principal parts of which it is composed. of men, at second-hand. But all this re quires labor. I may add, much of the labor that attends this part of our work arises from the state of those with whom we have to deal, and our want of success. — In preaching to sinners, we have to attack the strong holds of Satan — ignorance, prejudice, pride, self-righteousness, hardness of heart, unbe lief, and aversion from God. Our work here is like having to dig through a rock of flint — we have much labor, and make slow pro gress. Sometimes we espy a downcast look and a falling tear, and this inspires courage ; but these hopeful appearances often subside. Many a character, of whom we have hoped well for years, is still hang- 1. A leading part of this work consists in ing between God and the world, and we our becoming acquainted with the mind of know not what will be the issue. These God in his word. — We must " labor in word are the things which occasion those pains of and doctrine." We cannot " feed the peo- labor of which the apostle speaks: "My lit- ple with knowledge and with understand- tie children, of whom I travail in birth, until ing," unless we possess them. Truth is a Christ be formed in you." well— full of water, but deep. A mine — rich, 3. Another part of our ministry consists but requiring much labor to dig up the in following up the work of preaching, by precious ore. Such a depth is there in the close conversation in our private visits. — Paul word of God that inspiration itself does not taught at Ephesus "from house to house." 404 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. It is painful and laborious to a feeling mind to tell persons of their faults, and yet we cannot fulfil our duty without. To intro duce personal reflections in public, where no answer can be made, and where the ten dency is to expose rather than to reclaim, is mean and unmanly ; but it is not so in pri vate : there we must be faithful, and, in or der to be faithful, we must be personal. But this is hard work. Ministers, as well as other men, have their feelings. They love peace, and they wish to retain the friend ship of their people. But, if a minister tell the truth, there is great danger of his being counted an enemy, and treated as such. Faithful reproof, therefore, must be self- denying work. Tbe grand secret, I think, to render this part of our work as easy as possible, is to love the souls of the people, and to do every thing from pure good will, and with a view to their advantage — "speak ing the truth in love." The man that can be offended by such treatment, and leave his place in the house of God, can be no less to a minister or to a congregation. 4. Another part of our work is, presiding iii the church in the character of a pastor. — And this is labor. Those who preside in a large community find it very difficult to manage amidst such a variety of spirits and tempers ; and those who preside in a small one may find it still more difficult, where in dividuals are of more consequence, and therefore, perhaps, more assuming and liti gious. A large cburch is like a large fami ly, in which there is a necessity for constant labor and continual attention, to keep things in proper order. But a small church may be compared to a. little boat, floating on the waters — a single wrong movement may overset it. In either case we had need be endued with righteousness, godliness, faith, love, meekness, patience, and forbearance. The less we have of self-importance and of tenaciousness in carrying a point, and the more of respect and disinterested regard for our brethren, the less labor will it be to us. Having considered the Christian ministry under the idea of a labor, I may observe that we are further directed as to its nature, by considering ourselves as "laborers to gether with God." By this we are taught to labor in the samo cause and to the same ends as God. God, in all his operations, keeps certain im portant ends in view, and we must join with him : for example — to glorify his Son .... to abase the sinner .... to alarm the wick ed ... . to comfort the believer .... and we must unite with God in all this. We must habitually exalt the Saviour and hum ble the pride of man. Our constant mes sage must be— it shall be well with the righteous, but it shall be ill with the wicked. We must never comfort those whom God would alarm. When God, brings a sinner under concern, it is our business to forward the work. If a man tell me he is a great sinner, it is not for me to soothe him, and to persuade him that he sees things in too strong a light ; but rather to convince him that he is a much greater sinner than he conceives, and that the heart of man is " deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." The only comfort I am authorized to offer him is, by pointing him to a great Saviour — one who is able to save to the ut termost all that come unto God by him, and who will never cast out any that apply to him for mercy. It is dangerous as soon as we perceive concern to smile and tell the party that this is a good sign, and all will soon be well. It is a good symptom, if it be genuine ; but if, before we can ascertain the reality of the repentance, we begin to soothe and console the sinner, we shall be in danger of causing him to be satisfied, in stead of urging him to an application where alone he ought to take up his rest ; and, in stead of being laborers together ivith God, we shall be found to be laboring against him. God calls him to mourning and weep ing and lamentation ; and it is at our peril to comfort him by any thing short of an ex hibition of the free grace of the gospel. We proceed II. To consider the passage as affording us, not only a directory as to the nature of our work, but an encouragement in the discharge of it. — And this is derivable from the latter clause — "laborers together with God." If we be with God, God is with us ; and that is the greatest encouragement we can have. "Lo! I am with you always, to the end of the world." 1. If we be with God, God will be with us to assist us in our private labors. — There is much in the prayer of the apostle Paul on behalf of Timothy — " The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit." It is this that will sweeten our labor. Solomon speaks of a joy in labor, and certainly, of all labor, none is so productive of joy as digging in the mines of everlasting truth — especially -when the Lord Jesus is with our spirit. 2. God will be with us in blessing our public labors. — Had Moses gone to the rock without God, he might have spoken, and have smitten it, but it would not have cleav ed asunder: the rock would have broken the rod, rather than the rod the rock. The same may be said of our labors on the hearts of men. But with God we shall " do valiant ly." " The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God." God, we may be certain, will not labor in vain ; and, if we labor with him, neither shall we. " Thanks be to God, who always causeth us to tri umph in Christ, and always maketh mani fest the savor of his knowledge by us." My brother, if we be faithful laborers, we shall in no wise lose our reward, MANNER IN WHICH THE GOSPEL SHOULD BE PREACHED. 405 LX. — the nature of the gospel, and THE MANNER IN WHICH IT OUGHT TO BE PREACHED. " Praying for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, — that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak."— Col. iv. 3,i4. My dear brother, I have chosen this pas sage, on the present occasion, as expressing not the whole of your work, but an im portant part of it — preaching the gospel. For the discharge of this, an apostle be sought the prayers of his brethren, and so should we. The words imply that, to do justice to the gospel, or to preach it as it ought to be preached, we need a special divine influence, and consequently the prayers of our brethren. I wish at this time to call your attention to the work itself — the manner in which the gospel ought to be preached ; and then to offer a few motives to your consideration. I. I shall call your attention to the man ner IN WHICH THE GOSPEL OUGHT TO BE PREACHED. It is not my wish to dismay your spirit, but yet I desire to impress you with a sense of the importance of the work of the minis try, that,- like the apostle, you may cry to Him who alone can give you strength to discharge it. That we may form some idea of the manner in which the gospel ought to be preached, it is necessary to consider some of its leading properties. We may mention four or five : — 1. The gospel is a message which implies a disagreeable and heavy charge against those to whom it is addressed, and therefore requires great faithfulness. — It supposes that all man kind are the enemies of God, and exposed to his righteous displeasure. You wih have to do with the wicked as well as with the righteous, and you must not flatter them. It is at your peril to say any thing soothing to the wicked. It will be very painful to keep them at a distance, and to exhibit to them the threatenings of God's word against them." They will be trying to shift the blame, and to invent excuses ; but you must follow up your charges. Their hearts may rise against you, and they may be displeased with your preaching ; but you must not de sist. If we could go with a message of appro bation and applause — if we could tell our auditory that they are amiable and virtuous beings, with only a few imperfections, which God will doubtless overlook — it might be much more pleasing and agreeable to our selves as men. We can feel no pleasure in accusing our species. But woe unto us if we speak not the truth ! The wicked will perish, and their blood will be required at our hand !— Ezek. iii. 16—21. Then beware of softening matters, either with the uncon verted or the backslider. Beware of giving up the authority of God over the heart, and of allowing either that the heartless services of the unconverted are pleasing to him, or, if not, that the fault is not in them. Be ware of countenancing thejr own views of themselves, that they are poor pitiable creatures instead of sinners. The wound must be probed, or your patient will be lost ! O ! if we preach the gospel as we ought to preach it, what fidelity is here required ! You must, my brother, side with God against an ungodly world. You must follow the windings of their evil hearts ; you must de tect them in all their refuges of lies, that they may flee to the only refuge set before them in the gospel. However it may pain you, or offend your hearers, if you would preach the gospel as you ought to preach it — you must be faithful. 2. The gospel is a message in which we have truth and justice on our side; and therefore we ought to be firm and fearless of consequences. — Speak boldly. — Eph. vi, 19, 20. If a man's cause be bad, it must render him timid : but to be timid in the cause of God and truth is unworthy. When, however, I recommend boldness, I do not mean that which is opposed to modesty and respectful feeling, nor yet that dogmatical rant which deals in assertion without evi dence ; but that which is opposed to mer cenary fear and cowardice. You must not calculate consequences as they respect this life. If you would preach the gospel as you ought to preach it, the approbation of God must be your main object. What if you were to lose your friends and diminish your income : nay, what if you lose your liberty, or even your life — what would all this be, compared with the loss of the favor and friendship of God ? Woe unto us, if we shun to declare any part of the counsel of God ! He that is afraid or ashamed to preach the whole of the gospel, in all its implications and bearings, let him stand aside: he is utterly unworthy of being a soldier of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, if you would speak the whole truth, you may be reproached as unsound and heterodox. But you must not yield to popular clamor. If you have truth on your side, stand firm against all opposition. 3. The gospel is a message full of im portance, and therefore you must be in ear nest. — If your message respected the health of your hearers, or their temporal interest, or their reputation, it would be thought im portant. But what are these compared with the salvation of their souls ! Salvation by Jesus Christ is God's last remedy — his ulti matum with a lost world. — Mark xvi. 16; Acts iv. 12. There remaineth no other sacrifice for sins. Then do not trifle on such subjects as these, lest you lose your 406 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. own soul. What can be thought of you if you employ your time in making pretty speeches, and turning elegant periods, in stead of endeavoring to " save yourself and them that hear you ! " What if, instead of beseeching sinners to be reconciled to God, you should crack jokes before them, to ex cite a laugh! What can be thought of you if you trifle with principles, and join the sneer of the poet, when he says " ' Bout modes of failh let graceless zealots fight : He can't be wrong whose life is in the right ! " Your hearers will doubtless conceive that you are insincere, and that you do not be lieve the message you are appointed to de liver. 4. The gospel is a message that abounds with deep wisdom, and therefore we ought to possess a deep insight into it, and to cultivate great plainness qf speech. — The gospel is "a mystery," and a mystery that requires to be made manifest. A mystery is something hidden, or secret. Such are the great things of God. They are "hid from the wise and the prudent, and revealed unto babes." — -"Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God." Much of it, indeed, was hidden from Old Testament believers. — Eph. iii. 5. Nor is it known even to New Testament be lievers, but by the Spirit. — 1 Cor. ii. 7. Nor is it fully comprehensible to any ; for it is called " unsearchable riches." " Great is the mystery of godliness." Even angels make it their study. Then to make these things manifest must require great insight into them, and great plainness of speech. Do not be content with superficial views of the gospel. Read and think for yourself on every subject. Read the Bible, not merely for texts, but for scriptural knowledge. Truth attained in this way is like property — it will wear the better for having been ac quired by dint of industry. To preach the gospel as we ought to preach it requires, not the subtilty of the metaphysician, but the simplicity of the Christian. 5. The gospel is a message of love, and therefore it ought to be preached with af fection. — Never were such messages of love announced to the world before. " God so loved the world," &c. "Come ye out from them, be ye separate,'' &c. This is fitly called "the glorious gospel of the blessed God." It is an overflow of his blessedness. To preach these things with an unfeeling heart is not to preach " as we ought " to preach. Cultivate the affection ate. Not indeed an affectation of feeling, but genuine feeling. Christ wept over sin ners, and so must we. If we trifle with men, or be careless about their salvation, or deal forth damnation with an unfeeling heart, we do not preach " as we ought." II. Let me offer a few motives to this duty of preaching the gospel as it ought to be preached. 1. Consider the examples held up for your imitation. — You have Peter .... Paul .... John .... in each of whom these things are exemplified. Nay, more — you have Christ. Nor have you examples in distant ages only ; but you have seen some, even among you .... Pearce ! 2. Consider tlie examples exhibited for your warning. — Some have sunk into in dolence and self-indulgence ; sauntering about and gossipping, instead of preaching, from house to house ; and there has been ah end of them. Some have risen into pride and priestly insolence, and there has been an end of them. Some have trifled with the truth, and God has given them up to de structive error. Others have plunged into political speculations, which have eaten up all their religion: aiming to govern the world, they have lost the government of their own souls, and of their peculiar charge. 3. Consider the effects that may follow. — If you were deputed to negotiate a peace between the contending powers of Europe, you would tremble lest the curses of many should fall upon you. My brother, be faith ful, and you shall receive a crown. If you be not, the eternal curse of God awaits you! LXI. — THE WORK AND ENCOURAGEMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTER. " His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant : thou hast been faith ful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou into tho joy of thy lord." —Matt. xxv. 21. Such is the solemn and important charge, my brother, allotted you, that, if you were to contemplate it merely as it relates to its dif ficulties, you might shrink at the thought of it; but I rejoice to say you enter upon your pastoral work under favorable auspices. You have the hearts of your people ; and that point gained is more than a thousand. You could never expect to do them good, unless you were interested in their affec tions. I feel a pleasure in complying with your desire that I should address you on the pre sent interesting occasion, and shall request your candid attention to a few observations founded on a part of the parable of the talents. It is worthy of notice that, as our Lord approached the close of his ministry, his preaching partook of an increasing solem nity. This chapter concludes his ministe rial discourses, and is all upon the subject of the last judgment. The parable of the vir gins, and that of the talents, both lead to the same point. And these are followed WORK AND ENCOURAGEMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTER. 407 by a solemn representation ofthe final judg ment. The world is convened, and the Son of God distributes everlasting salvation to his people and everlasting destruction to his enemies. Such was the close of our Saviour's min istry ; and from one of these representations I shall address you, that you also may be pre pared for his second coming. The occasion of the parable of the tal ents is given by Luke. He tells us that, when our Saviour came near to Jerusalem, many thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. But it was a, temporal kingdom that occupied their minds ; and, in order to destroy their vain conceits, our Lord described himself under the para bolical form of a certain nobleman, who went into a distant country to receive a kingdom, and delivered his goods to his ser vants in trust, of which trust, or of the man ner in which they had fulfilled it, they were each to give an account. This, was in effect, saying to his disciples, " It is true, I am go ing to receive a kingdom, but not here : and you shall partake of that kingdom, but not yet." Thus he led them to expect that un til his second coming their business was not to amuse or agitate themselves about what post of honor they should occupy, but to bend their attention to a solemn and impor tant trust committed to them. We may remark here (1) The talents do not mean grace but gifts, or things to be im proved. Grace is that by wliich we improve them. One man had a talent, and yet turn ed out an unprofitable servant. He never had the grace of God in truth, but had a gift or trust imparted to him, for the abuse of which he was finally condemned. (2) These talents are dispensed in different de grees — some have five, some two, and some one. (3) Every man is called to occupy what he has — and must give an account of it — and no more. He that had two talents received the approbation of his lord, just as he who had five. We may collect, from the whole, the im portant work of the Christian ministry, and the encouraging motives to a faithful dis charge of it. I. We have an interesting view of the work-of a Christian minister. You are here represented as a servant — you are re quired to be a good ahd faithful servant — - and you must not make light of your charge, though it extend only to a few things. 1. You are a servant of God. — You are intrusted with a portion of his property, of the use or abuse of which, another day you will have to render an account. God has put a talent into your hands, and says, " Occupy till I come." Many things might be mentioned as in cluded in the talents intrusted to you, as time, property, knowledge, influence, oppor tunity : for all these you must give an ac count. But we pass over these as common to you and others, and shall confine our at tention to those which are peculiar to us as ministers. There are two in particular which constitute our ministerial trust — the gospel of Christ, and the souls of the peo ple. The gospel qf Christ. — This is impressive ly recommended by Paul to Timothy, in the close of his First Epistle : " O Timothy ! — (and Paul never dealt in interjections with out feeling his subject to be one of vast im portance) — O Timothy ! keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called." The gospel is a most sacred trust, and you must keep it. Not keep it back, but keep it safe ; hold it fast in your mind and your ministry. The best way to hold fast the truth as a minister is to live upon it as a Christian. Attempt to keep it any where but in your heart, and it will go. If it be merely in the memory, it is not safe. He that is reasoned into the truth may be reasoned out of it. It is living upon the truth as a Christian that will cause the heart to be established with grace. The souls qf the people. — These also are a part of the property committed to your trust, of which you must give an account. You may say, perhaps, There 's such a one, and such a one — they have attended my ministry ; but I have never been able to dis cover any thing in them friendly to the cause of Christ. — But the question which may be addressed to you is. Did you warn them ? Did you deal faithfully with them ? In a word, Did you discharge your trust ? — If you have, your soul shall be delivered, and their blood shall be on their own heads. But, if not, though they perish, in their iniqui ty , their blood will be required at your hands. My brother, you must " watch for souls as those that give an account." — You may have to allege with regard to others, They would not receive the doctrine I taught; they were always opposing it, always cavilling at it, and have often caused my heart to ache. — But the question for your consideration is, Did you teach them in love ? Did you bear and forbear with them ? If they have gone astray like lost sheep, have you searched after them with a desire to restore them ? Did you preach "publicly, and from house to house ? "—My brother, let it be your con cern to give your account " with joy, and not with grief." 2. You are not only a servant of Christ, intrusted with an important charge ; but are required to discharge that trust as a " good and faithful servant." The term "good" stands opposed to " unprofitable." A good and faithful servant is a profitable servant. True, we cannot profit Christ absolutely, but we may relatively : he has an interest in 408 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the world, and we may profit that — a people, and we may profit them : and he will con sider every thing done to them for his sake as done to him ; and thus you may be a pro fitable servant. It is not enough that, you do no harm. It is true, many are injurious ; but others, who are not injurious, are " cum- berers of the ground," and as such are un profitable, and as such will be cast out. The servant in the parable is not cast out for what he did, but for not doing what he ought to have done. — You are to be a " faithful " servant. Faithfulness is absolutely required of a servant of Christ. You are not required to be successful : your Lord and Master was not very successful: but he was faithful, and so must you be. There is great need of faithfulness. People love that their min isters should "prophesy smooth things." They love a flesh-pleasing, flattering, doc trine. This may not be true of all, but it is of many. They love preaching that soothes, and that cherishes hope and comfort, and ease and peace, whatever be their character and their state : hence, multitudes will tell you that they cannot profit under a preach er, when the whole secret is that they can not be comforted in their sins. Probably, if the preacher, were to comfort them, it must be at the expense of the gospel : he must preach false doctrine, and cry peace, when there is no ground for peace. So do not you. They may complain that you do not feed them : well, nor should you : you are not required to feed men's lusts, but their graces. Be faithful. Still your faithfulness must be tempered with love. There is such a thing as unfeel ing fidelity — and preaching at people rather than to them. Our Lord himself, who is a perfect pattern of faithfulness, and was par ticularly severe against the hypocritical pha risees, yet wept over sinners, even while de nouncing judgments against them. " Speak the truth in love." 3. You must not think it beneath you, though your lot should be lo take the charge of"a few things." — I have often thought ofthis passage in reference to a small people, and these per haps chiefly poor. I am aware that it is flat tering to human vanity to have large con gregations, and on some accounts it is also desirable; but should it be otherwise with you, if yours should be only a small congregation, consisting of a few people, and these chiefly poor, and this for many years to come, — what then ? . . . . Just think of the commendation of your Lord, " Well done, good and faithful servant ; for as much as thou hast been faith ful over a' few things, I will make thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the joy of thy lord." Is not this enough ? And ought we not, as ministers, to be more con cerned to execute well that trust which we have than to be always seeking after a kron er ? I abhor the spirit that shall send for an orator, merely for the purpose of gathering a respectable congregation. A faithful dis charge of the trust which God gives us is the way to have that trust increased. In stead of being anxious for a large charge, we have reason to tremble lest we should be found unfaithful in that which we have. There are times in which the spir its of a minister will flag, on account of the fewness of his hearers. The sight of empty pews must prey onhis peace and com fort. But be not discouraged ; remem ber that the thinnest assembly is made up ' of immortal beings, and chiefly perhaps of those who are yet in their sins ; and you have an object of greater magnitude within the possibility of your compass than was ever presented to the grasp of an Alexander, a Caasar, or a Buonaparte. The salvation of one soul is of more worth than the temporal salvation of a world — a soul, purchased by the Son of God himself. Think of this, my brother, and be not discouraged, even though you should have comparatively few to hear, unless, indeed, the cause exist in your own deficiency. Be " faithful over a few things," and you shall eventually be " ruler over many things." I proceed to consider II. The important motives which are here presented to us for the discharge of our trust. 1. You will receive the approbation of your Lord. — Place yourself in idea, my brother, before your Lord and Master, at the last day, and anticipate the joy of receiving his appro bation. This is heaven. We should not study to please men so much as to please God. If we please him, we shall please all who love him, and, as to others, they are not on any account worthy of being pleased at the expense of displeasing God. It is doubt less gratifying to receive the " well done " of a creature ; but this in some cases may arise from ignorance, in others from private friendship ; and in some cases men may say " well done " when, in the sight of Him who judges the heart, and recognizes the springs of action, our work may be ill done. And, even if we have done comparatively well, we must not rest satisfied with the approbation of our friends. Many have sat down con tented with the plaudits of their hearers, spoiled and ruined. It. is the " well done " at the last day which we should seek, and with which only we should be satisfied. There have been young ministers, of very promis ing talents, who have been absolutely nursed to death with human applause, and the hopes they inspired blighted and blasted by the flattery ofthe weak and inconsiderate. The sound of " well done " has been reiterated in their ears so often that at last (poor little minds !) they have thought, Surely it was well done ; they have inhaled the delicious draught, they have sat down to enjoy it, they ON PREACHING CHRIST, &C. 409 have relaxed their efforts, and, after their little hour of popular applause, they have retired behind the scenes, and become of little or no account in the Christian world ; and, what is worse, their spirituality has de clined, and they have sunk down into a state of desertion, dispiritedness, and inactivity, as regards this world, and of uncertainty, if not of fearful forebodings, as to another .... My brother, you may sit down when God says "Well done ! " for then your trust will be discharged ; but it is at your peril that you rest satisfied with any thing short of this. Keep that reward in view, and you will not, I trust, be unfaithful in the service of your Lord. 2. Your honor and happiness in the world to come shall be gr-eatly enlarged. — If you have been "a good and faithful servant" here, you shall "rule" there; and, if here you have been faithful over " a few things," there you shall be a ruler over " many things." There will be a glorious augmentation of honor and blessedness. The language is figurative. The idea may be expressed by an allusion to David's worthies, who follow ed him in his trials, and whom he promoted when he came to tbe throne : those who, to procure him a little water, fought their way through the opposing army, were highly rewarded. And so Jesus assured his apos tles, " Ye which have followed me in the re generation, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Of course we are not to understand this literally ; but the idea conveyed appears to be this — That a faithful discharge of the trust committed to us in this world will contribute to our honor and blessedness in the world to come. In fact, if this idea is not conveyed, it will be difficult to determine what is. Nevertheless, the best services we can render are mingled with sin, and therefore, instead of deserving a reward, need forgive ness. The reward we shall receive will be a reward of grace, not of debt. Were it not for the sake of Christ, nothing we do could be accepted, there being so much sin cleav- 'ing even to our best services. The Lord accepted Abel and his offering. First, he accepts our persons for the sake of Christ, and then our services. And our services, being accepted, become also rewardable for his sake : our future honors are a part of Christ's reward. If you are instrumental in saving a soul, it will be impossible for you to meet that soul in heaven, and not rejoice over it: it will, in fact, be your crown of re joicing. So your honor and blessedness will form a part of Christ's reward. It is an unscriptural and irrational notion that all will have an equal degree of happi ness in heaven. All will be perfectly hap py, but some will not have so large a capa- Vol. 2.— Sig. 52. city for happiness as others. Every vessel will be full, but some vessels will contain more than others. " One star differeth from another star in glory." The apostle Paul must enjoy more in heaven than a soul caught up from infancy ; since part ofthe happiness of heaven will consist of remembrance ofthe past .... But the diversity most important for our consideration is that which will arise from the manner in which we have perform ed our trust. In proportion to the degree of fidelity with which we have discharged the trust committed to us in this world will be the honor and happiness conferred upon us in the next. 3. Fott will participate in that joy qf which your Lord partakes : — " Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." You will " sit down with him on his throne." Whatever the joy is that was " set before him," and for which he " endured the cross, despising the shame," in that joy, if you have "run with patience the race which is set before you, looking un to him," you shall partake. That which re joices Christ's heart will rejoice yours — the glory of God in the salvation of sinners. He will not rejoice alone, but admit to his joy all those who have had any share in the great work to accomplish which he humbled him self unto death. My brother, let this thought encourage you amidst all your trials — that you are to enter into the joy of your Lord. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." LXII. — ON PREACHING CHRIST, &C. " We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord ; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake." — 2 Cor. iv. 5. A remark which I once heard from the lips of that great and good man, the late Mr. Abraham Booth, has often recurred to my recollection, " I fear," said he, there will be found a larger proportion of wicked min isters than of any other order of professing Christians ! " It did not appear to me at the time, nor has it ever appeared since, that this remark proceeded from a want of charity, but rather from a deep knowledge ofthe na ture of Christianity, and an impartial obser vation of men and things. It behoves us, not only as professing Christians, but as minis ters, " to examine ourselves, whether we be in the faith." It certainly is possible, after we have preached to others, that we ourselves should be cast away ! 1 believe it is very common for the personal religion of a minis ter to be taken for granted ; and this may prove a temptation to him to take it for grant ed too. Ministers, being wholly devoted to the service of God, are supposed to have considerable advantages for spiritual im- 410 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. provement. These they certainly have ; and, if their minds be spiritual, they may be expected to make greater proficiency in the divine life than their brethren. But it should be remembered that, if they are not spiritual, those things which would otherwise be a help will prove a hindrance. If we study divine subjects merely as ministers, they will produce no salutary effect. We may con verse with the most impressive truths, as soldiers and surgeons do with blood, till they cease to make any impression upon us. We must meditate on these things as Chris tians, first feeding our own souls upon them, and then imparting that which we have be lieved and felt to others ; or, whatever good we may do to them, we shall receive none ourselves. Unless we mix faith with what we preach, as well as with what we hear, the word will not profit us. It may be on these accounts that ministers, while employ ed in watching over others, are so solemnly warned against neglecting themselves: " Take heed unto yourselves and to all the flock," &c. — "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine ; continue in them : for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee." Preaching the gospel is not the only work of a Christian. minister; but it is a very im portant part of his duty, and that which, if rightly attended to, will be followed by other things. To this, therefore, I shall request your attention. You cannot have a better model than that which is here held up to you. The example ofthe apostles and primitive ministers is for our imitation. Three things are here pre sented to our notice : what they did not preach — what they did preach — and what they considered themselves. I. What the apostles did not preach : — " We preach not ourselves." It might be thought that this negative was almost un necessary ; for, except a few gross impos tors, who would ever think of holding up themselves as Saviours, instead of Christ ? " Was Paul crucified for you ? or were ye baptized into the name of Paul ? " Very true, in this gross sense, few men in the present day will be found to preach them selves. But self may be an object of preach ing without being expressly avowed, and even while with the tongue Christ is recom mended. And there is little doubt that self is the great end of numbers who engage in the Christian ministry .... For example : — 1. It worldly advantage be our object, we preach ourselves. — It is true there is but little food for this appetite in our congrega tions. Yet there are cases where it is otherwise. Men have made their fortunes by preaching. And, if this have been their object, they have had their reward. If this had not been a possible case, Paul would ¦riot have disavowed it as he does :— " Not for a cloke of covetousness, God is witness." 2. If we make the ministry subservient to a life of ease and indolence, we preach our selves rather than Christ. We may get but little for our labor, and yet, being fond of a life of sloth (if a life it can be called,) it may be more agreeable to us than any .other pur suit. It is from this disposition that many ministers have got into tiie habit of spending a large part of every week in gossipping from house to house ; not promoting the spiritual good of the people, but merely in dulging themselves in idle talk. I might add it is from this disposition and practice that a large proportion of the scandals among ministers have arisen. Had there been no danger from these quarters, we should not have met with another of Paul's solemn dis avowals : — " Our exhortation was not of un cleanness." Such a declaration as this was not without meaning. It describes the false teachers of those times, and of ah times. 3. If the applause of our hearers be the governing principle of our discourses, we preach ourselves, and not Christ. To be acceptable is necessary to being useful, and an attention to manner with this end in view is very proper ; but, if the love of fame be our governing principle, our whole ministry will be tainted by it. This subtle poison will penetrate and pervade our exercises, till every one perceives it, and is sickened by it, except ourselves. It will inflate our composition in the study, animate our de livery in the pulpit, and condescend to fish for applause when we have retired. It will even induce us to deal in flattering doctrine, dwelling on what are known to be favorite topics, and avoiding those which are other wise. It is a great matter to be able to join with the apostle in another of his solemn disavowals : — " For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, — nor of men sought we glory." 4. If our aim be to make proselytes to our selves, or to our party, rather than converts to Christ, we shall be found to have preached our selves, and not him. We certainly have seen much of this species of zeal in our times — " Men speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Nor do I refer merely to men who would be thought singularly evangelical, and even inspired of God — who are continually holding up themselves as the favorites of heaven and the darlings of prov idence, and denouncing judgments on all who oppose them ; and the tenor of whose preaching is to persuade their admirers to consider themselves as the dear children of God, and all who disapprove of them as poor blind creatures, knowing nothing ofthe gos pel. Of them and their followers I can only say, " If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant." But men who have paid great attention to the Scriptures); and who have preached and written many things on the ON PREACHING CHRIST, &C. 411 side of truth, have nevertheless given but too evident proof that the tenor of their la bors has been to make proselytes to them selves, or to their party, rather than converts to Christ. II. What the apostles did preach : — We preach " Christ Jesus the Lord." This is the grand theme ofthe Christian ministry. But many have so little ofthe Christian min ister about them, that their sermons have scarcely any thing to do with Christ. They are mere moral harangues. And these, for sooth, would fain be thought exclusively the friends of morality and good works ! But they know not what good works are, nor do they go the way to promote them. " This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." Preach Christ, or you had better be any thing than a preacher. The necessity laid on Paul was not barely to preach, but to preach Christ. "Wo unto me if 1 preach not the gospel." .... Some are employed in depreciating Christ. But do you honor him. Some who talk much about him, yet do not preach him, and by their hab itual deportment prove themselves enemies to his cross If you preach Christ, you need not fear for want of matter. His per son and work are rich in fulness. Every di vine attribute is seen in him. All the types prefigure him. The prophecies point to him. Every truth bears relation to him. The law itself must be so explained and enforced as to lead to him .... Particularly, 1. Exhibit his divinity and glorious charac ter. — The New Testament dwells much on his being the Son of God — equal with God. It was this that heightened the gift of him. — John iii. 16. Hence the efficacy of his blood. — 1 John i. 7. Hence the condescen sion of his obedience, and the dignity of his priesthood. — Heb. iv. 14-16. Hence the greatness of the sin of rejecting him. — John iii. 18. And of apostacy. — Heb. x. 29. 2. Hold up his atonement and mediation as the only ground of a- sinner's hope. — It is the work of a Christian minister to beat off self- righteous hope, which is natural to depraved man, and to direct his hearers to the only hope set before them in the gospel. Be not concerned merely to form the manners of your congregation, but bring them to Christ. That will best form their manners. The apostles had no directions short of this : "Repent and believe the gospel." They never employed themselves in lopping off the branches of sin: but laid the axe to the root. Your business with the sins of man kind is, to make use of them to convince your hearers of the corruption of their na ture, and their need of a radical cure. 3. Hold up the blessings of his salvation for acceptance, even to the chief of sinners. — " This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accep tation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." The fospel is a feast, and you are to invite guests. ou may have many excuses and refusals. But be you concerned to do as your Lord commands. And, when you have done your utmost, there will still be room. Dwell on . the freeness and fulness and all-sufficiency of his grace, and how welcome even the worst of sinners are, who, renouncing all oth er refuges, flee to him. 4. Preach him as " the Lord," or Law-giv er, ofhis church, no less than as a Saviour. — Christ's offices must not be divided. Tak ing his yoke, and learning his spirit, are con nected with coming to him. Believers are " not without law unto God, but under the law to Christ." The preaching of Christ will answer every end of preaching. This is the doctrine which God owns to conversion, to the leading of awakened sinners to peace, and to the com fort of true Christians. If the doctrine of the cross be no comfort to us, it is a sign we have no right to comfort. This ' doctrine is calculated to quicken the indolent, to draw forth every christian grace, and to recover the backslider. This is the universal reme dy for all the moral diseases of all mankind We proceed to notice III. In what light the apostles con sidered themselves : — " Your servants for Jesus' sake." Ministers are not the servants of the people in such a sense as implies in feriority, or their having an authority over them. On the contrary, what authority there is, is on the other side : " Obey them that have the rule over you." Nor are ministers the servants of the people in such a sense as to be directed by them what to preach.- In these respects one is their Master, even Christ. But ministers are the servants of their people, inasmuch as then whole time and powers require to be devoted to their spiritual advantage — to know them, caution, counsel, reprove, instruct, exhort, admonish, encourage, stimulate, pray, and preach. Study to promote their spiritual interests as individuals, and their prosperity as a people. Nor should ministers think it too much to lay themselves out in this work. They do it "for Jesus' sake." This was the motive ad dressed to Peter. "Lovest thou me?— Feed my sheep. Feed my lambs." — "Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood." .... Let Christ be not only the theme of my remaining ministry, but the exaltation of him and the enlarge ment of his kingdom the great end of my life ! If I forget thee, O my Saviour, let my right hand forget ; if I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of mouth! 412 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. LXIII.— THE INFLUENCE OF THE PRES ENCE OF CHRIST ON THE MIND AND WORK OF A MINISTER. " The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit."— 2 Tini. iv. 22. In addressing you, my brother, on this interesting portion of Scripture, I shall simply offer a few remarks on the blessing desired, and consider its influence on the discharge of the christian ministry. I. Let us offer a few remarks on the blessing desired. — If we were address- sing ourselves to persons who were stran gers to experimental religion, we might despair of being understood on this part of the subject; and even among .Christians it is more easily felt than accurately described. We know nothing of divine influence but by its effects. We know we are created, but we know nothing of creative power. We know we are supported, but we can only feel ourselves upheld. We know Christ promised to be with his servants to the end of the world, and I hope we have felt the effects of it. We feel our wants hitherto supplied, our strength renewed, and our work in some measure succeeded ; and we are taught to what to ascribe it But more particularly : 1. The blessing here desired is something different from gifts. — God has favored you with gifts ; but -so he did Judas. Many shine and figure away with these, with whose spirits the Lord Jesus Christ holds no communion. Gifts are the gold of the tem ple ; but communion with Christ is that which sanctifieth the gold. Without this, gifts will be injurious both to you and to your people. 2. This blessing is more than grace itself, considered as inliererd.—l need not tell you that our graces have no separate subsistence. We are the branches living on the Vine. Paul said, " I live " — (and surely he had a right to say so, if any man had !) — and yet he checks himself, and adds, — " yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which 1 now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God." 3. It is a blessing which you shall enjoy in common ivith your Christian brethren. — It is not peculiar to you as a minister, but com mon to all Christians. _ And is it the better (you may ask) for this? Yes it is. The best blessings are those common to Chris tians. — Psa. xxvii. 4. Phil. iii. 8. The Romish priests have contrived to secure the cup exclusively to themselves ; but it was not so from the beginning: "Drink ye all of it." And nof only the cup, but the thing signified, is common to all Christians. And the blessings which are common to Chris tians as such are of the greatest importance to us as ministers. If we study, and pray, and preach, merely as ministers, we shall make poor work of it ; but, if as Christians, we shall prosper .... We proceed , II. To consider the influence of this BLESSING ON THE DISCHARGE OF TIIE christian ministry.— Knowing that with out him we could do nothing, our Lord has assured us, "Lo ! I am with you always, to the end of the world." And now, by his strengthening us, we can do all things Observe 1. It is this that will render the doctrine of Christ familiar tous, and our favorite theme. — The spirit of prophecy is called the spirit of Christ, because it testified of his suffer ings. — i pet. i. 11.— And if Christ be with our spirit, though only in an ordinary way,_ it will lead us to delight in the doctrine of Christ.— Eph. iii. 17, 18. When Christ dwells in the heart, see what follows ! This is the unction by which we know all things. And this is the doctrine which God blesses to the building of his church. 2. It is that which gives a divine energy to our preaching. — It imparts a much greater energy than the greatest eloquence, natural or artificial. And, though it will not in it self convert sinners, yet God_ usually hon ors such preaching. And it is a means of conversion. The apostle "so spoke that a great multitude believed." And, where such preaching does not convert, it yet com mends itself to the conscience. "They were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he (Stephen) spoke." Apol los, who was " fervent in Spirit," by his preaching " mightily convinced the Jews." The preaching of Paul was "not with entic ing words of man's wisdom, but in demon stration of the Spirit, and of power." 3. It is this that will render our visits profit able. It is difficult to turn conversation in to a savory and useful channel. But, if the Lord Jesus Christ be with our sphit, all dif ficulty will vanish. Without this every thing will be forced and constrained ; and we shall feel especially at a loss in our di rections to inquirers. 4. It is this that will sustain your heart un der trials. You are aware you must expect these. You will see things in your people towards God that will grieve you. This will enable you to reprove them in love. You will see things in them toward each other that are decidedly wrong. This spirit will cause you to be a peacemaker. You will experience painful things toward your self: some will not receive your doctrine ; some will misconstrue your conduct, and • pervert your statements : but, if the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, you will not sink under the heaviest trials. You may have to lament your want of success. But go on, and be of good cheer. If the Lord Je sus Christ be with your spirit, though Israel be not gathered, you shall not go unrewarded. MINISTERIAL DEVOTEDNESS. 413 LXIV. — HABITUAL DEVOTEDNESS TO THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY. " Meditate upon these things ; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear lo all. Take heed unto thyself, aud unto the doc trine ; continue in them, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee." —1 Tim. iv. 15, 16. My dear brother, you will find many things in these epistles worthy of your attention. With a view of showing the connection of the text, let us notice what is said in the preceding verses. Ver. 12. Timothy was a young man, and was charged to let no man despise his youth. But how could he prevent that? By being " an example of tlie believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Then, whoever might dislike him, no one could despise him. Ver. 13. It is supposed that Paul ex pected shortly to see Timothy, when he would have many things to say. Meanwhile he directed him how to spend his time to good purpose. In reading. — God knows all things ; but we must receive ere we impart. Exhortation. — He was not to hide, but to communicate his knowledge of divine things, as he received it: the reading of a minister should be for his people, that he may be fur nished with sentiments suited to their cases. Exhortation seems to be that kind of teach ing which is from house to house, consist ing of counsels, cautions, &c. Doctrine. — He was to dig in this mine, that he might enrich others. Ver. 14. He was supposed to have a gift, an extraordinary gift, foretold in prophecy, by some of the New Testament prophets, and imparted by the laying on of hands. Yet even this was a talent to be improved, and not neglected. Then, how much more ordinary gifts ! Ver. 15. ' This verse expresses how his gift was to be improved. It is a shameful abuse of the doctrine of divine influence to allege it as a reason for neglecting diligent study for the pulpit. Yet such things are ; and the advocates of this perversion can quote Scripture for it ; as — " Take no thought beforehand, what ye shall speak, neither pre meditate : but whatsoever shall be given to you in that hour, that speak ye ; for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." But this has no application to pulpit exercises, or ordinary ministrations. It was very suit able for the persecuted Christians ; for how could they know what to answer, before they were questioned by their persecutors : it was therefore greatly calculated to encourage them, and relieve them from all anxiety. But to apply this direction to. our ordinary ministrations is a shameful perversion. See Eccles. xii. 9—11. Give me your attention, my dear brother, while I endeavor to illustrate the different branches of the exhortation of the text, and consider the motives held up to enforce it. I. Let us endeavor to illustrate the EXHORTATION. The things on which you are called to meditate are what you " read," the things to which you " exhort," and the " doctrine" oi Christ. Or on the Scriptures — on the pre cepts contained in them, and on the doctrines to be deduced from them. "Meditate on these things." — There is a depth in them that requires it. You may read the Scriptures a hundred times over, and yet be only on the surface, far from hav ing fathomed them. They are able to make us wise, through faith ; but to believe with out searching argues great indifference, and is building without a foundation. The Scrip tures were always considered a deep mine. Even when they consisted of only the five Books of Moses. David meditated in tlie law of the Lord, " day and night." It was to his spiritual growth as water is to a tree. Do not imagine you understand enough of the Bible ; or, because you have assented to a few truths, therefore you are in possession of all. — Paul desired to know yet more. Angels desire to look into the things reveal ed there. David intimates that the law con tains " wondrous things," and prays that his mind might be enlightened to comprehend them. A spiritual state of mind is the best expositor, and more is discovered with it, in a few verses, than in whole chapters with out it. Do not be content with general truth. — Study the Scriptures minutely, and for your self, and pray over your study. This will make it your own ; and it will be doubly interesting to yourself and your people, than if you adopt it at second hand. — Read and think, not merely as a minister, but as a Christian. " Give yourself wholly to them." — No man can excel in any art or science, but by giv ing himself wholly to it. Why is it one un derstands law ? Because he gives himself wholly to it. Why is it another understands physic ? Because he gives himself wholly to it. Why do rulers understand govern ment? Because "they attend continually upon this very tiling." And though divine knowledge differs, in some things, from that which is natural and worldly, yet not in this. It is by constant application and use that our senses discern truth from error, and good from evil. — Heb. v. 14- And you must not only give your whole time to this study, but your whole heart. " Be thou in them." — It is a shocking thing to be engaged in a work which is" against the heart. It is not what we think officially, but spontaneously, that proves what we are : not what we do at certain appointed seasons ; 414 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. but the bent of our minds in common, in our leisure hours, when we sit in the house, or walk by the way. Engaging in the work without the heart is the forerunner and cause of many scandals. Time hangs heavy on then hands — they saunter and gossip from place to place — scandalize and listen to scan dal — and not seldom terminate their career by impurity. " Take heed to thyself." — It were an aw ful thing to guide others to the right way, and not walk in it ourselves. See that all is right between God and your own soul. Pubhc religion, without that which is private and personal, is worse than no religion. We had better be any thing than preachers of the gospel, unless we be personally in terested in it." "And to thy doctrine." — There is great danger of going off from the gospel — per haps in submission to great authorities, or to please the people. That minister who makes the taste of his hearers the standard of his preaching may go on, and succeed in pleas ing them and himself; but, at the coming of his Lord, it will be said to him, Thou hast had thy reward ! There is also danger of going off from the gospel by leaning to our men under standing. Consult your own understand ing; but remember you are liable to err; therefore do not lean to it, in opposition to the Scriptures. Finally : " Continue in these things." — That only is true religion which endures to the end. II. Let us consider the motives by WHICH THE EXHORTATION IS ENFORCED. 1. Your growth in gifts and graces will be hereby apparent." — "That thy profiting may appear to all." The meaning is much the same as the parable ofthe talents — five, by improvement, gaining other five. It holds true in temporal things even. — Prov. xxii. 29. There is, however, this difference between their pursuits and yours : they la bor to obtain an earthly good ; you a heaven ly, spiritual, and eternal one. If worldly profit or honor were your object, you might study the embellishments of style, or the arts of the partizan ; but, if you would be the servant of God, your heart must be in your work. A diligent minister will be a useful one. 2. Your own salvation is involved in it: — "Thou shalt save thyself." This lan guage does not denote that we are the cause of our own salvation any more than of the salvation of others. But, as we may be in strumental in the latter, so we may be ac tive in the former. — Acts ii. 40. Take re fuge in the Saviour you recommend to others. The expression may also have reference to that particular kind of salvation which con sists in being delivered from the blood of souls. 3. The salvation of your people may be involved in it. — A spiritual, diligent minis ter, is commonly a fruitful one, and a bless ing to his people. Consider these exhor tations, and the motives by which they are enforced, and may the Lord give you un derstanding in all things. Thus thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee. LXV. — AFFECTIONATE CONCERN OF A MIN ISTER FOR THE SALVATION OF HIS HEARERS. " We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children ; so, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us." — 1 Thes. ii. 7, S. My dear brother, you have requested me to address you on your appointment to the im- portantoffice of pastor over this people ; and I know of nothing more impressive on the sub ject of the Christian ministry than this whole chapter, both as to what a minister should not be, and as to what he should be. Not of de ceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile, nor as pleasing men ; but gentle, affectionate, laborious, disinterested, holy. Let us, how ever, confine ourselves to the words we have selected as a text, in which the apostle compares his own ministrations and those of his colleagues to the gentle solicitude of a nurse, whose concern is to impart warmth and strength to her children. " So we, be ing affectionately desirous," &c. Three things here require your attention : the feel ing of a true minister of Christ towards the people of his charge — the subject matter of his ministry — and the manner in which he must dispense it. I. The feeling of a true minister of Christ towards the people of his charge. — This is an affectionate con cern after their salvation, one of the most important qualifications for the ministry. True it is not the only one. There are gifte, both natural and acquired, which are neces sary, since, without them, we cannot be said to be " apt to teach." But this qualification is that without which the greatest gifts, natural and acquired, are nothing as to real usefulness. Genius may amuse, but "love edifieth." A strong mind and a brilliant imagination may excite their admiration, but this will attract the hearts of the peo ple. Look at the men who have been the most honored ; and you will find that they are not the brightest geniuses, but the hum ble and affectionate. Look at the example of Paul. — Observe how he felt towards his poor, unbelieving countrymen, who sought his life : " Brethren, my heart's desire, and prayer to God for Is rael, is, that they may be saved." Even his MINISTERIAL SOLICITUDE. 415 zeal for the conversion of the Gentiles bore an aspect towards his brethren after the flesh : " I speak to you, Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office ; if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them." He speaks as a humane seaman would in a wreck ; who, when he found he could not save all, would do what he could, plunging into the sea and saving at least some of them. Here, my brother, is an example for your imitation, towards the unbelieving part of your hearers. See also how he felt toward those Chris tians who had sinned. — Witness his epistles to the Corinthians. How anxious he was to reclaim them ! how dissatisfied with any thing short of their restoration ! looking up on them as lost children. — 2 Cor. ii. ; xiii. 2. Look at the example of John towards the rising generation. — " I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in the truth." — And look at the example of our apostle, in connection with the text, towards all. to whom he wrote. He could not be satisfied with any reward short of their eter nal salvation. All other hope, all other joy connected with them, he considered as of small account ; and he looked forward to them as constituting the brightest jewels in his future crown. Most of all, look at the example of your Lord and Saviour. — How did the kindness and love of God our Saviour appear ! What did he not forego, and do, and suffer ! May the love of Christ constrain you ! II. Consider the subject matter of his ministry: — "The gospel of God." 1. Itis a blessed errand to go on. Good news to a lost world. Angels were visited with wrath ; but men with the cup of salva tion. There is a pleasure in being an al moner, even of earthly blessings ; but you have the unsearchable riches of Christ to impart; you are the herald of peace and pardon and reconciliation. How a man, bearing such tidings from an earthly sove reign, would be hailed by a number of con victs! 2. But what is the gospel ? It is not mere ly the privilege of believers; for then it would not be for every creature. It is a declaration of what Christ has done and suf fered, and of the effects ; exhibiting a way in which God can be "just and the justifier of the ungodly." It is not merely to con vince of sin, but also to point to the remedy. 3. Make a point, then, of distinctly and habitually preaching the gospel. Do not sup pose your people are so good, and so well informed, as not to need this. Visit the sick, and you will be astonished how little they know, compared with what it might reasonably be expected they should know. Many sermons are ingenious essays ; but, if they bear not on this great object, they are not the gospel. Woe unto you if you preach not Sie gospel! Do not suppose I have any particular suspicion that you will not. But I feel the importance of the ex hortation, " Preach the gospel." Study the gospel — what it implies, what it includes, and what consequences it involves. I have heard complaints of some of our young min isters that, though they are not heterodox, yet they are not evangelical ; that, though they do not propagate error, yet the grand, essential, distinguishing truths of the gos pel do not form the prevailing theme of their discourses. I love a sermon well laden with Christian doctrine. I love to find young ministers well learned in the Scriptures. Then their preaching will not be dry, but good news and glad tidings. Complaints have been made of some preaching as too doctrinal ; and a preference has been manifested for experimental and practical preaching; but that doctrinal preaching which I would recommend should include both. The doc trines of the Scriptures, scripturally stated, are calculated to interest the heart, and to produce genuine evangelical obedience. You need not fear that you shall be limit ed. You may take a wide range. There is a great variety of subjects which may be introduced; as — the purity and spirituality of the law, the evil of sin, the wrath of God against it, and many others: but then all these naturally lead to an explicit declara tion of " the glorious gospel of the blessed God." III. Consider the manner in which a MINISTER SHOULD DISPENSE THE GOSPEL : " Willingly ; " and so as, while imparting the gospel, to impart their own souls with it. Some have supposed that it is the mat ter, and not the manner of preaching, that God blesses. But I see no ground for this distinction. I allow that the matter is of the first importance ; but the manner is not of small account. For example : the apostle prays that he might make the gospel mani fest, "as he ought to speak." — Col. iv. 4. And this relates to manner, not to matter. You may preach even the gospel drily. It must be preached faithfully, firmly, earnest ly, affectionately. The apostle so spoke that many befceved. Manner is a means of conveying truth. A cold manner disgraces important truth. " Willingly."— Where the ministration of the word is connected with external honors and great temporal advan tage, there is no test of this ; but, where it is attended with self-denial, there is. . . . "Our own souls." — This is expressive of ihe deep interest the apostles and their col leagues took in the gospel, and their ear nest desire that their hearers should em brace it. Hence we speak of pouring out our souls in prayer. How would you feel in throwing out a rope to a drowning, man, 416 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. or in lighting a fire in a wilderness to at tract the attention of one who was dear to you, and who was lost? How did Aaron feel during the plague, when he stood be tween the dead and the living? O, my brother, enter into these feelings. Realize them. Let them inspire you with holy, af fectionate zeal. Souls are perishing around you ; and, though you cannot " make an atonement for the people's sins,'' yet you can publish one, made by our great High- priest ; and, receiving and exhibiting this atonement, you may hope to save yourself and them that hear you. LXVI. THE NATURE AND ENCOURAGE MENTS OF THE MISSIONARY WORK. [Substance of the Charge delivered to ihe first Missionaries of the Baptist Society at the parting Meeting at Leicester, 1793.] " Peace be unto you ; as my Father sent me, so send I you ! " — John x-c. 21. My very dear brethren, every part of the solemnities of this day must needs be affect ing ; but, if there be one part which is more so than the rest, it is that which is allotted to me, delivering to you a solemn parting address. Nevertheless, I must acknowledge that the hope of your undertaking being crowned with success swallows up all my sorrow. I could myself go without a tear, so at least I think, and leave all my friends and connections, in such a glorious cause. Impressed, therefore, with these sentiments, I can the more readily and cheerfully part with you. My dear brethren, let me address you in the words of our Lord Jesus to his disciples, " Peace be unto you ; as my Father sent me, so send I you ! " The whole of this language was sweet, especially considering the trou bles of their hearts to whom it was primarily addressed, — The preface is sweet: "Peace be unto you" — as if he had said, All is well as to the past, and all shall be well as to the future. — The commission itself is sweet. Nothing could well be more grateful to those who loved Christ than to be employed by him on such an errand, and to have such an example to imitate. There is to be sure a great disparity be tween your mission and that of Christ. He came to offer himself a sacrifice for sin, and by his blood to obtain eternal salvation for poor lost sinners. Yet, notwithstanding this disparity, there are various points of like ness between your undertaking and that of your Lord and Master. I shall single out three or four, which I would wish to impress upon your minds. These are— the objects you must keep in view— the directions you must observe— the difficulties you must en counter— and the reward you may expect First : There is an analogy between the objects of Christ's mission and those of yours. The great objects of his mission were to glorify God, and to seek and to save lost souls ; and yours are the same. Men and devils have dishonored God ; they had virtually called him a hard master; had thrown off his yoke, and represented him, in the punishment of sin, as a Being whose ways were not equal. But Christ by his obedience and death rolled away these re proaches. By the former, that is, by mak ing it his meat and drink to do the will of his Father, he proved in the face of a rebel lious world that his yoke was easy and his burden light. By the latter, that is, by en during the full penalty of the divine law without a murmuring thought, he manifested its equity, declaring in effect that God was in the right, and that man deserved to fall a sacrifice to his justice. You also, my breth ren, have to glorify God, and that both by your cheerful obedience to his will and by patiently enduring affliction. The heathen will judge ofthe character of your God, and of your religion, by what they see of your own character. Beware that you do not mis represent your blessed Lord and his glorious gospel. It is a great encouragement to be engaged in the same cause with Christ him self. Does he ride forth as on a white horse, in righteousness judging and making war? — Rev. xix. You are called, like the rest of the armies of heaven, to follow him on white horses, pursuing the same glorious object, that India may be conquered by his truth. May you be able at the close of your lives to say, after the example of your Lord, " I have glorified thee on earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." Christ was sent of the Father, not only to glorify his name, but to seek and to save that which was lost ; and such, my brethren, is your errand. Go then, after your Saviour's example, go in pursuit of the lost sheep ; follow after them, search and find them out, that they may be brought home to his fold, from the dark mountains whither they have wandered, and gathered from the dreary de serts whither they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy day ; that they may be delivered from the errors and abominations of the heathen, and be brought to the knowl edge and enjoyment of God. Secondly : Christ, in the execution of his mission, was under the direction of him that sent him, and you must be the same. As mediator, he always acted as the Fa ther's servant. Though a Son, and as such equal with God, yet in his- official capacity he learned obedience. It is emphatically said of him, he both did and taught ; and in both he inflexibly adhered to the directions of him that sent him. " I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him who sent me." — " I have not THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY A GREAT WORK. 417 spoken of myself, but the Father who sent me ; he gave me commandment what I should say, and what I should speak." Christ acted as the Father's servant ; and you are the servants of Christ. There is a woe upon any minister if he preach not the Gospel of Christ, but especially upon those whose business it is to preach the Gospel among the heathen. Among us, if you do not preach the gospel of Christ, others will ; but there all, under God, will depend upon you. When the Lord first planted the Isra elites in Canaan, he planted them wholly a right seed. Be exceedingly careful to follow this example. See that the doctrines you teach, and the duties you inculcate, be not yours, but His who sent you. A right seed is necessary to a profitable harvest. You must likewise do the will of Christ as well as teach it, and that after his example. He pleased not himself. Perhaps no men must expect to have their wills so often crossed, or to meet with so frequent calls for self- denial, as those who embark in such an un dertaking as yours. This leads me to observe, Thirdly : Christ, in the execution of his mission, had great difficulties and tri als to encounter, and you must expect the same. The trials of your Lord were partly from pain, and partly from contempt. Great were the h ardships he had to undergo. Fox es had holes, and birds had nests, but he had not where to lay his head. And, notwith standing all that your brethren can do to make you comfortable, you may expect to taste of the same cup. Your Lord was also exposed to contempt. He is mad, said they, why hear ye him ? If these things were done to the green tree, what may be expect ed of the dry ? But Jesus " endured the cross, and despised the shame." May you be enabled to follow his example. He met with trials, not only from open enemies, but from pretended friends. Those who ate of his bread lifted up the heel against him. Betrayed, denied, and forsaken, he yet per severed ; nor did he desist till he could de clare " it is finished." Then, when he could appeal to him who sent him, saying, " I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do," then he bowed his head and gave up the ghost! What an example for you to follow ! Fourthly : Christ was not sent forth in his undertaking without a promise of support IN IT AND A GLORIOUS REWARD FOR IT. It was predicted of him, " He shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have brought forth judgment unto victory." This implied that he would meet with much to discourage him. If many waters could have quenched his love, it had been quenched: but divine Om nipotence supported him. And, as his Father sent him, so sends he you. Faithful ly has he promised to be with you always Vol. 2.— Sig. 53. to the end of the world. The divine Father promised him souls for his hire ; that he should see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. And herein, as the Father sent him, so sends he you. You also shall have your reward. The joy set before him en couraged him to endure the cross ; you also shall enter into the joy of the Lord. Keep that joy in your view. For " it is a faithful saying, If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him." Hearken to the promise of your Lord and Master, for his sayings are very true, " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit down with me in my throne, as I also have overcome and am set down with my Father in his throne." Go then, my dear brethren, stimulated by these prospects. We shall meet again. Crowns of glory await you and us. Each, I trust, will be addressed at the last day, by our great Redeemer, " Come ye blessed of my Father ; — these were hungry, and you fed them ; athirst, and you gave them drink ; in prison, and you visited them ; — Enter ye into the joy of your Lord." Amen. LXVII. — THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY A GREAT WORK. [Sketch of a Sermon addressed to two Mission aries and their Wives.] "lam doing a great work, so that I cannot come down : why should the work cease, whilst I leave it and come down to you." — Neh. vi. 3. My dear young friends, it would have been more agreeable to my feelings if this address had been delivered by one of our brethren in London. I submit, however, the more cheerfully, from the persuasion 1 have that you will receive what I say in love. I shall found a few observations on the words I have read. Let us review the occasion of them. We may consider the chapter as a fulfil ment of what Daniel had foretold about a hundred years before. " The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in trou blous times." It shows, in a striking light, how all great undertakings for the church of God are ac companied with difficulties and strong op positions. When Judah returned, all their difficulties seemed at an end : they imagin ed, now they were liberated, they had only to go to work and rebuild the temple ; but they soon discovered that they had new en emies. The conduct of Sanballat and Geshem shows how the most iniquitous designs are concealed under friendly pretences. "Come let us meet together in one ofthe villages — but they thought to do me mischief." The answer of Nehemiah discovers a union of wisdom and firmness. He saw- through their designs, but did not reveal his 418 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. suspicions. His answer would have been proper even had they meant as they said. But wherein was the greatness of the work of Nehemiah? The building of a wall would not seem to be a mighty matter. But then it must not be considered in itself, but in its effects — it was to secure a city, where the worship and cause of God were to be carried on for ages ; and in this view it was a great work, and greatly interested the hearts of the godly. Hence the people had " a mind to work," night and day, with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other. In short, with respect to the principle, it was the same as that which has attracted the hearts ofthe godly in all ages — love to Zion, or the cause of God. It was that which dictated the 137th Psalm, when times went ill ; and the 29th chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles, when things went well. Such was the public spirit of those times. But, passing the work of Nehemiah, I shall not be thought to misapply the subject if I apply it to the work in which you are engaged. You have a great work, and you may expect great difficulties and oppositions in its execution, and great encouragements. It is a work which will occupy your whole attention. I. Let me remind you of a few ^things relative to the greatness of your work. —Such a view of it may, in one sense, dismay you, and induce you to exclaim, " Who is sufficient for these things ? " But in another sense it is necessary ; and re member, for your encouragement, that " they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." 1. It is the work of saving souls. — Light as this is made of by the world, it is great. The temporal salvation of an empire is great and interesting ; but the salvation of one soul exceeds all this ; for the soul is capable of eternal happiness or misery. " What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul ? " 2. It is the work of introducing the gospel where it has never been. — There is great im portance attaching to this, whether in a country, city, town, or village. It is lighting a candle which[may burn for ages. When Paul and Silas first entered Europe, they might have no conception of the effects. But what they taught was a light that has never been extinguished. 3. It is a work to which you may expect great opposition. — Satan will dispute every inch of ground with you, and his opposition will be varied. It is true, your brethren who have gone before you have had difficul ties to encounter which you will probably escape ; but do not expect that all opposi tion has ceased. The more God blesses you the more opposition you may expect, not from Brahmins only, and Hindoos, but from Europeans. Expectations of ease and hon or are utterly unworthy of a Christian mis sionary. 4. It is a work that must occupy your whole attention. — Nehemiah could not be diverted from his work, nor must you. You must not go with a divided heart. You may wish to attend to other things ; but every thing must be done in subserviency to your great work. Never lose sight of this. If politics or worldly speculations invite your attention, you must reply, "I am doing a great work: why should the work cease whilst I come down to you ? " Always con sider an attention to any thing that would divert you from the grand object you have in view as " going down : " and say, I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down. II. But, while yours is unquestionably a great work, it is also a work in which there ARE GREAT ENCOURAGEMENTS. Under tillS head we may remark : — 1. It is a work the foundation of which has been laid at a great expense. — When God would save a nation, he sent Moses and Aaron : he gave Egypt for them. When he would restore them he sacrificed Babylon. But to lay the foundation of this work he sacrificed his Son ! 2. It is a work which occupies a first place in the designs of God. — All his other works are subservient to this. They were not only made by Christ 'but for him. The rev olutions of empires are permitted for the sake of the people of God. Babylon was raised up to chastise them, and destroyed to deliver them. The invasion of Britain and other nations was permitted for the gospel's sake; and who can tell but this may be the end which God intends to an swer in permitting British armies to subdue India ! Even slavery itself may be permit ted for the gospel's sake. 3. It is a work in wliich the hand and heart of God will be with you. — If ever you incline to despond, remember — "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform it." 4. It is a work which involves the happi ness qf your species. — Whence spring ail the miseries of mankind? "Whence come wars and fightings?" From the state of their hearts. The gospel is the remedy, and the only remedy. — Ps. lxvii. III. Let me conclude with a few re marks : — 1. The greatest work requires attention to a multitude of little things. — It is com posed of little things. Great works are not accomplished by a single exploit, but by a series of labors— by leaving no stone un turned. Look at Nehemiah. He inquires, weeps alone, prays, speaks to the king, ob tains favor and a commission ; but still he returned to labor, even in the night, and took a calm and deliberate view of the work ; and, when he communicated his intentions, FAITH IN THE GOSPEL ESSENTIAL TO FREACHING IT. 419 his friends joined him ; and thus, by a mul titude of operations, the work is accomplish ed. He was laborious, firm, disinterested, patient, and persevering ; and looked for his reward to God. 2. A great work may be hindered and stopped by little things. — Little follies will spoil the whole. — Eccles. x. 1. Such as the dispute of the disciples who should be the greatest; and little discords; and self-will. A great character will imitate Him who "pleased not himself." Abraham's conde scension to Lot is a fine example. My dear sisters, yours is a great work. In the first ages, there were women who helped to advance the good cause ; and we are indebted nearly as much, under God, to the services of your sex as to those of our own. It is for you to strengthen the hands of your companions, by a cheerful demean or under their various discouragements, by conversing with the native females, by keep ing order in the family, by setting an exam ple of modesty and affection, by economy and industry. — You may be of service on your voyage. It was remarked of one of our dear sisters, during her voyage, by an officer, that he never saw her equal in sweetness of disposition, calmness, kindness, and firmness in danger. This was a power ful recommendation of the gospel. — You may be members of a large family — con form to its rules ; make yourselves useful ; beware of jealousy, whisperings, envies. — You may be called to preside in a small sta tion — conduct every thing in the fear of God. Bear and forbear, and forgive. Keep near to God. Seek your own happiness and interest in that of the whole. Dear brethren and sisters, we shall be with you in heart. We shall pray for you. And we trust we shall meet you in the world above. Meanwhile my brethren and companions, assembled to bid you farewell, will cordially unite with me in the fervent prayer — Remember them, O our God, for good ! — The Lord Jesus Christ be with their spirits ! LXVIII. — FAITH IN THE GOSPEL A NECES SARY PREREQUISITE TO PREACHING IT. [Sketch of a Sermon addressed to the Students of the Bristol Education Society.] f4 We believe, and therefore speak." — 2 Cor. iv. 13. The words immediately preceding those on which I shall found a few observations on the important work of the ministry are a quotation from the 116th Psalm. David, un der his troubles, believed in God, and there fore spoke. And the apostles, under perse cutions and reproaches, believed in the gos pel, and therefore spoke. They spoke bold ly in the name of Jesus, whatever might be the consequence. They might be slain, as Christ was. But then like him, too, they would be raised. — Ver. 14. If they suffered with him, they would also reign with him. I shall comprise what I have to offer under two heads of discourse — the subject matter of the Christian ministry, and the necessity of believing it. 1. The subject matter of the Christian ministry.— It is that which we have believed. It is of the first importance to a messenger to know his errand. With out this, whatever be our talents, natu ral or acquired, we are unqualified for the Christian ministry. Without this, the most fascinating eloquence is in danger of becoming an engine of mischief. The sub ject matter of the apostle's preaching is va riously described : it is called "the faith" — " the truth " — " the truth as it is in Jesus " — " Christ crucified "— " the gospel "— " the word of reconciliation," &c. In these de scriptions, we see our work. It does not follow that the dictates of rea son and conscience are to be rejected or dis used in preaching. The light of nature it self teaches some truth — such as the being of God, the accountableness of man, the fitness of doing to others as we would they should do to us, our being sinners, or what we ought not to be. These are truths which the gospel supposes, and which require to be enforced in subserviency to it. But several important particulars do fol low ; as, 1. That ine must not deal in curious spec ulations, which have no foundation in the Scriptures. — Some have been turned aside by such an indulgence to false hypotheses, and made shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. A large proportion of the ob jections to divine truth are of this kind : " How can a man be born when he is old ? " "How are the dead raised, and with what body ? " How can one be three, and three one ? How could Christ be both God and man? How can the certain efficaciousness of grace consist with free agency and the ac countableness of man ? Paul would not ans wer such questions as these by opposing con jecture to conjecture, but in the spirit ofthe text — "We believe, and therefore speak." 2. That we must not deal in private im pulses or impressions, which have no founda tion in the Scriptures. — One founds a doc trine on his own experience ; but experience ought to be judged by the Bible, not the Bible by experience. "The prophet that hatha dream, let him tell a dream ; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord." — Another swears that, as God liveth, such a thing is true ; but what does this prove, save the impudence and profanity of . the preacher ? 420 3. SERMONS AND SKETCHES. That the person and work of ^Christ shall feel no ^^L^ALl must be the leading theme of our ministry. In this, if we be Christians, we have believed ; and this we must preach to others. For ex ample : We must preach him as divine. How else could we know whom we had be lieved? We must preach him as having assumed our nature, and thereby qualified himself to be our Saviour. — Heb. ii. 14, ,15. We must preach him as dying for our sins, &c. — 1 Cor. xv. 1 — 4. We must preach him as the Saviour of the lost, taking the place of the chief of sinners. We must preach him as the only way of acceptance with God. "Being justified freely by his grace, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." In short, he is suited to all our wants. To whom else shall we go ? He hath the words of eternal life. So preach Christ. Every sermon, more or less, should have some relation to Christ, and bear on his per son or work. This is the life of all doctrine, and it will be our own fault of it is dry. Do not consider it as one subject among others, but as that which involves all others, and gives them an interest they could not other wise possess. Preach, not only the truth ; but all truth, " as it is in Jesus." However ingenious our sermons may be, unless they bear on Christ, and lead the mind to Christ, we do not preach the faith of the gospel. As all doctrinal religion meets here, so does all practical. — The Scriptures draw every thing from the dying love of Christ. " Feed the church of God, which he hath pur chased with his own blood." — " Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." — "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty -might be rich." — " Let this mind be in you which was in our Lord Jesus Christ." — " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he law! down his life for us : and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." — "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church." The same may be said of experience. — Christian experience clings to Christ and his gospel. The religion of some, who talk of experience, goes to idolize their own feel ings and admire their supposed graces. But true Christian experience thinks little of self, and much of Christ. — John vi. 68. II. The necessity of believing the gospel before we preach it : — "We believe, and therefore speak." It does not follow that every believer should be a preacher ; but every preacher ought to be a believer ; for, 1. This is the only motive that will render preaching a delight.— How can we discourse on subjects which we do not believe ? If we have not tasted the grace of God, we others. Is it any wonder that faithless preachers call preaching "doing duty?" or that they preach other men's sermons ? and that in delivering them they are uninterest ed by them? But, if we speak because we believe, our preaching will be the utterance of a full heart, and our work its own reward. We must taste of truth as Christians, before we preach it. Studying it merely as minis ters will never do. Believing belongs to us as Christians. 2. It affords ground to hope for usefulness to others. — What effect will the sermons of those ministers have, who, by their frothy conversation, loose deportment, or avaricious spirit, are always counteracting them ? The hearers will say, and say truly, He does not believe his own doctrine. He may talk of truth, or of holiness and practical religion; but all is vain. — If, on the other hand, we feel and practise what we preach, this must at least recommend it to the conscience; and it often does more. The one resembles a man persuading you to embark on board his vessel, assuring you it is safe, while he himself stands on the shore. The other has embarked himself and all he has ; and, like Moses to Hobab, invites you to accompany him. 3. II will render the work of the ministry compatible with common honesty. — The world has long accused ministers with being hypo crites. This is malicious enough ; but while men engage in this work from indolence, avarice, pride, or any other worldly motive, rather than from the principle expressed in the text, they are furnished with a pre text for such reproaches. If we believe not ere we speak, we only deceive, and the sooner we throw off the deception the better. 4. No other motive will bear the test. — What an account will faithless ministers have to give when asked, "What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldst take my covenant in thy mouth?" One may have to answer, The vanity of my pa rents led them to educate me for the minis try, and when I grew up I was fit for nothing else. — Another may have to answer, My own vanity influenced me : having a taste for learning, and public speaking, and es teeming it a reputable and genteel mode of life, I took to it. — Another may have to say, It was my own conceit and arrogance : hav ing a large portion of native effrontery, I made my way, and was caressed by the peo ple. — Oh ! how different these from the apostles ! — " We have believed, and there fore speak." But why do I thus speak ? I am not ad dressing a society which pretends to train graceless characters for the ministry, or to make men ministers by mere education. They are aware of the necessity of their pu pils being believers ; and, if any of them ON MAKING FULL PROOF OP THE MINISTRY. 421 prove otherwise, they have deceived their patrons. They do not so much as pretend to impart gifts ; but merely to improve those which Christ appears to have imparted. They wish to enable the aged and expe rienced part of our ministers, like Aquila and Priscilla, to expound to the younger brethren the way ofthe Lord more perfectly. And as to you, my young brethren, I have no particular jealousy of you ; only as we ought to be jealous with a godly jealousy, "looking lest any one fail of the grace of God." You are likely, another day, to oc cupy stations of much greater importance than if each were a minister of state. Our churches look to you. Many aged minis ters are gone. Those that remain will soon follow. God has begun a great work in our day. May you take it up, and carry it on. It is but the other day since we were youths, looking up to those who are now no more. Now the load lies on us. Soon it must lie on you, or on some others. Should you prove yourselves unworthy, God will find others. Deliverance will arise from some other quarter. O, men of God, " Flee youth ful lusts, and follow after righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart ! " I ought not to conclude without recom mending to the audience that Saviour whom we have believed. We have found rest for our souls. Come ye. Forsake the world and your own righteousness. We have worn his yoke, some of us for forty years, and it has never galled us. Take his yoke, and learn of him, and you shall find rest for your souls. His yoke is easy, and his bur den i3 light. LXIX. — the young minister exhorted TO make full proof of his ministry. [Sketch of a Sermon addressed to the Students ofthe Stepney Academical Institution. ] "But watch Ihou in all things, endure afflic tions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." — 2 Tim. iv. 5, 6. Being requested to address a word of ex hortation to my younger brethren, I doubt not but I shall be heard with candor and at tention ; and that not only by those imme diately addressed, but by all my younger brethren in the ministry. You will not suppose, then, that I mean to compare my self to an apostle, or you to evangelists ; but the work is in substance the same, whether it be in the hands of extraordinary or ordi nary men: and, as Paul argued the im portance of Timothy's work from his own approaching dissolution, I may be allowed to enforce it upon you from kindred con siderations ; namely, that many of your elder brethren are gone, and others are go ing, the way of all the earth. You will not expect me, my dear young men, to discourse to you on the advantages of literary acquirements. I might do so in deed, and that from experience. I know the value of such acquirements, both by what I have been enabled to attain, and by the want of that which I have not attained : but it is more congenial with my feelings to speak of things of still greater importance. Three things in particular are suggested by the passage which I have read, and these I shall recommend to your serious attention ; namely, the. work itself to which you are devoted — the duties inculcated as necessary to the discharge of it — and the considera tions by which it is enforced. 1. The work itself to which you are devoted. — It is called a "ministry." The word signifies, as you are aware, service. The leading character of a minister is that of a servant. This is an idea that you must ever bear in mind. It is a service, however, of a special kind. Every Christian is a ser vant of Christ, but every Christian is not a minister of the gospel. A deacon is a ser vant, as the word also singifies ; but his ser vice respects temporal things ; yours is that on account of which the office of deacon was appointed, that you should " give your selves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." It is that which Jethro assigned to Moses — "Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest, bring the causes unto God." Your living under the gospel dispensation renders this a pleasant work : it must, if you enter into the spirit of it, be pleasant to study and im part the gladdening doctrine of salvation. I have observed two extremes relative to this work; one on the part of ministers them selves, and the other on the part ofthe peo ple. That on the part of ministers has been an abuse of their office oi ruling, a fondness for power, aspiring to the exercise of do minion over their brethren. It has always; grated in my ears to hear such language as this: — My church, my deacons, &c, as if churches were made for them, rather than they for churches. Do not emulate this empty swell. True greatness will revolt at it. He that will be great, let him be the servant of all. Think of the woe denounced against the idol shepherd : " The sword shall be upon his arm, and his right eye shall be darkened." Think especially of him who said, " I have been amongst you as one that serveth." The extreme on the part of the people is this : from the idea of ministers being ser vants, some of them seem to have imagined that they are their masters. It-is true they have a Master, and one to whom they inust give account ; but it is not to the people of 422 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. their charge. As Christians, they are ac countable to one another, the same as other Christians ; but, as ministers, to Christ only. In serving the church of God, you will act as a faithful steward towards his lord's fami ly ; who renders service to them all, but is accountable to his lord only. Serve the church of Christ for his sake. II. Let me direct your attention to the DUTIES INCULCATED AS NECESSARY TO THE discharge of the ministry. These will be found to consist in four things : — • 1. Vigilance. — " Watch thou in all things." This is a general quality that is required to run through all our work. If any of you en ter the ministry as furnishing you with a genteel post in society, you will be at best a drone, and had better be any thing than a preacher. You are watchmen, and must be awake when others are asleep. 2. Patience. — "Endure afflictions." If you cannot bear these, you had better let the ministry alone. If you be good ministers of Jesus Christ, you will not only be afflicted in common with others , but the afflictions of others will become yours. " Who is offend ed, and I burn not ? " You must care for all, and expect on some occasions, when you have done, to receive evil for good. 3. Activity in the great work of evangel izing men : — " Do the work of an evangel ist." Without considering you as evangel ists in the full import of the term, there is a portion of the work pertaining to that office which is common to us all as ministers. Wherever Providence may station you, my dear young men, be concerned to evangelize your neighborhood. Look at the situations of a number of the ejected ministers, and see if the effects of their evangelical labors do not remain to this day. Who can look over the churches in Cambridgeshire, without see ing in them the fruits of the labors of Oddy and Holcroft? Who can review those of Bedfordshire, and not perceive in them the effects of the labors of Bunyan — labors for which he suffered twelve years' imprison ment ? The same remarks might be made respecting other parts of the kingdom. Emulate these men of God in evangelizing your respective neighborhoods. 4. Fidelity in discharging your trust: — "Make full proof of thy ministry." The word means thoroughly to accomplish that which you have undertaken. Such is the import of Col. iv. 17 : " Say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry which ' thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it." Were you to present a soldier with a. sword, and bid him make full proof of it, he could not misunderstand you. Would you see an example, look at that of the great apostle in the context: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." But here allow me to be a little more par ticular. If you would make full proof of your ministry you must attend (1 ) To personal religion. — This is often in culcated by the apostle.— " Take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock."— "Take heed to thyself and to thy doctrine," &c. Many people will take our personal religion for granted ; as though a man who teaches others must needs be religious himself: but woe unto us if we reason in this way. Trem ble at the idea of being a graceless minister —a character, itis to be feared, not very un- frequent ! To what is it owing that some of our churches have been prejudiced against an educated ministry? I may be told to their ignorance ; and in part it is so ; but in part it is owing to other causes. The light ness, the vanity, the foppery, and the irreh- gion of some young men have produced not only this effect, but an abhorrence of the very worship of God, as by them adminis tered. Who were ever known to be preju diced against a Pearce, a Francis, or a Bed- dome, on account of their education ? If there were individuals of this description, let them be disregarded as ignorant, and let them be told that vicious characters are found among the uneducated as well as the educa ted. But be it your concern, my dear young men, to shun these evils. The instructions which you receive, if consecrated to Christ, will be a blessing to you ; but, if your object be to shine before men, they will be a curse. (2) Let the time allotted you for education be employed in acquiring a habit of useful study.— To make full proof of your ministry, you must give yourselves continually prayer, and the ministry of the word. " Meditate on these things, and give yourselves wholly to them ; " and this to the end of your lives. Let no one imagine that he will leave his present situation fully qualified for the work. If, by prayer and a diligent application to study, you acquire such a habit of close thinking as that on entering the work it shall be your delight to prosecute it, this is all that will be expected of you. It is for the want of this habit of study that there are so many saunterers, and have been so many scandals amongst ministers. (3) In every stage of literary improvement be concerned to have it sanctified and subordi nated to God as you go on. — On this depends its utility. It were desirable that the study of languages and sciences should commence in early youth, and that religion should come af ter it to make the last impression, seeing it is this that ordinarily stamps the character. Could we be certain that the faith of Christ, and the gifts suited to the ministry, would follow an early education, this would be our course ; but, as this cannot be, our dread of an unconverted ministry makes us require re ligion as the first qualification. Only pursue learning that you may be better able to serve the Lord, and all will be well. It is thus that MINISTERS THE GIFT OF CHRIST. 423 our brethren in India, though their attain ments were not made in the earliest stages of life, have retained their spirituality and increased in usefulness. Let me conclude by noticing. III. The consideration with which these exhortations are enforced: — " For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand." This lan guage denotes an anxiety in the apostle that the work of God might go on when he should have fallen asleep ; and, if we be worthy of the name of Christian ministers, we must feel a portion of the same. Dear young men, to you we look for successors in the work. It is not for me to say how long your elder brethren may continue ; but we have seen stars of no ordinary magnitude set within a few years ! It seems but yes terday since they were with us, and we were the juniors amongst them. Now we are obliged to take their place ; and you, be loved youths, will soon have to take ours. We do not wish to hold ourselves up as your examples ; but the cause in which we have been engaged, and in which the Lord has not frowned on our attempts, we do most ¦earnestly recommend to your tender and solicitous regards. Your elder brethren may be spared a lit tle longer, and yet be able to do but little more. We feel the force ofthe wise man's counsel ; may you feel it too — " Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days eome not, nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them," LXX. — importance of christian min isters CONSIDERED AS THE GIFT OF CHRIST. [Sketch of a Sermon addressed to the Church at Moulton* on the Ordination of Mr. (now Dr.) Carey, August 1, 1787.] 14 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led cap tivity captive, thou hast received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them." — Psa. lxviii. 18. Some think it refers to God's goings forth in behalf of his people Israel, leading them forth to victory, taking their enemies cap tive, and enriching them with the spoils. Suppose it be so, we are warranted to con sider it as mainly referring to Christ, for so the apostle Paul has applied it. — Eph. iv. 8. The apostle not only applies it to Christ, but proves it applicable. Thus he reasons, ver. 9, 10, " Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended," &c. The * The nine which follow this were addressed to other churches on the ordination of their respective pastors. captivity which he led captive was our spirit ual enemies who had led us captive — Satan, Death. And, having obtained the victory, he proceeds to divide the spoils. Gifts to men. — As David made presents. And hence comes our ordinances, ministers, &c. There was a glorious fulfilment immediately after his ascension, in a rich profusion of gifts and graces to his church, like David's presents. Here it is " received ; " in Ephesians "gave." He received that he might give, received the spoil that he might distribute it. But, as I wish to appropriate the passage to the work allotted me, the whole of that to which I would at this time call your attention will be contained in two things : — I. The great blessing of the chris tian MINISTRY. 1. Ministers are received for and are given to you by Christ. — As men, and as sinful men, ministers are as nothing, and wish not to make any thing of themselves ; but as the gifts of Christ it becomes you to make much of them. (1) If you love Christ you will make much of your minister, on account of his being his gift. A gift designed to supply Christ's absence in a sort. He is gone (" ascended,") but he gives you his servants. By-and-by you hope to be with him, but as yet you are as sheep in the wil derness. He gives you a shepherd. (2) If you fear God you will be afraid of treating your pastor amiss, seeing he is the gift of Christ. God took it ill of Israel for despis ing Moses. — Numb. xii. 8. He is my ser vant. 2. Ministers are not only given to but re ceived for you of God the Father, as a cove nant blessing, among the spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. In this view consider that Christ received nothing at his Father's hand but what cost him dear — cost him his life. Or, if the allusion be to the dividing of the- spoils, suppose we say, He received them as a conqueror receives the spoils at the hand of the foe. Your minister was one of those who, like yourselves, were brands consuming in the fire. Christ took him from your enemies and gives him to you. Make much of the gift on this account. " This I received ofthe Amorite." 3. Consider your unworthiness of such a blessing. You are men, mere men, and, what is more, rebellious men, who had joined with Satan. And must you share the spoils ? It is not usual to divide the spoils amongst rebels Men that put him to death had these gifts given to them. And we should all have done the same. Some of you, it is likely, have been vile and abandoned char acters, and yet, &c 4. The end of it:— "That the Lord God might dwell among them." " But will God indeed dwell with men?" God had not dwelt with the world, nor in it, while sin bore the rule ; but Christ's mediation was 424 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. for the bringing it about. " WUl God in deed dwell with men ? " He will ; and how ? It is by the means of ordinances and minis ters. A church of Christ is God's house, and where any one builds a house it is a token that he means to dwell there. What a blessing to a village, a country, for God to build a house in it. It is by this that we may hope for a blessing upon the means to the conversion of our children and friends, and for the edification of believers. II. Point out some corresponding DUTIES AS ANSWERING TO THESE YOUR PRIVILEGES. 1. Constant and diligent attendance at the house of God. If the house of God be God's dwelling, let it be yours, your home. If God gives you a pastor, do you thankfully receive and prize him. He hath not dealt so with every village. 2. Cheerfully contribute to his support. Christ has given you freely, and you ought to give him freely. Consider it not as a gift, but as a debt ; and not as done to him, but to Christ. 3. Follow those things which make for peace, with which the presence and blessing of God are connected. 4. Shun those things that tend to provoke the Lord to withdraw his gifts, and to cease to dwell among you. LXXL- -NATURE AND IMPORTANCE CHRISTIAN LOVE. 14 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that yc are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." — John xiii. 34, 35. The counsels of a dying friend have pecu liar weight: those especially which arise from love, and a regard to our well-being. Such was this. It was the counsel of the greatest and best friend we have ; and the advice is calculated, more than any thing else, for our good. And what better than this can I advance on the present occasion ? To enter into all the particular duties of a people to a minister and to one another would be far too wide a field. If therefore I dwell on the principle, I hope it will suf fice, and prove beneficial. If you ask, What are our duties to our minister ? I answer, Love him. If you ask, what are our duties to each other ? I answer, Love one another. Learn this lesson well, and everything else will follow. We shall endeavor to ascertain wherein consists the nature of Christian love and why it is called a new commandment — to consider its importance in Christian so ciety — and to state a few means and motives to cherish it. I. Let us endeavor to ascertain the na ture OF CHRISTIAN LOVE, AND WHY IT IS CALLED A NEW COMMANDMENT. We may remark 1. It is not mere good neighborhood or, civility between man and man. — We may meet as neighbors, and practise the little civilities dictated by a sense of propriety, and regard each other indifferently ; and yet be strangers to love. 2. It is not mere friendship. — This be longs to us as men. Heathens are capable of this. But there is no religion in it. It is not Christian love. 3. It is not mere respect on account of re ligion. — I never remember being without that. That was found in Saul to David, and at times hi Pharaoh to Moses, and in Ba laam to Israel. But there was no religion in it — no love. 4. It is nqt mere party attachment. — A good man will, of course, unite himself with that denomination of Christians whose senti ments he believes to be nearest the truth ; but he will not limit his affection to a party, but love all who love Jesus Christ. A man may be a zealous partizan, and the party whose cause he espouses may be nearest the truth, but he, nevertheless, may be desti tute of love. 5. It is not that excessive and mistaken at tachment which shall lead us to idolize and flatter a minister, or to exempt each other from the exercise of faithful discipline. — This, in fact, is hatred. "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart : thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him." 6. It is not mere benevolence itself. — There may be that without Christianity. Then what is Christian love ? It is complacency in the divine image. — It is a union of heart, like that of Ruth to her mother-in-law. Christian love is love for Christ's sake. This last remark, I suppose, furnishes a clue for its being called " a new command ment." The old commandment required benevolence, or love to our neighbor ; but this is complacency in Christ's image, or the love of Christians as such. And being in troductory to the New-Testament or gospel dispensation, under which the church should be composed of believers only, it is suited to it. Personal religion is now to be the bond of union. This was never so expressly re quired before. This is more than love to our neighbor, or benevolence : this is brother ly love, or complacency in each other as breth ren in Christ. — Rom. xii. 10. Heb. xiii. 1. This is genuine charity. — 1 Cor. xiii. II. Let us consider' the importance of this principle in Christian society. — This new commandment is the most extensive of any that could be given. Love is a most comprehensive principle : it is the fulfilling of the whole law ; it is the grand cement that unites the spiritual building. Without CHRISTIANS FELLOW-HELPERS TO THE TRUTH. 425 this, any wind will blow it down. More par ticularly, 1. With respect to the duties of social religion. — Only love your pastor, and every thing of consequence will follow. You will attend early and constantly on his min istry. You will pray for him. You will take well his brotherly admonitions. And, if you see faults in him, you will not unne cessarily expose him ; but, if the nature of the case allow, mention them to him alone. You will, in return for your spiritual privi leges, cheerfully impart to him of your natural good things. You will, in a word, treat him respectfully, tenderly, and with affectionate fidelity. Only love y our brother, and you will cast in your lot with him, and the house of God will be sweet to you. You will consider yourselves as intimately united to Christians, and, after the interruptions of business or the world, you will rejoice, as did the primitive disciples, to return to " your own company." The return of opportuni ties will be welcomed. You will have an interest in each other's prayers. You will give and receive reproof. You will be kind to thSpoor, and particularly to those of" the household of faith." You will sympathize with the afflicted. You will "bear one another's burdens." You will bear and forbear, and forgive. 2 With respect to its privileges and advan tages. — These are nothing without love. To be "fellow-citizens with the saints," to unite at the Lord's table, and a variety of other privileges, without love, will be priv ileges in name only. With love, the com pany, counsels, and prayers of Christian friends, will be valued ; but not otherwise. III. Let us mention a few means and motives to cherish this divine principle. — As means, 1. Avoid those things whiqh tend to damp it. — As sarcastic speeches, and unkind reflections. 2. Be concerned to be spiritually-minded yourselves, or others cannot love you as Christians. If any err from this rule, let us beware that we do not make their conduct the rule of our own, returning evil for evil. Consider as motives, 1. The love of Christ. — " As I have loved you, so love ye one another." Let your love be ardent and self-denying. 2. This may comfort you under the world's hatred. — If you be like Christ the world will hate you. — John' xv. 17 — 19. Then when they hate you do not be without any source of comfort ; but love one another. 3. Brotherly love is the grand recommen dation of religion. — Young beginners are drawn by it. But, if they cannot perceive this, they will be damped and discouraged, and the Holy Spirit will be grieved. 4. All love to one another will turn to our own account. — While self-love defeats its Vol. 2.— Sig. 54. own ends, this will be sure to benefit us. Seek another's good, and in it you shall find your own. " By this ye shall know that ye have passed from death unto life, because ye have love one to another." LXXII. CHRISTIAN CHURCHES FELLOW- HELPERS WITH THEIR PASTORS TO THE TRUTH. " We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth."— 3 John, 8. The ordination of elders over the church es was a practice among the primitive Chris tians. — Acts xiv. 23. And I hope it will never be dispensed with in our churches. Besides being sanctioned by apostolical ex ample, it is a guard against the introduction of improper characters, who, by getting an artificial majority in a church, may intrude themselves on a people to thejr great injury. Hence the exhortation, " Lay hands sudden ly on no man." It also furnishes an oppor tunity of solemnly addressing both parties on the intimate relation into which they have entered. In compliance with this custom, I would affectionately address the members of this church on the present interesting occa sion. The language of the text, I allow, has respect to Christian missionaries ; but that which is said of them, and the treatment due to them, will in a great degree apply to settled pastors ; for 1. They went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles ; and these give up all worldly prospects and pursuits for Christ's name's sake, and to serve your spiritual interests. 2. They' were engaged in a great work, even the evangelization of the world ; and so are these. God promised Canaan to Abraham, but Israel must take it ; and the world to Christ, but Christians must conquer it. " Go ye into all the world," &c. Of this army, Christian missionaries and minis ters are the leaders. 3. They wanted help from their brethren, and it was to the honor of private Christians to help them ; for in so doing they became fellow-helpers, not to them only, but also " to the truth." And so do these need help, and it is for you, by helping them, to be fellow- helpers to the truth. To illustrate and enforce the duty which is here enjoined upon you, we shall take a view of the work of a pastor and observe, as we go along, how you are to be fellow-help ers in it. In general, it is spreading the truth. — This is a name by which the religion ofthe Bible is very properly designated, since it is not only true, but emphatically the truth ; being the only true doctrine ever given to the world under the name of religion. All that 426 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. went before it were false, and tended to mis lead and destroy the souls of men, on the true character of God, and of men, and on the true way of salvation. The apostle spoke not the language of conjecture, but of assurance ; as one having been in a mine, coming to the light of day : " We believe and are sure." It is the work of your pastor to spread the heavenly truth, and yours to be fellow-help ers to the truth. Particularly, I. It is his work to preach the gospel to you. There are many ways in which you may be his fellow-helpers. 1. In your prayers to God for him. — I have lately read of a man who despised the prayers ofapeople. But so did not Paul. "Brethren, pray for us." — " Now I beseech you, breth ren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love ofthe Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me." Prepare the way to God's house by prayer. Do not expect to profit else. Itis a great mercy that God sends to us by ' men like ourselves ; men whose everlasting interests are involved in their doctrine. But they are sinful creatures, subject to temptations in common with others, and to some peculiar to themselves : they therefore need your prayers. 2. By an early and constant attendance, and spiritual attentiveness to the word, you may be fellow-helpers. — What an effect do empty pews, and yawning sleepy hearers, produce ! How delightful for a minister to enter his pulpit, as Paul speaks of coming to Rome,— in the hope of being comforted by the faith of his hearers ! — Rom. i. 12. Where faith is seen to glisten in the eyes of an at tentive audience, it produces feelings and thoughts more interesting and affecting than could ever have been produced in the study : while the contrary has a tendency to chill and freeze the feelings ofthe soul, and to reduce a minister to a situation resembling a ship locked in by islands of ice near the poles. 3. By rendering his circumstances as easy as possible, so that his mind may not be har assed by worldly cares, you may be fellow- helpers. — I have never felt it a hardship to be dependent on a people who loved me. I have thought it an honor to be so supported. The expressions of love are sweet. But, if love be wanting, all goes wrong. Little is done, and that little is not done heartily. 4. By enabling him by your habitual de portment to speak strongly as to the holy effects of religion, you may be fellow-helpers. — He will wish to be able to point the world to the people ofhis charge and say — These are my epistles of commendation, known and read of all men ! And to address you boldly in their hearing, in the language of the apos tle — " Such were some of you ; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are jus- jfied, in the name ofthe Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." But, if your conduct does not answer the description, who will be lieve him? . II. Another part of your pastor's work is VISITING HIS PEOPLE FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE, AND ENCOURAGING HOPEFUL CHAR ACTERS TO STAND FORWARD ON THE LORD'S side.— And in this you may be fellow- helpers. 1. By welcoming him, and teaching your children and servants to respect him. — Much depends on this. They will form their opin ion of him by the sentiments they hear you express towards him; and, if they do not think highly of him, it cannot be expected they should profit under his ministrations. On the contrary, if they witness in you a high esteem for his character and his tal ents, they will attend his ministry greatly prepossessed in his favor, and with minds prepared to receive his instructions. 2. By noticing those in the congregation who are inquiring after the way qf salvation, and directing them to the good old way, you may be fellow -helpers. — There are some who, like Barnabas with Saul, get acquainted with and assist converts in the divine life, and introduce them to the church. — Acts ix. 27. Such persons are great blessings in a church, and great helpers to the pastor. Be friendly with the poor ; encourage the modest and timid ; visit the sick, and converse and pray with them. This will strengthen the hands and cheer the heart of your pastor, and greatly promote the interests ofthe truth. III. Another part of his duty is the main tenance OF A STRICT AND FAITHFUL DISCI PLINE. And in this you may be fellow- helpers. He must reprove, and rebuke, and sometimes separate from the church some of whom he once thought well. This is a pain ful duty. But it is a duty, and it is your duty to stand by him. Say to him, as the peo ple said to Ezra, " Arise ; for this matter be longeth unto thee : we also will be with thee : Be of good courage and do it." Do not con sult relationship, or worldly interests, or pri vate friendships. Do not weaken his re proofs by siding with the sinner. Act in unison. " Have no fellowship with such a one, no, not to eat ! " You especially who are deacons, you must be fellow-helpers. You must be to your pastor as Aaron and Hur were to Moses. Encourage him to advise with you. It is customary in some of our churches, and I wish it were in all, for the pastor and dea cons to meet and consult on the affairs of the church an hour or two, some evening immediately preceding the monthly meet ing of the church. These meetings, in con nection with the stated meetings of the church, constitute a happy union of Chris tian wisdom with Christian liberty. Thus, my dear brethren, I have pointed out, very briefly and plainly, a few ways in CHRISTIAN STEADFASTNESS. 427 which you and your pastor may be fellow- helpers to the truth. Consider what I have said as dictated by love and a desire for your own welfare, and for the promotion ofthe cause of our common Lord ; and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. LXXIII. ON CHRISTIAN STEADFASTNESS. " We live, if ye stand fast in the Lord." — 1 Thess. iii. 8. If I wished to be impressed with a pat tern of a Christian minister, I would study the second chapter of this Epistle ; and, if I wished to see a pattern of a Christian people, I know not where I could look, bet ter than to the church of the Thessalonians. — Chap. i. 5 — 10. They were a very amia ble people, but greatly persecuted ; and this excited the sentiments and conduct ex pressed in the third chapter. The amount of the text is that steadfast ness in a Christian people is the life of a Christian minister. We shall notice, there fore, the nature of Christian steadfastness, and its influence on the happiness of a min ister. I. Let us inquire what is that spirit AND CONDUCT IN A PEOPLE EXPRESSED BY " STANDING FAST IN THE LORD." We may remark in general (1) The lan guage supposes they are " in the Lord." It may be thought, perhaps, my hearers, that I should take this for granted of you. And I hope I may of some, and of many ; but can I of all ? It will not be wise for you to take it for granted. It will be well if there be no profane person among you, as Esau. There is great force in that exhortation — (Heb. xii. 15) — "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God ; lest any root of bit terness springing up trouble you, and there by many be defiled." Beware therefore what members you receive. If the world be allowed to mingle with the church, it will soon become corrupt . . . Rome .... National churches And even the best formed churches are liable to impositions, and in danger of imbibing a worldly spirit. (2) The language itself is military. Its im port is similar to the advice of the apostle to the Corinthians : " Watch you, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." It supposes the army of the Lamb subject to many onsets from opposing forces, which tend to break their ranks and to put them to flight. This is the object of Satan, who knows that, if an army be thrown into dis order, it is defeated. The great onset of that day was persecution. We have of late years been exempted from this in public ; but still we may expect family and individu al persecution. They that will live godly, and thus oppose the current of public opinion and public practice, must still expect to suf fer persecution. But the chief things against which we are called to make a stand are the temptations of the world. Then let me be a little particular here, and apprize you of your danger in three quarters — in doctrine, discipline, and spirit. 1. Beware of being moved from the simplicity of Christian doctrine. — Christian doctrine is the foundation on which the church is built. Christians feel it to be so, and therefore will follow it wherever it is preached. The church has been attacked by infidelity, by gross corruptions, by false candor, and spurious zeal. If we be rooted and grounded in Christian doctrine, we shall not be materially wrong in any thing. The doctrine of the cross involves and will draw after it all evangelical truth, and holy disci pline, and holy practice. But, if that be given up, all will go to ruin. For example, If you give up the divinity and atonement of Christ, the life-blood of Christianity is gone, and you become a dead, putrid mass. — Or if, without openly rejecting these truths, you yet, tinder the specious pretences of candor, liberality, and charity, give up their importance, the effect will be the same. They that hold the truth with a loose hand will soon let it go ; and they that receive not the love of the truth will soon be given up to believe a lie. — Or if, under the pre tence of being favorable to practical religion, you make light of its leading principles, the effect will be the same. This would be razing the foundation to rear the structure, or tearing up the root to produce the fruit. — Or, if you introduce such notions ofthe gos pel as are at variance with the holy govern ment of God, you in fact introduce another gospel. Such are a kind of religious glut tons, with a large appetite, but no spiritual taste. They may call themselves orthodox, and count all those who differ from them enemies to the gospel, and stun you with their effrontery ; but what saith Paul ? — "Many walk, of whom I tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ." — Or, if you reduce the doctrine of the gospel to mere speculation, you will become conceited and litigious, thinking you know something, while you are deplorably ignorant ; and the effect will be the same. 0, my brethren, we beseech you by the love of Christ, and by the miseries and mischiefs occasioned by corrupt doctrine in churches, " stand fast in the Lord ! " Next to doctrine, 2. Beware of sinking into a relaxed disci pline. — As an army without good order and discipline cannot stand their ground, so neither can a Christian church. Great for bearance should doubtless be exercised in small matters. There would be endless divisions if a uniformity of opinion were required in minor things. In such thing* 428 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. we must bear and forbear. But we must be firm and resolute in opposition to much of the liberality and candor of the present age. The church at Ephesus is commended be cause she " could not bear them which were evil." There are not only wicked charac ters, but evils even in good men, from which the church is to be purged. There is plenty of work to be done by those who are spirit ual. Many churches have sunk into ruin by slothfulness, and by worldly policy — retain ing opulent sinners from a dread of losing their patronage, or from perverted notions of our Saviour's meaning when he told the Jews that they who were without sin should cast the first stone, or from false tenderness, and sometimes from a wish to be excused in their own turn ; thus agreeing together to tempt the Lord. My brethren, stand fast here. Whatever pleas may be urged, have no merely nominal members ; but all effec tive men, whose hearts are with you, and whose prayers are with you. If any habitu ally absent themselves, try and restore them ; but, if they will not return, dissolve the union. If any man set himself against dis cipline, such a man had better be out of the church than in it. If any man forsake the gospel, restore him if you can ; but, if you cannot, where the bond of union is broken the form is not worth preserving, nor ought it to be preserved. The candor of modern times has in it a large portion of indiffer ence to truth and uprightness, and is in di rect contradiction to the council given to the seven Asiatic churches. 3 Beware of sinking into a worldly spirit. This is a great temptation. In times of outward ease and affluence, many individu als have been carried away, and many churches melted down and lost in worldly conformity. The most dangerous feature of this evil is, that it may prevail in a person, and yet he shall maintain a respectability of character. Let a man fall into gross immoralities, and the world will soon let you know. But "men will praise thee when thou doest well for thyself." And therefore many are intrenched in this evil, and yet fancy themselves good Christians all the while. This is one of the grand onsets of your mighty foe. My brethren, stand fast ! .... We proceed, II. To consider the influence of Christian steadfastness on the mind and labors of a faithful minister. There is something supposed in this as well as the former part of the subject ; viz. that the minister be a man of God ; other wise, so long as you stand fast with him, he will be regardless whether or not you " stand fast in the Lord." This is a good rule for trying the spirit. See that in all your stead fastness you have an eye to the Lord, and to his cause. Where a minister preaches him self, so long as a people stand fast with him he will praise them, and they will be sure to be the people of God ! . But the life and joy of a true minister of Christ will be, that you " stand fast in the Lord." If your minister be the friend of God, as I trust he is, he will join with me in charging you to stand fast with him no longer, and no farther, than he stands fast "in the Lord." If he leave Christ, in doctrine or in practice, it is at your peril to follow him We may no tice the influence of Christian steadfastness on a minister, 1. In his manner of preaching. The ef fect on the mind is very great. If the peo ple are often absent, late, inattentive, or sleepy, it is death to him. But if constant, early, attentive, affectionate, and spiritual, it is life. 2. In the matter of his preaching. — Chris tian steadfastness will enable your minister to state all the genuine effects of the gos pel, and to point to you as exemplifications without fear of contradiction. But, except you " stand fast in the Lord," in vain will your minister present to the attention of his hearers, for their admiration, the church as the building of God. — Ps. cxxvii. 1. My brethren, enable your pastor to refer to you as his " epistles," his letters of recommen dation, " know and read of all men." 3. In the success of his ministry. — This greatly depends on the co-operation of his people, on their knowing one another, and provoking one another to love and good works, and on each one being willing to take some part in active service. This would be convincing to sinners, winning to inquirers, encouraging to your fellow-Christians, and life to your minister. But, if every thing be left to him, his heart will die, and his work will die in his hands. It is not difficult to account for this, for your sanctification and salvation are his re ward. If we have not this, what have we ? After all, my brethren, this is of greater concern to you than to your minister. For, if he be faithful, he shall have his reward, whatever become of you. Though Israel be not gathered, yet will he be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and his God shall be his strength. His loss may be made up, but yours will be irreparable. LXXIV. CHURCHES WALKING IN THE TRUTH THE JOY OF MINISTERS. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." — 3 John 4. The connection of pastor and people, in dissenting churches, is altogether voluntary. There are no bonds to bring them together, or to keep them together, but love. The great point, therefore, in this connection, is the maintaining of brotherly love, and to WALKING IN THE TRUTH. 429 render each other holy and happy. You wish to render your minister happy, or you can expect no religious happiness yourselves. I have selected the text as pointing out the course of conduct that will accomplish this end. " Walk in the truth." I take it for granted that your minister can adopt the language of the text. If, indeed, he were a mercenary or an ambitious man, many other things would afford him much greater pleasure. But I trust, in this re spect, his heart is one with the apostle's. In pursuing this subject, I shall I. Offer some observations on the DUTY ITSELF OF WALKING IN THE TRUTH. In order to this, we may observe that the truth is of a practical nature ; other truths may be speculative, but not this. But what is truth? To this question I would reply generally and particularly. 1. In general — (1) The truth is a system of love and goodness — an overflow of divine blessedness. Then walk in love to the church, and bear good will even to enemies. (2) The truth is a system full oijoy — " good news, and glad tidings of great joy." Then be cheerful and happy, not morose and gloomy. (3) The truth is a system of recon ciliation. Then let it be your concern to live peaceably, and to exercise forgiveness. (4) The truth is a system of amazing con descension. Then " let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." (5) The truth is a system of purity — " a highway of holiness." Then " be ye holy, in all manner of conversation." (6) The truth is a system full of importance. Then be you in earnest. " Strive earnestly for the faith once deliver ed to the saints." 2. More particularly — (1) Divine truth in cludes the existence of God, as a being of in finite excellence and glory ; " holy, just, and good." Then live in the love and fear of God. (2) It includes the divine authority of the Holy Scriptures. Then make them, and not interest, or inclination, or fashion, the rule of your faith and practice. (3) It includes the guilty and lost condition of men as sinners. Then, in all your dealings with God, approach him in that character — as ill and hell deserving. (4) It includes the doctrine of redemption by the blood of Christ. Then remember that you are "not your own," but his. (5) Divine truth teaches us that, if we are saved, it is in consequence of sovereign and discriminating grace. It trac es our salvation to electing love, and informs us that the great end that Christ had, in lay ing down his life, was " that he might re deem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." And to walk in this truth is to be such people, to be distinguished by zeal and uprightness. Let it never be asked con cerning us, " What do ye more than others? " (6) It includes the doctrine of efficacious grace — " My people shall be willing in the day of my power." "The righteous shall hold on his way." — Then to walk in this truth is to prove that grace is efficacious by a per severance in all holy conversation and god liness. (7) It includes the doctrine of eter nal life, as infinitely outweighing all the pleasures and all the ills of the present life. — " I reckon that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed." Then be dead to the world, and alive to God. Look not at the things that are seen and are tem poral ; but at those which are unseen and eternal. My brethren, if the truth thus dwell in you, and operate, you will naturally be at tentive to all relative duties : you will love your pastor, for the truth's sake which he preaches ; and, if you love him, you will make a point of attending his ministry, of contributing to his support, and of consulting his peace and happiness in every possible way. — And, if the truth dwell in you, you will also love one another, for the truth's sake. You will watch over one another in the Lord, and follow the things that make for peace. IL I proceed to notice the connection BETWEEN SUCH A COURSE OF CONDUCT IN A PEOPLE, AND THE JOY AND HAPPINESS OF A MINISTER. 1. If he be an upright man, it will be the great object of his life that the people qf his charge should be conformed to Christ ; and it must needs be a matter of joy to see this great end answered. He must needs re joice over the prosperity of those with whom he travailed in birth, till Christ was formed in them. 2. Such a course of conduct in a people would greatly assist a minister in his public work. — It recommends his preaching to the world. It speaks louder than language, when he can say ofhis people, "Ye are my epistles, known and read of all men." It enables him to be bold in declaring the holy efficacy of truth ; and to answer the enemies in the gate, who would reproach the grace of God as tending to licentiousness. 3. Your sanctification and salvation are his great reward : — " For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming ? " As to any other reward, you well know that the prospects of dissent ing ministers, generally speaking, are any thing but inviting. And, if his pecuniary reward were ten times greater, if he be a Christian, it would not satisfy him. It is not yours, but you, that must make him happy. He will long to present you before the throne, and to be able to say, " Here, Lord, am I, and the children which thou hast given me." Young people, your minister longs also for your salvation. He looks upon you as 430 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. rising plants, destined, he hopes, to occupy the places of those who must soon die. You have no conception how much you can add to his joy. — He can have no greater joy than to see you walking in the truth. Then do not disappoint him. Remember that his joy and your joy are involved in the same course of conduct. Then, while others wander in the mazes of error, be it your concern to walk in the truth. LXXV. — CHURCHES SHOULD EXHIBIT THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL. " These things saith he ... . who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks." — Rev. ii. 1. My dear brethren, that part ofthe solemn exercises of this day which you have allotted to me is to give a word of advice to you, as a church of Christ. I confess it is with pleasure I accept of this service, partly be cause I see you once more happily united in the choice of a pastor, and partly because I believe you will receive the word of ex hortation with candor and attention. The language ofthe text, though figura tive, is sufficiently explained in the preceding verse: "The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candle sticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." The allusion in the latter figure is doubtless to the candlestick in the Jew ish tabernacle, which was made of solid gold.— Exod. xxv. 31—37; Zech. iv. 2. It is described as a candlestick with a. bowl, or fountain, from which oil was conveyed, through pipes, to the several lamps which branched out from it. It is observable that, under the Old-testa ment dispensation, the church is represent ed as one candlestick, though with divers branches ; but under the New as seven dis tinct candlesticks : which may denote the different kinds of church government under the different dispensations. Under the first the church was national, and so was repre sented by one candlestick. Under the last the churches were congregational : and the seven churches are represented by seven distinct candlesticks. The gospel is " a light shining in a dark place." .... To view God as having lighted up a candle to a benighted world is a cheer ing thought ; and to consider yourselves as instrumental in holding it forth — as being that to the gospel which a candlestick is to the candle — is as interesting as the other is cheering. You may consider yourselves, therefore, brethren, as instruments in holding FORTH THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL TO A BE NIGHTED world. This is the thought I propose to dwell upon, and this only. The end of your existence, as a church of Christ, isto "hold forth the word of life." There are two ways of doing this, to both which I hope you will religiously attend: First, By supporting the preaching of the gospel : and, secondly, by recommending it in your spirit and practice. I. By SUPPORTING THE PREACHING OF THE gospel. — I scarcely need inform you that to do this you must support him that preaches it ; and now give me your attention while I mention a few different ways in which it is your duty, interest, and honor, to support your pastor : — 1. By a diligent and constant attendance on his ministry. — If possible, at all the ser vices of the Sabbath, and in tbe week. And those who live in neighboring places may support the cause essentially by re ceiving their minister at their houses, for the purpose of village preaching. 2. By a free and affectionate carriage to wards him. — Treat him as a friend and a bro ther. If in his preaching he should occasion ally make a mistake, do not magnify it. Do not make him an offender for a word. You are as likely to mistake in judging as he is in advancing a sentiment. If you perceive faults in his deportment, do not whisper them about, but kindly mention them to him. Do not give ear to every report concerning him. He has a right to expect this as a brother, but especially as an elder. " Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father : " that is an elder in office ; and, though your pastor may be your junior in years, he is your elder in office, and as such has an especial claim on your forbearance and protection. Ministers are the objects of envy, and, if every report against them were encouraged, they would be unable to stand their ground. — Under trials and afflictions, especially, you should manifest great tenderness towards them. God often afflicts ministers for the good ofthe people — that they may be able to comfort those who are afflicted : surely then it becomes the people to be very affec tionate towards them under their trials You that are officers in the church should especially be concerned to bear up his hands, as Aaron and Hur stayed the hands of Moses. 3. By treating him with becoming respect, and teaching your children and servants to do the same. — This will conduce to your own advantage. So long as he deserves your respect, you ought to show it ; and no long er ought he to continue to be your pastor. 4. By acknowledging his instrumentality in your edification. — There is great danger of extremes here. Some are always feed ing a minister's vanity by telling him how well he preached at this time and that ; and, by the bye, at the same time displaying their own vanity, by wishing him to consider what good judges they are of an ingenious discourse ! Others, to avoid this extreme, CHURCHES SHOULD EXHIBIT THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL. 431 will never speak to him in the language of encouragement. Surely there is a way- of acknowledging ourselves to have been edi fied and profited, which does not tend to feed a minister's vanity, but to encourage him in his work. 5. By giving him a place in your prayers. — Think much on the greatness ofhis work. It is to enlighten a benighted world. Pray that he himself may be enlightened. Itis to " feed you with knowledge and under standing." Pray that he himself may be fed. It is to stand between God and men. Pray that he may be kept humble. It is to disturb the carnal security of men. 'Pray that he himself may be kept awake. It is to break the hard heart. Pray that he may be tender-hearted. It is to rouse the list less soul to action. Pray that he may be alive to himself. It is to trace the windings of the human heart, and to describe the genu ine operations of grace in the true believer. Pray that he himself may increase in Chris tian experience. From what your pastor has this day heard, methinks I hear him sigh and say to himself — " Who is sufficient for these things ? " Think of this, my brethren, and you will not forget him in your near ad dresses to God. 6. By not hindering, but helping him, in the exercises of his pastoral office. — Be not of a touchy temper, so as to prevent him from freely giving you advice and caution, and even reproof. It would be to his dis honor to deal in personal reflections in the pulpit ; but, out of it, it will be to your dis honor to be offended with plain and close dealing. If you are of such a temper that you cannot bear to be told of your faults, you will hinder him in the discharge of his office. Be at the same time also willing to take your share in the exercise of discipline. In cases of personal offence, it may be well for your pastor in some instances to be ex cused, lest the parties contract a prejudice against him, and so prevent the success of his ministrations. But, where he cannot be excused, be you always ready to join him, to stand by him, to sanction and encourage him in the execution of the laws of Christ ; even though the offenders be among your relatives and acquaintance. Let the dea cons in particular stand by him ; ahd never let a church censure have so much as the ap pearance of being passed by the influence of the minister. The address of the elders of Israel to Ezra, in a most painful case of discipline, will furnish you with a good ex ample : " Arise, for this matter belongeth unto thee : we also will be with thee : he of good courage and do it." 7. By liberally contributing to the support of his family. — It is to the honor of protest ant dissenters that what they contribute to their ministers they contribute freely, with out constraint ; but it is greater honor still, if they contribute liberally. Consider your minister's salary, not as a gift, but as a debt ; and not as done to him, but to Christ. Give liberally, or you will lose the liberal reward. Give it as due to the cause of Christ, or Christ will take no favorable notice of it. A generous and punctilious regard to God's servants, even in their temporal character, was a feature ofthe great reformation in the days of Nehemiah. — Chap. xii. 43 — 47. II. We proceed to observe that the end of your existence, as a church of Christ, is to " hold forth the word of life " by recom mending IT IN YOUR SPIRIT AND PRAC TICE. — " Be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life ; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain." This is a power ful way of preaching the gospel. It speaks louder than words — louder than thunder. Your ministers may assure those who are strangers to religion that religion is a mat ter of infinite importance, and you may say so too ; but if they see you light and frothy in your conversation, indifferent and negli gent in your duties, do you think they will believe you ? No (say they,) they don't be lieve it themselves ! Again, you may tell them what an evil and bitter thing sin is ; but, if they see you loose and vain in your deportment, you cannot expect them to be lieve you. You may dilate upon the vanity of the world ; but, if you are covetous and oppressive, what will your servants and workmen say ? You may assure the gay and thoughtless that religion is the happiest life ; but what can they think, if they see you melancholy in the service of God and cheerful only when engaged in other pur suits ? . . . . There are various divine truths, besides the above, which you believe and which you wish others to believe. For in stance, justification by the imputed righteous ness of Christ: then disprove the calumny that this doctrine leads to licentiousness, by letting them see that your personal right eousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the pharisees. The near rela tion of Christians to God as their Father : then be of a child-like disposition. The work ofthe Holy Spirit: then bear its fruits. Efficacious grace : then prove it by yourper- severance There are three things I would here recommend as to your spirit, and then draw to a close. 1. Cultivate a humble savory spirit, rather than a censorious or a curious one. — A cu rious and censorious temper is almost al ways the mark of a little mind, and has no tendency to recommend the gospel. A hum ble savory Christian will speak the loudest. 2. Cultivate a peaceful, sincere, affection ate spirit to each other.—" Be ye all of one 432 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. mind." — All of a piece, like the golden can dlestick. If jarring, and strife, and conten tion, be kindled among you, the scandal will not be confined to you, but will extend to the whole body, yea, to religion itself. It is in a time of peace tbat a people are prosper ous. The heavenly dove "flies from the abode of noise and strife." Let me es pecially recommend you 3. To cultivate godly sincerity. — If there is any one leading idea held forth in your being compared to a golden candlestick, it seems to be this. The candlestick was to be all gold — no washing, no deception : yea, of beaten gold — that no part should be hol low. It was what it appeared to be — the same within as without. Let this be your character. The great art of church-govern ment is to love in sincerity. My brethren, Christ walketh among you ! This should — (1) Impress you with fear. — His eye is upon you ! (2) Inspire you with courage. — What could you do without him ? (3) Induce you to imbibe his spirit. — A meek and benevolent spirit to all mankind. LXXVI. — ON CULTIVATING A PEACEFUL DISPOSITION. " Let us, therefore follow after the'things which make for peace." — Rom. xiv. 19. My dear brethren, in complying with your request to address you, on the present occasion, I shall study plainness of speech. I shall not divert your minds with curious speculations, or irrelevant remarks, but en deavor at least to recommend such things as I conceive your circumstances immediately require ; and for this purpose I have select ed the text as the foundation of a few ob servations : " Let us, therefore, follow after the things which make for peace." There is scarcely any blessing more de sirable than peace — true, well-grounded peace. It is so intimately connected with prosperity that the Hebrew word which is commonly translated " peace " signifies also prosperity. "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." The He brew word is the same in both instances. I am requested on the present occasion to give you a word of advice, as respects your deportment to your pastor and to one another. All I shall attempt will be to explain and to enforce the exhortation contained in the text ; and, if peace be with you, prosperity will follow as a matter of course. I. Explain the exhortation. — In gen eral, I may observe, we do not wish you to be so fond of peace as to sacrifice truth to preserve it. If your pastor desert those grand essential truths which he has this day confessed, you ought to desert him, or rather to desire that he would leave you. — Nor do we mean that you are to maintain peace at the expense of righteousness— a peace consisting in the neglect of discipline, and the passing over of such evils as ought to be exposed and reproved. It is the glory of a man to pass over an injury done to him self, but not to be pliable in matters which relate to God's glory. It is lamentable, however, to reflect that in general men are less severe against sin towards God than against an injury done to themselves. The rule of Scripture is this—" First pure, then peaceable." ,Let this be your rule. Some of the observations I have to make will more immediately respect your conduct towards your pastor ; and others your con duct towards one another. First: Endeavor by all means to pre serve a good understanding with your pas tor. His peace of mind is essential for his happiness and your " edification."^ 1. Let your stated attendance on his min istry be constant and candid. — If you are neg ligent, or late, it will affect his peace of mind. He will think his labors are unac ceptable. ..... And if you should discover any mistakes in. his preaching consider hu man frailty. Do not talk of them to others, nor among yourselves, but to him, and that with modesty and tenderness. 2. Let the vigilance you exercise over Ms conduct, be characterized by the same tender ness and candor. — Enemies will watch him with a desire for his halting ; but do not you. Be not hasty in taking up or falling in with reports to his disadvantage. 3. Let your contributions for his support be distinguished, not only by their liberality, but also by the cheerfulness with which they are given. — Let it be a tribute of love .... Do not imagine that your contributions en* title you to scrutinize and dictate in his fam ily arrangements .... His being a minister does not destroy his privilege as a man. Ministers also have peculiar feelings in reference to such subjects. If one of you were to intermeddle with the domestic arrangements of another, you would be told to mind your own concerns, and not to in terfere with his, seeing he does not come to you for what he has. But your minister would feel a delicacy on this point, and a difficulty, which it should be your study to render unnecessary. And, after all, you have no more right to inspect his concerns than he yours. 4. Let your exercise of disciplinebe prompt, and such as shall preserve him from prejudice. — Always unite with him, that he may not have to endure all the prejudice and odium consequent on strict discipline. In many cases you may relieve him altogether from the painful duty, and thus prevent his minis trations from being rejected. Take as much of this from him as you can, " that the gos pel of Christ be not hindered." ON CULTIVATING A PEACEFUL DISPOSITION. 433 These are some of the things an attention to which would greatly contribute to his peace of mind and to your edification. Secondly : Let me exhort you to endeavor, by all means, to preserve peace among one ANOTHER. 1. Be careful to cultivate a spirit of love. — There is nothing more conducive to peace than this. Provoke not one another to an ger, but " to love and good works." Be ex amples of love, striving who shall excel in acts of kindness and sympathy. "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." 2. Beware of sin. — There is nothing more opposed to Christian peace than this. Where this is nourished, peace will be ban ished ; for, though it be private, it will work, and work mischief. It will be a wedge, gradually widening the breach between God and your souls, and between one another. 3. Beware of a disputatious temper. — De bates may be productive of good .... But they too often originate in captiousness and pride. Think of the account of them in God's word. "A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes." — "If any man consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is ac cording to godliness ; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words ; whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse dis- putings of men of corrupt minds, and desti tute of the truth. From such withdraw thyself." _ 4. Avoid a spirit of groundless jealousy. — Godly jealousy is necessary, when we consider what we all are, and by what influ ences we are surrounded. But an ill opin ion of others is the source of much mischief. From this suspicious disposition, words are misconstrued, and actions imputed to wrong motives. If we indulge in this, we shall be unable to believe one another, or to place con fidence in the most explicit declarations. " Jealousy is cruel as the grave ! " It devours the happiness of those who cherish it. How opposed to true charity ! Charity suspecteth no evil, hopeth tiie best, believeth the most favorable representations .... In general, a spirit of jealousy would seem to indicate a dishonest heart. Its possessors seem to know themselves to be bad, and therefore think none others can be good. Probably this made Satan so suspicious of Job's sin cerity. Beware lest you imitate him ! — and lest your suspicions should originate in the same cause ! 5. Beware of a spirit of envy. — The mem bers of a church are like the stars. One excelleth another. Then beware of envy. Saul envied David for his superiority, when David "behaved himself' wisely." Some excel in gifts, and graces, and consequently Vol. 2.— Sio. 55. obtain a greater degree of esteem. Beware of envy. Some exceed others in worldly property, and consequently, though not always deservedly, receive greater respect. But beware of envy. Do not imagine that religion cancels the obligation to treat men according to their rank and station in socie ty. Let not envy lead you to think much of every instance of respect shown to a sn- perior, and to reflect, If /had been rich, he would have visited me ! Certainly, a minis ter should visit all his flock ; but tbere may be reasons, apart from outward circum stances, why one shall be visited more than another. " Charity envieth not." 6. Do not intermeddle with each other's temporal affairs. — What I just now said re specting your conduct towards your pastor, I would repeat concerning your conduct to wards one another. Different people have different ways of managing their domestic affairs; and, if your brethren do but act so as to be honorable in the world, what right have you to interfere? If indeed their de portment be inconsistent with their charac ter as professed Christians, and in any sense involve the honor of God : if, for example, they be indolent, and disgrace the cause — or extravagant, and therefore become unable to pay their just debts — then, indeed, it will be right to interfere ; but even then it is neither friendly nor wise to make their faults the topic of common conversation. 7. Guard against a touchy temper.- — Char ity is not soon angry. " For every trifle scorn to take offence ; It either shows great pride or little sense. '' 8. Repeat no grievances, especiaUy when acknowledged. — "He that repeateth a mat ter, separateth very friends." 9. Strive to heal differences. — It is a great honor to be a peace-maker. True, it is often very difficult; for "a brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city : and their contentions are like the bars of a castle." But by how much the more diffi culty there is by so much the more honor will there be. Do not abandon the attempt for a few hard sayings. Those who inter fere in an affray commonly receive a few blows from both sides. But do not be discouraged. Pray, and try again. And let the saying of our Lord, " Blessed are the peace-makers, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," weigh more with you than a little temporary difficulty and discouragement. 10. Encourage no tale-bearers, — Persons that make it their business, and feel it their delight, to go about telling secrets to the dis advantage of their neighbors, deserve the deepest marks of censure. Are you at vari ance with a brother ? Mark the man who by his insinuations and inuendoes would make the breach wider, and shun him. There are cases, indeed, in which, in our 434 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. own vindication, we are compelled to speak God-between usan I al 1 ho ly intelligence to the disadvantage of others ; but to black- -was brought about by Christ , and all out en the character".* another unnecessarily, peace with one another is the price of Ins and intentionally to widen a breach existing blood. " It F«^'J™K w„,oo„ fri»^« nr neio-hhors. is infernal! peace through the blood of his cross, Dy mm to reconcile all things unto himself. 3. Consider its influence on spectators. — Friends , young converts ! between friends or neighbors, is infernal ! peace through If blessed are the peace-makers, cursed are these peace-breakers, and peace-preventers ! One cannot always shut one's doors against such characters, but we can and ought to shut our ears against them ; and, if we do this, we shall deprive them of their ex citement and their highest gratification. " Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out ; so where there is no tale-bearer the strife ceaseth." .... And, if you would not encourage tale-bearing in others, be sure you are not guilty of it yourselves. If you enemies other churches LXXV1L- CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ARE GOD S BUILDING. " Ye are God's building." — 1 Cor. iii. 9. Who can help admiring the disinterested hear one speak ill of another, do n't go "and spirit ofthe apostle Paul? The Corinthi- tell him, unless indeed it affect his moral ans were divided into parties, at the head ot character and the cause of religion ; and each of which was some great man. Paul never assist in propagating evil reports. himself was one. But he disdained such a 11. Be ready to forgive. — Without this distinction. " Who is Paul ? or who is heavenly temper we cannot expect to live Apollos ? " " Ye are God's building.^ The long in peace. There is a very mistaken emphasis of the text is here, notion of honor existing among men, as if it lay in not yielding, but in resenting an in jury ; whereas it is very plain that true hon or consists in the very opposite. "The discretion of a man deferreth his anger ; and it is his glory -to pass over a transgression." "Ye are God's husbandry, God's building ; " not ours. Then be not called after our name, but God's. We are rather yours, than you ours. —Ver. 22. The building here alluded to is that ofthe temple.— Ver. 16, 17. The apostle expa- Our own interest should lead us to this ; for tiates upon the same idea in Eph. ii. 20 — 22, in some things we shall need the forgive- which may be considered as the key to the ness of our brethren; and, what is of greater text, and of which, in discoursing from it, I consequence still, we all need the divine shall avail myself. " Ye are built upon the forgiveness. But Christ assured his disci- foundation ofthe apostles and prophets, Je- ples, "If ye forgive not men their trespasses, sus Christ — himself being the chief corner- neither will your heavenly Father forgive stone, in whom all the building, fitly framed your trespasses." together, groweth unto a holy temple in the These, my brethren, are some of the dis- Lord, in whom ye also are builded together, positions the cultivation of which will make for a habitation of God, through the Sphit." for peace. Some of them may appear to This description will apply either to the you little ; but great rivers flow from little Christian church at large, or to a particular springs. " How great a matter a little fire church. There are four things observable kindleth ! " These things you are to " follow after." Sometimes you may be inclined to despair of obtaining peace by any means. But be not discouraged — " follow after." ¦ II. Having thus explained the exhortation ofthe apostle, I shall endeavor to enforce it. 1. Consider/iotfl invaluable a blessing peace is. — It is closely connected with churchpros- perity ; for the heavenly dove flies from the abodes of noise and strife. And to soulpros- perity. — " Live in peace ; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." See the bless edness of peace in those churches which have been careful to cultivate it ... . and see the in the apostle's account of building, each of which is applicable to a Christian church: it must be reared on a good foundation — it must be fitly framed together — it is supposed at present to be incomplete, but in a grow ing state — and the end for which it is built is, that it may be a habitation of God, through the Spirit. I. It MUST BE REARED ON A GOOD FOUN DATION. — On Jbsus Christ, himself being the chief corner-stone. This is the foundation that God hath laid in Zion. — Isa. xxviii. 16. And all after builders must follow his exam ple. The Jews refused it. They went on to build ; but they were no longer " God's building." — The doctrine of Christ crucified wretched state of those where peace has was the foundation of the apostolic churches, been infringe d upon "Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities : thine, eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a taberna cle that ahall not be taken down," &c. 2, Consider wliat it cost our Lord Jesus Christ to obtain it. — Peace between us and and continued so for ages. When this doc trine was deserted and corrupted, men might call themselves the church, and greatly in crease ; but they ceased to be " God's build ing." — This was the foundation laid at the Reformation; and while these continued, GODLY SIMPLICITY IN RELIGIOUS EXERCISES. 435 though accompanied with "wood, hay, and stubble," God blessed the churches. ' But, when these reformed churches went off into a mere heathen morality, God forsook them. They were no longer " God's building." — Look at particular churches. It is this doc trine that God blesses for conversion. The building will not rise without it. Where Christ is left out as the foundation, he will say, as he did to the Jews of old, " As for your house, it is left unto you desolate." I trust, my brethren, your minister will lay this foundation, and exalt the Saviour, and that you will encourage him in so doing. II. It must be fitly framed together. — A building is not a mere assemblage of a heterogeneous mass of materials. This were a heap, rather than a building. There are three things necessary to a building's be ing fitly framed : — 1. The materials must be prepared, before they are laid in it. Such were the orders concerning Solomon's temple. There was to be no noise there. — 1 Kings vi. 7. You are few in number, my brethren ; but do not be so anxious after increase as to lay improp er materials. What if you could obtain hundreds of members, and they men of prop erty ; yet if they were haughty, self-willed, and worldly, how could they fit in with the humble, meet, and heavenly-minded? 2. That they be formed by the same rule. It is not enough that the roughness and pro tuberances of their characters should be smoothed down and polished off; they must be made to fit the foundation and each other : if the members of churches fit in with the foundation — with Jesus Christ, in his gos pel, government, and spirit — there would be little danger of disunion among themselves. The great means of promoting religious union among Christians is, not by dispensing with disagreeable truth, but by aspiring to a conformity to Christ. Religious uniformity is like perfection in other things : we are not to expect it in this world : still it is our duty to aspire after it. There is no union any further than we agree ; and no Christian union any further than that in which we agree is the mind of Christ. It will be of no account to be of one mind, unless that mind be the mind of Christ. The way there fore to promote Christian union is for each to think more, to read more, to pray more, to converse more, on the principles ofthe doc trine and example of Christ. God builds by rule. He conforms to the image of his Son: and so must you. The house must not be built according to your fancy, or your inclination, but according to the rules con tained in the word of God. " See thou make all things according to the pattern." — " Keep the ordinances as they are delivered unto you." A neglect of holy discipline is the bane of the present age ; but you must ex ercise a holy vigilance here, or you will not be God's building. 3. That each shall occupy his proper place in the building. Some are formed to teach ; others to be taught : some to lead ; others to be led : some to counsel ; others to execute. See that each is in his place, the situation for which he is formed, or you will not be God's building. III. It is supposed at present to be incom plete, but advancing: — "It groweth unto a holy temple." This is applicable to the church at large : it resembles Solomon's tem ple — widest at the upper end. — 1 Kings vi. 6. The church has been widening from the commencement, and will still extend. And may we not hope that there will be some re semblance to this in particular churches ? If you would answer to the spiritual model — be chaste, not admitting any riyals in your affections ; zealous, spiritual, and faithful — and you will be God's building, and you must increase. IV. The end for which the building is reared,—" For a habitation of God." When men build a house, it is that it may be inhab ited. So it is with God. If you are God's building, it is that you may be the habita tion of God. This a vast blessing. " Will God in very deed dwell with men ? " Yes. Christ "gave gifts to men, that the Lord might dwell among them." He hath given you a pastor — that he might dwell among you LXXVIII. — THE SATISFACTION DERIVED FROM A CONSCIOUSNESS THAT OUR RELI GIOUS EXERCISES HAVE BEEN CHARACTER IZED BY GODLY SIMPLICITY. " Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our con science, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward." — 2 Cor. i. 12. Such was the declaration -of Paul, in be half of himself and his brethren ; and a great thing it was to be able to say, especially when accused of being crafty and designing men. That they were so accused is evident from the twelfth chapter ; and the declara tion ofthe text nobly repels all such insinu ations. I do not mean to assume this language in behalf of myself or my brethren; but would rather apply it in a way of self-examination. By " fleshly wisdom " is meant the wisdom of this world, worldly policy, that wisdom which has carnal and wordly ends in view or is aimed and exercised for our own interest, honor, or gratification. By "the grace of God " is meant that holy wisdom which is from above, or that line of conduct which the 436 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. grace of God teaches— " simplicity and god ly sincerity." I. Let us state a few cases in which THESE OPPOSITE PRINCIPLES WILL, ONE OR THE OTHER OF THEM, INFLUENCE OUR CON DUCT. — It may be too much to say that all men are governed by the one or the other. Some have neither. Their way is fleshly ; but it is fleshly folly. The principles ofthe text, however, are very common. Par ticularly : — ' 1. In preaching the gospel. — We are most ly governed by one or other, as ministers. They give a character to the matter qf our preaching. — If we are influenced by the former, our preaching will partake of the wisdom of this world. It will savor of the flesh. There will be little or no spirituality in it. It will favor some other gospel. - But, if we are influenced by the latter, our preach ing will savor of Christ and heaven. It will be wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world. The doctrine we preach will not be selected to please the tastes of our hearers, but drawn from the holy Scriptures. We shall declare " the whole counsel of God." These principles will also give a charac ter to the manner of our preaching. — If we are influenced by the former, our preach ing will be merely an art, with "enticing words of man's wisdom." But, if by the latter, it will be characterized by simplicity ; not thinking of ourselves, but of Christ and the salvation of souls. Finally, These principles will give a char acter to our motives. — If we are influenced by the former, we shall study to be approved of men, and to have it understood that we are men of consequence. "Giving it out that he was some great one." But, if by the latter we shall seek, "not yours, but you." The love of God, of Christ, and of souls, will constrain us. 2. In reading the Scriptures, and hearing the gospel. — Here, also, we are for the most part governed by one or the other of these principles. There is the spirit of the world, and the spirit which is of God. It is of great conse quence with which spirit we take 'up our Bi bles. — If with the former, it will be no wonder that we err, and stumble, and perish. "A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not." Paine read the Scriptures to pervert and vil ify them. We may be acquainted with the original languages, and be able to criticise texts ; and yet not discern the mind of the Spirit. "Spiritual things must be spiritually discerned." This will be especially the re sult, if we form a system of our own, and go to the Scriptures to have it confirmed, in stead of deriving- it in the first place from the unerring oracles. — But, if we are influenced by the opposite principle, we shall pray, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold •'^wondrous things out of thy law." And, comino- with the simplicity of children, we shall have the mind ofthe Spirit revealed to us. — Matt. xi. 25. So in hearing the gospel. — If we hear merely as critics on the preacher, full of conceit and fleshly wisdom, whatever the preaching may be, it will do us no good^- But if we hear as Christians, in simplicity and godly sincerity, we shall hear the word to profit. Take heed how ye hear, lest by- and-by you become regardless of what you hear, or even prefer the flesh-pleasing doc trines which lead to perdition. — 2 Pet. ii. 1—3. 3. In church-fellowship and discipline we are governed by one or other of these prin ciples. Particularly, In receiving members. — If we are gov erned by the former, we shall catch at the rich, and covet respectability, and be more ambitious to increase in number than in con formity to Christ. — But, if by the latter, we shall rejoice in the accession ofthe meanest Christian, and of Christian graces, though they shine in those whom the world despise. In choosing officers. — If we are governed by the former principle, ministers will be chosen on account of their popularity, and deacons on account of their opulence. But, if by the latter, we shall fix our eye stead fastly on the qualifications required in Scrip ture ; and, if we cannot find men who attain to the full standard, we shall be so much the more concerned to choose those who ap proach the nearest. In exercising discipline. — If we be gov erned by the former, we shall be concerned to be great and respectable. If by the lat ter, we shall strive after conformity to Christ. If by the former, our discipline will be par tial, screening our favorites. But, if by the latter, we shall be no respecter of persons, but act with impartial fidelity, with a single eye to the glory of God. 4. In deciding in our various worldly con cerns we are commonly influenced by one or other of these principles. — If by the former, the question will be, in all cases, — Is it wise ? Is it politic ? What will people say ? But, if by the latter, the question will be, — Is it right? The former is the spirit of all worldly men, and all mere nominal Chris tians : the latter, of the genuine Christian : If we are governed by the former, in forming our various connexions, the question will be, — Will this promote my worldly interests ? But, if by the latter, the question will be, — Will it contribute to the prosperity of my soul ? My friends, think of the fruits of Lot's well-watered plain : and shudder at tlie thought of choosing situations for yourselves or your children, without a supreme regard to the kingdom of God and his righteous ness. II. Observe the satisfaction arising FROM BEING ABLE TO ADOPT THE LAN- THE REWARD OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER. 437 GUAGE OF THE apostle. — He speaks of his consciousness of simplicity and godly sin cerity, as a matter of rejoicing, yea, of sin gular rejoicing. Wherefore? — 1. The teslimony qf a good conscience is sometimes the only testimony we have in our favor. — It was nearly so with tlie apostle, at Corinth. The world may be offended, and bad men may influence even good men to join a wrong cause. This was the case at Corinth. Thus Judas led away the disciples with respect to Mary. But, if we can say as Paul in the text, this will bear us up under all the misapprehensions and miscon structions of the world, or even of our brethren. Thus Enoch was supported. Doubtless he had to endure the world's scorn ; but " he had this testimony — that he pleased God." 2. TTie testimony qf such a conscience is an echo to the voice of God. — "If our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God." 3. The testimony of a good conscience will support us in death. — But, if we have not this, how shall we bear to die, and to appear in judgment ? My friends, if your minister can adopt the language of Paul, and feel a consciousness of being governed by the best of principles, still this will avail for himself only : it will not avail you. He may be pure of your blood ; but are you ? If you perish, and your minister be guiltless, where will the guilt lie then ? LXXIX. — the reward of a faithful MINISTER. " For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of re joicing''? Are not even ye, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming t " — 1 Thess. ii. 19. I do not know any part of the Scriptures in which we have a more lovely picture of a true pastor and true Christians than is con tained in this chapter. Though the picture is drawn by the apostle himself, he could appeal to God for its correctness. It exhi bits him and his brethren as bold in proclaim ing the gospel ; sincere in their doctrine ; acting as in tbe sight of God ; faithful to their trust, and to the souls of their hearers ; unostentatious ; gentle and affectionate ; disinterested ; and consistent in their deport ment, not only among unbelievers, where even hypocrites will preserve appearances, but also among the people of their charge. Let ministers look at this picture, and at themselves. We have also the character of primitive Christians. They received the gospel, not merely as the message of the apostles, but as " the word of God ; " it wrought in them effectually ; and they were the determined follo%vers of the very earliest Christians, though at the risk of persecution, and even of death. The apostle sums up all by a solemn appeal to them and to God, that, if he and his brethren had any reward in their labors, it consisted in their salvation : " What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye ?" The import of this passage is that the sal vation of his hearers is the reward of a faith ful minister. In discoursing on this interest ing subject, I shall endeavor to explain it — account for it — and apply it. I. I shall endeavor to explain the ob ject WHICH EVERY FAIFHFUL MINISTER ACCOUNTS HIS HOPE AND JOY AND CROWN. It is you, even you, in the presence of the Lord. There are two things designed by the apostle in this language : — 1. To disclaim all sordid and mercenary ends on his part. — It is not yours, but you. Of course we have a hope, and expect a reward of some kind. They that run must have a prize, a joy, a crown : but it is not any thing carnal, or worldly. Men may, in deed, engage in the ministry, with the desire of obtaining lucre, or fame ; or from the love of power, or the love of ease : but not so Paul ; not so any true minister of Jesus Christ. As to Paul, he had voluntarily re signed every thing of this kind, for the sake of the gospel, as those to whom he wrote very well knew. The language, therefore, peculiarly became his lips. And no true minister of Christ, though supported by the people (and it is fit that those who devote their lives to an object should be supported in it,) will enter on the work for the sake of this ; nor will he be satisfied with this alone, however liberal. 2. Another object of the apostle was to show the necessity of true religion, and a per severance in it, in them. — There are some who are our hope, who are not our joy ; and others who are our hope, and joy too, for a time, who will never be our crown ; who hold not out to the end, and therefore, will never be our rejoicing in the presence of the Lord, at his coming. Some are under serious impressions, and excite a hope and joy, like that felt at the sight of blossoms in the spring, which yet are afterwards blight ed. There are some that have even made a public profession, and yet, like the thorny and stony-ground hearers, produce no fruit. The object desired, therefore, is not only your setting out, but your holding on, walk ing in the truth, and holding fast your pro fession to the end. Then, indeed, you will not only be our hope, and joy, but our crown of rejoicing. II. I shall endeavor to account for its BEING SO : — 1. If we are faithful ministers, we shall be of the same mind as Christ. — And this was the reward which satisfied him. — Isa. liii. 438 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. 11. He endured all things for the elect's sake ; and so shall we, if we be of his mind. 2. If we are faithful ministers, our love to Christ will make us rejoice in every thing that honors him. — The highest honor to which John the Baptist aspired was to be the Bride groom's friend ; and to see him increase was enough, though at the expense of his own popularity. This fulfilled his joy ! What labor and pains will men take at an election to procure votes for the candidate to whom they are attached ! And how grateful to him to see his friends, each on the day of election, bring with him a goodly number of votes ! Much more we, if we be faithful ministers, shall, in the day of the Lord, be admired in all them that believe, and that love his appearing. 3. If we be true ministers of Christ, ice shall love the souls of men as he loved them. — And this accounts also for the language of the text. All of you have souls of infinite value. Some of you are the children of those whom we have loved, and with whom we have taken sweet counsel, and walked to the house of God in company, but who are now no more. And what is our hope now ? Why, that you may follow in their steps. Is it strange that we should long to present you with them before the throne ? Some of you have professed to be the spirit ual children of your pastor; and you are his hope, and his joy too. See to it that you form a part of his crown. III. Allow me to apply the subject. — You may think this subject mostly concerns ministers ; but be assured you have a deep interest in it. If it be our duty to obtain volunteers for Christ, it is your duty to give us an answer. — God is saying, by us, " Choose ye, this day, whom ye will serve." 2. If your salvation be our reward, still is it no concern of yours that we should be re warded? You would scorn to deprive your servants of their wages, or your minister of his salary ; but this is not enough ; this will not satisfy us ; you must not put us off with your money; for we seek not yours, but you. The salvation of your souls is the on ly reward which will satisfy a faithful ser vant of Jesus Christ. 3. The personal interest you have in this matter is far greater than ours. — If we be faithful, our loss will be made up in the ap probation of God. Though you be not gathered, we shall not go unrewarded. But your loss will be irreparable. 4. You must be presented in some way, — if not as our joy and crown, as rebellious children, to be dealt with as such. We shall have to say of you, These our hearers were stubborn and rebellious, and would not listen to our message of love. They would not come to Christ that they might have life. LXXX. — ministers and churches ex horted TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE. [Sketch of an Ordination Sermon addressed to both Pastor and People."] 44 By love serve one another." — Gal. v. 13. My brethren, having been requested on this solemn occasion to address a word of exhortation to both pastor and people, I have chosen a subject equally suitable for both. I. I shall begin by addressing a few words to you, my brother, the pastor of this church. The text expresses your duty — to " serve " the church ; and the manner in which it is to be performed — " in love." Do not ima gine there is any thing degrading in the idea of being a servant. Though you are to serve them, and they you, yet neither of you are to be masters of the other. You are fellow-servants, and have each " one Mas ter, even Christ." It is a service, not of constraint, but of love; like that which your Lord and Master himself yielded. " I have been among you as one that serveth." Let the common name of minister remind you of this .... The authority you exer cise must be invariably directed to the spi ritual advantage of the church. You are invested with authority ; you are to have the rule over then), in the Lord ; but not as a " lord over God's heritage." Nor are you invested with this authority to confer digni ty on you, or that you may value yourself as a person of consequence ; but for the good of the church. This is the end of office : " Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister ; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your ser vant. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." .... But, more particularly, 1. You must serve the church of God, by feeding them with the word qf life. — This is the leading duty of a minister. " Preach the word; be instant in season, and out of season." This will be serving them, as it will promote their best interests. For this end you must be familiar with the word, "Meditate on these things: give thyself wholly to them." It is considered a fine thing with some to have a black coat, to loi ter about all the week, and to stand up to be looked at and admired on the Sabbath. But truly this is not to serve tlie church of God. Be concerned to be " a scribe well instructed in the things of tbe kingdom." Be concern- en to have treasures, and to bring them forth. I would advise that one service of every Sabbath consist of a well-digested exposi tion, that your hearers may become Bible *As were also the two which follow it. MINISTERIAL AND CHRISTIAN COMMUNION. 439 Christians. Be concerned to understand and to teach the doctrine of Christianity — " the truth as it is in Jesus." Be careful, particularly, to be conversant with the doc trine ofthe cross ; if you be right there, you can scarcely be essentially wrong any where. Cut off the- reproach of dry doctrine, by preaching it feelingly ; and of its being in imical to good works, by preaching it prac tically. And do all this in love. — Your love must be, first, to Christ, or you will not be fitted for your work of feeding the church.— John xxi. 15 — 17. Also to the truth, or your services will be mischievous, rather than useful. And to Christians, for Christ's sake. — Acts xx. 28. And to the souls of men, as fellow- men and fellow-sinners. If love be wanting, preaching will be in vain. 2. You must feed the church of God, by toatching over them. — " Be instant in season, and out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine." Watch over them, not as a vulture, to destroy them ; but as a good shepherd, who eareth for the sheep. If you are compelled to reprove, beware that your reproof be conveyed, not in ill temper, but in love ; not to gratify self, but to do your brother good. 3. You must serve them, by leading them on, in all spiritual and holy exercises. — Lead them by your example. " Be thou an exam ple ofthe believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Visit them. You have as much need to pray with them and for them in private, as to preach to them in public. And you must do all this in love. An affectionate example and deportment will draw them on. II. Let me now address myself to the church. — You also must serve your pastor, as well as he you, and this in love. You must seek his good, as well as he yours. 1. Be assiduous to make him happy in his mind. — If he discharge his work with grief, it will be unprofitable for you. If you be touchy, and soon offended, or cold and dis tant, it will destroy his happiness. Do not be content with a merely negative respect. Be free, open, kind, inviting to friendly and Christian intercourse and conversation ; and be early and constant in your attendance on public worship. 2. Be concerned to render him as easy in his circumstances as possible. — If he serve you in spiritual things, is it such a great thing that he partake of your carnal things ? I hope he does not covet a haughty indepen dence of you ; but neither let him sink into an abject dependence. Worship not with — offer not to God — that which costs you nothing. It is the glory of dissenting churches, if they voluntarily make sacrifices for the maintenance of the true religion among them. 3. If there be any thing apparently wrong in his conduct or his preaching, do not spread it abroad, but tell him of it alone. — You may have mistaken him, and this will oive him an opportunity of explaining, or, if he be in fault, this will give him an opportunity of correcting himself. And do everything in love. — Love will dictate what is proper on most occasions. It will, do more than a thousand rules; and all rules without it are nothing. To the deacons let me say, Be you help ers in everything — whether agreeable or disagreeable. To the congregation generally, I would say, You also have an interest in the pro ceedings of this day. My brother considers you as part ofhis charge. His appointment by the church is with your approbation. He will seek the good of you and your chil dren. Then teach them to respect and love him LXXXI. — MINISTERIAL AND CHRISTIAN COMMUNION. " That I may be comforted with you, by the mutual faith both of you and me." — Rom. i. 12. The communion of saints was thought of such importance among the early Chris tians as to become an article of faith ; and, where the spirit of it is preserved, it is a charming part of the Christian religion. The text gives us a brief description of it. Paul longed to see the Roman Christians, of whom as yet he had only heard, that he might impart to them some spiritual gift, that they might be established. His faith would comfort them, and theirs would com fort him. We are here naturally led to inquire what there is in the faith of a minister to com fort Christians — what there is in the faith of private Christians to comfort ministers — and what there is in the common faith of both to comfort each other. Let us then inquire, I. What there is in the faith of MINISTERS TO COMFORT PRIVATE CHRIS TIANS. — For, when Christians see their min isters, they naturally expect to hear some thing concerning the faith ; and Paul seems to take this for granted. There are three things in the faith of a minister calculated to comfort private Christians : — 1. Its being scriptural and decided, — If an ti-scriptural, we might comfort the sinner and the hypocrite : if speculative, we might amuse a few ingenious minds ; but we could not comfort the Christian. Nor must we be undecided. To see a minister who is de cided, on scriptural grounds, is to see a guide who is well acquainted with his map, and who knows his way ; or a pilot well acquainted with his chart. The reverse 440 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. will be stumbling and most distressing. If a guide now tells you this is the way, then that, and is at a loss which to choose, it must occasion fear and distrust, instead of comfort. 2. Its being considered, not for themselves only, but as a public trust to be imparted. — Paul considered himself a debtor to others ; an almoner, possessing the unsearchable riches ; " as poor, yet making many rich." In fact, the very afflictions of ministers, as well as their consolations, are sent to pro duce this effect. — 2 Cor. i. 6. 3. Its being a living principle in their own souls. — 1 Tim. iv. 6. Without this, whatever be our attainments, our ministra tions will not ordinarily edify Christians. We must preach from the heart, or we shall seldom, if ever, produce any good in the hearts of our hearers. II. What there is in the faith of private Christians to comfort minis ters. — Ministers must receive, as well as impart ; and should be concerned to do so, in every visit, and in all their intercourse with their people. Now the faith of Chris tians contributes to the comfort of ministers, in its being, its growth, and its fruits. 1. It furnishes them with sentiments and feelings in their preaching which nothing else ivill. — A believing, spiritual, attentive, affectionate audience, whose souls glisten in their eyes, will produce thoughts in the pulpit which would never have occurred in the study. On the other hand, if a minister perceive in his hearers, and especially in those of whom he should expect better things, unbelief, worldliness, carelessness, or conceit, he is like a ship locked up near the pole. 2. In the faith of Christians, ministers see the travail of the Redeemer's soul. — And this, if they love him, will be a high source of comfort to them. 3. In the faith of Christians, ministers often see ihe fruit of their own labors. — They often pray for their people, of whom they " travail in birth " until Christ be formed in them. Such fruit, therefore, of their anxie ty and their labor, is very encouraging. 4. The faith of Christians is a pledge of their future salvation. — A Christian minister must love his people, and in proportion as he loves them he will feel concerned for their eternal happiness. Well, here is a pledge of it, and this cheers him. Your minister looks around, and feels tenderly attached to you as friends, and as the children of dear friends now with God; and sometimes he enters into the spirit of the apostle, who wished himself accursed, after the manner of Christ, for his brethren, his kinsmen after the flesh. Your faith therefore, as a pledge of eternal glory, must needs comfort him. III. What there is, in the common FAITH OF BOTH, TO COMFORT EACH OTHER. — Common blessings are best. Let us not desire great things — the wreath of honor, or a crown. Amidst all this, the sweet singer of Israel desired and sought after " one thing," and that was a. common bless ing. — Psa. xxvii. 4. Extensive attainments, even mental acquisitions, are comparatively poor. An apostle would sacrifice them all for a common blessing — the knowledge of Christ— Phil. iii. 8. These blessings are common to the meanest Christian. 1. Its unity. — Those who have never seen each other, men of different nations and manners, when they come to converse on Christ and the gospel, presently feel their faith to be one, and love one another ; and this is a source of great delight. As a Hin doo said of some of the missionaries, new ly arrived, "They cannot talk our language ; but we see all our hearts are one : we are united in the death of Christ." 2. The interesting nature of the truths believed. — "Jesus Christ'came into the world to save sinners." — " God manifest in the flesh." — " There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." — "He that be lieveth on him is not condemned." Christ is come ; atonement is made ; the way of access to God is opened ; our sins are re membered no more ; we are no more stran gers and foreigners ; we live in hope of eternal life. These are things which, if we be in ignorance and unbelief, will have no effect upon us ; or if we be in doubt and darkness, like the two disciples going to Emmaus, we shall commune and be sad ; but, if our faith be in lively exercise, our hearts will burn within us, and time will glide sweetly on. Learn, from the whole, 1. The necessity of faith to Christian com munion. — Unbelievers, or, which is the same thing, merely nominal Christians, are non conductors. Neither ministers, nor others, can receive or impart without faith. 2. The necessity of the communication of faith to profitable visits. — We may not al ways be able to maintain Christian conver sation. We are men, and must sometimes converse as such. But Christian visits will be of this kind. It is delightful when they are of this description ; and, to promote this, we should avoid large, promiscuous parties. 3. What will heavenly communion be ! — No darkness — no discord — no carnality — no pride — no imperfection ! LXXXII. — MINISTERS AND CHRISTIANS EX HORTED TO HOLD FAST THE GOSPEL. '* Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus."— 2 Tim. i. 13. This epistle was written on the near ap proach of death, and is very solemn. It is CONVERSION OF THE WORLD TO GOD. 441 addressed to Timothy, and as such is doubt less especially applicable to ministers ; but it i by no means exclusively so ; since all Scripture is given for the sake ofthe church. I. Let us notice the exhortation it self. — " Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me," &c. The gospel is here denominated "sound words," — and " a form of sound words : " and re quires to be "held fast in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus.'-' 1. The gospel is called " sound words." — Much has been said of sound words, and every one reckons his own creed to be such. I would only observe that sound words must be true words, and words suited to convey the truth. All other sys tems are hollow. We must be more con cerned about their being true, than fine or harmonious. We must beware of specious words, which are often vehicles of error. The words which the Holy Ghost teaches are the standard of soundness. So much regard as we pay to them, so far are we orthodox, and no farther. 2. The gospel is called " a form of sound words." — The word signifies a brief sketch, or first draft ; such as artists sketch when they begin a painting. Paul intimates that he had given Timothy such a sketch — a compendium, or epitome. Whether he had given him any thing of the kind, differ ent from what we have, we know not; but what he wrote to him and others con tains such a form, expressed in different ways. As — "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." — " Without controversy, great is the mys tery of godliness : God manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preach ed unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." — We have one of the forms in his first epistle ..to the Corinthians, chap. xv. 1 — 4. And a still more perfect one in his epistle to the Ro mans, chap. iii. 24, 25. The term implies two things: — (1) That what the apostle taught was a sure guide. We are quite safe here. Where will men go, if the apostles' doctrines are treated as mere -opinions ? These are the genuine criterion of orthodoxy. Keep within these lines, and you are safe. They are able, through faith, to make you " wise unto sal vation." By these, the man of God may be " perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." — (2) It implies that what he taught, though it contained the outline of truth, and as much as was necessary for the pres ent, yet is not the whole. It was only an outline, only a sketch, for Timothy and all other Christians to fill up, and to meditate upon. Paul did not know all. Angels do not. It will require eternity to reveal all. There is plenty of room for meditation; Vol. 2.— Sie. 56. only let us keep within the lines which the apostles have sketched out. 3. The gospel, as a form of sound words, must be "held fast." — This supposes that we do, at least, hold the faith. Alas ! many do not. Some have hold of a wholly false doctrine, and hold it fast too. Some are Gallios, perfectly indifferent, and hold fast the worid, or any thing rather than the gospel. Nay more, it is to be feared that many who talk and profess much about doctrines, and Scripture doctrines too, yet do not hold them fast. We mast find the gospel, as Philip and Nathanael found the Messias, and then we shall hold it fast. They sought out Jesus, and compared his. character and pretensions with the descrip tions of the Messiah in the prophecies ; and were convinced from examination. If, in stead of being convinced of the truth from actual personal research, we receive the notions of others, without examination, upon their representations, even if these notions should be correct, we shall be in danger of not holding them fast. Many will try to wrest the truth from us. Per secutions — temptations and false doctrines sanctioned by fashion and the appearance of learning, have occasionlly made sad hav oc with the truth, and forced many a one who held it loosely, many a one who received his faith at second-hand, instead of drawing directly from the fountain, and who there fore never fully comprehended it, to give up. 4. The gospel must be held " in faith and love." — There is such a thing as a bigoted and blind attachment to doctrines, which will be of no use, even if they be true. The word does not profit, unless it be " mixed with faith." — And there is such a thing as a sound creed, without charity, or love to God and men. But the gospel must be held in faith and love. The union of genuine orthodoxy and affection constitutes true religion. II. Let US ENFORCE THE EXHORTATION. — 1. Consider the inestimable value of these sound words. — They are the words of eter nal life. There is nothing in this world equal to them. They are the pearl of great price. 2. They have been held in such esteem that many of the best of men have sacrificed their lives rather than part with them. — And shall we cowardly desert the truth, or shun the avowal of it, merely lest the indifferent should call us bigots, or infidels, or enthu siasts ? There is not a more dangerous foe to the truth than indifference. Then " hold fast " the form of sound words. 3. They are the only principles that can meet the exigences of perishing sinners. — All besides, however plausible, will flatter, nnd allure, and deceive, and destroy the soul. _ 4. They are the only source of a holy life. —People foolishly discard doctrines under 442 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. the pretence of exalting practice ; but holy doctrine is the source and spring of a holy life. What has the church become where these doctrines are given up ? And what have those dissenters become who have em braced another gospel ? Mere men of the world. 5. They are the only source of real happi ness. — They inspire a peace and joy in health, a cheerful acquiescence under afflic tion, and a hope in death and the prospect , of futurity, to which all are strangers who are building on any other foundation than that laid in the Scriptures by the apostles, even Jesus Christ — himself being the chief corner stone. LXXXIII. — NATURE OF TRUE CONVERSION AND EXTENT OF IT UNDER THE REIGN OF THE MESSIAH. [Sketch of a Sermon preached in the Circus, Edinburgh, Oct. 13, 1799.] *• All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds ofthe na tions shall worship before him." — Ps. xxii. 27. It is worthy of notice that the Spirit of inspiration in the prophets is called the Spirit qf Christ (1 Pet. i. 10,) because Christ was so frequently the theme of it. The plaintive part of this psalm is applied more than once to him. The explanation (ver. 1,) " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of . my roaring ? " he adopted as his own. The revilings in ver. 8 were used, inadvertently ho doubt, by his enemies : " He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him ; let him deliver him, see ing he delighteth in him." The kind of death which he endured was expressly point ed out in ver. 16. " They pierced my hands and my feet." Even the circumstance of their casting lots for his garments is noticed in ver. 18. " They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." And, as the sufferings of Christ were the theme of Old-testament prophecy, so also was the glory that followed them. His resurrection and exaltation at the right hand of God, with the glorious success ofhis gos pel in the world, are hinted at from ver. 19 to the end of the Psalm. The passage first read is a prediction of the conversion of the Gentiles. It furnishes us with two interesting ideas; the nature of true conversion — and the extent of it un der the reign of the Messiah. I. The nature of true conversion: — It is to remember — to turn to the Lord — and to worship before him. This is a plain and simple process. Perhaps the first religious exercise of mind of which we are conscious is reflection, . A state of unregeneracy is a state of forgetfulness. God is forgotten. Sinners have lost all just sense of his glory, authority, mercy, and judgment: living as if there were no God, or as if they thought there was none. And, when God is forgot ten, there is no proper remembrance of them selves. Their own evil ways attract little or no attention. They go on, adding sin to sin, and think scarcely any thing about them. Even if some threatening judgment should have affrighted them into vows and resolu tions to amend their lives, no sooner is the cloud dissipated than all is forgotten. But, if ever we are brought to be the sub jects of true conversion, we shall be brought to remember these things. This divine change is fitly expressed by the case of the prodigal, who is said to have come to himself, or to his right mind. If we thus come to ourselves we shall think of the holiness, goodness, and forbearance of God and be troubled. And, if we think of God, we shall not forget our own evil ways. We shall remember, and be confounded, and never open our lips any more. The Holy Spirit makes use of divers means in conversion ; but they all operate to bring the sinner to reflection. Sometimes he works by adverse providences. — Thus it was with Joseph's brethren. They had sold their brother for a slave, and framed a lie to deceive their father ; and more than twenty years had elapsed when they went down in to Egypt to buy corn. There they were treated roughly, and put in ward as though they were spies. In this situation, they re membered and reflected upon their evil ways : " And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us and we would not hear: therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake not I unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child, and ye would no hear ? therefore behold, also, his blood is required." — Gen. xlii. 21, 22. Thus, also, Manasseh king of Judah, after a long life of the most awful wickedness, was reclaimed by an adverse providence. In the thorns of affliction, he remembered the Lord God of his fathers, called upon his name, and obtained mercy. Frequently the Lord works by his word. — In reading or hearing it, something lays hold of the heart; and the effect is the same. Peter's hearers (Acts ii.) were brought to remember their evil doings, and to sue for mercy. We may read the Scriptures over and over, and hear hundreds of sermons, without any real profit, unless they operate in this way. If ever you hear to purpose, you will think but little of the preacher ; your attention will be principally turned to yourselves. Sometimes, I believe, a sinner is converted without any apparent second cause. While sitting in his house, or walk- CONVERSION OF THE WORLD TO COD. 443 ing by the way, his mind is insensibly drawn to think of its own evil courses : " I thought on my ways," says David, " and turned my feet unto thy testimonies." Whatever be the way in which we are brought, if it be by the word of God, we shall certainly be in duced to remember those things which here tofore have been neglected and forgotten. If you be truly the subjects of God's work, there will be many ways which will be brought to your remembrance, and which you will reflect upon with bitterness ; ways of open immorality — ways in which you have thought there was little or no harm — ways that you have thought little about — and even ways which you have heretofore accounted good. 1. You will remember your ways of open immorality, odious to both God and man, and which have required some pains to stifle convictions while you pursued them. Such were the objects of bitter re collection to the penitent publican, and to the returning prodigal. Those evil courses which have distinguished your character may be supposed to have most interested your hearts ; and consequently will general ly be the first which occur to your remem brance. But these are not the only evils to be lamented. 2. You will remember things in which you have thought there was Utile or no harm. — Such are those pursuits which are common with the world. The principles, cus toms, and amusements of those people among whom you have lived, you accounted lawful ; orifnotquitelawful,yetnearlyso. You have observed many to act upon this principle in trade, that we may get all we can ; and may have thought you might do the same : but, if you are brought to a right mind, you will remember these pursuits as Zaccheus did, and, like him, your hands will not be able to hold the ill-acquired gain. You saw little or no harm, it may be, in cards, dice, and other amusements of the kind, being kept in countenance bv the example of people of fashion; but, if brought to a right mind, you will remember such things with shame, being conscious that in many instances the desire of your neighbor's property was your ruling motive : or, if no property was at stake, it is an exercise on which you cannot ask for a divine blessing before you engage, nor go with freedom upon your knees when you retire. 3. You will remember ways that you have thought nothing about. — This will be the case, especially, with respect to heart sins. Saul, the Pharisee, had no idea of God's law taking cognizance of his heart ; but, when the commandment came in its spirituality, it opened to him an entirely new scene ; it slew all his self-righteous hopes. Or, if yott should have had some convictions on account of secret sins, yet you were not aware of that awful load of negative sin of which you were continually guilty ; I mean the want qf love to God. But, if you are brought to a right mind, you will remember and be confounded at the idea that a God of so glorious a character, and whose goodness to you has never abated, should have had no place in your heart ; that you have never re garded him in any thing ; but lived in wicked aversion against him. Finally, You will re member, and that with contrition, even ways that you have counted good. Your very pray ers, and tears, and alms, and the whole of your religion while unconverted, will appear odi ous to you. That of which you have made a righteousness, hoping at least that it would balance your evil deeds, will now ap pear as " filthy rags," fit for nothing, unless it were to bind you hand and foot, in order to your being cast into utter darkness. Nor will these your views be at all exaggerating; for all this is but the truth. God requires the heart, the whole heart, and nothing but the heart. All those things which God re quires as duties are but so many expressions of the heart ; whatever, therefore, we have done without the heart, can have no good ness in it in his sight, who sees things as they are ; but must needs be evil. And that which is evil in' the sight of God, if we be come of God's mind, wDl be evil in our sight. But, farther, true conversion consists not only in remembering but in " turning to the Lord." This part of the passage is expres sive of a cordial relinquishment of our idols, whatever they have been, and an acquies cence in the gospel-way of salvation by Christ alone. Its importance will appear, if we consider, 1. That it is possible to re member our evil ways without turning from. them. There are few who attend a faithful ministry, but are compelled, at one time or other, to remember their ways, and that with pain, shame, and remorse ; yet they continue to pursue them. Their consciences are en lightened and awakened, but their hearts re main the same. Therefore they persist in evil, though the road is covered with briers and thorns. The guilt of such characters is greater by far than that of sinners in com mon. O ! dread the thought of remember ing without turning. 2. It is possible both to remember and turn, and yet not turn "to the Lord." We may break off our open sins, from merely selfish considerations, and not from the love of God. This is not breaking off our sins " by righteousness ; " but a mere exchange of vices. Shimei, when circum stances required it, left off abusing and casting dust at David ; but he was the same character notwithstanding. Neither God nor man can be satisfied with such turnings : " If ye will return, return to me, saith the Lord." Once more, true conversion to Christ will be accompanied with the worship of him. Worship, as a religious exercise, is the homage of the heart, presented to God ac- 444 SERMONS AND SKETCHES. cording to his revealed will. This homage being paid to the Messiah affords a proof of his proper. deity. It was the practice ofthe primitive Christians, and that by which they are described, "to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus." Such is and will be the practice of all true Christians to the end of time. If we be truly converted to Christ, we shall worship him both privately and publicly. The wor ship of the closet, of the family, and of the church, will be our delight. That which has heretofore been a task and an uneasiness will become our meat and drink. II. The extent of conversion under the kingdom or reign of the Messiah : " All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, — all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him." It was., fit that the accession of the Gentiles should be reserved for the gospel- day, that it might grace the triumph of Christ over his enemies, and appear to be what it is, " the travail ofhis soul." It is becoming the coronation of a prince, for liberty to be granted to the captives, that many hearts may unite in the public joy. Hence it might be that the Spirit was so copiously poured out upon the apostles, and that then- preaching became so eminently successful. The coronation of Christ in heaven must be accompanied with the pardon of his murderers, and followed by the liberation of millions among the heathen who had hitherto been the willing captives of the prince of darkness. And this great and good work, begun in the apostles' days, must go on, and " must in crease," till " all the ends ofthe world shall remember and turn," and "all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him." Conversion-work, except for a few years in the early ages, has been individual : God has gathered sinners one by one. Thus it -is at present with us ; but it will not be thus always. People will flock to Zion as doves to their windows. The church will be struck with joyful surprise, on viewing her own in crease. Her heart shall fear and be enlarg ed, saying, " who hath begotten me these ? " Tbese, whence are they ? Further: Conversion- work has hitherto been circumscribed within certain parts of the world. For many ages it was nearly confined to the posterity of Abraham. By means of the labors of the apostles, it was extended to various parts of Asia, the bor ders of Africa, and of Europe. Of late ages it has been nearly confined to Europe and America. But the time will come when " all the kindreds of the earth " shall wor ship. Ethiopia, and all the unknown re gions of Africa, shall stretch out their hands to God. Arabia and Persia, and Tartary, and India, and China, with the numerous islands in the Eastern and Southern Ocean, shall bring an offering before him. Maho medans shall drop their delusion, papists their cruel superstition, Jews shall be ashamed of their obstinacy, deists of their enmity, and merely nominal Christians of their form of godliness without the power of it. These hopes are not the flight of an ar dent imagination ; they are founded on the true sayings of God. Nor can the time of their accomplishment be far distant. Dan iel, in his seventh chapter, has given us a prophecy of all the principal events from his time to the universal spread ofthe Mes siah's kingdom. The whole is comprehend ed in the rising and falling of four great governments, with their branches and subdi visions. The world has seen the rise and fall of three out of the four. They have also seen the fourth divided into ten king doms, and the "little horn," or papal gov ernment, rise up amongst them. They have witnessed its rise, its reign, and in part its downfal. The last branch of the last of the four beasts is now in its dying agonies. No sooner will it be proclaimed, "Babylon is fallen ! " than the marriage of the Lamb will come. There are no more tyrannical .or persecuting powers to succeed ; but " the kingdom shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." All ranks of men, princes, nobles, and people, becoming real Christians, the government of the world will naturally be in their hands ; and love, peace, and universal good, shall consequent ly pervade the whole earth. Finally : While we are concerned for the world, let us not forget our own souls. If the whole world be saved and we lost, what will it avail us ? — Perhaps we can scarcely conceive of any tiling more dreadful than that of seeing multitudes from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, sitting down in the kingdom of God, while we, who , thought ourselves the children of the kingdom, are thrust out ! LXXXIV. EFFECT OF THINGS DIFFER AC CORDING TO THE STATE OF THE MIND. " Unto the pure al! things are pure, but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure ; but even their mind and conscience is de filed."— Titus i. 15. The apostle had lived to see many who had bid fair turn aside. Under the im pression of these things, he writes to Titus as he had done to Timothy.— 2 Tim. ii. 21. The human mind is exposed to numerous influences — the world— the flesh — the devil ; and, according to the state of the mind, such is tlie influence exercised. The beams of the sun lighting on a garden of spices ex hale the most pleasing odors, while they pro- EFFECT OF THINGS MODIFIED BY STATE OF MIND. 445 duce an opposite effect on a foul and unsa vory object. I. Let us endeavor to ascertain the im port of the terms. — By the pure is not meant the sinless. No such characters are to be found. If any think so, the Scriptures are decisive on this point. — 1 John i. 8, 10. But as a defiled mind is connected with unbe lief, and is attributed (ver. 14) to those who " turn from the truth," so a pure mind must be a believing one — one that receives the " truth in the love of it." Evangelical puri ty is connected with faith — thus Peter: 1 Pet. i. 22 ; Acts xv. 9. The mind and con science are the governing powers of the soul. If they be polluted, all is so. If the judg ment be corrupted, there is no pledge for our retaining one correct view of ourselves, or of God. If conscience, God's witness, be defiled, there is nothing to recal us. Faith is the principle that opposes these corrup tions. II. Illustrate the sentiment by a review of the different effects produced by the same things, according to the differ ent state of the mind. 1. On a. believing mind the doctrines of Christ will have a sanctifying effect, and the contrary on an unbelieving. Some parts of Christian doc trine have a warning tendency, particularly the omnipresence, omnipotence, and holiness of God — these beget holy fear. Others are of an encouraging complexion, as redemp tion, pardon, reconciliation, eternal life. Even in those doctrines to which unbeliev ers are ever objecting — sovereign efficacious grace, personal election, &c. — the Christian finds the most powerful motive to purity. But on others they produce an ill effect, ex citing dislike to religion, causing to raise objections. You never hear of them but in ridicule. Some believe in them, and hail them as that which frees them from restraint. Thus they are either "stumbling at the word being disobedient," or "turning the grace of God into lasciviousness." 2. On a believing mind precepts, and even threaten ings, produce a salutary effect. Consider ing the divine commands as their rule, they fear to deviate and are tender of conscience ; but unbelievers dislike restraints, and there is a species of religion which proposes to leave them out. 3. Mercies and judgments humble, melt, and soften some, but harden others. Mercy — Eccl. viii. 11. Judgments soften transiently only : Pharaoh — Saul. David says, Ps. xviii. 5, 6. But another re turns to his sin for relief; so the means of grace and salvation produce no good effect. — Isa. xxvi. 10. 4. Evils which occur among men. — A pure mind gathers good from the wickedness that occurs around him — from the defection of apostates (John vi. 68,) and from the falls of good men. But others are carried away before these things. 5. Treatment from men. — It may be unkind — unjust, but we shall view it as coming from God. David turned the reproaches of Shimei into reproofs from God ; but the lawyer mentioned in the gospels turned reproof in to reproach ; thus the most faithful preach ing gives offence. From the whole we see the vast impor tance of the mind being purified by faith. There are those in the world that are nei ther believers nor unbelievers ; but none such are here. Every one who has heard, or who has had opportunities of hearing, the gospel, is one of them. Some manifest their unbelief by making no pretension either to faith or purity, but ridicule both. Some pretend faith ; but it does not purify the heart and life. O, come to Jesus — puri fy your souls by obeying the truth ! Wash in that laver. If found impure at the great day, all is over. Nothing unclean shall en ter heaven. Rev. xxii. 11. CIRCULAR LETTERS ADDRESSED TO THE CHURCHES OF THE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ASSOCIATION. 1782—1815. 1782. the excellency and utility of the grace of hope. Dear Brethren, On this delightful subject, we feel great pleasure in addressing you. We congratu late you, amidst all your sorrows, on your possessing such a hope ; a hope which has foundations the most solid, and objects the -most substantial. God has not put this jew el into your hands to be made light of. He would have you to understand it in order to prize it. His bestowing upon you a spiritu al illumination is to this very end. He does not open your eyes to present you with mere spectacles of misery, nor call you by his grace as having nothing to bestow upon you : no, blessed be his name, "the eyes of your understandings are enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches ofthe glory of his inheritance in the saints." To assist your meditations on this cheer ing subject, by showing its excellency and pointing out its great utility, we devote this epistle. We trust that what we have already com municated to you on various important sub jects, has not been received in vain. We would not wish to trifle with you, brethren, and we trust our letters to you have not been trifled with. Having therefore confi dence in your readiness to examine and re ceive what we communicate, " we are will ing to impart unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye are dear unto us ! " Hope, or an expectation qf future good,* is of so extensive an influence that whether true or false, well or ill founded, it is one of the principal springs that keep mankind in motion. It is vigorous, bold, and enterprising. It causes men to encounter dangers, endure hardships, and surmount difficulties innume rable, in order to accomplish the desired end. In religion it is of no less consequence. It is claimed by almost all ranks and parties of men. It makes a considerable part of the religion of those that truly fear God ; for, though in all true religion there is and must be a love to God and divine things for their own excellency, yet God who knows our frame, and draws us with the cords of aman, * Hope, as its objects are future, is distinguish ed from enjoyment. Herein the portion of the saints is unlike that of the worldling, and even that of saints in glory. Also from love, the objects of which are past and present, as well as future, whereas hope is confined to tho last. As they are good it is opposed to fear, which is the dread of evil. As they are both future and good, and merely so, it is distinct from faith. Wo may be said to believe things past, as that the worlds were made; and things evil, as the wrath to come; but cannot be said to hope in either. As it is an ex pectation, it is distinguished from desire. We may be said to desire whit it is not possible we should ever enjoy; but we cannot hope unless there ap pear at least a possibility, and generally speaking some probability, of our possessing the object hoped for ; and, in proportion as this probability ap pears to the mind great or small, hope or expec tation is strong or weak. EXCELLENCY AND UTILITY OF HOPE. 447 condescends also to excite us with the promise of gracious reward, and to allure us with the prospect of a crown of glory. We wish you, brethren, seeing God has given you an everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, to consider well the goodness or excellency of that divine gift. On this account it excels every other hope as much as a pearl excels a pebble. A great part of its excellency consists in its being so well founded. Though our hope should aspire to the highest heavens, and could grasp in all the bliss of an eternal world, alas ! what would it avail us if ill founded ? The hope that is ill founded is said to make ashamed, and so terminates in disappointment. It is to be feared that many (O that there may be none of us!) who are now towering high in expectation will one day be " ashamed and confounded " because they thus had hoped. The grand foundation of all good hope is the Lord Jesus Christ God's revealed Me diator, embraced by faith. On this rock the people of God in all ages have built theii hope, whatever other foundations sinners have devised. Of old, God laid this in Zion. This was the subject of apostolic ministra tions ; they held forth none other than him " whom God had set forth to be a propitia tion through faith in his blood." That the mediation of Christ is the pri mary ground of all good hope will appear evident if we do but recollect (and O let us never forget!) the hopeless condition in which sin involved us. By our breach of covenant with God, the very idea of future good for us was totally annihilated. Nothing but eternal tribulation and anguish, as the re ward of evil doers, was now to be expected. The image of God being totally effaced in us, his favor towards us was absolutely for feited. Hence the least idea of hope from any other ground than the mediation of Christ is not only declarative of opposition to God's way of salvation, but is altogether a wild chimera. By the state of the fallen angels we may learn what ground is left for hope where no mediator is provided ; and what must have been our state had we been left in their condition. These, void of all hope whatever, " are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." We are not unacquainted with the many false grounds on which sinners rest their hopes, but we as well know who has said, " Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." We doubt not, brethren, but you have perceived the vanity of a multitude of those things which buoy up the hopes of a great part of mankind. Yourselves, it may be, were once the subjects of those delusory dreams where of we trust ye are now ashamed. It yields us great pain to see such numbers of our fellow-sinners standing on such slippery places ! The mere mercy of God, to the exclusion of Christ's mediation — not being so bad as some others — common honesty and civility between man and man — descent from pious parents — a place and a name among the godly — suffering much affliction in this life — legal convictions — superior knowledge — superstitious zeal — these are some of the dangerous foundations on which vast numbers of deluded mortals build their eternal all ! But ye, brethren, have not so learned Christ. Be it your and our resolu tion, with holy Paul, to "know nothing" in this matter " but Christ and him crucified ! " You will remember, dear brethren, it was necessary that this glorious Mediator should be revealed ere he could become a ground of hope. The amazing design of mercy was first laid in the eternal council ; hence the blood of Christ is termed the blood of the covenant through which prisoners in the pit become prisoners of hope : but, whatever design of mercy might exist in the mind of God, that could not become a ground of hope till revealed by the word of God. Hence the promise of the woman's seed afforded the flrst and only dawn of hope to a lost world. Hence also the word of God is frequently represented in Scripture as that whereon our hope resteth. Equally necessary is it that the mediation of Christ should be embraced oy faith. We trust you need not be told that though this mediation be the sole meritorious ground of our hope, yet a special work of the Spirit of God must take place in us, before we can reasonably put in our claim for eternal bliss. The work of Christ gives to the elect sinner a title to its possession ; the work of the Spirit gives a meetness for its enjoyment. If we experience the latter, we may lay claim to a personal interest in the former. These G od has joined together, and let no man dare to put them asunder. Christ must be in us, ere he can be to us the hope of glory. The hope that maketh not ashamed is wrought by experience. The graces of the Spirit, however, become a ground of hope, not through any inherent merit, but in virtue of the promise of God ; or rather they are the evidence of our in terest in the promise. In numerous passa ges of holy writ, God has promised eternal life to all such as bear certain characters : namely, to those that are of a broken and contrite spirit, that mourn for sin, believe in Christ, love him in sincerity,deny themselves, take up their cross, follow him, &c. Henpe all who through grace are the subjects of these spiritual dispositions enjoy a right, founded on such promises, to hope for eter- ual bliss ; and this is another reason why the word of God is frequently represented in Scripture as that whereon our hope resteth. 448 CIRCULAR LETTERS. It is to be feared that many split upon this rock. We cautioned you against those who professedly build on other foundations than Jesus Christ; but these are not the only self-deceivers. There is a more refined sort, as to their professed principles, who build their hope on something more specious in appearance, but not a whit better in reali ty. These, brethren, you have more reason to be guarded against, since they are more frequent in your assemblies, and some of them less discernible, though not less dan gerous, than the former. These will fre quently abound with supercilious treatment towards those who profess to build upon their own works — will abundantly exclaim against legal books and legal preaching, which, by the way, is the name they give not only to those performances wherein men are taught to expect eternal life as the fruit of their own doings, but as well to all those wherein practical godliness is pressed home. These much value themselves for their sup posed orthodoxy or soundness in the doc trines of grace ; nay, so valiant are they, many of them, for the truth, that they will contend for it even at the tavern or upon the ale bench! but they seem to have for gotten that part of sound doctrine that "faith without works is dead, being alone."* These talk loudly of building their hopes on Christ alone, but forget that he must be, as one says, a Christ believed in, loved, and obeyed, and not merely a Christ talked of. These are frequently heard boasting how strong their hopes are of their being deliv ered from slavish fear, of their certainty of going to heaven, die when they may, with many such presumptuous things ; but they forget surely what the Judge of all the earth has said, " Not every one that .saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven : but he that doeth the will .of my Father who is in heaven." These, whatever their professions may be, build not upon the rock of ages, but upon a concealed part qf self. There is no such great difference between them and profess ed legalists, against whom they so bitterly inveigh : those think to gain heaven by doing, and these by knowing, which they think to be believing. Their hope is but the hope of the hypocrite, which will in the end prove no better than the spider's web. Nor do they draw their evidences for glory from such things as the Scriptures speak of * Besides, it would be no great difficulty to prove that these people, with all their boasted soundness, tire unbelievers in the very essentials of the gospel. That is an essential of the gospel, without which it would not bo the gospel. Now what constitutes it gospel is its being good neios ,- but, whatever faith such people may have in it as a piece of news, they have none in the goodness of it, which is a most essential thing in it, and with out which it would not bo the gospel. as characterizing the godly, but from their supposed orthodoxy or soundness in religious principles, with perhaps some texts of Scrip ture whicb may have occurred to their minds with a certain impulse, tending mightily to lift them up with joy, but not to fill them with holy mourning, or self-loathing, or with a desire and endeavor to walk humbly with their God. Real religion has no worse enemies than these. By approaching near unto it, and being accounted its votaries, they are capable of doing it much more in jury than its professed foes. While, Joab- like, they embrace it with a dissimulating kiss, by their works they stab it as under its fifth rib ! We do not mean to suggest but that the holy Scriptures are often of great consola tion to the godly ; nor yet to deny that some passages of it may be more consolatory to the godly than others, and the same passa ges at one time which are not at another : these are things which we freely acknowl edge and happily experience. For the truth or duty contained in any passage of Scripture to be, by the Spirit of God, opened to the mind, and impressed upon the heart, and afford strong consolation to the person, is a part of experience which we can set seal to, as both reasonable and desirable. It is through patience and comfort qf the Scriptures that we have hope. But when impressions have no tendency to humble, sanctify, and lead the soul to God, we affirm, and are ready to give proof, that they are no better than "lying vanities," though they lie at the bottom of some mighty fabrics. Our having certain passages of Scripture impressed upon our minds is in itself no evidence for glory at all, either to ourselves or others ; no, not though those passages should be promises of heaven itself: but if by this we are humbled and sanctified — if a spirit of holy mourning, self-loathing, watchfulness, love to Christ and holiness, as well as joy, be hereby wrought in us, that is an evidence for glory. Many persons are the subjects of Scrip ture impressions, and, to the great scandal of religion, are hence supposed to have God's good work begun in them, when it appears evident by their spirit and conduct that they are utter strangers to real Christianity. Ba laam could have produced plenty of such ev idence as this. All those things of his speak ing are recorded as a part, and an excellent part, of holy Scripture, and were suggested to him even by God himself. " The Lord," we are told, " put a word in Balaam's mouth." But, as none of these things had any tenden cy to sanctify his heart, they left him but where they found him ! Besides, we have no reason to think but that Satan can and does suggest many things in the words of Scripture. We know he did thus to Christ himself; and if to him why not to us ? He has ends to answer in so doing ; namely, to EXCELLENCY AND UTILITY OF HOPE. 449 deceive poor souls with such airy dreams, to draw them away from resting their hopes on scriptural grounds, and to substitute these illusory foundations in their room. — On the other hand, whatever be the means, whether hearing the word preached, reading, conver sation, prayer, or meditation ; and whether, in so meditating, any part of the word be suddenly brought to our mind, and impressed upon our heart, or whether it be more grad ually — whether we have never thought of the passage before, or whether we have read it a thousand times over — it matters not.* If it tend to produce a spirit of pure love to Christ, lowliness, and holiness, that affords us a ground for hope, and a reason for thank fulness. God has plentifully promised sal vation to all who are the subjects of these spiritual dispositions. Should an enemy to your holy religion, after all, require of you a reason for the hope that is in you — should he demand what grounds you have to conclude that the things you hope for have a real existence — we trust you would not be at a loss for a reply. There is not one of all those solid arguments which prove the divinity of the sacred oracles (which, for brevity's sake, we forbear to enu merate,) but would furnish you with sufficient reason to give an answer substantial in its nature, though in its manner "with meek ness and fear." The glorious objects with which your hope is conversant next demand your atten tion, brethren ; as they much, very much, contribute to its excellency and your felici ty. — You may be assured they are some thing good. Hope of every kind has to do with nothing but what in the view of the mind appears such ; and this hope has to do with nothing but what is really such. That which we hope for is not merely an apparent, but a real good; and not only a good, but a sub stantial good ; and not only a substantial, but a suitable, a great, yea, an everlasting good ! The hope of worldlings terminates on tri fles ; on things which, when enjoyed, do but cloy, and cannot satisfy. — Let a man in pur suit of happiness knock at the door of every created good, every created good must an swer, " It is not in me !" Riches make them selves wings and fly away ; honor is empty as the wind ; mirth, what is it but madness ? Crowns of earthly glory commonly prove crowns of thorns to them that wear them ; all are lying Vanities, promising what they cannot perform. O, brethren, let the re solve of the church made wise by affliction be our resolve : " The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him." Here we find what the wisest of men well termed substance.— Only a taste thereof af- * See Help lo Zion's Travellers, a piece pub lished at the request of the Association by our brother Hall, p. 130—141. Vol. 2.— Sig. 57. fords substantial bliss. O, to enjoy God ! To enjoy God in Christ ! To enjoy him with the society of the blessed! To enjoy him with soul and body, the latter raised and reunited to the former ! To enjoy him to all eternity. To enjoy him and be changed into the same image! These, brethren, these are the things on which our hope centres : nor is it a matter of small consola tion that God himself has pledged his faith fulness for their bestowment on all his faith ful followers. However desirable these things might be, we should have little reason to rejoice therein, if he on whose word itrest- ed were either false or fickle ; but, blessed be his name, we live "in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began ! " Nor let it seem the less glorious that it is a future good. — In the view of infinite wisdom, " it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation ofthe Lord." It seems good to him to place the blessings he means to bestow upon us at a distance ; so at a distance that they must be hoped in, and waited for, ere they are enjoy ed. Doubtless, God could have bestowed all his blessings on us as quickly as he did paradise on the converted thief; but he has not seen fit in common so to do. Certainly by his suspending for a time our enjoyment of promised favors, and at length bestowing them, he glorifies his faithfulness in the end, as well as that in the mean time he exercises our faithfulness, patience, and resignation to his will. But this is not all : they are the more welcome when they do come. If the object hoped for prove less in value than we expected, then indeed its having been sus pended only sinks it the more in our esteem ; but if it surpass all expectation, if it exceed desire itself when it makes its appearance, then its having been so long in coming only makes it the more welcome when come. " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick " for a time : " but, when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life ! " Let us not think much at waiting a little while ; no, not though during that time exposed to great tribulations ; since our dwelling before the throne will by this be rendered the more blissful, and our weight qf glory by this increased. With what sacred pleasure did the patriarch Jacob resign his life, having waited for God's sal vation! With what unspeakable joy did good old Simeon embrace the long-looked- for blessing ! With what raptures of bliss will the Lord again be welcomed on an ap proaching period, when all who love his ap pearing will unite, saying, _ " Lo, this is our God, we have waited for bim! " Nay, it seems to be a glory in some sense peculiar to religion to reserve the best till the last. — That you may enjoy strong consola tion, brethren, in your passage through life, God has placed his favors in a glorious as- 450 CIRCULAR LETTERS. cending gradation. The inviting language of every one of them is, Press fqrward. The pleasures of the world and sin, if they speak truth, can afford no such encourage ment to their admirers : no, Ezekiel's roll is descriptive of their utmost prospects ; that roll which had written within and without "lamentations, mourning, and woe." But religion presents a train of rising glories : he that enters it aright will find it like the waters of the sanctuary ; first to his ancles, then to his knees, then to his loins, and at last a river to swim in ! — The different stages ofthe church maintain the same idea ; the Mosaic dispensation contained greater discoveries than the patriarchal ; the gos pel contains greater than the Mosaic ; the latter-day glory will outshine this ; and ultimate bliss will exceed them all. " Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the son, and terri ble as an army with banners ? " Give us your attention, brethren, while we next attempt to point out the utility of this heavenly grace throughout the Chris tian life. — Truly this is beyond expression. If hope in general is of so much use among men as to stimulate them in all their labors, support them in their sorrows, and extricate them from a thousand labyrinths in life — if by it they brave dangers, encounter hard ships, and endure difficulties — if, in short, it be that by which, as a means, even God himself as it were bears up the pillars of the world — then what must be the use of that hope which, as we have already seen, so much surpasses this in excellence ? As far as the objects of Christian hope exceed in value, and its grounds in solidity, those of natural hope, so far does the use of the one exceed that of the other. Its special use will, however, be best ascertained by taking a view of some of those exercises, cases, and circumstances, wherein you are con cerned in your passage through life. — Par ticularly, You have known its value from the time when you were first converted unto God, when in that time of need it presented before you an all-sufficient refuge. — You remember, dear brethren, it may be some of you particularly, "the wormwood and the gall " in that great work, which is commonly begun with a painful conviction of sin. You remember when a sense of the nature and demerit of sin, of your sin, was such that your souls had almost dwelt in silence ! Ah, you remember when the glorious character of God appeared, though excellent, yet terrible, approaching judgment unavoidable, and the Judge at the door ! And have you forgotten the " door of hope " which then was opened to you ? Have you forgotten the sound of the great trumpet which invited you to come when you were ready to perish ? No, surely. While many, like Cain and Judas, despair of mercy, and so " die in the pit," you have reason to bless God for hav ing enabled you to "turn to the strong-hold as prisoners of hope ! " Morever, as servants of God; you have a great work to do. — Though the meritorious part of your salvation has been long since finished, yet there is a salvation for you still to work out. By prayer, by patience, by watchfulness, and holy strife, you have to overcome the world, mortify sin, and run the race set before you. Hope is of excellent use in this great work. It is well denominated a "lively hope." Its tendency is not to lull the soul asleep, but to rouse it to action. We trust, dear brethren, that the hope of which you are partakers will more and more animate your breasts with gener ous purposes, and prompt your souls to no ble pursuits. For this you have the greatest encouragements surely that a God can give ! God will employ none in his service without making it their inestimable privilege. They that plough for him shall plough in hope. Mansions of bliss stand ready to receive you, and crowns of unfading glory to reward you ; therefore, beloved brethren, " be ye steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work ofthe Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Again : You are attended with indwelling sin: a "body of sin," wliich, in the account of every one that loves and longs for purity, is a body of death : yea, worse than death itself! " — You wish to think spiritually, pray fervently, hear profitably, and, in a word, grow in grace ; but this proves a dead weight to all : " the good that ye would, that ye do not ! " — You wish to hate and avoid evil, and all its detestable appearances ; but you find ¦ it in ten thousand forms haunting, surpris ing, and drawing you aside, so that too often " the evil that ye would not, that ye do!" We doubt not, dear brethren, but that in secret you frequently groan with the apos tle, " O wretched man that I am ; Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ! " Now we ask what can afford relief in this case, but a good hope through grace of be ing freed at the hour of death ? This proves a helmet in your spiritual warfare. This will inspire you with courage in every con flict: nothing invigorates the soldier like the hope of conquering at last. With this you will tread down strength, and, in pros pect of approaching victory, sing with the apostle, " / thank God through our Lord Je sus Christ." Again : You are subject to many fears and despondings of mind ere you reach your desired haven. Too often, through an un- watchful, unholy conduct, the Spirit of God is grieved. His presence once withdrawn, darkness will overspread the mind, and evi dences for glory seem blotted out. Satan is often permitted at such seasons to stand as EXCELLENCY AND UTILITY OF HOPE. 451 at your right hand, accusing you of your fil thy garments ; suggesting that such a one cannot be " a brand plucked out ofthe burn ing." Under these exercises the mind is apt to be depressed beyond measure; the soul, afraid of acting presumptuously, in lay ing hold of consolation, is ready, strangely ready, to sink beneath the waves of dark despair. If any offer consolation, like Ra chel on the loss of her children, he "refuseth to be comforted." The spirit, at some such seasons, is so dejected, it is as if all must be given up. The painful language of the heart is, " The Lord hath forsaken me, and " he whom I once thought " my God hath for gotten me ! "—"My hope is dried up, and I am cut off for my part!" Ah, farewell hope! farewell heaven! farewell Christ! — No, — no, — nor Christ, nor heaven, nor hope, will suffer this ! Let deep call to deep, let waves, let billows overflow, deliverance shall arise, hope will not fail, but will afford relief. It will prove "an anchor to your soul, sure and steadfast." Yes, it will cheer your heart, and enable you to sing, " Why art thou cast down, O my soul ; and why art thou disquieted within me ? hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance, and my God ! " Again, You are subject to various trying provi dences in your passage through life. — En joyments in this life are very precarious. While we are feathering our nests, and promising ourselves that we shall die therein unmolested, how soon are we disappoint ed! yea, how many have been nearly strip ped of their earthly all ! These, being de prived of almost every comfort of this life, have then tasted the sweetness of hope in another. These look to their Maker, and their eyes have respect to the Holy One of Israel for the reparation of their losses. Thus sang the church in affliction, stripped, and bound in Babel's yoke, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope in him ! " Some of you are poor in this world, and are subject to numerous hardships. — You are often entangled in mazes of difficulty ; you have a thousand fears that you shall never get honorably through life. Especially at times, God seems to have set -you in " dark places : " your hopes confounded, your fears come upon you, and your prospects at an end ! Yes, say you, " Surely against me is he turned ; he turneth his hand against me all the day. He hath builded against me and compassed me with gall and travail. He hath enclosed my ways with hewn stone. He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out ; he hath made my chain heavy ! " Poor people, we feel for you ! wherewith shall we comfort you? Shall we recommend and exercise benevolence towards you in our re spective churches? Shall we exhort you " to trust in the Lord, and do good ; " and assure you, in God's name, that "so shall ye dwell in the land, and verily ye shall be fed?" * Or shall we .hold up before you a kingdom to which ye are heirs ; a period when " every tear shall be wiped away ? " O, brethren, the hope ofthe gospel furnishes you with these strong consolations ! Again, You are members of Christian scciety ; and though by your letters it appears you enjoy peace in general, yet you are not unac quainted with many things of a grieving tendency. In this state of imperfection of fences, will come. Unhappy feuds will sometimes arise, and grievous scandals will take place. When church-members be come self-sufficient, and cease to be afraid of entering into temptation — when carnal ease is substituted in the room of gospel peace — when love grows cold, and complai sance takes its place — when we are so watchful over one another as to forget our selves — when godly jealousy is exchanged for an uncharitable temper, " more cruel than the grave "—when, instead of " submit ting to one another in the fear of God," each one becomes headstrong and resolved to have his own way — when superior gifts are envied, and inferior ones despised — when zeal for the truth degenerates into vain jang ling — when we are very apt to take an of fence, but not to forgive one — when tale bearers are encouraged, and a spirit of animosity cherished — then, brethren, then expect "confusion, and every evil work." We are happy that we can say (and blessed be God for it) that such a spirit is far from generally prevailing among you ; yet, so far as it does prevail (which the all-seeing God knows is too far,) it dishonors the great Head of the church, and wounds every upright member! However, this should be far from discouraging religious society itself; not to mention that these are things that must always be expected, more or less, in this state of trial, and that they always ex isted even in the purest ages ; we can affirm, and ye are our witnesses, that it has plea sures which abundantly outweigh all these unhappinesses. Nor is this all : hope holds up a period, even within the limits of time, a heaven compared with the present state of things, when "holiness lo the Lord shall be written as upon the bells of the horses, and Sion shall become a quiet habitation ! " But this, say you, is a period that we have but little hope of living to see. Perhaps so: still you live in prospect of a better. Bles sed society, where purity and amity forever reign ! Yes, brethren, immediately on en tering members of the church triumphant, you will " enter into peace," and each one of you " walk " forever " in his uprightness ! " Moreover, You are members of civil society. — You wish well to your country, and must have 452 CIRCULAR LETTERS. been the subjects of grief to see what you have of late years seen — its glory eclipsed by unhappy wars and dissensions ; to see it conspired against by surrounding nations and divided by domestic feuds, forsaken by its friends, and derided by its enemies. It may be, at times, fear has been ready to seize you, and tempted you to ask what will be the end of these things ? The sounds of " Nineveh is fallen," " Babylon is fallen," yea, oi" Judah is fallen," have been long since heard in the world ; and what, say you, are we better than they? Under these exer cises, brethren, we trust you have found, and will yet find, hope of excellent use to you. Great have been the deliverances your God has wrought in former ages, which afford a ground of hope to us. He can defend our coasts, and still preserve our country ; yes, he can, and blessed be his name for any en couragement afforded us. Let us then hope and pray : " It may be the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of his peo ple." Or should he refuse that, should a consumption be decreed to overflow, in righteousness, still he can preserve his faith ful followers as he did Baruch, and those who " sighed and cried " In the day of Jeru salem's ruin. Nay, suppose him to refuse that; suppose that not only your country must sink, but you must sink with it, and perish in the general wreck ! Still all is not lost. Did your portion lie in this world, then, indeed, like the owner of a vessel whose all is on board, you might dread its sinking : but, seeing your inheritance is far beyond the reach of these vicissitudes, there is reason for you to mingle joy with tremb ling. Yes, brethren, we trust there is rea son for you to unite with holy David, " God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble — therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea!" Once more: You and we all, by some means, must shortly die. — Be it so that no untimely end befal us, the hour cometh when we must bid farewell to every creature com fort; when every created union must be dissolved, and we appear before the judg ment-seat of Christ ! Oh, then to be with out hope ! better had we never been born ! Let the reluctance and horror of those who are driven away in their wickedness teach us the value of a well-grounded hope in that awful hour. Verily, words cannot describe it, nor thoughts conceive it ! Here is a rock when all beside sinks under us ! With this, brethren, like the priest that bore the ark of God, your feet will stand firm amidst all the swellings of Jordan! With this you can behold the ghastly spectre, yea, the horrors of the grave itself, with a cheerful counte nance, and sing with holy Job, "Although after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see for myself; mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me ! " Upon the whole, permit us to advise and exhort you, dear brethren, to a. few things which become persons who have expecta tions like yours. — While you guard against presumption, beware of despair. The lat ter, as well as the former, is dangerous to men, and offensive to God. Despair is the death of action. To despair of mercy, and so never apply for it, is to act like the wicked and slothful servant, than which nothing tends more to cast reproach on the character of God. Even a man of honor cannot bear to be distrusted. While fear keeps you from presumption, let hope pre serve you from despair. As condemned criminals in yourselves considered, cast yourselves on him for mercy ; as servants, serve him cheerfully and rely on his bounty ; and, as suffering the loss of all things for him, trust him, like Moses, to make up your losses. Remember, " the Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." Observe, also, he that has this hope must purify himself as Christ is pure. — He must take him for his example, and aim at no less than a complete conformity to his temper and sphit. That which true hope centres in is not only to see him as he is, but to be " like him." Be constant, then, dear brethren, in holy exercises. We trust your hope is not of that kind which, in proportion as it in creases, slackens the hand of diligence. Neglect neither public nor private duties ; it is at the peril of your souls' welfare if you do ! Shame may keep you to the one, but rather'let the love of Christ constrain you to both. Think nothing too great to perform, too much to lose, or too hard to endure, that you may obtain so blessed a hope. O, brethren, be it our daily concern and earnest endeav or to grow in every grace, to excel in every virtue. Remember he whose eyes are flames of -fire surveys our heart and life : how trans porting the thought, could we conceive him addressing each of us as he did the Thyatiran church, " I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith ; and thy patience, and thy works, and the last to be more than the first ! " Finally : Use all means to cultivate this heavenly grace. — Remember sin is its worst enemy; beware of that. The Holy Spirit is its best friend; see that you grieve not him. Tribulations themselves, though they may seem to destroy it, in the end cherish it They " work patience, and patience experi ence, and experience hope;" therefore be reconciled to them. Read the Holy Scrip tures ; pray in secret as well as openly ; though sojourners on earth, let your conver sation be in heaven; learn to set light by this world ; court not its smiles, nor fear its RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 453 frowns; live in daily expectation of dying, hearts of his people to wrestle hard with him and die daily in humble expectation of living for the revival ofhis blessed cause. Though for evermore ; realize and anticipate those as to the number of members there is no in- enjoyments and employments to which ye crease this year, but something of the con- are hastening : in proportion to this, your de- trary ; yet a spirit of prayer in some mea sures will be strong and your hopes lively, sure being poured out more than balances in Remember hope is one of those graces which our account for this defect. We cannot but must do its all within the limits of time ; "be. hope, wherever we see a spirit of earnest sober," therefore, " and hope to the end;" aim, like Enoch, to " walk with God " till God shall take you ; " let your loins be girt, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find so doing ! Veri prayer generally and perseveringly prevail, that God has some good in reserve, which in his own time he will graciously bestow. But, while we rejoice to see such a spirit of united prayer, we must not stop here, brethren, lest in so doing we stop short. If we would hope for the blessing of God upon ly, I say unto you," said this blessed Lord of us, there must be added to this a spirit of yours (O hearken, and be astonished,) " Ver ily, I say unto you, that he shall gird him self, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them ! " Dearly b eloved brethren, farewell ! " May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God even our Father, who hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stab- lish you in every good word and work ! 1785. CAUSES of declension in religion, and MEANS OF REVIVAL. Dearly beloved brethren, earnest inquiry into the causes of our declen sions, and a hearty desire and endeavor for their removal. When Israel could not go forward, but were smitten by the men of Ai, Joshua and the elders ofthe people prostra ted themselves before the Lord. In this they did well ; but this was not sufficient — " Get thee up," said the Lord to his servant — " wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face ? Israel hath sinned — Up, sanctify the people — and search for the accursed thing ! " This, it is apprehended, is the case with us, as well as it was with Israel ; and this must be our employment as well as theirs. With a view to assist you, brethren, and our selves with you, in this very necessary in quiry, we appropriate the present letter to THE POINTING OUT OF SOME OF THOSE EVILS Through the good hand of our God upon which we apprehend to be causes of us we met together according to appoint- that declension of which so many com- ment, and enjoyed the pleasure of an agree- plain, and the means of their remo- able interview with several of our dear val. friends and brethren in the Lord. We trust Theirs* thing that we shall request you also that our God was with us in the different to make inquiry about, is whether there is stages ofthe opportunity. The letters from not a great degree of contentedness with a the several churches, which were attended mere superficial acquaintance with the gos- to the first evening of our meeting together, pel, without entering into its spirit and end ; afforded us matter for pain and pleasure, and whether this be not one great cause of the Two of the associate churches continue des- declension complained qf ".—In the apostles' titute of the stated means of grace, others time, and in all times, grace and peace have are tried with things of an uncomfortable ever been multiplied by the knowledge of nature, and most complain ofthe want of a God; and, in proportion as this has been spiritoffervor and constancy in the ways of neglected, those have always declined. If God. Yet, on the other hand, we met with we are sanctified by ihe word of truth, then, some things which afforded us pleasure, as this word is received or disrelished, the Manv of our congregations are well attend- work of sanctification must be supposed to ed ; a spirit of disire after the word is, we rise or fall. We may give a sort of idle as- think, upon the increase ; nor are our labors, sent to the truths of God, which amounts to we hope, altogether in vain, as the work of little more than taking it for granted that the Lord, in a way of conversion, appears to they are true, and thinking no more about be carrving on, though not in instances very them, unless somebody opposes us : but this remarkable will not influence the heart and life, and yet 'Tis true' we have reason to bewail our it seems to be nearly the whole of what own and other's declensions, yet we are not, many attain to, or seek after. uoon the whole, discouraged. It affords us We maintain the doctrine of one infinitely no little satisfaction to hear in what manner glorious God; but do we realize the amia- the monthly prayer meetings which were bleness of his character? If we did, we nroposed in our letter of last year have been could not avoid loving him with our heart and carried on and how God has been evidently soul, and mind and strength.— We hold the present iii those meetings, stirring up the doctrine of the universal depravity of man- 454 CIRCULAR LETTERS. kind ; but do we enter into its evil nature and awful tendency? If we did the one, how much lower should we lie before God, and how much more should we be filled with a self-loathing spirit! If the other, how should we feel for our fellow-sinners ! how earnest should we be to use all means, and have all means used, if it might please God thereby to pluck them as brands out of the burning! — We hold the doctrine of a trinity of per sons in the Godhead ; but do we cordially enter into the glorious economy of redemp tion, wherein the conduct of the sacred Three is most gloriously displayed ? Surely, if we did, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost would be with us more than it is. — We avow the doctrines of free, sovereign, and efficacious grace ; but do we generally feel the grace therein discovered ? If we did, how low should we lie ! how grateful should we be ! We should seldom think of their sovereign and discriminating nature without considering how justly God might have left us all to have had our own will, and followed our own ways ; to have, continued to increase our malady, and de spise the only remedy ! Did we properly enter into these subjects, we could not think of agreat Saviour, and agretrfsalvation, with out loathing ourselves for being such great sinners ; nor of what God had done for, and given to us, without longing to give him our little all, and feeling an habitual desire to do something for him. — If we realized our re demption by the blood of Christ, it would be natural for us to consider ourselves as bought with a price, and therefore not our own ; " a price, all price beyond ! " O, could we enter into this, we should readily discern the force and propriety of our body and spir it being his ; his indeed ! dearly bought, and justly due ! — Finally, we all profess to be lieve the vanity of this life and its enjoyments, and the infinitely superior value of that above ; but do we indeed enter into these things ? If we did, surely we should have more of heavenly-mindedness, and less of criminal attachment to the world. It is owing in a great degree to this con tentment with a superficial knowledge of things, without entering into the spirit of them, that we so often hear the truths ofthe gospel spoken of with a tone of disgust, call ing them " dry doctrines !" Whereas gospel truths, if preached in their native simplicity, and received with understanding and cordi ality, are the grand source of all well-ground ed consolation. We know of no consolation worth receiving but what arises from the in fluence of truth upon the mind. Christ's words are spirit and life to them who hunger and thirst after them, or have a heart to live upon them ; and, could we but more thor oughly enter into this way of living, we should find the doctrines of the gospel, in stead of being dry, to be what they were in the days of Moses, who declared, " My doc trine shall drop as the' rain, my speech shah distil as the dew ; as the small rain upon the tender herb and as the showers upon the grass." — Deut. xxxii. 2. O, brethren, may it be our and your concern not to float upon the surface of Christianity, but to enter into the spirit of it ! " For this cause " an apostle bowed his knees " to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," that we might " comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of things: and for this cause we also wish to bow our knees, knowing that it is by this, if at all, that we are " filled with all the fulness of God."— Eph. iii. 14—19. Another thing which we apprehend to be a great cause of declension is a contentedness with present attainments, without aspiring after eminence in grace and holiness. — If we may judge of people's thoughts and aims by the general tenor of their conduct, there seems to be much of a contentment with about so much religion as is thought necessary to constitute them good men, and that will just sufiice to carry them to heaven ; without aiming by a course of more than ordinary services to glorify God in their day and generation. We profess to do what we do with a view to glorify God, and not to be saved by it ; but is it so indeed ? Do these things look like it ? How is it too that the positive institutions of Christ are treated with so little regard ? Whence is it that we hear such language as this so often as we do — " Such a duty, and such an ordi nance, is not essential to salvation — we may never be baptized in water, or become church members, and yet go to heaven as well as they that are ? " It is to be feared the old puritanical way of devoting ourselves wholly to be the Lord's, resigning up our bodies, souls, gifts, time, property, with all we have and are to serve him, and frequently renewing these covenants before him, is now awfully neglected. This was to make a business of religion, a life's work, and not merely an accidental affair, occurring but now and then, and what must be attended to only when we can spare time from other engage ments. Few seem to aim, pray, and strive after eminent love to God and one another. Many appear to be contented if they can but remember the time when they had such love in exercise, and then, tacking to it the notion of perseverance without the thing, they go on and on, satisfied it seems if they do but make shift just to get to heaven at last, without much caring how. If we were in a proper spirit, the question with us would not so much be, what must I do for God ? as what can I do for God ? A servant that heartily loves his master counts it a privilege to be employed by him, yea, an honor to be entrusted with any of his concerns. RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 455 If it is inquired, what then is to be done ? wherein in particular can we glorify God more than we have done ? We answer by asking, Is there no room for amendment ? Have we been sufficiently earnest and con stant in private prayer ? Are there none of us that have opportunities to set apart partic ular times to pray for the effusion of the Holy Spirit ? Can we do no more than we have done in instructing our families ? Are there none of our dependants, workmen, or neighbors, that we might speak to, at least so far as to ask them to go and hear the gospel? Can we rectify nothing in our tempers and behavior in the world, so as better to recommend religion ? Cannot we watch more ? Cannot we save a little more of our substance to give to the poor ? In a word, is there no room or possibility left for our being more meek, loving, and resem bling the blessed Jesus than we have been ? To glorify God, and recommend by our example the religion of the meek and lowly Jesus, are the chief ends for which it is worth while to live ; but do we sufficiently pursue these ends ? Even these chief ends of our existence, are they in any good de gree so much as kept in view ? Ah, what have we done for God in the towns, villages, and families where we reside ? Christians are said to be the light oi the world, and the salt of the earth — do we answer these characters ? Is the world enlightened by us ? Does a savor of Christ accompany our spirit and conversation ? Our business, as Christians, is practically to be holding forth the word of life. Have we, by our earnestness, sufficiently held forth its impor tance ? or by our chaste conversation, coupled with fear, its holy tendency ? Have we all along, by a hecoming firmness of spirit, made it evident that religion is no low, mean, or dastardly business ? Have we by a cheerful complacency in God's service, gospel, and providence, sufficiently held forth the excel lency of his government and the happy ten dency of his holy religion ? — Doubtless, the most holy and upright Christians in these matters will find great cause for reflection, and room for amendment ; but are there not many who scarcely ever think about them, or, if they do, it only amounts to this, to sigh, and go backward, resting satisfied with a few lifeless complaints, without any real and abiding efforts to have things otherwise ? Another cause of declension, we appre hend, is making the religion qf others our standard, instead of the word of God. — The word of God is the only safe rule we have to go by, either in judging what is real reli gion, or what exertions and services for God are incumbent upon us. As it is unsafe to conclude ourselves real Christians because we may have such feelings as we have heard spoken of by some whom we account good men, so it is unjust to conclude that we have religion enough because we may suppose ourselves to be equal to the generality of those that now bear that character. What if they be good men ? they are not our standard — and what if their conversation in general be such as gives them a reputation in the religious worid ? Christ did not say learn of them, but learn of me. Or if in a measure we are allowed to follow them who through faith and patience inherit the prom ises, still it is with this restriction, as far as they are followers of Christ. Alas, how much is the professing part of mankind governed by ill example ! If the question turns upon, religious diligence, as how often shall I attend at the house of God —once or twice on the Lord's day ? or how frequently shall I give my company at church-meetings, opportunities for prayer, and such like ? is not the answer commonly governed by what others do in these cases, rather than by what is right in itself? — So, if it turns on liberality, the question is not what am I able to spare in this case, con sistent with all other obligations ? but what does Mr. such a one give ? I shall do the same as he does. — Something of this kind may not be wrong, as^a degree of proportion among friends if desirable ; but, if carried to too great lengths, we must beware lest our attention to precedent should so far ex clude principle in the affair as to render even what we do unacceptable in the sight of God. — So if the question turns on any par ticular piece qf conduct, whether it be de fensible or not, instead of searching the Bi ble, and praying to be led in the narrow way of truth and righteousness, how common is it to hear such language as this-— Such and such good men do so ; surely, therefore, there can be no great harm in it! — In short, great numbers appear to be quite satisfied if they are but about as strict and as holy as other people with whom they are connected. Many ill effects appear evidently to arise from this quarter. Hence it is that, for the want of bringing our religion and religious life to the test of God's holy word, we are in general so wretchedly deficient in a sense of our vast and constant defects, have na spirit to press fqrward, but to go on, without re pentance for them or as much as a thought of doing otherwise. — Hence also there is so much vanity and spiritual pride among us. While we content ourselves with barely keeping pace with one another, we may all become wretched idlers, and loose walkers ; and yet, as one is about as good as another, each may think highly of himself; whereas, bring him and his companions with him to the glass of God's holy word, and, if they have any sensibility left, they must see their odious picture, abhor themselves, and feel their former conduct as but too much re sembling that of a company of evil conspira tors who kept each other in countenance. — 456 CIRCULAR LETTERS. Finally, To this it may be ascribed in part that so many are constantly waxing worse and worse, more and more loose and careless in their spirit and conduct. — For those who are contented not to do better than other people generally allow themselves to do a little worse. An imitator is scarcely ever known to equal an original in the good, but gene rally exceeds him in the bad ; not only in imitating his feelings, but adding others to their number. If we would resemble any great and good man, we must do as he does, and that is keep our eye upon the mark, and follow Christ as our model. It is by this means that he has attained to be what he is. Here we shall be in no danger of learn ing anything amiss ; and truly we have fail ings enough of our own, in not conforming to the model, without deriving any more from the imperfections ofthe model itself. Once more, — The want of considering the consequences of our own good and evil conduct is, we apprehend, another great cause qf declension in many people. — It is common for people on many occasions to think within themselves in some such man ner as this — "What signify my faults, or my efforts ? They can weigh but little for or against the public good. What will my prayers avail ? and what great loss will be sustained by an individual occasionally omit ting the duty of prayer, or attendance on a church-meeting, or it may be the public worship and ordinances of God ? And what consequences will follow if one be a little now and then off one's watch — nobody is perfect," &c. &c. This, and a great deal more such horrid atheism, it is to be fear ed, if a thorough search were made, would be found to lie at the bottom of our common departures from God. If, when an army goes forth to engage the enemy, every soldier were to reason with himself thus — Of what great conse quence will my services be ? it is but little execution that I can do ; it will make but very little difference, therefore, if I desert or stand neuter — there are enough to fight without me," — what would be the conse quence ? Would such reasoning be admit ted ? Was it admitted in the case of the Reubenites, who cowardly abode by their sheep-folds while their brethren jeoparded their lives upon the high places in the field ? Was not Meroz cursed with a bitter curse because its inhabitants came not forth to the help ofthe Lord in the day ofthe mighty ?— Judges v. 15, 16, 23. If an army would hope to obtain the victory, every man should act as if the whole issue ofthe battle depended upon his conduct: so, if ever things go well in a religious view, it will be when every one is concerned to act as if he were the only one that remained on Gpd's side. We may think the efforts of an individual to be trifling^ but, dear brethren, let not this atheistical spirit prevail over us. It is the same spawn with that cast forth in the days of Job, when they asked concerning the Almighty, " What profit shall we have if we pray unto him ? " At this rate Abraham might have forborne interceding for Sodom, and Daniel for his brethren of the captivity. James also must be mistaken in saying that the prayer of a single, individual, righteous man availeth much. Ah, brethren, this spirit is not from above, but cometh of an evil heart of unbelief departing from the living God! - Have done with that bastard humility that teaches you such a sort of thinking low of your own prayers and exertions for God as to make you decline them, or at least to be slack or indifferent in them ! Great things frequently rise from small beginnings. Some of the greatest good that has ever been done in the world has been set a go ing by the efforts of an individual. — Witness the christianizing of a great part of the hea then world by the labors of a Paul, and the glorious reformation from popery began by the struggles of a Luther. It is impossible to tell what good may re sult from one earnest wrestling with God, from one hearty exertion in his cause, or from one instance of a meek and lowly spirit, overcoming evil with good. Though there is" nothing in our doings from which we could look for such great things ; yet God is pleased frequently to crown our poor ser vices with infinite reward. Such conduct may be, and often has been, the means of the conversion and eternal salvation of souls : and who that has any Christianity in him would not reckon this reward enough ? A realizing sense of these things would stir us all up ; ministers to preach the gospel to every creature, private Christians situated in this or that dark town or village to use all means to have it preached, and both to re commend it to all around by a meek and un blemished conversation. Again, we may think the faults of an in dividual to be trifling, but they are not so. For the crime of Achan the army of Israel suffered a defeat, and the whole camp could not go forward. Let us tremble at the thought of being a dead weight to the socie ty of which we are members ! — Besides, the awful tendency of such conduct is seen in its contagious influence. If people continue to be governed by example, as they certainly will in a great degree, then there is no knowing what the consequences will be, nor where they will end. A single defect or slip, of which we may think but little at the time, may be copied by our children, servants, neighbors, or friends, over and over again ; yea, it may be transmitted to posterity, and pleaded as a precedent for evil when we are no more ! Thus it may kindle a fire which, if we ourselves are saved from it, may nevertheless burn to the lowest hell, and RELIGIOUS DECLENSION. 457 aggravate the everlasting misery of many around us, who are " flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bone ! " These, brethren, we apprehend, are some of the causes, among many others, which have produced those declensions which you and we lament. But what do we say ? Do we indeed lament them ? If we do, it will be natural for us to inquire, What shall we do ? What means can be used towards their removal, and a happy revival ? If this be now indeed the object of our inquiry, we cannot do better than to attend to the advice of the great Head of the church to a backsliding people — " Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works." — "Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain that are ready to die." — " Re member how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent ! " — Rev. ii. 5 ; iii. 2, 3. Particularly, First, Let us recollect the best periods of the Christian church, and compare them with the present ; and the best parts of our own life, if ive know when they were, and compare them with what we now are.— A recollection ofthe disinterested zeal and godly simplicity of the primitive Christians, and their succes sors in after ages, millions of whom, in Christ's cause, loved not their lives unto death, would surely make us loathe ourselves for our detestable lukewarmness ! As pro testants, let us think of the fervent zeal and holy piety of our reformers — think what ob jects they grasped, what difficulties they encountered, and what ends they obtained ! As protestant dissenters, let us reflect on the spirit and conduct of our puritan and non conforming ancestors. Think how they served God at the expense of all that was dear to them in this world, and laid the foundation of our churches in woods, and dens, and caves of the earth ! Say, too, was their love to God more than need be ? Is the importance of things abated since their death? Might not they have pleaded the danger and cruelty of the times in excuse for a non-appearance for God with much more seeming plausibility than we can excuse our spirit of hateful indifference ? O let us remember whence we are fallen, and repent ! As to our own lives, ii we are real Chris tians, probably we can remember times wherein the great concerns of salvation seemed to eclipse all other objects. We covenanted with God — we resigned over all to him — we loved to be his, willingly his, rather than our own — we were willing to do any thing, or become any thing, that should glorify his name. And is it so now ? No ! but why not ? what iniquity have we found in him, that we are gone away back ward? "O, my people, saith the Lord, what have I done unto thee ? wherein have I wearied thee? Testify against me!" Have I been a hard master, or a churlish fa- Vol. 2.— Sig. 58. ther, or a faithless friend ? Have I not been patient enough with you, or generous enough towards you ? Could I have done anything more for you that I have not done ? Was the covenant you made with me a hard bar gain ? Was it hard on your side for me to be made sin, who knew no sin, that you might be made the righteousness of God in me ? Were the rewards of my service such as you could not live upon ? Is it better with you now than then ? O, Christian reader ! pause awhile ; lay aside the paper, and retire before God ! reflect, and pour out thy soul before him — Say unto him, "O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of face ! " Thus, thus, remember whence thou art fallen, and repent ! But do not stop here — think it not suffi cient that we lament and mourn over our departures from God ; we must return to him with full purpose of heart — " Strengthen the things that remain which are ready to die." Cherish a greater love to the truths of God — pay an invariable regard to the discipline ofhis house — cultivate love to one another — frequently mingle souls by frequently as sembling yourselves together — encourage a meek, humble, and savory spirit, rather than a curious one. . These are some ofthe things among us that are " ready to die ! " To this it is added, "Do thy first works." — Fill up your places in God's worship with that earnestness and constancy as when you were first seeking after the salvation of your souls— flee from those things which conscience, in its most tender and best informed state, durst not meddle with, though since perhaps they may have become trifling in your eyes — walk in your family, in the world, and in the church, with God always before you— live in love, meekness, and forbearance with one another — whatever your hands find you to do, " do it with all your might;" seeking to promote, by all means, the present and eter nal welfare of all around you. Finally, brethren, let us not forget to in termingle prayer with all we do. Our need of .God's Holy Spirit to enable us to do any thing, and every thing, truly good, should excite us to this. Without his blessing all means are without efficacy, and every effort for revival will be in vain. Constantly and earnestly, therefore, let us approach his throne. Take all occasions especially for closet prayer : here, if any where, we shall get fresh strength, and maintain a life of communion with God. Our Lord Jesus used frequently to retire into a mountain alone for prayer ; he, therefore, that is a^oZ- lower of Christ, must follow him in this im portant duty. Dearly beloved brethen, farewell ! " Un to him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the pres- CIRCULAR LETTERS. 458ence of his glory with exceeding joy — To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever, Amen." 1795. WHY CHRISTIANS IN THE PRESENT DAY POSSESS LESS JOY THAN THE PRIMI TIVE DISCIPLES. Dear brethren, While the judgments of God are abroad in the earth, and multitudes are trembling for the fate of nations and dreading lest fam ine, or war, or pestilence, which have deso lated other countries, should receive a com mission to lay waste our own, we have reason to bless God that he has manifested his care of his churches, by continuing the gospel among us, and granting it to be at tended with some increasing success. The wall of Jerusalem is built up even in troublous times ; and we were not only permitted to assemble in peace, but received tidings from most of the churches of a peculiarly pleasing nature. In our letter of last year we addressed you on the nature and grounds of joy in God. In pursuance of the resolution of the last association, we shall in this attempt an an swer to the following inquiry : Why is it that Christians in the present day come so far short of the primitive Christians in the possession of joy ? That the thing itself is a fact can admit but little doubt. It is true, the joy of the primitive Christians was not always the same : previous to the resurrection and as cension of Christ they appeared to possess it in a far less degree than afterwards ; and in their brightest days they, no doubt, as well as we, occasionally experienced inter vening clouds. The account, nevertheless, which is given of them, intimates that a vein of sacred enjoyment ran through their lives. No Sooner had they beheld the Lord Jesus taken up into heaven than they returned " to Jerusalem with great joy, and were con tinually in the temple, praising and blessing God." And after the day of Pentecost, and the addition of 3000 souls by the preaching of Peter, they are described as "continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and eating their meat with gladness and single ness of heart." Persecution itself did not destroy their happiness, but helped, on some considerations, to increase it. Having been summoned before the Jewish council for preaching Christ, they " departed rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shamu for his name's sake." Covered with stripes, thrust into an inner prison, and with their feet made fast in the stocks, "at mid night Paul and Silas prayed, and sung praises to God ! " Nor was this happy frame of mind confined to the apostles, or to the first few years after the introduction of Christianity: Peter could say of the gen erality of Christians at the time when he wrote his first epistle, "whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet, believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." Such accounts of the primitive disciples afford an affecting view of the great dispar ity between them and the generality of modern Christians. The following particu lars, amongst others, must needs strike an attentive observer : — First, they rejoiced in all their labors, complying with the com mands of Christ rather as an honor and a privilege than as mere matter of duty. The prompt and cheerful manner in which they attended to divine institutions exhibits a lovely picture of genuine Christianity. "They that gladly received the Vord were baptized. — And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking oi bread, and in prayers." There is not a single instance in all the New Testament of an avowed Christian living in the neglect of the ordinances of Christ. Such an idea seems never to have entered into their minds ; but it is unnecessary to say that with us it is a common case. — Secondly, they rejoiced, as we have seen, in tribulation, considering the reproaches pf the world as an honor, and counting it all joy when they fell into divers temptations : but the highest exercises of grace that are common amongst us fall short in this particular: instead of rejoicing in tribulation, we are ready to ac count it pretty much if we rejoice notwith standing it. — Thirdly, they experienced an habitual consciousness of their being the subjects of gracious dispositions, and conse quently enjoyed a settled persuasion of their interest in Christ. In all the New Testa ment we have scarcely an instance of a Christian being at a loss to perceive the evi dence of his Christianity. What are called doubts and fears amongst us, and which make up so large a proportion of our reli gious experiences, seem to have occupied scarcely any place amongst them. This fact, if there were no other, calls for serious inquiry into the cause or causes of it. The language that we are in the habit of using, when speaking of our love, or faith, or obe dience, betrays a sad defect in the exercise of these heavenly graces. Instead of being able to say, " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee " — " I have believed, and therefore have I spoken " — " God whom I serve in the gospel," — and the like, we are ready to be startled at such professions, and feel ourselves under a kind of necessity to soften tiie language into a wish, a willingness, or a desire. I desire to WHY MODERN CHRISTIANS ARE DEFICIENT IN JOY. 459 love, I would believe, I wish to be obedient, are expressions which frequently occur in our prayers and hymns ; but wishing to love, and desiring to obey, when substituted in the place of love and obedience themselves, are inadmissible. Such language is unknown in the Scriptures, unless it be found in the character of the slothful, whose desire is said to kill him ; and indicates, to say the least, but a small degree of real religion. To account for this disparity is of impor tance, as by a knowledge of the causes of a malady we may be directed to the proper means of a cure. Peculiar dejection in individuals may often be accounted for from the peculiarity of their habits, constitution, circumstances, opportunities, and connec tions ; but when it affects a body or genera tion of men it must be traced to other causes. Why should not we go on our way rejoicing in the same manner, and to the same degree, as the primitive Chris tians ? We have the same gospel, the same promises, and the same hopes. The joy and peace which they experienced was in believing: the great, interesting, and transporting truths of the gospel were the source whence they derived their bliss. The Lord Messiah was come according to promise, and by laying down his life had delivered all who should believe in him from the wrath to come. — Through his death also they were freed from the spirit of bondage attendant on the former dispensation, and received the spirit of adoption whereby they cried Abba, Father. — The thunders of Sinai gave place to the blessings of Sion, the city of the living God; to the holy society of which, as to a kind of heaven upon earth, they were introduced. — Commission ed to publish these glad tidings to every creature, and persuaded that the cause in which they had engaged would sooner or later universally prevail, they labored with courage and unwearied assiduity, and the work of the Lord prospered in their hands. — Finally, in hope of eternal life, the joy set before them, like their Lord and Master, they endured the cross, despised the shame, and went and sat down with him on his throne, as he had overcome, and sat down with his Father on his throne. Now which of these sources of joy has been exhausted ? Are not Christ and the gospel, and its promises, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever ? Is not God as willing now that the heirs of promise should have strong consolation as he was formerly ? Are not the great blessings of eternal life as real and as interesting in the present age as in any that have gone before ? and being promised to the smallest degree of real grace, even to the giving of a cup of cold water to a disciple of Jesus because he belongs to him, can it, in ordinary cases, be a difficult matter for a decided friend of Christ to obtain a clear satisfaction of his interest in them ? Wherefore is it then, if the Son hath made us free, that we are not, in the most extensive meaning of the term, free indeed? Some would probably attribute the whole to divine sovereignty, alleging that the Holy Spirit divideth to every age and generation, as well as to every man, severally as he will. It is allowed that the Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and operations, acts in a way of sover eignty, since we have no claim upon him for any thing which he bestows : but it does not belong to the idea of sovereignty that there be no reason for it, or wisdom in it. The Holy Spirit divideth to every age and every man severally as he will, but he always willeth what is wise and good, or what is best upon the whole. The sovereignty of creatures may degenerate into caprice ; but this cannot be supposed of God. Now it belongs to the wisdom of God to bestow his favors in such a way as to encourage right eousness, and stamp an honor upon the means of his own appointment: hence it is that the joys of salvation, though bestowed in a way of sovereignty, are generally con nected with a close walk with God, and communicated through means adapted to the end. It has been thought by others that the dif ference betwixt us and the primitive Chris tians, in these things, may be accounted for, at least in some degree, by a difference of circumstances. Life and immortality were brought to light, as the Scriptures express it, by the gospel. The wonderful transition therefore which they experienced, some of them from the darkness of Judaism and oth ers from the still grosser darkness of Pa ganism, together with the great success of their labors, must have forcibly impressed their minds with both surprise and joy. There is some truth, no doubt, in this obser vation ; but it ought to be considered, on the other hand, that our circumstances are in some respects more favorable to joy than theirs ; sufficiently so perhaps to balance, if not over-balance, those in which theirs were superior to ours. Let the following things be considered in connection with each oth er : First, glorious things are spoken in pro phecy of what shall be done for the church in the last periods of time. All the light and glory that have ever yet appeared will be eclipsed by what is to come. One pe culiar characteristic ofthe kingdom of Christ is, that it is progressive. God is saying to his church under every new dispensation, or pe riod of her existence, "Remember not the former things, neither consider the things of old : behold I do a new thing in the earth." — As if he should say, You may forget the past, and yet have enough to fill you with joyful admiration. The Jewish dispensation contained a greater display of God than had 460 CIRCULAR LETTERS. ever been made before ; yet, compared with the dawn of gospel glory, it was but as the moon to the sun ; and glorious as this was, with regard to all that had gone before, it will bear no comparison to that which is to follow after. Not only shall "the moon be con founded," but ".the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and before his ancients gloriously ! " Sec ondly, the time when things shall be accom plished cannot be very far off. The sacred writers ofthe New Testament frequently in timate that they had passed the meridian of time, and were entered, as it were, into the afternoon ofthe world. They speak of their times as the last days, and of themselves as those " on whom the ends ofthe world were come." They declared that " the end of all things was at hand ;" that the judge was " at the .door ; " and the concluding warning of the book of God is couched in this strong expression, " Surely I come quickly ! " But, if the end of all things was then at hand, what must we think of it after a lapse of nearly 1800 years ? Thirdly, it is highly probable, if not more than probable that in the ages yet to come there may be much more effected than in all preced ing ages put together. Some of the great est events in prophecy we know remain to be accomplished ; particularly, the utter downfal of antichrist, the conversion of the Jews, and the universal spread of true reli gion : but if the end of all things be at hand, and such great events are first to be accom plished, we have every reason to expect great changes, in quick succession, and at no great distance of time. The convulsions of the present day may, for aught we know, be some of the throes of creation travailing in pain for the glorious liberty of the sons of God. At all events, the day of the church's redemption draweth nigh ; it is time there fore to "lift up our heads," and to go forth in prayer, and praise, and joyful exertion to meet the Bridegroom. Could the apostles and primitive Christians have been placed in our situation, they would have rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory. — We must turn our attention then to some other objects besides the circumstances in which we are placed as the causes of our want of joy. We pass over the cases of such as indulge themselves in known sin, or live in the neg lect of known duty, as cases easily accounted for, at one period of time as well as another ; and confine our inquiry to those whose con versation is allowed in general to be regular and circumspect ; so much so, at least, as to be equal to that of the body of professing Christians around them. In the first, place, let it be considered whether it does not arise from the want of a greater degree qf religiqn in general. — Joy is a grace which cannot thrive by itself; it is a kind of appendage to the lively exercise of other graces. " With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation." — " Hith erto ye have asked nothing in my name ; ask and receive, that your joy may be full." — " The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." From these passages, and many others which might be cited, it is apparent that holy joy stands connected with appropriating the great truths ofthe gospel to our particular cases — with importunate prayer in the name of Christ — and with the practice of righteousness and peace. The same persons who are daily employed in praising and blessing God have this testimony given of them, "and great grace was upon them all." Secondly : Let it be considered whether another reason be not our neglect of a more frequent and intense application to those ob jects whence joy arises. — We have seen al ready that the sources from which the prim itive Christians derived their joy were the great doctrines of the gospel ; but it is a lamentable fact that the generality of pro fessing Christians amongst us content them selves with a very superficial knowledge of these things. There are but few even amongst the goldly in our day that so enter into the spirit and glory of the gospel as clearly to distinguish it from error specious ly disguised. Hence, if a minister who is much respected by his people turn aside from even important truth, it is common for many of them to go off with him. If Chris tians were properly rooted and grounded in the gospel — if they understood not only what they believe, but wherefore they be lieve it — they would not be shaken with every wind of doctrine ; nor would many of the principles which prevail in the present age excite even a momentary hesitation in their minds. But, if we do not so understand the truth as clearly to distinguish it from error, it cannot be supposed that we should be greatly affected by it. It is by drawing waters from the wells of salvation that we have joy ; but these wells are deep, and, in proportion as we are wanting in an under standing of divine things, we may be said to have nothing to draw with. Thirdly : To this may be added the leant of public spirit. — The primitive Christians were all intent on disseminating the gospel through the world ; and it was in the midst of this kind of employment, and the perse cutions which attended it, that they are said to have been " filled with joy and the Holy Ghost."— Acts xiii. 52. Much of the joyful part of religion is lost by rendering it the immediate object of our pursuit. The chief end for which great numbers read their Bibles, and hear tiie word, is that they may be comforted, and obtain some satisfac tion of their being in a state of salvation ; but this is not the way in which the comforts WHY MODERN CHRISTIANS ARE DEFICIENT IN JOY. 461 of the gospel are obtained. There are things which, if pursued as our chief end, will elude our grasp and vanish from our sight: such is reputation amongst men, and such is religious joy. If we pursue the public good, not for the sake of applause, but from a disinterested regard to the well- being of our species, reputation will follow us ; and, if the glory of God and the pros perity of his cause occupy the first place in our affection, we shall not in ordinary cases be wanting in peace and heavenly consolation. If a portion of that time which we spend in ransacking for evidence in the mass of past experiences were em ployed in promoting the cause of God in the world, and seeking the welfare of the souls and bodies of men, it would turn to a better account. In seeking the salvation of others we should find our own. The love of Zion has the promise of personal pros perity. Ardently to promote the honor of God, and the good of mankind, is itself an evidence, and the highest evidence, of true religion : while, therefore, we feel conscious of the purity of our present motives, we have less occasion for reflections on the past There is a much greater satisfac tion too in this way of obtaining comfort than in the other ; for, however former ex ercises of grace might be strong and de cisive at the time, yet it must be difficult to realize them merely by a distant recol lection. It is much better also, and more for our profit, to live in the exercise of grace, than barely to remember that we did so at some former period of our lives. We ap peal to your own hearts, brethren, with re spect, to your late disinterested exertions for carrying the gospel amongst the heathen, — we appeal to those of you especially who have had the undertaking most at heart, whether, since your own comfort has in a sort been overlooked, and swallowed up in concern for the salvation of others, you have not felt more of the joyful part of re ligion than you did before ; yea, may we not add, more than at any former period in your remembrance ? Fourthly : Much may be owing to our viewing the mixture of evils which pervade creation on a contracted scale. — If the evils which befal creatures be considered merely as evils, and our minds are disposed to pore upon them, we must necessarily feel de jected ; but if every partial evil contribute to the general good — if every adversity, whether it -respect our persons, families, christian connections, country, or species, be but as a wheel acting upon other wheels, and all necessary to complete the vast but well-ordered machinery — the contemplation of evil itself in this view must raise the heart instead of depressing it. The mise ries of the present and of the future life, if contemplated by a good man merely as evils, must overwhelm him and destroy his present peace. What can he do ? He can not shun the abodes of the wretched in this world, and so put the thoughts of their miseries far from him, for that were inhu manity ; neither can he allow himself to doubt of the execution of divine threaten- ' ings in the world to come, for that were to arraign the justice, goodness, wisdom, and veracity of God in denouncing them: but he may view things on an enlarged scale, and thus perceive that all is right and best upon the whole. This is to be of one mind with God, and so to be truly happy. It is in this way that we are reconciled to our own adversities : could Jacob have seen through the gracious designs of God with regard to his children, or, though he might be unable to do this, had he properly re collected the divine promise, " I will sure ly do thee good," he would not have con cluded, as he did, that all these things were against him. It is thus that upon some occasions we are reconciled to the miseries of a public execution. Awful beyond conception it must be to the party who suffer; but jus tice may require the sacrifice. However natural affection, therefore, may for a mo ment revolt at tlie idea of inflicting death, all concern for a suffering individual is absorbed by the love of our species, and a regard for the general good. — It is thus that the heavenly inhabitants are described as being not only reconciled to the over throw of mystical Babylon, but as rejoic ing in it. While the merchants who traded in her wares bitterly lament her fall, cry ing " alas ! alas ! that great city ! In one hour is she made desolate ! " the friends of God are called to a very different employ ment : " Rejoice over her thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. And after these things I heard a great voice of much peo ple in heaven saying, Hallelujah! — true and righteous are his judgments, for fie hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said Hallelujah — and her smoke rose up forever and ever ! " Was there any malevolence or unchristian bitterness 'in all this ? No : it was only viewing things on a large scale ; viewing them as God views them, and feeling ac cordingly. The primitive Christians were in the habit of considering all things as working together for good, and so of deriving joy from every occurrence. If the world smiled upon them they rejoiced, and availed them selves of the opportunity for spreading the gospel ; or, if it frowned on them for their attachment to Christ, they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for 463 CIRCULAR LETTERS. his name sake. By thus converting every thing into food for joy, they answered to the exhortations of the apostles. "Let the brother of low degree rejoice- that he is ex alted ; but the rich in that he is made low " — " Beloved, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations " — " Rejoice ever more—In every thing give thanks." If we would feel like them we must enter into their views ; we must have less of the com plaining patriarch, as well as of the whin ing merchants ; and more of that temper which prompted the holy inhabitants of hea ven, on every new dispensation of provi dence, to cry " Amen, Hallelujah ! " Fifthly : Much is owing, no doubt, to a spirit qf conformity to the present world, by which many Christians, especially those in prosperous circumstances, are influenced. It was a complaint made by one of the fathers (Cyprian) in the middle of the third century, a time when the church had enjoy ed a considerable respite from persecution, that " each one studied how to increase his patrimony, and, forgetting what the faithful had done in apostolic times, or what they ought always to do, their great passion was an insatiable desire of enlarging their for tunes." This complaint, every one knows, is too applicable to our times. The primitive Christians were persecuted. The Walden ses, the reformers, the puritans, and the non conformists were the same ; and, having but little security for property, they had but little motive to increase it : being driven also from the society of their persecutors, they were under very little temptation to imitate their manners ; their trials were great, but they were of a different kind from ours. Having long enjoyed the blessings of religious liberty, we have relaxed in watchfulness, and the world has seemed in a measure to have lost its enmity, and to smile upon us. In consequence of this we have become upon more friendly terms with it ; not merely by behaving courteously and affectionately to men in common, which is our duty ; but by imbibing their spirit, court ing their company, and subjecting ourselves to a servile compliance with their customs. These things were extremely unfriendly to true religion. If the cares of this world be compared to thorns, which choke the word, the alluring pleasures of it are with no less propriety compared to the burning sun, through whose influence many a promis ing plant has withered away. Or, should the root of the matter be found in us, yet if our heads and hearts are occupied with ap pearance, dress, entertainments, and the like, there can be but little room for heaven or heavenly things ; and consequently this joy ful part of religion will be slighted and lost. Finally: It is not to be dissembled that much is to be traced to the manner in which the gospel is preached. The Holy Spirit or dinarily works by means of the word. It is the office of ministers to be "helpers of your joy ;" but, if they partake ofthe spirit common to the age in which they live, their preaching will partake of it too. If the great and interesting truths of the gospel are not thoroughly understood, and felt, they cannot, in the ordinary course of things, be communicated in such a manner as greatly to interest the hearts of others. While, therefore, we recommend serious reflection to you, brethren, you also have a right to expect the same of us ; and we trust we are willing to receive as well as to administer the word of exhortation. Dear brethren, farewell ! 1799. THE DISCIPLINE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH ES ILLUSTRATED AND ENFORCED. Beloved brethren, When the apostles, by the preaching of the word, had gathered in any place a suffi cient number of individuals to the faith of Christ, it was their uniform practice, for the farther promotion of his kingdom in that place, to proceed to the forming of them into a religious society, or Christian church. Being thus associated, in the name of Christ, divine worship was carried on, Christian or dinances observed, holy discipline maintain ed, and the word of life, as the light by the golden candlesticks, exhibited. Amongst them our Lord Jesus Christ, as the high- priest of our profession, is represented as walking ; observing the good, and applaud ing it; pointing out the evil, and censuring it ; and holding up life and immortality to those that should overcome the temptations of the present state. Let us suppose him to walk amongst our churches, and to address us in the manner he addressed the seven churches in Asia. We trust he would find some things to ap prove ; but we are "also apprehensive he would find many things to censure. Let us, brethren, look narrowly into the discipline of the primitive churches, and compare our own with it. By discipline we do not mean to include the whole ofthe order of a Christian church. We have already touched on these subjects in the course of our annual address to you. The particular object to which we shall, at this time, request your attention, is that part of church-government which consists in a MUTUAL WATCH OVER ONE ANOTHER, AND THE CONDUCT WE ARE DIRECTED TO PURSUE in cases of disorder. A great part of our duty consists in cultivating what is lovely, but this is not the whole of it; we must prune as well as plant, if we would THE DISCIPLINE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES. 463 bear much fruit, and be Chrises disciples. One of the things applauded in the church of Ephesus was, that they could not bear them that were evil. Yet we are not to suppose from hence that no irregularity or imperfection whatever is an object of forbearance. If uniformity be required in such a degree as that every dif ference in judgment or practice shall occa sion a separation, the churches may be always dividing into parties, which we are persuaded was never encouraged by the apostles of our Lord, and cannot be justified in trivial or ordinary cases. A contrary practice is expressly taught us in the epistle to the Romans (ch. xiv. ;) and the cases in which it is to be exercised are there pointed out. An object of forbearance, however, must be one that may exist without being an occa sion of dispute and wrangling in the church : it must "not be to doubtfuldisputations." — Ver. 1. It must also respect things which do not enter into the essence of God's king dom, the leading principles of which are " righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."— Ver. 16, 17. That which does not subvert the gospel of the kingdom, nor set aside the authority ofthe King, though it be an imperfection, is yet to be borne with. Finally, it must be something which does not " destroy the work of God," or which is not inconsistent with the progress of vital religion in the church, or in one's own soul. — Ver. 20. In all such cases we are not to judge one another, but every man's con science is to be his judge. — Ver. 23. In attending to those things which are the proper objects of discipline, our first concern should be to see that all our measures are aimed at the good of the party , and the honor of God. Both these ends are pointed out in the case of the Corinthian offender. All was to be done "that his spirit might be saved in the day ofthe Lord," and to clear themselves as a church from being partakers ofhis sin. If these ends be kept in view, they will preserve us from much error ; par ticularly from the two great evils into which churches are in danger of falling — false lenity, and unchristian severity. There is often a party found in a community who, under the name of tenderness, are for neg lecting all wholesome discipline ; or, if this cannot be accomplished, for delaying it to the utmost. Such persons are commonly the advocates for disorderly walkers, espe cially if they be their particular friends or relations. Their language is, " He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone." My brother hath fallen to-day, and I may fall to-morrow. This spirit, though it exists only in individuals, provided they be persons of any weight or influence, is frequently known to impede the due execution of the laws of Christ ; and, if it pervade the com munity, it will soon reduce it to the lowest state of degeneracy. Such for a time was the spirit of the Corinthians ; but, when brought to a proper sense of things, " what carefulness it wrought in them, yea what clearing- of themselves, yea what indigna tion, yea what fear, yea what vehement de sire, yea what zeal, yea what revenge." — In opposing tire extreme of false tenderness, others are in danger of falling into unfeeling severity. This spirit will make the worst of every thing, and lead men to convert the censures of the church into weapons of pri vate revenge. Persons of this description know not of what manner of spirit they are. They lose sight ofthe good of the offender. It is not love that operates in them ; for love worketh no evil. The true medium be tween these extremes is a union of mercy and truth. Genuine mercy is combined with faithfulness, and genuine faithfulness with mercy ; and this is the only spirit that is likely to "purge iniquity." — Prov. xvi. 6. Connivance will produce indifference ; and undue severity will arm the offender with prejudice, and so harden him in his sin : but the love of God and of our brother's soul is adapted to answer every good end. If we love God, like Levi, we shall know no man after the flesh, nor acknowledge our nearest kindred ; but shall observe his word, and keep his covenant. And, if we love the soul of our brother we shall say, He is fallen to-day, and I will reprove him for his good : I may fall to-morrow, and then let him deal the same with me. Love is the grand se cret of church discipline, and will do more than all other things put together towards insuring success. In the exercise of discipline it is neces sary to distinguish between faults which are the consequence of sudden temptation, and such as are the result of premeditation and habit. The former require a compassionate treatment; the latter a greater portion of severity. The sin of Peter in denying his Lord was great, and, if noticed by the ene mies of Christ, might bring great reproach upon his cause ; yet, compared with the sin of Solomon, it was little. He first gave way to licentiousness, then to idolatry, and on finding that God, as a punishment for his sin, had given ten tribes to Jeroboam, he sought to kill him. Cases like this are eminently dangerous, and require a prompt and decid ed treatment, like that which we should use towards a child fallen into the fire ; in which a moment's delay might be fatal, and in which hesitating tenderness would be the height of cruelty. " Of some have compassion, mak ing a difference : others save with fear, pull ing them out of the fire ; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." — Jude 22, 23. See also Gal. vi. 1. In all our admonitions regard should be had to the age and character of the party. An elder, as well as other men, may be in a 464 CIRCULAR LETTERS. fault, and a fault that may require to be no ticed ; but let him be told of it in a tender ahd respectful manner. While you expostulate with younger men on a footing of equality, pay a deference to age and office. "Re buke not an elder, but entreat him as a father, and the younger men as brethren." — 1 Tim. v. 1. In the due execution of Christian disci pline there are many things to be done by the members of churches individually ; and it is upon the proper discharge of these du ties that much of -the peace and purity of a church depends. If we be faithful to one another, there will be but few occasions for public censure. Various improprieties of conduct, neglects of duty, and declensions in the power of godliness, are the proper ob jects of pastoral admonition. It is one es sential branch of this office to "rebuke, and exhort with all long-suffering." — 2 Tim. iv. 2. Nor is this work confined to pastors : Christians are directed to "admonish one another." — Rom. xv. 14. Indeed there are things which a wise and affectionate people will be concerned to take upon themselves, lest a prejudice should be contracted against the ministry, which may prevent its good effects. This is peculiarly necessary in the settling of differences in which whole fa milies may be interested, and in which it is extremely difficult to avoid the suspicion of partiality. In all cases of personal offence the rule laid down by our Lord in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew ought to be- attended to ; and no such offence ought to be admitted before a church till the precept of Christ has been first complied with by the party or par ties concerned. In many cases where faults are not com mitted immediately against us, but which are unknown except to a few individuals, love will lead us to endeavor to reclaim the par ty, if possible, without any further exposure. A just man will not be willing unnecessarily to make his brother a public example. The Scriptures give peculiar encouragement to these personal and private attempts. "If any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him ; let him know that he who converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins." — James v. 19, 20. In cases of evil report, where things are said of a brother in our hearing which if true must affect his character, and the purity of the church, it cannot be right to go on to report it. Love will not lead to this. Many reports we know are unfounded ; or, if true in the main, they- may have been aggrava ted ; or there may be circumstances attend ing the case which, if fully understood, would make things appear very different from the manner in which they have been represented. Now it is almost impossible that any one but the party himself should be acquainted with all these circumstances, or able to give a full account of them. No time therefore should be lost ere we inquire at the hand of our brother, or, if on any con sideration we feel that to be unsuitable, it would be proper to apply to an officer of the church, who may conduct it with greater propriety. There are also cases of a still more pub lic nature in which much of the peace and happiness of a church depend upon the con duct of its members in their individual capa city. The charge given by the apostle to the Romans (ch. xvi. 17, 18,) though applicable to a church, yet seems to be rather addressed to the individuals who compose it : — " Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly ; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts ofthe simple." The characters to be avoided appear to be persons whose object it is to set up a party in the church, of which they may be the heads or leaders — a kind of religious demagogues. Such men are found, at one time or other, in most societies : and in some cases the peace of the churches has been invaded by strangers, who are not of their own community. Let the " brethren " have their eye upon such men. "Mark them." Trace their conduct, and you will soon discover their motives. Stand aloof from them, and "avoid" striking in with their dividing measures. In case of tiieir being members, the church collectively con sidered ought, no doubt, to put away from amongst them such wicked persons : but, as every collective body is composed of indi viduals, if those individuals sufferthemselves to be drawn away, the church is necessarily thrown into confusion, and rendered incapa ble of a prompt, unanimous, and decided con duct. Let members of churches therefore beware how they listen to the insinuations of those who would entice them to join their party. Men of this stamp are described by the apostle, and therefore may be known, particularly by three things : — First, By their doctrine : it is contrary to that which has been learned of Christ. Secondly, By their self ish pursuits : " they serve not our Lord Je sus Christ, but their own bellies." Thirdly, By their insinuating whining pretences of affectionate regard towards their partizans : " by good words and fair speeches they de ceive the hearts of the simple." To this may be added, there are duties incumbent on individuals in their behavior towards persons who lie under the censure qf the church. If they still continue in a state of impenitence, per sist in their sin, or be unreconciled to the church's proceedings wijh them, it is of the DISCIPLINE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES. 465 utmost consequence that every member should act a uniform part towards them. We may, it is true, continue our ordinary and necessary intercourse with them as men, in the concerns of this life ; but there must be no familiarity, no social interchange, no visitings to them nor receiving visits from them, nothing, in short, that is expressive of connivance at their conduct. "If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, we must not keep company with such a one, no not to eat." — 1 Cor. v. 11. If individual members act contrary to this rule, and carry it freely towards an offender, as if nothing had taken place, it will render tlie censure of the church of none effect. Those persons also who behave in this manner will be consider ed by the party as his friends, and others who stand aloof as his enemies, or at least as being unreasonably severe ; which will work confusion, and render void the best and most wholesome discipline. We must act in concert, or we may as well do nothing. Members who violate this rule are partakers of other men's sins, and deserve the re bukes of the church for counteracting its measures. With respect to those things which fall under the cognizance of a church in its col- lective capacity, we earnestly recommend, in general, that every thing be done not only with a view to the honor of God and the good of the party, as before observed, but with a special regard to the revealed will of Christ. That some kind of order be pre served in every community is necessary to its existence. Decency, reputation, and even worldly policy, will induce us to take some notice of gross immoralities ; but this is not Christian discipline, nor will it be pro ductive of its salutary effects. In the choice of officers few if any churches would elect a profligate ; but if opulence be allowed to supply the place of spirituality, or ambitious or litigious characters be apre- ferred on the principle of expediency, as a means of keeping them in better humor, is it not carnal? So, in matters of discipline, few churches would suffer a grossly immoral or litigious character to continue amongst them unnoticed : but if instead of a calm, impartial, and decided procedure, we enter into pusillanimous compromises with the of fender, consenting that he should withdraw ofhis own accord — if the crimes of rich men be either entirely overlooked or but slightly touched, lest the cause should suffer from their being offended — or if the misconduct of poor men be disregarded on the ground of their being persons of little or no account — " are we not carnal, and walk as men ? " Brethren, are there any such things amongst us ? Search and consider. Such things ought not to be. The private withdraw- Vol. 2.— Sig. 59. ment of an individual, if it be without good reasons, may justify a church in admonish ing him, and, if he cannot be reclaimed, in excluding him ; but it cannot itself dissolve the relation. Till such exclusion has taken place he is a member, and his conduct af fects their reputation as much as that of any other member. With regard to a neglect of discipline lest it should injure the cause, what cause must that be which requires to be thus supported? Be it our concern to obey the laws of Christ, and leave him to support his own cause. If it sink by a ful filment of his commandments, let it sink. He will not censure us for not 'supporting the ark with unhallowed hands. And, if it be criminal to fear the rich, it cannot be less so to despise the poor. Let brotherly love abound towards both. Do all things with out partiality and without hypocrisy. We cannot enumerate all the particular cases which fall under the cognizance of a Christian church, but shall mention a few which are recorded in the Scriptures for our imitation. A DEPARTURE FROM THE FAITH OF THE GOSPEL, OR ANY OF ITS LEADING DOCTRINES, is an object of Christian discipline. "I would they were even cut off that trouble you." — "I have a few things against thee, because thou hast them who hold the doc trine of Balaam — so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." — "A man that is an heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject, knowing that he that is such is subverted and sinneth, being condemned of himself." It is worthy of notice that the only pas sage in the New Testament wherein heresy is introduced as an object of discipline makes no mention of any thing as composing it but what relates to the principles of tlie party. It may be supposed that those who were ac counted heretics by the apostles were as impure in their lives as they were antichris tian in their doctrine, and that they were commonly disturbers of the peace and unity of the churches ; but, however this might be, neither of these evils is alleged as the ground for which the heretic was to be re jected. All that is mentioned is this : He is " subverted and sinneth, being condemned of himself." He is " subverted," that is, his professed faith in the gospel is in effect overturned, or rendered void ; consequently he requires to be treated as an unbeliever. He is " con demned of himself;" that is, the gospel be ing a consistent whole, he that rejects some of its leading principles, .while he professes to retain others, is certain to fall into self- contradiction ; which if clearly pointed out in " a first and second admonition," he will be compelled, if he persist, obstinately to shut his eyes against the light, and thus sin against the dictates of his own conscience. 466 CIRCULAR LETTERS. It has been asked, by persons who disap prove of all church proceedings on account of difference in religious principles, who is to judge what is heresy ? We answer, those who are to judge what is immorality in dealing with loose characters. To suppose it impossible to judge what heresy is, or to deny that the power of so deciding rests in a Christian church, is to charge the apostolic precept with impertinence. It is true the judgment of a church may be erroneous, as well as that of an individual ; and it becomes them in their decisions to consider that they will all be revised at the great day : but the same may be said of all human judgment, civil or judicial, to which no one is so void of reason as on this account to object. It has been farther objected that censur ing a person on- account ofhis religious sen timents invades the right of private judg ment, is inconsistent with the liberty of the gospel, and contrary to the leading princi ples on which protestants have separated from the church of Rome and protestant dissenters from the church of England. The right of private judgment, while we claim no connection with others, is an un doubted right. We may be Christians, in fidels, or atheists, and none but God has any control over us : but if we desire the friend ship and esteem of good men notwithstand ing, or claim admission to a Christian church, or should we be in it already and claim to continue our situation, surely they would not be obliged to comply. If so our right of private judgment must interfere with that of others whose judgment tells them that there can be no fellowship between light and darkness, or communion with him that be lieveth and an infidel. If the liberty of the gospel consist in a right of fellowship with C hristian churches whatever be our princi ples, it will follow not only that unbelievers may claim visible communion with believers, but that no exclusions for immorality can be justified, provided the party insists that his sentiments are in harmony with his practice. There is a great variety of opinion as to what is morality, as well as to what is truth. One loose character believes in polygamy, another in concubinage, and a third can see no harm in fornication, nor even in adul tery, provided it be undiscovered.* If the churches of Rome and England had done nothing more than exclude from their society characters whom they considered as devia ting from the first principles of the gospel, without subjecting them to civil penalties or disabilities, however we might have dispu ted the truth of their doctrine,. we could not have justly objected tb their discipline. And, on the other hand, we should suppose that the separation of protestants from the one, and of protestant dissenters from the other, *Such was tho morality taught by Mr. Hume. was for the sake of enjoying a purer church state, wherein they might act up to the laws of Zion's King ; and not that they might live as though there were no king in Israel, which is the case where every man does that which is right in his own eyes. In CASES NOTORIOUS AND COMPLICATED wickedness it appears that in the primitive churches immediate exclusion was the con sequence. In the case of the incestuous Corinthian, there are no directions given for his being admonished, and excluded only in case of his being incorrigibly impenitent. The apostle determined what should be done — " In the name of the Lord Jesus when ye are gathered together to deliver such a one unto Satan." We cannot but consider it as an error in the discipline of some churches, where persons have been detected of gross and aggravated wickedness, that their exclu sion has been suspended, and in many cases omitted, on the ground of their professed re pentance. While the evil was a secret, it was persisted in, but, when exposed by a public detection, then repentance is brought for ward, as it were, in arrest of judgment. But can that repentance be genuine that is plead ed for the purpose of warding off the censures of a Christian church ? We are persuaded it cannot. The eye of a true penitent will be fixed upon the greatness of his sin, and he will be the last to discern or talk of his re pentance for it. So far from pleading it in order to evade censure, he will censure him self, and desire nothing more than that tes timony may be borne against his conduct for the honor of Christ. But, allowing that repentance in such cases is sincere, still it is not of such ac count as to set aside the necessity of exclu sion. The end to be answered by this meas ure is not merely the good of the party, but the clearing of a christian church from the very appearance of conniving at immorality, and which cannot be accomplished by re pentance only. Though Miriam might be truly sorry for her sin in having spoken against Moses, and though she might be healed of her leprosy ; yet " the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? Let her be shut out from the camp seven days ; and after that let her be received in again." — Numb. xii. 14. We do not suppose, however, that evei-y no torious fault requires immediate exclusion. The general rule given is that notorious EVILS SHOULD MEET WITH A PUBLIC RE BUKE. " Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear." — 1 Tim. v. 20. But this proceeding does not appear to amount to exclusion ; it is rather of the na ture of a censure or reprimand, accompany ing an admonition. To us it appears that the circumstances attending a sin ought to de termine whether it require immediate exclu- DISCIPLINE OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES. 467 sion or not. If these be highly aggravating —if there appear to have been premedita tion, intention, and perseverance in the crime — " put away from amongst yourselves that wicked person : " but, if circumstances extenuate rather than heighten the evil, sol emn admonition, accompanied with rebuke, ought to suffice, and no exclusion to follow but in case of incorrigible impenitence. There are also faults which do not come under the denomination of notorious sins, wherein directions are given for recovering the offenders without any mention being MADE OF EXCLUSION, EITHER IMMEDIATE OR ultimate. There is perhaps in all the churches a description of men whose char acters are far from being uniformly circum spect, and yet not sufficiently irregular to warrant their being separated from com munion. They are disorderly walkers ; busy bodies in other men's matters, while negli gent of their own ; in a word, unamiable characters. Now those that are such we are directed to exhort, and charge that they conduct themselves as becometh Christians. If after this they continue disorderly, ob serve a degree of distance in your conduct towards them ; withdraw your intimacy ; let them feel the frowns of their brethren : yet be not wholly reserved, but occasionally ex plain to them the reasons of your conduct, affectionately admonish them at the same time to repentance and amendment of life. "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye with draw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the 'tradi tion which ye received of us. — For we hear that there are some who walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busy- bodies. Now them that are such we com mand, and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. And, if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed : yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother." — 2 Thes. iii. 6 — 15. If churches were to consult only their own reputation, they would often discard such persons at an early period : but, where there is reason to hope that the heart is right in the main, great forbearance must be exer cised, and long perseverance in endeavor ing to recover. How many imperfections were discovered in the conduct ofthe twelve apostles, while their Lord was with them, and what an example of forbearance has hef left us ! One character reclaimed is of great er account, and more to the honor of a Chris tian church, than many discarded. Finally : A watchful eye upon the state of the church, and of particular members, with a seasonable interposition, may do more towards the preservation of good order than all other things .put together. Discourage whisperings, backbitings, and jealousies. Frown on tale-bearers, and give no ear to their tales. Nip contentions in the bud. Adjust differences in civil matters amongst yourselves. Bring together at an early pe riod those in whom misconception and dis trust have begun to operate, ere ill opinion ripen into settled dislike. By a frank and timely explanation, in the presence of a com mon friend, that may be healed in an hour, which, if permitted to proceed, a series of years cannot eradicate. Be affectionately free with one another. Give tender and faithful hints where it appears to you that one of your brethren is in danger, of being drawn aside from the principles or spirit of the gospel. Let all be given, from their first entering into connection with you, to expect them. If any one take offence at such treat ment, give him to understand that he who cannot endure a caution, or a reproof, is un fit for Christian society, and is in the utmost danger of falling into mischief. Brethren, consider what we say, and the Lord give you understanding in all things ! The free circulation of the blood, and the proper discharge of all the animal functions, are not more necessary to the health of the body, than good discipline is to the prosperi ty of a community. If it were duly considered how much the general interests of religion, and even the salvation of men, may be affected by the purity and harmony of Christian churches, we should tremble at the thought of their being interrupted by us. The planting of a church in a neighborhood, where the gospel is preached, and the ordinances of Christ administered in their purity, is a great bles sing. It is a temple reared for God, in which he deigns to record his name, to meet with his humble worshippers, and to bless them. We have seen churches of this description, in the midst of a career of spiritual prosperi ty, edifying one another in love, and gather ing souls to the Redeemer's standard, all in a little time blasted and ruined by some un happy event that has thrown them into dis order. One of the members, it may be, has acted unworthily — he is reproved — his rela tions or particular acquaintances take on his side — discipline is interrupted— the church is divided into parties — hard things are said on both sides — the bond of love is broken — tender minds are grieved, and retire — wor ship is but thinly attended, and the enjoy ment of it is vanished — God's friends mourn in secret, and his enemies triumph, saying " aha ! aha ! so would we have it ! " O breth ren, it is a serious thing to occasion the ruin of a church of Christ ! " If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy ! " Dearly beloved, farewell. Grace and peace be with you. 468 CIRCULAR LETTERS. 1802. the practical uses of christian bap tism. Dear brethren, In connection with our last general let ter, and agreeably to the appointment made at the yearly meeting, we now address you on a subject, not only of general interest, but which more immediately relates to that solemn profession which you have made of Christianity ; namely, the practical uses OF THE ORDINANCE OF BAPTISM. That Christian baptism is properly ad ministered only by immersion, and to those who make a credible profession of faith in Christ, it is no part of our present design to prove. Addressing you, we shall take each of these particulars for grant ed. The only subject to which we now request your attention is the influence of this ordinance, where it produces its proper effects, in promoting piety in individuals, and purity in the church. There is no part of true religion that is merely speculative : the whole is designed and adapted to sanctify the soul. We may presume, therefore, that if baptism be an or dinance of God, and of perpetual obligation in the church, it is of importance to Chris tian practice. But it is not on presumptive evidence that we wish to rest the improvement of this in stitution, any more than the institution itself; neither shall we go about to connect with it acknowledged duties by imaginary allian ces ; but shall confine ourselves to those uses of the ordinance which are actually made, or suggested, in the New Testament. We could address many things to parents, and things of importance too, on bringing up their children in the nurture and admoni tion of the Lord : we could also urge it up on the children of believers that they were committed to God from their earliest infan cy ; but, as we find nothing of this kind in the Scriptures connected with baptism, how ever important these things would be in their place, they would be altogether irrelevant while treating on this ordinance. Baptism is a divine institution, pertaining to the kingdom of the Messiah, or the gos pel dispensation. John received it fromhea- ven, and administered it to the Jews, who, on his proclaiming that the kingdom qf heaven was at hand, confessed their sins. Jesus gave sanction to it by his example ; and af ter his resurrection, when all power in hea ven and earth was committed to him, he con firmed and extended it to believers of all nations. Whatever circumstantial differ ences there might be, therefore, between the baptism of John and that of Christ, they were substantially the same. There were things in former ages which bore a resem- blance to it ; as the salvation of Noah and his family in the ark, the passage of the Is raelites through the sea, divers washings or bathings prescribed by the Mosaic ritual, &c. ; but the thing itself existed not, till it was revealed to tiie immediate forerunner of Christ. The principal design of it appears to be, A solemn and practical profession of the Christian religion. Such was the baptism of John, who "said unto the people, that they should believe on him who should come after him ; that is, on Christ Jesus." And such was that in the times of the apostles. Paul addressing himself to the churches in Galatia, who, after having professed to believe in Christ, cleaved to the Mosaic law as a medium of justification, thus speaks : " The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith : but, after thatfaith is come, we are no long er under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." The al lusion is to the putting on of apparel, as when one that enters into the service of a prince puts on his distinguishing attire : and the design of the sacred writer is to remind those of them who had before professed the Jewish religion that by a solemn act of their own they had, as it were, put off Moses, and put on Christ. There is a putting on of Christ which is internal, and consists in re linquishing the former lusts, and being of the mind of Christ ; but that which is here referred to appears to be an open profession of his name, to the renouncing of every thing that stood in competition with him. It was therefore true of as many as hadbeen baptized, whether they abode in the truth or not. And even their being " the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ" seems to express what they were in profession, rather than what they were in fact. They had by their baptism disowned all dependence on the privileges of birth, and the adoption which pertained to them as the children of Abraham ; and declared their acquiescence in that power, or privilege, to become the sons of God, which the gospel imparts to them that believe. The mention of this was perfectly in point, as it greatly height ened the evil of their defection. The amount is, That as many as were baptized in the pri mitive ages were voluntary agents, and sub mitted to this ordinance for the purpose of making a solemn and practical profession of the Christian faith. It was their oath of allegiance to the King of Zion ; that by which they avowed the Lord to be their God. Hence a rejection of it involved a rejection of the counsel qf God. The sin of the Pha risees and lawyers consisted, not in their re fusing to submit to baptism as unbelievers ; PRACTICAL USES OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 469 but in not embracing the Messiah, and so putting on the badge of his profession. Their rejection of this sign was justly con strued as a rejection of the thing signified ; as, when a rebel refuses to take the Oath of allegiance, it is construed as a refusal of submission and subjection to his rightful prince. Such, brethren, is the profession we have made. We have not only declared in words our repentance towards God, and faith to wards our Lord Jesus Christ ; but have said the same things by our baptism. We have solemnly surrendered ourselves up to Christ, taking him to be our prophet, priest, and king ; engaging to receive his doctrine, to rely on his atonement, and to obey his laws. The vows of God are upon us. We have even sworn to keep his righteous judgments ; and, without violating the oath of God, we cannot go back. If it be a sin not to confess the Lord Jesus, through fear or shame, it is a still greater sin, after we have confessed him, to turn from the holy commandment. The religion of Jesus consists partly of truths to be believed and partly of precepts to be obeyed ; and the ordinance of baptism furnishes motives for a faithful adherence to both. We have been baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and ofthe Holy Spirit;" and have thus practically avowed our belief in them. It was at Jordan that the Father bore witness to his well-beloved Son, and that the Holy Spirit descended up on him : hither, therefore, in the early ages, men were directed to repair, that they might learn the doctrine of the trinity. If we re linquish this doctrine, we virtually relinquish our baptism. Of this there need not be a more convincing proof than the inclination which has been discovered by those who have renounced the doctrine to disuse the form of baptizing in the name of the Sacred Three. We have also professed by our baptism to embrace that great salvation which is ac complished by the united influence of the Sacred Three. We have in effect declared our acquiescence in the freeness of the Fa ther's grace, in the all-sufficient atonement of the Son, and in the sanctifying influence ofthe Holy Spirit: for these are the princi pal things by which, in the New-testament account of the economy of grace, each is distinguished. Nor can we renounce them, without virtually renouncing our baptism. The immersion of the body in water, which is a purifying element, contains a profession of our faith in Christ, through the shedding of whose blood we are cleansed from all sin. Hence, baptism in the name of Christ is said to be for the remission of sins. Not that there is any such virtue in the element, whatever be the quantity ; nor in the ceremony, though of divine appoint ment: but it contains a sign of the way in which we must be saved. Sin is washed away in baptism in the same sense as Christ's flesh is eaten, and his blood drank, in the Lord's supper : the sign, when rightly used, leads to the thing signified. Remission of sins is ascribed by Peter not properly to baptism, but to the name in which the par ties were to be baptized. Thus also Saul was directed to wash away his sins, call ing on the name of the Lord. Nearly akin to this is the idea conveyed to us in the First Epistle of Peter: "The long-suf fering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls, were saved by water. The like figure whereunto baptism doth now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good con science towards God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." The salvation of Noah and his family by the ark was a figure of our salvation by the death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The ark for a time was sur rounded, as it were, with waters from above, and from beneath : but it survived its trial, and those who were in it were at length brought safe to land. Christ, also, for a time sustained the deluge of wrath due to our sins ; but survived the trial, rising tri umphantly from the dead, and thereby saved us from everlasting death. Of this great transaction baptism is a like figure. It is another sign of the same thing. The re semblance of baptism by immersion to the death and resurrection of Christ, and the suitableness ofthe one to signify our faith in the other, are manifest. It is thus that baptism does now save us : not as putting away the filth of the flesh (for all the virtue contained in the ordinance itself is "the answer of a good conscience toward God,") but as affording a sign of our salvation by the victorious resurrection of our Lord Je sus Christ. And, as we are taught by our baptism to adhere to the doctrine of God our Saviour, so we are furnished with motives to adorn it by a holy conversation. Thus it is intro duced in the epistles to the Romans and Colossians as a sign of our being dead and buried to the principles and pursuits of the present world ; and, by faith in Christ, raised as into a new world. The death of Christ is emphatically mentioned as that into which we are baptized — "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death ? There fore, we are buried with him by baptism into death ; that like as Christ died, and was raised up from the dead by the glory ofthe Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Christ's dying for sin afforded a most powerful motive for our dying to it; and the immersion of the body in baptism, being in the likeness ofthe former, furnishes an additional motive to the latter. 470 CIRCULAR LETTERS. The leading idea suggested by a death and burial seems to be that of separation from the world. There is no greater line of separation than that which is drawn between the dead and the living. " The dead know not any thing ; and have no portion in all that is done under the sun." Such is the line which is drawn by the faith of the ope ration of God between the world renewed and the wotld depraved, of which baptism is the appointed sign, if, after this, we are found among eVil doers, we may well be considered and shunned as a kind of appari tions, wliich have no proper concern in the affairs of mortals. The apostle applied this reasoning against a conformity to abrogated ceremonies. " If ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances." The same reasoning is applicable to other things, If we be dead with Christ, why, as though living, are we subject to the lust ofthe flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, which are ofthe world? Why are any of us conformed to this world ; and not rather transformed by the renewing of our -minds ? If we be dead, and our life be hid with Christ in God, why are not our affections set on things above, and not on things on the earth ? We cannot but express our con cern that persons professing godliness should be carried away by the course of this world, as many are ; meanly imitating the ungodly, whose conduct they ought rather to reprove. Such imitation, so far as it operates, contains a virtual renunciation of our baptism. The ideas of baptism and a separation from the world, whether connected by us or not, are strongly associated in the minds of men in general. After this, we cannot unite with them in evil, without drawing upon our selves their most pointed censures. They may labor to seduce us for the sake of com forting themselves ; and while accomplish ing their purpose may suppress their private thoughts of us, and even compliment us for our liberality ; but, if we comply, their pre tended esteem will be turned into reproach. Nor ought we to consider this as an evil ; but rather as a mercy. God has hereby set a hedge about us, which tends more than a little to preserve us from temptation. If any think otherwise, and feel uneasy that they cannot act like other men, without drawing upon themselves the censures of mankind, it is a dark sign that their hearts are not right in the sight of God. Nor is this ordinance adapted merely to separate between believers and unbelievers individually considered: its design is also to draw a line of distinction between the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan. Whatever may be said of baptism as it is now generally understood and practised, and of the personal religion of those who prac tise it, it was originally appointed to be the* boundary of visible Christianity. This is a principle which, if properly acted upon, would go far to prevent the confounding of the church and the world ; and which, con sequently, tends more than any thing of the kind to counteract ecclesiastical degeneracy and corruption. Had the Christian church in all ages admitted none to baptism, from whomsoever descended, but those who pro fessed to repent and believe the gospel, it is scarcely conceivable that any others would have been admitted to the Lord's supper: and, if so, a stream of corruption which has actually deluged it with anti-christianism would have been diverted at the spring head. The church might, indeed, have been corrupted from other causes, but these would have been merely accidental. Hypo crites and formalists might have imposed themselves upon it, as they did in some de gree in the apostolic age ; but they would have been intruders. Whatever of this kind might have existed, believers could not have been constitutionally yoked together with unbelievers. The carnal descendants of godly people could not have claimed a place in Christ's visible kingdom. The church could not have become national, embracing as its children all who are born in a Chris tianized country, without any profession of personal religion. Princes and nobles, if worthy, would have been received into its communion as brethren ; but not as rulers or patrons: and, if unworthy, refused ; even though an exposure to persecution had been the consequence. But if persons be admit ted to baptism without any profession of personal religion, or upon the profession of others on their behalf, their admission to the Lord's-supper will in most cases follow as a matter of course. Indeed it ought to follow : for, though among evangelical dissenters these things are separated, yet from the be ginning it was not so. Neither Scripture nor the practice of the ancient churches af fords a single example of a baptized person, unless his conduct was grossly immoral, be- * ing ineligible to communion. And, if all who are now baptized be admitted to the supper, the line Qf separation will be broken ; the church will be no longer a garden enclosed, but an open wilderness, where every beast of prey can range at pleasure. Thus, in deed, it was foretold it should be. The writer of the Apocalypse, describing the corruptions which should prevail in the visi ble church during the twelve hundred and sixty- years' reign of Antichrist, represents it under the form of the outer court of the temple being left out of the measurement as profane, and given tq the Gentiles to be trodden underfoot, in like manner as the holy place and holy city had been trodden down by the heathen, in the time of Antiochus. As the principle of believers' baptism, PRACTICAL USES OF CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 471 properly acted upon, would prevent the ad mission of all unconverted characters, ex cept hyprocrites and self-deceivers, so it would have its influence in repelling them. The habits of some hypocritical characters, it is true, would render it an easy thing to overleap this boundary; but it is equally true that to others it would be an effectual bar. There are not a few in the religious world who would like well to be members of a Christian church, especially where the pastor is a man of respectability, provided they could be admitted without drawing upon themselves the laugh ofthe irreligious. There is reason to believe that many per sons of genteel connections, who wish to be thought religious, and whose consciences approve of believers' baptism, are withheld by this kind of shame from offering them selves to our churches. An ordinance which thus operates possesses a mark of its pertaining to that kingdom which is not of this world, and into which it is hard for a rich man to enter. As the leading idea suggested by a death and burial is that of separation from the world, so the principal tiling denoted by a resurrection, is an entrance into a new state of being. Such is that newness of life of which the emersion of the body from the waters of baptism is a sign, and to which it furnishes an important motive. The religion of Jesus does not consist in mere negatives. It is not enough that we be dead to the world: we must be alive to God. With real Christians old things are passed away, and all things are become new. Unless our baptism, therefore, be merely a sign, or an unmeaning ceremony, our hopes, fears, sor rows, joys, companions, principles, and pur suits, are opposite to those of this world. Even a partial return to it is inconsistent with our baptismal vows. If those who pro fess to be dead to the world cannot walk in the course of it without being considered and shunned as a kind of apparitions, those who are alive from the dead cannot return without resembling a living character who should take up his abode in a sepulchre. A few general reflections will conclude this epistle. The baptism of a number of serious Chris tians is an interesting and impressive specta cle ! Often on such solemn occasions have we witnessed the falling tear ; not only from the parties baptized, and others immediately connected with them, but from indifferent spectators. We could appeal to the con sciences of many serious Christians, whether they did not receive their first convictions of the reality of religion at such opportuni ties. We could appeal to all of you who have been in the habit of attending the ad ministration of this ordinance, whether it has not frequently furnished you with the most solemn and tender reflections. Has not the sight of a number of young Chris tians, offering themselves willingly to the Lord, touched the secret springs of holy sensibility ? Yes ; you have been reminded by it of your own solemn engagements, and led to inquire in what manner they have been fulfilled. You have remembered the days of your espousals, when you first went after your Saviour as in the wilderness, and have been sweetly impelled to renew the solemn surrender. Nor have your reflec tions been confined to yourselves ; you have considered these new accessions to the church of God as supplying the place of others that were taken away, and as fulfill ing the promise, " Instead of thy fathers, shall be thy children." When a- number of dear friends and useful characters have, one after another, been removed by death, you have been ready to ask, Who shall fill up their place ; and by whom shall Jacob arise ? But when others of promising gifts and graces have come forward, and yielded up themselves to the Lord in baptism, they have seemed in a manner to be " baptized for the dead." Thus, when the ranks of an army in a besieged city are thinned by repeated en gagements, and the hearts of survivors are ready to faint, a reinforcement arrives : a body of new companions throw themselves in to its relief, and inspire them with new vigor. Further : If the foregoing remarks be just, the importance of believers' baptism must appear in a very different light from that in which some have represented it. If the or dinary acknowledgments of many who live in the neglect of this ordinance, and disap prove of the zeal of others who submit to it, may be considered as expressive of their principles, their conduct is not owing to a solid conviction, arising from impartial in quiry accompanied with prayer, that it is unscriptural, or that they have already been baptized according to the institution of Christ ; but to a notion that it is of little or no account. If it be of little or no account to bind ourselves to the Lord in the way of his own prescribing — to confess his name before men — to avow our being dead to the world, and alive to him — to preserve the church from being constitutionally corrupt ed, and yoked together with unbelievers — to obey his commandments who saith, " Re pent, and be baptized every one of you ; " and to follow his example who yielded obe dience to this institute, saying, " Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness" — then may this excuse be admitted. But, if these things be important, then is believers' baptism important ; and all attempts to de preciate it are offensive in the sight of Him who is the Lord and lawgiver of Zion. Finally, brethren, it becomes us to be ware lest that whicb is good in itself should, through the corruption of our nature, become 472 CIRCULAR LETTERS. an occasion of evil. There is, perhaps, no temptation more common among religious people than to think too highly of themselves on account of their advantages. Where such a spirit is cherished, baptism may be come an idol, and the table of the Lord itself a snare. It is more than possible that some may so value themselves on account of their baptism as to make it a substitute for a life of holiness and universal righteousness. It appears that some among the Corinthians approached too near, at least, to this spirit. They had been baptised .... they had eaten and drank at the table of the Lord .... yet they trifled with idolatry, and worldly lusts. " I would not that ye should be ignorant," said Paul, "how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea ; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud, and in the sea ; and did eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink (for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.) But withmany of them God was not well pleased : for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our ex amples." — " Wherefore let him that think eth he standeth, take heed lest he fall ! " As if he had said, — Are you members of a community which has the promised presence of Christ? Our fathers also were "under the cloud." Has God interposed in your favor ? They " passed through the sea," as on dry land. Have you been baptized ? So were they. They " descended " in a body into the sea ; were " buried," as it were, by the cloud above them and the waters on each hand of them ; and afterwards " ascend ed " on the other side. Have you been ad mitted to the holy supper? They also ate of that food, and drank of that stream, the spiritual intent of which was much the same. Yet all this afforded them no security, when they provoked the divine jealousy. Not withstanding these privileges they fell, and were destroyed of the destroyer. These things are recorded for our admonition. — Of what account then will our baptism be to us, if, instead of being dead to the world and alive to God, we be the reverse ? Will bap tism save us ? No : it will bear witness against us ! And though we may not fall into so fatal an error as to substitute baptism in the place of holiness, righteousness, and godliness ; yet if we cherish a fond conceit of our selves, magnifying our advantages to the neglect of a spirit of humble watchfulness, our baptism, instead of aiding us, will be come a snare. We do not always act up to our advantages. It is very possible that Christians who are behind us, in this particu lar, may notwithstanding be before us in their general character. It were vain and foolish to imagine that our possessing the truth in one instance will secure us from er ror in every other ; or that our fulfilling this command of Christ, however important, will insure a course of universal obedience. Let us never forget that however adapted this or that ordinance, form, or mode of church government, may be to promote our spiritual interests, yet if we rest in the means they will deceive us ; or rather we shall deceive ourselves. It is the presence of Christ only that can keep us alive, either as individuals or as churches. While, there fore, we recommend the means which he has prescribed, we devoutly add, with the apos tle, " The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all ! " Amen. 1806. the pastor's address to his christian hearers, entreating their assist ance in promoting the interest of CHRIST. Beloved brethren, i The ministry to which God by your elec tion has called us, forms a distinguished part of the gospel dispensation. Divine in struction was communicated under the Old Testament, and an order of men appointed of God for the purpose : but their work can scarcely be denominated preaching. They foretold the good news : but it is for us to proclaim it. The poor having the gospel preached to them is alleged in proof that the Messiah was come, and that they were not to look for another. The very existence of Christian churches is in subserviency to the preaching of the gospel; or they would not have been de scribed as " golden candlesticks," the use of which is to impart light to tbose around them. We speak not thus, brethren, to magnify ourselves. There is an important difference between Christian ministers and the Christian ministry. The former, we are ready to acknowledge, exist for your sakes. "Whether Paul, Apollos, or Cephas — all are yours;" but the latter, as being the chosen means of extending the Redeemer's kingdom, is that for which both we and you exist. " Ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." These considerations will enable us to account for the joy which the apostle expres sed in " Christ's being preached," even though it were from " envy ; " and may teach us to rejoice in the same thing, though it be in the most corrupt communities, or even from the most suspicious motives. But, though God may cause his truth to triumph wherever and by whomsoever it is taught, yet it should be our concern to publish it wil lingly, and to the best advantage. The primitive churches were not mere as- CHRISTIANS ENTREATED TO PROMOTE THE CAUSE OF CHRIST. 473 semblies of men who agreed to meet together once or twice a week, and to subscribe for the support of an accomplished man who should on those occasions deliver lectures on reli gion. They were men gathered out of the world by the preaching of the cross, and form ed into society for the promotion of Christ's kingdom in their own souls and in the world a- round them. It was not the concern ofthe min isters or elders only: the body ofthe people were interested in all that was done, and, ac cording to their several abilities and stations, took part in it. Neither were they assemblies of heady, high-minded, contentious people, meeting together to argue on points of doc trine or discipline, and converting the wor ship of God into scenes of strife. They spoke the truth ; but it was in love : they observed discipline ; but, like an army of chosen men, it was that they might attack the kingdom of Satan to greater advantage. Happy were it for our churches if we could come to a closer imitation of this model ! We trust it is our sincere desire as minis ters to be more intent upon our work: but allow us to ask for your assistance. Ne hemiah, zealous as he was, could not have built the wall if the people had not had a mind to work. Nor could Ezra have reformed the abuses among the people if nobody had stood with him. But in this case the elders, when convinced of the necessity of the measure, offered themselves willingly to as sist him. " Arise," said they, " for this mat ter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee : be of good courage and do it." Such is the assistance, brethren, which we solicit at your hands. We might enumerate the different ways in which your assistance in promoting the interest of Christ is needed. We might ask for your prayers, your early attendance, your counsels, your contributions, and your example : but what we have to offer will arise from a review ofthe different branches of our own labors. In the discharge of our work we have to do with four descriptions of people, and in dealing with each we stand in need of your assistance: namely, serious and humble Christians— disorderly walkers— persons un der concern about salvation — and persons manifestly unconverted. First : It may be supposed that in every church of Christ there will be a considera ble proportion of serious and humble Chris tians. — Our work in respect of them is to feed them with the wholesome doctrine of the word, and to teach them the mind of Christ in all things. The assistance which we ask of you, brethren, in this part of our ministry, is, that you would not only pray for us, but be free to impart to us the state of your minds, and whether our labors be edifying to you or not. It is not so much by a systematical statement and defence of Vol. 2.— Sig. 60. Christian doctrines that believers are edified, as by those doctrines being applied to their respective cases. This is the way in which they are ordinarily introduced in the Scrip tures, and in which they become " words in due season." But we cannot well preach to the cases of people unless we know them. Add to this, the interest which you discover in the things of God has a more than ordi nary influence on our minds in the delivery of them. You cannot conceive the differ ence between addressing a people full of tender and affectionate attention, whose souls appear in their eyes, and answer, as it were, to the word of God ; and preaching to those who are either half asleep, or their thoughts manifestly occupied by other things. By looking at the one, our hearts have ex panded like the flowers before the morning sun : thoughts have occurred, and sensations have been kindled, which the labors of the study could never have furnished. But, by observing the other, our spirits are contract ed like the flowers by the damps of the evening, and thoughts which were interest ing when alone have seemed to die as they proceeded from our lips. It will tend not a little to increase your interest in hearing, if you exercise your selves on other occasions in reading and re flection. If you attend to the things of God only, or chiefly, while hearing us, we shall preach to you under great disadvantage. The apostle complained of many tilings be ing hard to be uttered, owing to the He brews being dull of hearing ; and that, when for the time they ought to have been teach ers, they had need that one should teach them again which were the first principles of the oracles of God. Thinking hearers give a facility to preaching, even upon the most difficult subjects ; while those whose minds are seldom occupied at other times can scarcely understand the most easy and familiar truths. Secondly : In every church we must ex pect a greater or less proportion of disorder ly walkers. — Our work, in respect of them, is to warn, admonish, and, if possible, to re claim them ; or, if that cannot be, to sepa rate them, lest the little leaven should leav en the whole lump. But in these cases, more than in many others, we stand in need of your assistance. It is not ministers only, but all "who are spiritual," that the apostle addresses on this subject ; and spiritual char acters may always expect employment in re storing others in the spirit of meekness. It is of great importance to the well-being of a church that men are not wanting who will watch over one another in love, observe and counteract the first symptoms of declension, heal differences at an early period, and nip disturbances in the bud. By such means there will be but few things of a disagreea ble nature, which will require either the cen- 474 CIRCULAR LETTERS. sures of the church or the interference of the pastor. There will be instances, however, in which both the pastor and the church must inter fere ; and here it is of the utmost conse quence that they each preserve a right spirit, and act in concert. There are two errors in particular into which individuals have fre quently fallen in these matters. One is a harsh and unfeeling conduct towards the offender, tending only to provoke his resent ment, or to drive him to despair; the other is that of siding with him, apologizing for him, and carrying it so familiarly towards him in private as to induce him to think others who reprove him his enemies. Be ware, brethren, of both these extremes, which, instead of assisting us in our work, would be doing the utmost to counteract us. We may almost as well abandon discipline as not to act in concert. It was on this prin ciple that the apostle enjoined it on the Co rinthians " not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner ; with such a one, no not to eat." Your assistance is particularly necessary to resist and overcome those unlovely par tialities which are too often found in individ uals towards their relations or favorites. We have seen and heard of disorderly walk ers, whose connections in a church have been so extensive, that, when they should have been censured or admonished, either a strong opposition was raised in their favor, or at least a considerable number have chosen to stand neuter, and so to leave the officers of the church to act in a manner alone. It is glorious to see a people in such cases acting in the spirit of Levi, who " did not acknowledge his brethren, nor know his own children; but observed God's word, and kept his covenant ! " It is often extremely difficult for a 'pastor to go through with such matters without in jury to his character and ministry. He, be ing by his office obliged to take the lead, be comes the principal object of resentment ; and every idle story is raked up by the party and their adherents which may wound his reputation, and impute his conduct to sus picious motives. If, in such circumstances, his brethren stand by him, he will disregard the slander of his enemies ; but, if they be indifferent, it will be death to him. Should such a conduct issue in his removal, it is no more than might be expected. Thirdly : In every church of Christ we may hope to find some persons inquiring after tlie way of salvation. — This may be the case much more at some periods than at others ; but we may presume, from the pro mise of God to be with his servants, that the word of truth shall not be any length of time without effect. Our work in this case is to cherish conviction, and to direct the mind to the gospel remedy. But if, when men are inquiring the way to Zion, there be none but the minister to give them informa tion, things must bedow indeed. It might be expected that there should be as many per sons capable of giving direction on this subject as there are serious Christians ; for who that has obtained mercy by believing in Jesus should be at a loss to recommend him to another ? It is matter of fact, how ever, that though, as in cases of bodily dis ease, advisers are seldom wanting; yet, either for want of being interested in the matter, or sufficiently skilful in the word of righteousness, there are but few, compara tively, whose advice is of any value: and this we apprehend to be one great cause of declension in many churches. Were we writing on ministerial defects, we should not scruple to acknowledg-e that much of the preaching ofthe present day is subject to the same censure ; but in the present in stance we must be allowed to suppose our selves employed in teaching the good and the right way, and to solicit your assistance in the work. When the apostle tells the Hebrews that, considering the time, " they ought to have been teachers," he does not mean that they ought all to have been min isters ; but able to instruct any inquirer in the great principles ofthe gospel. It has been already intimated that, to- give advice to a person under concern about sal vation, it is necessary, in the first place, that we be interested on his behalf, and treat him in a free and affectionate manner. Some members of churches act as if they thought such things did not concern them, and as if their whole duty consisted in sending the party to the minister. A church composed of such characters may be opulent and re spectable ; but they possess nothinginviting or winning to an awakened mind. To cher ish conviction, and give a right direction to such a mind, we must be free and affection ate. When a sinner begins to think of his condition, such questions as the following will often cross his mind : — Was there ever such a case as mine before ? Are there any people in the world who have been what I am, and who are now in the way to eternal life ? If there be, who are they ? Where are they ? But if, while he is thinking what he must do to be saved, he neither sees nor hears any thing among you which renders it probable that such was ever your concern — if, as soon as a sermon is ended, he sees merely an exchange of civilities, and, on leaving the place, observes that all the con gregation immediately fall into conversation about worldly things, what can he think? Either that there is nothing in religion, or, if there be, that he must seek elsewhere for it. The voice of a Christian church to those who attend upon their ministry should be CHRISTIANS ENTREATED TO PROMOTE THE CAUSE OF CHRIST. 475 that of Moses te Hobab : " We are jour neying to the place of which the Lord hath said, I will give it you. Come thou with us, and we will do thee good : for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel." It is of great consequence to the well-be ing of a church, that there be persons in par ticular in it who are accessible to characters of this description, and who would take a pleasure in introducing themselves to them. Barnabas, who, by a tender and affectionate, spirit, was peculiarly fitted for this employ ment, was acquainted with Saul while the other disciples were afraid of him. It was he that introduced him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. Affection, however, is not the only qual ification for this work : it requires that you be skilful in the word of righteousness ; else you will administer false consolation, and may be instrumental in destroying, instead of saving souls. Not that it requires any extraordinary talents to give advice in such cases ; the danger arises principally from in attention and erroneous views ofthe gospel. If, brethren, you would assist us in this de lightful work, allow' us to caution you against one prevailing error, and to recommend one important rule. The error to which we al lude is, Taking it for granted that the PARTY HAS NO DOUBTS AS TO THE GOSPEL WAY OF SALVATION, AND NO UNWILLINGNESS TO BE SAVED BY IT, PROVIDED GoD WERE BUT WILLING TO SAVE HIM. Such are probably his thoughts of himself ; and the only question with him is, whether he have an interest in Christ and spiritual blessings. Hence he is employed in search ing for something in his religious experience which may amount to an evidence of his conversion ; and in talking with you he ex pects you to assist him in the search. But do not take this account of things as being the true one : itis founded in self-deception. If he understood and believed the gospel way of salvation, he would know that God was willing to save any sinner who is wil ling to be saved by it. A willingness to relin quish every false confidence, every claim of preference before the most ungodly char acter, and every ground of hope save that which God has laid in the gospel, is all that is wanting. If he have this,, there is nothing in heaven or earth in the way ofhis salvation. In conversing with such a char acter we should impress this truth upon him, assuring him that if he be straitened it is not of God, but in his own bowels — that the doubts which he entertains of the willing ness of God, especially on account of his sinfulness and unworthiness, are no other than the workings of a self-righteous oppo sition to the gospel (as they imply an opin ion that, if he were less sinful and more worthy, God might be induced to save him) — and that if he be not saved it will be owing to his thus continuing to stumble at the stumbling stone. Instead of allowing that that ho believes the gospel, and is willing to be saved in the gospel way, while yet his very moans betray the contrary, we should labor to persuade him that he does not yet understand the deceit ofhis own heart — that, if he were willing to come to Christ for life, there is no doubt of his being accepted ; in short, that, whenever he is brought to be of this mind, he will not only ask after the good way, but walk in it, and will assuredly find rest unto his soul. The rule we recommend is this : Point THEM DIRECTLY TO THE SAVIOUR. It may be thought that no Christian can misunder stand or misapply this important direction, which is every where taught in the New Testament. Yet, if you steer not clear of the above error you will be unable to keep to it. So long as you admit the obstruction to believing in Christ to consist in something distinct from disaffection to the gospel way of solvation, it will be next to impossible for you to exhort a sinner to it in the language ofthe New Testament For how can you exhort a man to that which you think he de sires with all his heart to comply with, but cannot ? You must feel that such exhorta tions would be tantalizing and insulting him. You may, indeed, conceive of him as igno rant, and as such labor to instruct him ; but your feelings will not suffer you to exhort him to any thing in which he is involuntary. Hence, you will content yourselves with di recting him to wait at the pool of ordinances, and it may be to pray for grace to enable him to repent and believe, encouraging him to hope for a happy issue in God's due time. But this is not pointing the sinner directly to Christ. On the contrary, it is furnishing him with a resting-place short of him, and giving him to imagine that duties performed while in unbelief are pleasing to God. If you point the awakened sinner directly to the Saviour, after the manner of the New Testament, you will not be employed in as sisting him to analyze the distresses of his mind and administering consolation to him from the hope that they may contain some of the ingredients of true conversion, or at least the signs that he will be converted. Neither will you consider distress as ascertaining a happy issue, any otherwise than as it leads to Christ. If the question were, Do I be lieve in Jesus for salvation ? then, indeed, you must inquire what effects have been produced. But it is very different where the inquiry is, What shall we do ? or, What shall I do to be saved ? The murderers of Christ were distressed; but Peter did not attempt to comfort them by alleging that this was a hopeful sign of their conversion, or by 476 CIRCULAR LETTERS. any way directing their attention to what was within them. On the contrary, he exhibited the Saviour, and exhorted them to repent and be baptised in his name. The same may be said of the Philippian jailor. He was in great distress, yet no comfort was ad ministered to him from this quarter, nor any other, except the salvation of Christ. Him Paul and Silas exhibited, and in him directly exhorted him to believe. The promise of rest is not made to the weary and heavy, la den, but to those who come to Christ under their burdens. Once more: If you keep this rule, though you will labor to make the sinner sensible of his sin (as till this is the case he will never come to the Saviour,) yet you will be far from holding up this his sensibility as afford ing any warrant, qualification, or title to be lieve in him, which he did not possess before. The gospel itself is the warrant, and not any thing in the state of the mind ; though, till the mind is made sensible ofthe evil of sin, it will never comply with the gospel. Fourthly : There is in all congregations and neighborhoods a considerable number of people who are living in their sins, and in a state of uncqncernedness about salvation. — Our work in respect of them is, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, to declare unto them their true character, to exhibit the Saviour as the only refuge, and to warn them to flee to him from the wrath to come. In this also there are various ways in which you may greatly assist us. If, as heads of families, you were to inquire of your children and servants what they have heard and noticed on the Lord's-day, you would often find occasion to second the im pressions made by our labors. It is also of great consequence to be endued with that wisdom from above which dictates a word in season to men in our ordinary concerns with them. Far be itjfrom us to recommend the fulsome practice of some professors, who are so full of what they call religion as to in troduce it on all occasions, and that in a most offensive manner. Yet there is a way of dropping a hint to a good purpose. It is admirable to observe the easy and inof fensive manner in which a patriarch intro duced some of the most important truths to a heathen prince, merely in answer to the question, How old art thou ? "The days of the years of my pilgrimage," said he, " are a hundred and thirty years ; few ajtd evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years ofthe life of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimage." This was insinuating to Pha raoh that he and his fathers before him were strangers and pilgrims upon the earth — that their portion was not in this world, but in another — that the life of man, though it ex tended to a hundred and thirty years, was but a few days— and that those few days were mixed with evil — all which, if the king reflected on it, would teach him to set light by the earthly glory with which he was loaded, and to seek a crown which fadeth not away. You are acquainted with many who do not attend the preaching of the word. If, by inviting them to go with you, an individu al only should be caught, as we say, in the gospel net, you would save a soul from death. Such examples have frequently occurred. It is an established law in the divine admin istration that men, both in good and evil, should in a very great degree draw and be drawn by each other. The ordinary way in which the knowledge of God is spread in the world is, by every man saying to his neigh bor and to his brother, Know the Lord. It is a character of gospel times, that " Many people shall go and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain ofthe Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word ofthe Lord from Jerusalem." Add to this, by visiting your neighbors under afflic tion you would be furnished with many an opportunity of conversing with them to ad vantage. Men's consciences are commonly awake at such seasons, whatever they have been at others. It is as the month to the wild ass, in which they that seek her may find her. Finally : Enable us to use strong language when recommending the gospel by its holy and happy effects. — Unbelievers constantly object to the doctrine of grace as licentious; and, if they can refer to your unworthy con duct, they will be confirmed, and we shall find it impossible to vindicate the truth of God without disowning such conduct, and it may be you on account of it: but if we can appeal to the upright, the temperate, the peaceable, the benevolent, the holy lives of those among whom we labor, it will be of more weight than a volume of reasonings, and have a greater influence on the con sciences of men. A congregation composed of kind and generous masters, diligent and faithful servants, affectionate husbands, obe dient wives, tender parents, dutiful children, and loyal subjects, will be to a minister what children of the youth are said to be to a pa rent : As arrows in the hand of a mighty man : — " Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them : they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." These, brethren, are some ofthe principal ways in which we affectionately solicit your assistance in promoting the interest of Christ. In doing this, we virtually pledge ourselves to be ready on all occasions to engage in it. We feel the weight of this implication. Let each have the other's prayer, that we may both be assisted from above, without which all the assistance we can render each other will be unavailing. MORAL AND POSITIVE OBEDIENCE. 477 Shonld this address fall into the hands of one who is yet in his sins, let him consider that the object of it is his salvation ; let him reflect on the case of a man whom many are endeavoring to save, but he himself, with hardened unconcern, is pressing forward to destruction ; and finally, should he bethink himself, and desire to escape the wrath to come, let him beware of false refuges, and flee to Jesus, the hope set before him in the gospel. 1807. ON MORAL AND POSITIVE OBEDIENCE. Dear brethren, In addressing these our annual letters to you, it is our desire to lead you on in the di vine life, that, not contented with a superfi cial acquaintance with religion, you may clearly understand its most discriminating principles. The winds of doctrine which abound, by which many, like children, are tossed to and fro and carried away, require that you grow up into Him in all things who is the head, even Christ. Concerning the subject of our present ad dress, namely, moral and positive obedience, suffice it to say, we think we perceive some serious evils growing up in certain parts of the Christian world for want of distinct ideas concerning it, and wish to arm your minds against them. All we shall attempt will be to give a clear statement of the distinc tion, and to point out the use of it in the Christian religion. An unreserved obedience to the revealed will of God, in whatever form it is delivered, is the scriptural test of faith and love. You have professed to believe in Christ for salva tion, and have been baptized in his name ; but this is not all; the same commission which requires this directs also that the dis ciples should be instructed in the whole mind of Christ: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." As the commandments of Christ, however, are not all of the same kind, so neither is our obedience required to be yielded in all re spects on the same principles. The distinction of obedience into moral and positive is far from being novel. It has been made by the ablest writers, of various denominations, and must be made if we would understand the Scriptures. Without it, we should confound the eternal standard of right and wrong given to Israel at Sinai (the sum of which is love to God and our neighbor) with the body of "carnal ordinan ces imposed on them until the time of refor mation." We should also confound those precepts and examples of the New Testa ment which arise from the relations we stand in to God and to one another with positive institutions which arise merely from the sovereign will of the Lawgiver, and could never have been known had he not expressly enjoined them. Concerning the former, an inspired writer does not scruple to refer the primitive Christians to that sense of right and wrong which is implanted in the minds of men in general ; saying, " Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." But, con cerning the latter, he directs their whole at tention to Christ, and to those who acted under his authority. "Be ye followers of me as I also am of Christ." — •" Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I deliver ed them to you." The one is commanded because it is right ; the other is right be cause it is commanded. The great princi ples ofthe former are of perpetual obligation, and know no other variety than that which arises from the varying of relations and con ditions ; but those ofthe latter may be bind ing at one period of time, and utterly abol ished at another. We can clearly perceive that it were in consistent with the perfections of God not to have required us to love him and one another, or to have allowed of the contrary. Children also must needs be required to " obey their parents ; for this'is right." But it is not thus in positive institution's. What ever wisdom there may be in them, and whatever discernment in us, we could not have known them had they not been express ly revealed ; nor are they ever enforced as being right in themselves, but merely as heing of divine appointment. Of them we may say, Had it pleased God, he might in various instances have enjoined the op posites : but of the other we are not allowed to suppose it possible, or consistent with righteousness, to require any thing different from that which is required. The design of moral obligation is to pre serve order in the creation ; that of positive institutions, among other things, to prove us, whether, like Abraham in offering up his son, we will yield implicit obedience to God's commandments, or whether we will hesitate till we perceive the reason of them. The obligation of man to love and obey his Creator waSfeoeval with his existence : but it was not tnl God had planted a garden in Eden, and there put the man whom he had formed, and expressly prohibited the fruit of one of the trees on pain of death, that he came under a positive law. The former would approve itself to his conscience as according with the nature of things : the latter as being commanded by his Creator. Having briefly stated our views of the subject, we proceed to point out the uses to 478 CIRCULAR LETTERS. which it is applicable in the exercise of universal method, to furnish us with minute Christian obedience. precepts, but rather with general principles Far be it from us to amuse the churches which will naturally lead us to the practice we represent with useless distinctions, or of them. We have no account of any par- speculations which apply not to the great ticular injunction given to Abraham respect- purposes of practical godliness. If we ing the order of his family. - Godhadsaidto mistake not, brethren, a clear view of the him in general, " Walk before me, and be subject, as stated above, will furnish you thou perfect ; " and this was sufficient. "I with much important instruction. know Abraham, said the Lord, that he will We need only remind you of the use of command his children, and his household this distinction in reducing to a narrow after him, that they shall keep the way of compass the baptismal controversy. Your the Lord, and do justice and judgment." ablest writers have shown from hence the And with respect to " the sanctification of fallacy of all reasonings in favor of infant the Lord's-day," so far as it relates to its baptism from the Abrahamic covenant, from being the day appointed for Christian wor- circumcision, or from any ground of mere ship, rather than the seventh — that is to say, analogy : and not your writers only ; for the principle is conceded by a considerable number of our most learned opponents.* In instituted worship, we have only to un derstand the will of our divine Lawgiver in relation to the subject in question, and to obey it. But this is not the sole, nor perhaps the principal use to be made of the distinction. We are not only taught by it to look for ex press precept or example, in things positive, but not to look for them in things moral. so far as it is positive — though we have no express precept for it, yet there are not wanting precedents, which amount to the same thing. As to the keeping of the day " holy to the Lord," this is moral, and not positive, and is therefore left to be inferred from general principles. If God be publicly worshipped, there must be a time for it; and that time requires to be devoted to him. Whatever was moral in the setting apart of the seventh day for divine worship (and that something was so may be presumed from In obedience of the latter description there its being one of the ten commandments) is not that need of minute rules or exam- applies to any day that shall be appointed pies as in the former ; but merely of gener- for the like purpose. Positive institutions al principles, which naturally lead to all the have all something moral pertaining to them, particulars comprehended in them. To as it respects the holy manner in which they require express precept or example, or to are to be observed. It was on this principle adhere in all cases to the literal sense of that Paul censured as immoral the manner those precepts which are given us, in things in which the Corinthians attended to a posi- of a moral nature, would lead to very inju- tive institute. His reasoning on that sub- rious consequences. We may, by a disre- ject applies to the Lord's day. He argued gard of that for which there is no express from the ordinance of breaking bread being precept or precedent, omit what is manifest- the Lord's supper that eating their own sup- ly right ; and, by an adherence to the letter per while attending to it was rendering it of scriptural precepts, overlook the spirit of null and void. And, by*a parity of reasoning, them, and do that which is manifestly wrong, it follows, from the first day of the week, If we do nothing without express precept heing the Lord's iay,thatto do our own work, or precedent, we must build no places for find our own pleasure, or speak our own Christian worship, form no societies for visit- words on that day, is to render it null and ing and relieving the afflicted poor, establish no schools, endow no hospitals, nor contri bute any thing towards them, nor any thing towards printing or circulating the Holy Scriptures. Whether any person pretend ing to serious religion would deny these things to be the duty of Christians, we can not tell ; some, however, on no better ground, have thought themselves at liberty to lay aside family worship, andttlie sanctifi cation of the Lord's-day. TheW is no ex press precept or precedent for either, that void. Of the former the apostle declared, "This is not to eat the Lord's sup per;" and of the latter he would, on the same principle, have declared, This is not to keep the Lord's day. After all, it is surprising if any who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity can feel this to be a bur den. " Why, even of your ownselves, judge ye not what is right ? " If, on the other hand, we do every thing according to the letter of moral precepts, we shall often overlook the true intent of we recollect, in the New Testament. But them, and do that which is manifestly wrong. the worship of God, being of moral obliga- Our Lord's precepts, in his sermon on the tion, extends to the various relations and mount, if so understood, would contain a situations in life. In duties of this descrip- prohibition of all public prayers, and public tion, it is not God's usual, at least not his contributions, and require such an acqui- „„..„,,.. „ . , „ , escence in injuries as he himself, when See Booth's Pmdobaptism Examined, Vol. smitten beforeJ pilate) did nQt ex^mpliiy.. The right hand, in certain cases, must be L Chap. K- MORAL AND POSITIVE OBEDIENCE. 479 cut off, and the right eye plucked out. If God prosper our lawful undertakings, we must not only avoid all increase of property, but must retain no part of what we have. No beggar nor borrower that asks assistance, whether he need it or not, must, on any con sideration, be refused. We believe self-love will be a sufficient preservative against such expositions being reduced to practice : but, if the principle be retained, it will be at work in some other form, diverting the attention from weightier matters, and reducing religion to ceremony and litigious trifling. It was not our Lord's design, in these precepts, to regulate external actions so much as motives. Many of his precepts, it is true, mention the act, and the act only; but their aim is at the principle. It was the spirit of ostentation in prayer and almsgiving, oi selfish resentment in cases of injury, and of the love ofthe world in cases of accumulating and retaining property, that he meant to censure. Neither is it by attending to a ceremony which the country and climate ordinarily render unnecessary, that we comply with our Lord's precept, " Ye ought to wash one another's feet ; " but " by love serving one another." We may wash the saints' feet, and neglect to dry their clothes, or admin ister necessary comfort to them when cold and weary. We may give a disciple a cup of cold water, and keep back what is more valuable for our own use. If we be taught of God to love one another, we shall find little difficulty in understanding and prac tising these precepts. By confounding moral and positive obe dience, some have reasoned thus : " You agree to take your children to family and public worship, teach them to read the Bi ble with seriousness and attention, instruct them in catechisms, &c, and why do you not take them to the Lord's supper?" We answer, The former are moral obligations ; but the latter is not. These are binding on all mankind, and therefore ought to be incul cated from the earliest dawn of knowledge, even though we had never been told to "bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord;" but this is the immediate duty of believers only. Others, on the same principle, have argued thus, or to this effect: "You withhold the uncon verted from joining at the Lord's table, and and why not also from jqining in family and public prayer?" Our answer is the same. The Lord's supper is the immediate duty of believers only; but prayer is binding on men in general, however far they may be from performing it in an acceptable manner. To join with unbelievers in what is not their immediate duty is to become partakers of their sin ; but to allow them to join with us in what is the duty of every one is not so. We ought to pray for such things as both we and they stand in need of, and if they unite with us in desire it is well for them ; if not, the guilt remains with themselves, and not with us. If we be not greatly mistaken, many dis putes which have divided Christians on the form, order, and government of the church of Christ, might at least have been considera bly diminished by a proper attention to this ' subject. While one party contends for an Erastian latitude, or that no divine directions are left us on these subjects, and that the church must be modelled and governed ac cording to circumstances, the other seems to have considered the whole as a system of positive institutions, requiring in all things the most literal and punctilious observance. The truth lies, we apprehend, between these extremes ; and the way to find itis to ascer tain on what principles the apostles proceed ed in forming and organizing Christian churches, positive or moral. If the for mer, they must have been furnished with an exact model, or pattern, like that which was given to Moses in the mount, and have done all things according to it: but, if the latter, they would only be furnished with general principles, comprehending, but not specify ing, a great variety of particulars. That the framing of the tabernacle was positive there can be no doubt ; and that a part ofthe religion of the New Testament is so is equally evident. Concerning this, the injunctions ofthe apostle are minute and very express. " Be ye followers (imitators) of me, as I also am of Christ." — " In this I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances as I delivered them to you." — " For I have re ceived ofthe Lord that which also I deliver ed unto you." But were we to attempt to draw up a formula of church government, worship, and discipline, which should include any thing more than general outlines, and to establish it upon express New-testament authorities, we should attempt what is im practicable. We doubt not but the apostles acted un der divine direction ; but in things of a mor al nature that direction consisted, not in pro viding them with a model, or pattern, in the manner of that given to Moses, but in fur nishing them with general principles, and enduing them with holy wisdom to apply them as occasions required. We learn from the Acts and the epistles that the first churches were congregations of faithful men, voluntarily united together for tho stated ministration of the word, the administration of Christian ordinances, and the mutually assisting each other in promo ting the cause of Christ ; that they were governed by bishops and deacons; that a bishop was an overseer, not of other minis ters, but ofthe flock of God ; that the irov- 480 CIRCULAR LETTERS. ernment and discipline of each church was within itself; that the gifts of the different members were so employed as to conduce to the welfare ofthe body; and that, in cases of disorder, all proper means were used to vindicate the honor of Christ, and reclaim the party. These, and others which might be named, we call general principles. They are some times illustrated by the incidental occur rence of examples, and which, in all similar cases, are binding : but it is not always so. That a variety of cases occur in our times, in which we have nothing more than general principles to direct us, is manifest to every person of experience and reflection. We know that churches were formed, elders or dained, and prayer and praise conducted with " the understanding," or so as to be understood by others ; but in what particu lar manner they proceeded in each we are not told. We have no accountof the forma tion of a single church, no ordination ser vice, nor any such thing as a formula of wor ship. If we look for express precept or example for the removal of a pastor from one situation to another, we shall find none. We are taught, however, that for the church to grow unto a holy temple in the Lord it requires to be "fitly framed together." The want of "fitness" in a connection, therefore, especially if it impede the growth of the spiritual temple, may justify a removal. Or, if there be no want of fitness, yet, if the material be adapted to occupy a more im portant station, a removal of it may be very proper. Such a principle may be misap plied to ambitious and interested purposes ; but, if the increase of the temple be kept in view, it is lawful, and in some cases attend ed with great and good effects. This instance may suffice instead of a hun dred, and goes to show that the forms and orders ofthe New-testament church, much more than of the Old, are founded on the reason of things. They appear to be no more than what men who were possessed of the wisdom from above would, as it were in stinctively, adopt, -even though no specific directions should be given. But, to place the matter beyond all doubt, let us refer to the professions and practices of the apostles themselves. The principles on which they professed to act, and which they inculcated on others, were these : "Let all things be done to edifying." — "Let all things' be done decently, and' in order." Whatever measures had a tendency to build up the church of God and individuals in their most holy faith, these they pursued. Whatever measures approved themselves to minds endued with holy wisdom as fit and lovely, and as tending, like good discipline in an army, to the enlargement of Christ's king dom, these they followed, and inculcated on the churches. And however worldly minds may have abused the principle, by introdu cing vain customs under the pretence of de cency, it is that which, understood in its sim ple and original sense, must still be the test of good order and Christian discipline. The way in which the apostles actually proceeded in the forming and organizing of churches corresponds with this statement of things. When a number of Christians were assembled together in the days of Pentecost, they were considered as a Christian church. But at first they had no deacons, and proba bly no pastors, except the apostles. And, if the reason of things had not required it, they might have continued to have none. But in the course of things new service rose upon their hands, therefore they must have new servants to perform it ; for, said the aposties, " It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full ofthe Holy Ghost, and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." In this process we perbeive nothing of the air of a ceremony, nothing like that of punctilious attention to forms, which marks obedience to a positive insti tute ; but merely the conduct of men endued with the wisdom from above ; servants ap pointed when service required it, and the number ofthe one regulated by the quantity of the other. All things are done " decent ly and in order ; " all things are done , " to edifying." It is not difficult to perceive the wisdom of God in thus varying the two|dispensations. The Jewish church was an army of soldiers who had to go through a variety of forms in learning their discipline: the Christian church is an army going forth to battle. The members of the former were taught punctilious obedience, and led with great formality through a variety of religious evo lutions : but those ofthe latter (though they also must keep their ranks, and act in obe dience to command whenever it is given) are not required to be so attentive to the mechanical as to the mental, not so much to the minute observance of forms as to the spirit and design of them. The order of the one would almost seem to have been ap pointed for order's sake : but in that of the other the utility of every thing is apparent. The obedience of the former was that of children ; the latter that of sons arrived at maturer age. As our Saviour abolished the Jewish law of divorce, and reduced marriage to its orig inal simplicity ; so, having abolished the form and order of the church as appointed by Moses, he reduced it to what, as to its first principles, it was from the beginning, and to what must have corresponded with the desires of believers in every age. It was natural for " the sons of God," in the days of Seth, to assemble together, and to MORAL AND POSITIVE OBEDIENCE. 481 call upon the name ofthe Lord;" and five institutions, neither express precept nor their unnatural fellowship with unbelievers precedent is necessary in what respects the Drought on the deluge. And, even under holy manner of performing them, nor binding the Jewish dispensation, wicked men, though in regard of mere accidental circumstances, descended from Abraham, were not consid- which do not properly belong to them. It re- ered as Israelites indeed, or true citizens of quired neither express precept nor precedent Zion. Ihe friends of God were then "the to make it the duty ofthe Corinthians, when companions of those that feared him." They they met to celebrate the Lord's supper, to "spoke often one to another," and assem- do it soberly and in the fear of God, nor to bled for mutual edification. What then is render the contrary a sin. There are also gospel church-fellowship, but godliness ram ified, or the principle of holy love reduced to action ? There is scarcely a precept on the subject of church discipline, but what may, in substance, be found in the Proverbs of Solomon. Nor does it follow that all forms of wor circumstances which may on some occasions accompany a positive institution, and not on others ; and which, being therefore no part of it, are not binding. It is a fact that the Lord's supper was first celebrated with " un leavened bread ; " for no leaven was found at the time in all the Jewish habitations : ship and church-government are indifferent, but no mention being made of it, either in and left to be accommodated to times, places, the institution or in the repetition of it by and circumstances. The principles, or gen- the apostle, we conclude it was a mere ac- eral outlines of things, are marked out, and cidental circumstance, no more belonging we are not at liberty to deviate from them ; to the ordinance than its having been in " a nor are they to be filled up by worldly policy, large upper room." It is a fact, too, that but by a pure desire of carrying them into our Lord and his disciples sat in a reclining effect according to their true intent. posture at the supper, after the manner of It does follow, however, that Scripture sitting at their ordinary meals : yet none precedent, important as it is, is not binding on Christians in things of a moral nature, unless the reason of the thing be the same in the case to be proved as in the case ad duced. The first Christians met in an " upper imagine this to be binding upon us. It is also a fact, with regard to the time, that our Saviour first sat down with his disciples on the evening ofthe "fifth day" ofthe week, " the night in which he was betrayed : " but room;" for they had no proper places of though that was a memorable night, and worship. But it does not follow that we who have more convenient houses should do so. The first Christians were exhorted to " salute one another with a holy kiss." The reason was, it was the custom in the east for men in general in this manner to express their affection ; and all that the apostle did was to direct that this common mode of af fectionate salutation should be used in a re ligious way. In places where it is a com mon practice, it may still be used to express the strength of Christian affection : but, in a country where the practice is nearly con fined to the expression of affection between the sexes, it is certainly much more liable to misconstruction and abuse. And as it was never a divine institution, but merely a hu man custom applied to a religious use, where worthy to be noticed as a circumstance tend ing to show the strength of his love, yet seeing the words of the institution decide not how often it shall be attended to, and no mention is made of its being afterwards a rule, but, on the contrary, of the church at Troas meeting for the purpose on another day, no one imagines it to be a rule of con duct to us. The same might be said oi females being admitted to communion, a subject on which a great deal has been written of late years in the baptismal controversy. Whether there be express precept or precedent for it, or not is no consequence; for the distinction of sex is a mere circumstance, in nowise af fecting the qualifications required, and there fore not belonging to the institution. It is this custom has ceased, though the spirit of of just as much account as whether a be- the precept remains, yet the form of it may liever be a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a lawfully be dispensed with, and Christian free man ; that is, it is of no account at affection expressed in the ordinary modes of all. — "For there is neither Jew nor Greek, salutation. bond nor free, male nor female ; but all are Again : The Corinthian men were forbid- one in Christ Jesus." Express precept or den to pray or prophesy with their heads precedent might as well be demanded for covered. The reason was, the head being the parties being tall or low, black or white, uncovered was then the sign of authority, sickly or healthy, as for their being male or and its being covered of subjection. But in female. If the difference between a pro- our age and country each is a sign of the fessed believer and an unconscious infant, contrary. If, therefore, we be obliged to with respect to baptism, were no greater wear any sign of the one or the other, in our than this is with respect to the supper, we religious assemblies, it requires to be re- would allow it to be lawful to baptize the versed. latter, though neither express precept nor It also follows that, in attending to posi- precedent be found for the practice. Vol. 2.— Sig. 61. 482 CIRCULAR LETTERS. It follows, lastly, that many disputes on which Christians have divided and crumbled into parties might well have been spared, and that without any disadvantage to the cause of pure religion. Whatever necessi ty there may be for withdrawing from those who walk disorderly, we have no warrant to consider those things as the standard of or der, and to censure our brethren for deviat ing from them, which belong not to the laws of Christ, but either to a mere difference of opinion respecting then application, or to some accidental circumstance which may or may not attend them. Finally, brethren, while you guard against the extremes of certain disciplinarians on the one hand, avoid those of anti-disciplina rians on the other. Allow us to repeat, what was observed at the beginning, that an unreserved obedience to the revealed will of God, in whatever form it is delivered, is the scriptural test of faith and love. "Prove what that good, perfect, and acceptable will of the Lord is." " Do all things without murmurings and disputings." Remember that " the wisdom which is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." Dearly beloved, farewell. The God of love and peace be with you. 1810. the promise of the spirit the grand encouragement in promoting the GOSPEL. Dear brethren, In our last public letter, we addressed you on the work of the Holy Spirit : in this we would direct your attention to the promise of the Spirit as the grand encour agement in promoting the spread of the gospel. We take for granted that the spread of the gospel is the great object of your desire. Without this it will be hard to prove that you are Christian churches. An agreement in a few favorite opinions, or on one side of a disputed subject, or even a disagreement with others, will often induce men to form themselves into religious societies, and to expend much zeal and much property in ac complishing their objects: but this is not Christianity. We may be of what is called a sect, but we must not be of a sectarian spirit, seeking only the promotion of a party. The true churches of Jesus Christ travail in birth for the salvation of men. They are the armies of the Lamb, the grand object of whose existence is to extend the Redeem er's kingdom. About eighteen years ago God put into the hearts of a number of your ministers and members to do something for his name among the heathen ; the effect of which has been to give an impulse to those labors for the attainment of the same object in our several stations at home. The success which has followed is sufficient to induce us to press forward in the work, and to search after every direction and every considera tion that may aid our progress. The influence- of the Holy Spirit is by some disowned, by others abused ; and even those who are the subjects of it, from vari ous causes, enjoy much less of it than might be expected. Those who disown it apply all that is said in the Scriptures on the subject to the com munication of miraculous and extraordinary gifts, as though the Lord had long since for saken the earth, and men were now to be con verted by the mere influence of moral suasion. It is on this principle that writers, according to the leaning which they have felt towards the opinions of this or that political party, have represented the work of converting the heathen as either extremely easy or abso lutely impossible. It is not for us to ac quiesce in either ; but, while we despair of success from mere human efforts, to trust in Him who, when sending forth his servants to teach all nations, promised to be with them " to the end of the world." There are those, on the other hand, who abuse the doctrine, by converting it into an argument for sloth and avarice. God can convert sinners, say they, when he pleases, and without any exertions or contributions of ours. — Yes, he can ; and probably he will. Deliverance will arise from other quarter's, and they who continue in this sphit will be destroyed ! Even those in whom the spirit of God is, enjoy much less qf it than might be expected ; and this principally for want of the things which were stated in our letter of last year; namely, setting a proper value upon it, seek ing it with fervent prayer, placing an entire dependence upon it, and maintaining a de portment suitable to it. In proving, there fore, that the promise ofthe Holy Spirit is the grand encouragement in promoting "the spread of the gospel, we have not merely to oppose the adversaries of the doctrine, but to instruct and impress the minds of its friends. With these ends in view, let us recommend to your consideration the fol lowing remarks. First : The success of God's cause under the Old Testament was considered by be lievers in those days as depending entirely upon God. — God had a cause in the world from the earliest ages, and this it was which interested the hearts of his servants. It was for the setting up of his. spiritual king dom in the world that he blessed the seed of Abraham, and formed them into a people. This was the work that he carried on from PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT. 483 generation to generation among them. When, therefore, sentence was passed on the people who came up out of Egypt, that they should die in the wilderness, Moses, who seems on that occasion to have written the 90th Psalm, was deeply concerned, lest, in addition to temporal judgments, the Lord should withdraw from them his Holy Spirit. " Let thy work," said he, " appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children ; and let the beauty of Jehovah our God be upon us ; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us : the work of our hands es tablish thou it." It is worthy of notice that this prayer was answered. Though the first generation fell in the wilderness, yet the la bors of Moses and his companions were blessed to the second. These were the most devoted to God of any generation that , Israel ever saw. It was of them that the Lord said, " I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilder ness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness- unto the Lord, and the first- fruits of his increase." It was then that Balaam could not curse, but, though desir ous of the wages of unrighteousness, was compelled to forego them, and his curse was turned into a blessing. We are taught by this case, amidst temporal calamities and judgments, in which our earthly hopes may be in a manner extinguished, to seek to have the loss repaired by spiritual blessings. If God's work does but appear to us, and our posterity after us, we need not be dismayed at the evils which afflict the earth. Similar remarks might be made on the state of the church at the captivity. When the temple was burnt, and the people redu ced to slavery in a foreign land, it must seem as if the cause of God in the world would go to ruin. Hence the prayer of Habakkuk, " O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid. O Lord, revive, (or preserve alive) thy work in the midst of the years : in the midst of the years make known ; in wrath remember mercy." This prayer also was answered. The work of God did not suffer, but was promoted by the captivity. The church was purified, and the world, behold ing the divine interposition,' acknowledged, "The Lord hath done great things for them." After the return of the captives, they went about to rebuild the temple ; but they had many adversaries, and no military force to protect them. On this occasion the prophet Zechariah (who with Haggai stood to strengthen the builders) had a vision. He saw and behold " a candlestick, all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it ; and his seven lamps thereon ; and seven pipes to the seven lamps ; and two olive trees on each side of the bowl, which, through the golden pipes emptied the golden oil out of themselves." On inquiry of the angel what these meant, he was answered, " This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." As if he had said, This vision contains a message of encourage ment to Zerubbabel, the purport of which is, Not by army or by power, &c. For, like as the candlestick is supplied without the hand of man, so God will prosper his cause, not by worldly power or armies, but by his gracious influence and superintending pro vidence. Here, also, a lesson is taught us, not to waitfor legal protection, or even tole ration, before we endeavor to introduce the gospel into a country ; but to engage in the work, trusting in God, not only to succeed our labors, but, while acting on Christian- principles, either to give us favor in the eyes of those with whom we have to do, or strength to endure the contrary. Further : The success of the gospel in the times of the apostles is ascribed to the in fluence of the Holy Spirit, as its first or primary cause. That the truth of the doc trine, and even the manner in which it was delivered, contributed as second causes to its success, is allowed. Such appears to be the meaning of Acts xiv. 1. " They so spake that a. great multitude believed." But, if we look to either of these as the first cause, we shall be unable to account for the little success of our Lord's preaching when com pared with that of his aposties. He spoke as never man spoke ; yet compared with them he labored in vain, and spent his strength for nought and in vain. It is the Holy Spirit to which the difference is as cribed. They did greater works than he, because, as he said, " I go to the Father." In promising to " be with his disciples to the end of the world," he could refer to no- other than his spiritual presence ; to this,, therefore, he taught them to look for encou ragement. To this cause the success of the apostle is uniformly ascribed. " The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed, and turned to the Lord- — God always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his know ledge by us in every place. — The Lord open ed the heart of Lydia, and she attended un to the things which were spoken of Paul. — The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." The great success which prophecy gives us to expect in the latter days is ascribed to the same cause. Upon the land of my peo ple shall be thorns and briers—" until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high." Then the wilderness would be a fruitful field, and that which had been hitherto considered as a fruitful field would be counted a forest. If the success of the gospel were owing to the pliability of the people* or to any pre- 484 CIRCULAR LETTERS. paredness, natural or acquired, for receiving it, we might have expected it to prevail most in those places which were the most distin guished by their morality, and most cultiva ted in their minds and manners. But the fact was that in Corinth, a sink of debauch ery, God had "much people ;" whereas in Athens, the seat of polite literature, there were only a few individuals who embraced the truth. Nor was this the greatest display of the freeness of the Spirit : Jerusalem, which had not only withstood the preaching and miracles of the Lord, but had actually put him to death — Jerusalem bows at the pouring out of his Spirit ; and not merely the common people, but "a great compa ny of the priests, were obedient to the faith." To the above maybe added, the experience of those whose ministry has been most blessed to the turning of sinners to God. — Men of light and speculative minds, whose preaching produces scarcely any fruit, will go about to account for the renewal of the mind by the established laws of nature : but they who see most of this change among their hearers, see most of God in it, and have been always ready to subscribe to the truth of our Lord's words to Peter, " Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." To this brief statement of the evidence of the doctrine, we shall only add a few re marks to enforce " the prayer of faith " in your endeavors to propagate the gospel both at home and abroad. — This, is the natur al consequence of the doctrine. If all our help be in God, to him it becomes us to look for success. It was from a prayer-meeting, held in an upper room, that the first Chris tians descended, and commenced that nota ble attack on Satan's kingdom in which three thousand fell before them. When Peter was imprisoned, prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. When liberated by the angel, in the dead of night, he found his brethren en gaged in this exercise. It was in prayer that the late undertakings for spreading the gospel among the heathen originated. We have seen success enough attend them to encourage us to go forward ; and probably if we had been more sensible of our depen dence on the Holy Spirit, andmore importu nate in pur prayers, we should have seen much more. The prayer of faith falls not to the ground. If " we have not," it is " be cause we ask not ; " or, if" we ask and re ceive not," it is "because we ask amiss." Joash smote thrice upon the ground and stayed, by which he cut short his victories. Something analogous to this may be the cause of our having no more success than we have. Consider, brethren, the dispensation under which we live. — We are under the kingdom of the Messiah, fitly called " the ministration of the Spirit," because the richest effusions ofthe Holy Spirit are reserved for his reign, and great accessions to the church from among the Gentiles ordained to grace his triumphs. It was fit that the death of Christ should be followed by the out-pouring of the Spirit, that it might appear to be what it was, its proper effect ; and that which was seen in the days of Pentecost was but an earnest of what is yet to come. To pray under such a dispensation is coming to God in a good time. In asking for the success of the gospel, we ask that of the Father of heaven and earth in which his soul delight eth, and to which he has pledged his every perfection ; namely to glorify his Son. Finally: Compare the current language of prophecy with the state of things in the world, and in the church. — In whatever ob scurity the minutiae of future events may be involved, the events themselves are plainly revealed. We have seen the four monarchies, or preponderating powers, described by Dan iel as successively ruling the world ; namely, the Babylonian, the Persian, the Macedonian, and the Roman. We have seen the last subdivided into ten kingdoms, and the lit tle papal horn growing up among them. We have seen the saints of the Most High " worn out " for more than a thousand years by his persecutions. We have seen his rise, his reign, and, in a considerable degree, his downfal. " The judgment is set," and they have begun to " take away his dominion ; " and will go on " to consume and to destroy it unto the end." And, when this is accom plished, "the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." It is not im probable that " the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin' to sound," have already commenced ; which voice, while it ushers in the vials or seven last plagues upon the antichristian powers, is to the church a signal of prosperity : for, the sev enth angel having sounded, voices are heard in heaveri, saying, " The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and ofhis Christ ; and he shall reign forever and ever." The glorious things spoken of the church are not all confined to the days of the millennium ; many of them will go be fore it, in like manner as the victorious days of David went before the rest, or pacific reign, of Solomon, and prepared its way. Previous to the fall of Babylon, an angel is seen flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth; and, before the terrible conflict in which the beast and the false pro phet are taken, the Son of God is described as riding forth on a white horse, and the ar mies of heaven as following him. The final ruin of tlie antichristian cause will be brought WIDOWS AND ORPHANS OF CHRISTIAN MINISTERS. 485 upon itself by its opposition to the progress of the gospel. The sum is, that the time for the promuK gation of the gospel is come ; and, if attend ed to in a full dependence on the promise of the Spirit, it will, no doubt, be successful. — The rough places in its way are smoothing, that all flesh may see the salvation of God. The greatest events pertaining to the king dom of heaven have occurred in such a way as to escape the observation of the unbeliev ing world, and it may be of some believers. It was so at the coming of our Lord, and probably will be so in much that is before us. If we look at events only with respect to instruments, second causes, and political bearings, we shall be filled with vexation and disquietude, and shall come within the sweep of that awful threatening, " Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operations of his hands, he will destroy them and not build them up." But, if we keep our eye on the kingdom of God, what ever become of the kingdoms of this world, we shall reap advantage from every thing that passes before us. God in our times is shaking the heavens and the earth: but there are things which cannot be shaken. " Wherefore we, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably, with rever ence and godly fear." 1815. THE SITUATION OF THE WIDOWS AND OR PHANS OF CHRISTIAN MINISTERS, SfC. Dear brethren, The subject to which we this year invite your attention is the situation of the WIDOWS AND ORPHANS OF CHRISTIAN MIN ISTERS, AND OF MINISTERS THEMSELVES WHO BY AGE, OR PERMANENT AFFLICTION, ARE LAID ASIDE FROM THEIR WORK. We have not been used to address you on subjects relating to our own temporal inter ests ; nor is this the case at present ; for the far greater part of those who have been most active in forming the institution for which we plead have no expectation of de riving any advantage from it, but, feeling for many of their brethren, they are desirous of alleviating their condition. Mercy is a distinguishing character ofthe religion of the Bible, especially to the fa therless and the widow. The great God claims to be their protector and avenger. " A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow, is God in his holy habitation." — " Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry. And ray wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword : and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless." Mercy to the fatherless, and the widow is introduced as a test of true religion. " Pure and undefiled religion be fore God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted from the world." The affliction of the fatherless and the widow is a subject taken for granted. From the day of their bereavement, dejection takes possession of their dwelling, and imprints its image on every object around them. And, when to this is added that from time to time their sources of the necessaries of life are in a great measure dried up, a full cup of affliction must needs be their portion. At first many feel for them, and weep with them : but time and a number of similar cases wear away these impressions ; and, being unprotected, it is well if they be not exposed to oppression ; and, even where there is no particular want of kindness towards them, yet their cases, being but lit tle known, are often but little legarded. The widow and fatherless children of ministers have peculiar claims on the benev olence of the churches. The ministerial profession, like that of arms, requires the subjects of it, if possible, not to " entangle themselves with the affairs of this life, that they may please him who has chosen them to be soldiers." On this ground, a large proportion of ministers, living entirely on the contributions of their hearers, have no opportunity of providing for their families after their decease. You, brethren, by the blessing of God on your diligent attention to business, are generally enabled to meet this difficulty. You have business in which to bring up your children from their early years ; but they seldom have : and when you have taught them an honorable calling you can spare something to set them up in trade ; but it is rarely so with them. Yet the post occupied by your ministers is honorable and important. Regardless of the sneers of the irreligious, they feel it to be so. To be chosen and approved by a Christian congregation, next to the choice and approbation of Christ, is their highest ambition. This honor, however, involves them in circumstances which require your consideration. You expect them to main tain a respectable appearance, both in their persons and families : but to do this, and at the same time to pay every one his due, often renders it impossible to provide for futurity. Our churches, when in want of ministers, are solicitous to obtain men of talent. There may be an excess in this desire, es pecially where personal godliness is over looked ; and it is certain that great talents are far from being common. But view Christian ministers as a body, and we may 486 CIRCULAR LETTERS. appeal to you whether they be not possessed of talents, which, if employed in business, would with the blessing of God, ordinarily bestowed on honest industry, have rendered both them and their families equally com fortable with you and yours. And shall their having relinquished these temporal advantages to serve the cause of Christ, and to promote your spiritual -welfare, be at the expense of the comfort of their widows and children when they have finished their course ? In the persecuting times which preceded the Revolution of 1688, our protestant dis senting forefathers had but little encourage ment to provide for futurity, as the fruits of their industry were taken from them : but it is not so with us ; our property is secure ; and we are therefore able to contribute to those benevolent objects which tend to the good of mankind. It was an object that attracted the atten tion of our fathers, early in the last century, to provide for the widows of their ministers ; and a noble fund it is which was then estab lished in London for the widows of the three denominations. Besides this, a liberal plan has been pursued within the last two- - and-twenty-years to increase the sum, by an' addition from the profits of a magazine. It is not to supersede these benevolent means of relief, but to add to them accord ing to the exigences of the times, and to include not only widows, but superannuated ministers and orphans, that societies like ours have of late been formed in various countries and religious connections. The case of superannuated ministers, or ministers who by affliction are permanently laid aside from their work, has a serious influence on the well-being of the churches. Where no provision of this kind is made, every humane and Christian feeling revolts at the idea of dismissing an aged and hon orable man, even though his work is done. Yet, if the congregation continue to sup port him, they may be unable to support another. The consequence is, in a few years the congregation has dwindled almost to nothing. To meet these cases, along with those of the fatherless and the widow, is the object of this institution. Brethren, we feel it an honor to be sup ported by the free contributions of those whom we serve in the gospel of Christ. To receive our support as an expression of love renders it doubly valuable. And, if you view things in a right light, you will esteem it a privilege on your part. If your places of worship were ready built for you, your ministers supported, and their families pro vided for, would it be better? Would you feel equally interested in them? Would you not feel as David did when Araunah the Jebusite offered his threshing-floor, his oxen, and his wood ? " Nay, but I will not offer burnt-offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing ! " Should any object that ministers ought to set an example of trust in their heavenly Father, who knoweth what things they need, and of leaving their widows and fatherless children with him ; we answer, when all is done that can be done to alleviate their wants, there will be abundant occasion for these graces. The trust that we are called to place in our heavenly Father does not however preclude the exercise of prudent foresight, either in ourselves, or in the friends of Christ towards us for his sake. It is one of the most lovely features of our mission in the East, that, while our brethren are disinterestedly giving up all their temporal acquirements to the cause in which they are engaged, they have provided an asylum for their widows and orphans ; so that, when a missionary dies, he has no painful anxiety what is to become of them. They have a home, which some have pre ferred to their native country. Is it any distrust of the Lord's goodness to be thus tender of those who are flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone, and who have helped to bear the burden of their cares ? Say, rather, is it not a truly Christian conduct ? But, if so, why should we not go and do likewise ? It is one of the most endearing traits in the character of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, while the salvation of the world was pend ing, he did not neglect to provide for his aged mother. Joseph is thought to have been dead for some years, and Mary seems to have followed Jesus, who, while upon earth, discharged every branch of filial duty and affection towards her. But, now that he is going to his Father, who shall provide for her ? Looking down from the cross on her, and on his beloved disciple, he saith to the one, " Behold thy son ! " and to the oth er, " Behold thy mother ! ". What exquisite sensibility do these words convey! To her it was saying, Consider me as living in my beloved disciple ; and, to him, consider my mother as your own. It is no wonder that " from that time that disciple took her to his own home." We live in times very eventful ; and it cannot have escaped your observation that the success of the gospel has kept pace with the mighty changes which have agitat ed the world. Never, perhaps, were there such great calls on our liberality as of late years, and never were more honorable ex ertions made. Yet God, that giveth us all things richly to enjoy, has not suffered us to want, and has promised to supply all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. LETTERS SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. [Advertisement. — About the beginning of 1814 Mr. Fuller, in compliance with the request of Dr. Ryland, began a Series of Letters, intending to prepare one every month, till he had gone through a Body of Divinity. He was however prevented by ill health and his many pressing engagements from punctually fulfilling his design ; and only the following nine Letters had been completed when he was called to his reward.] LETTER I. of a Deep and Intimate Acquaintance with Divine Truth."* importance of systematic divinity. My dear brother, Respecting your request of a monthly letter, I acknowledge I have wished for several years past to give, as far as I was able, a connected view of the gospel ; but have hitherto wanted either sufficient leisure, or sufficient inducement, seriously to set about it. The difficulty of giving every part of divine truth its due importance, and of placing it in the system where it will have the greatest effect, is such that I have no expectation of doing it to my own satisfac tion: but I am willing to try. May the Holy Spirit of God preserve my heart and mind, that I may neither be misled, nor con tribute to the misleading of others ! Pray that this may be the case ; and, as you re ceive my letters, make free remarks upon them, and let me see them. Before I enter upon particulars, I wish to obviate some objections to the study of sys tematic divinity, and to show its importance to a just and enlarged view of the gospel. For this purpose, I must beg leave to intro duce part of a sermon, which I printed near ly eighteen years ago, "On the Importance LETTER II. IMPORTANCE OF A TRUE SYSTEM. In my last I endeavored to show the im portance of system : in this I ahall attempt to show the importance of a true system ; , and to prove that truth itself, by being displaced from those connections which it occupies in the Scriptures, may be perverted, and prove injurious to those that hold it. No system can be supposed to be wholly erroneous ; but, if a considerable part of it be false, the whole will be vitiated, and that which is true will be divested of its salutary influence. " If ye be circumcised," said the apostle to the Galatians, " Christ shall profit you nothing." As one truth, thoroughly imbibed, will lead to a hundred more, so will one error. False doctrine will eat as doth a gangrene, which though it may seem to be confined to one, part of the body, infects the whole mass, and, if not extracted, must issue in death. * In this edition it is not thought necessary to transcribe the passage, as it will be found in pages 204 — 206 of this volume, and comprises the fourth subdivision of the first part of the discourse re ferred to. 488 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. If one put on the profession of Christianity without cordially believing it, it will not sit easy upon him ; his heart will not be in it : and if, at the same time, he live in the in dulgence of secret vice, he will soon feel it necessary to new-model his religious opin ions. It degrades him, even in his own es teem, to be a hypocrite, avowing one thing and practising another. In order to be easy, therefore, it becomes necessary for him to have a new creed, that he may answer the reproaches of his conscience, and it may be those of his acquaintance, by the assump tion that his ideas are changed. He begins by doubting ; and, having by criminal indul gence effaced all sense of the holiness of God from his mind, he thinks of him only in respect of what he calls his, goodness, which he hopes will induce him to connive at his frailties. With thoughts like these, of God and of sin, he will soon find himself in pos session of a system. A new field of thought opens to his mind, in which he finds very little need of Christ, and becomes, in his own eyes, a being of consequence. Such, or nearly such, was the process of those who perished, "because they received not the loVe of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God sent them strong de lusion, that they should believe a lie : that they all might be damned, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous ness." But, passing these delusive systems, truth itself, if viewed out of its scriptural connections, is vitiated and injurious. The members of our bodies are no otherwise ben eficial than as they occupy the places in which the Creator has fixed them. If the foot were in the place of the hand, or the ear of the eye, instead of being useful, they would each be injurious : and the same is true of a preposterous view of scripture doctrines. The Jews, in the time of our Saviour, professed the same creed, in the main, as their forefathers ; they reckoned themselves to believe Moses ; but, holding with Moses to the exclusion of Christ, their faith was rendered void. " If ye believed Moses," said our Lord, " ye would believe me ; for he wrote of me." Thus it is with us : if we hold the law of Moses to the ex clusion of Christ, or any otherwise than as subservient to the gospel, or Christ and the gospel to the exclusion ofthe law of Moses, neither the one nor the other will profit us. To illustrate and confirm these observa tions, I shall select, for examples, three of the leading doctrines ofthe gospel ; namely, election, the atonement, and the influence of the Holy Spirit. If the doctrine of election he viewed in those connections in which it stands in the Scriptures, it will be of great importance in the Christian life. The whole difference hetween the saved and the lost being as cribed to sovereign grace, the pride of man is abased : the believer is taught to feel and acknowledge that by the grace of God he is what he is ; and the si/mer to apply for mer cy, not as being on terms with his Maker, but absolutely at his, discretion. It is fre quently the last point which a sinner yields to God. To relinquish every claim and ground of hope from his own good endea vors, and fall at the feet of sovereign mercy, requires that he be born of God. If we take our views of this great subject in its connec tion with others, I need not say we shall not consider it as founded on any thing good foreseen in us, whether it be faith or good works : this were to exclude the idea of an election qf grace ; and to admit, if not to es tablish, boasting. Neither shall we look at the end in such a way as to lose sight of the means. We shall consider it as we do other divine appointments, not as revealed to us to be a rule of conduct, but to teach us our entire dependence upon God. We are given to believe that whatever good or evil befals us we are thereunto appointed. — 1 Thess. iii. 3. The time of our continuance in the world is as much an object of divine purpose as our eternal destiny ; but we do not imagine, on this account, that we shall live though we neither eat nor drink; nor presume that though we leap headlong from a precipice no danger will befal us. Neither does it hinder us from exhorting or persuading others to pursue the way of safety, and to flee from danger. In these things we act the same as if there were no divine appoint ments, or as if we believed nothing concern ing them ; but, when we have done all that can.be done, tbe sentiment of an all-dispos ing providence recurs to mind, and teaches us that we are still in the hands of God. Such were the views of good men, as re corded in Scripture. They believed the days of man to be appointed, and that he could not pass his bounds ; yet, in time of famine, the patriarch Jacob sent to Egypt to buy corn, " that they might live, and not die." Elisha knew of a certainty that Benhadad would die ; yet, speaking of him in respect of his disease, he did not scruple to say, "He may recover." The Lord assured Paul, in his perilous voyage, that "there should be no loss of any man's life ; yet, when he saw the ship-men making their es cape, he said to the centurion, "Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved." A fleshly mind may ask, " How can these things be?" How can divine predestina tion accord with human agency and account- ableness ? But a truly humble Christian, finding both in his Bible, will believe both, though he may be unable fully to understand their consistency ; and he will find in the one a motive to depend entirely on God, and in the other a caution against slothfulness and presumptuous neglect of duty. And thus a Christian minister, if he view the IMPORTANCE OF A TRUE SYSTEM. 489 doctrine in its proper connections, will find nothing in it to hinder the free use of warn ings, invitations, and persuasions, either to the converted or the unconverted. Yet he will not ground his hopes of success on the pliability of the human mind, but on the promised grace of God ; who (while he pro phecies to the dry bones, as he is command ed) is known to inspire them with the breath of life. Thus it was that the apostle, while in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh chapters of his Epistle to the Romans, he traces the sove reignty of God in calling some from among the Jews, and leaving others to perish in unbelief, never thought of excusing that un belief, nor felt any scruples in exhorting and warning the subjects of it, nor in praying for their salvation. Even in his preaching to the Gentiles, he kept his eye on them, if by any means he might provoke to emulation those who were his flesh, and .might save some of them. But, whatever this doctrine is in itself, yet, if viewed out of its connections, or in connections which do not belong to it, it will become another thing. God's election of the posterity of Abraham was of sovereign favor, and not on account of any excellence in them, natural or moral; in which view it was humbling, and no doubt had a good ef fect on the godly Israelites. But the Jews in our Saviour's time turned this their na tional election into another kind of doctrine, full of flattery towards themselves, and of the most intolerable contempt and malignity towards others. And thus the doctrine of eternal and personal election viewed in a similar light becomes a source of pride, bit terness, sloth, and presumption. Conceive of the love of God as capricious fondness — imagine, besause it had no inducement from the goodness of the creature, that therefore it was without reason, only so it was and so it must be — view it, not as a means by which God would assert the sovereignty of his grace, but as an end to which every thing must become subservient — conceive of your self as a darling of heaven, a favorite of providence, for whom divine interpositions next to miracles are continually occurring— and, instead of being humbled before God as a poor sinner, you will feel like a person who in a dream or a reverie imagines him self a king, takes state to himself, and treats every one about him with distant contempt. If the doctrine of atonement be viewed in the connections in which it stands in the sacred Scriptures, it is the life-blood of the gospel system. Consider it as a method devised by the infinite wisdom of God, by which he might honor his own name by dis pensing mercy to the unworthy in a way consistent with righteousness, and we shall be furnished with considerations at once the most humiliating and transporting that were ever presented to a creature's mind. But there are ways of viewing this doc trine which will render it void, and even worse than void. If, for instance, instead of connecting it with the divinity of Christ, we ascribe its ..efficacy to divine appointment, the name may remain, but that will be all. On this principle it was possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should have taken away sin, and that the cup should have passed away from the Saviour without his drinking it. As there would on this principle be no necessity for the death of Christ, so neither could there be any great love displayed by it ; and, as to its constraining influence, we need not look for it. Or, if the atonement be considered as a reparation to man for the injury done him by his being connected with his first parents, it is rendered void. Whatever evil we derive from our first parents, while we ourselves choose it, we are no more injured than if we derived it from our immediate parents ; and it will no more bear to be pleaded at the last judgment, than it will bear to be alleged by a thief, at an earthly tribunal, that his father had been a thief before him. To argue, therefore, a§ some have done, that if Christ had not come into the world and given us grace, so as to remove the inability for do ing good under which we lay as the descend ants of Adam, we should not have been blameworthy for not doing it, is to render grace no more grace, and the atonement a satisfaction to man rather than to God. If man would not have been blameworthy with out the gift of Christ and a provision of grace, it would seem a pity that both had not been withheld, and that we had not been left to the justice of our Creator, who surely might be trusted not to punish for that in which we were not in fault. Or, if the doctrine of atonement lead us to entertain degrading notions qf the law of God, or to plead an exemption from its pre ceptive authority, we may be sure it is not the Scripture doctrine of reconciliation. Atonement has respect to jus^ce, and jus tice to the law, or the revealed will of the sovereign, which has been violated, and its very design is to repair its honor. If the law which has been transgressed were un just, instead of an atonement being required for the breach of it, it ought to have been repealed, and the lawgiver have taken upon himself the disgrace of having enacted it. Every instance of punishment among men is a sort of atonement to the justice of the country, the design of which is to restore the authority of good government, which transgression has impaired. But if the law itself is bad, or the, penalty too severe, every sacrifice made to it must be an instance of cruelty. And should a prince of the blood Vol. 2.— Sig. 62. 490 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. royal, in compassion to the offenders, offer to suffer in their stead, for the purpose of atonement, whatever love it might discover on his part, it were still greater cruelty to accept the offer, even though he might sur vive his sufferings. The public voice would be, There is no need of any atonement ; it will do no honor but dishonor to the legisla ture : and to call the liberation of the con victs an act of grace is to add insult to in jury. The law ought not to have been enacted, and, now it is enacted, ought im mediately to be repealed. It is easy to see from hence, that, in proportion as the law is depreciated, the gospel is undermined, and both grace and atonement rendered void. It is the law as abused, or as turned into a way qf life in opposition to the gospel (for which it was never given to a fallen crea ture,) that the sacred Scriptures depreciate it ; and not as the revealed will of God, the immutable standard of right and wrong. In this view, the apostle delighted in it : and, if we be Christians, we shall delight in it too, and shall not object to be under it as a rule of duty ; for no man objects to be governed by laws which he loves. Finally : If the doctrine of divine influence be considered in its scriptural connections, it will be of essential importance in the Christian life ; but, if these be lost sight of, it will become injurious. To say nothing oi extraordinary influence, I conceive there is what may be termed an indirect influence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, having inspired the prophets and apostles, testified in and by them, and often without effect. "Many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them, by thy Spirit, in thy prophets, yet would they not give ear." The messages of the prophets being dictated by the Holy Spirit, resistance of them was resistance of him. It was in this way, I conceive, that the Spirit of God strove with the antediluvi ans, and that unbelievers are said ahvays lo have resisted the Holy Spirit. But the di vine influence to which I refer is that by which sinnei»are renewed and sanctified ; concerning which two things require to be kept in view. First : It accords with the Scripture. Is it the work of the Holy Spirit, for example, to illuminate the mind, or to guide us into truth ? In order to try whether that which we ac count light be the effect of divine teaching, or only a figment of our own imagination, we must bring it to the written word. " To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." The Holy Spirit teaches nothing but what is true, and what was true antecedently to his teaching it, and would have been true though we had never been taught it. Svoh are the glory of the divine character, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, our own guilty and lost condition as sinners, and the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The test of divine illumination, therefore, is whether that in which we con ceive ourselves to be enlightened be a part of divine truth as revealed in the Scriptures. Further: Is it the work ofthe Holy Spirit to lead us in the " paths of righteousness ? " This also must be tried by the written word. The Holy Spirit leads us into nothing but what is right antecedently to our being led into it, and which would have been so though we had never been led into it. He that teach eth us to profit leadeth us " by the way that we should go." The paths in which he leads us for his name's sake are those of righteous ness. Such are those of repentance for sin, faith in Christ, love to God and one another, and every species of Christian obedience. One test, therefore, of our being led by the Spirit of God, in any way wherein we walk, is, whether it be a part of the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures. As the Holy Spirit teaches us nothing but what was pre vi- ously true, so he leads us into nothing but what was previously duty. Secondly : Divine influence not only ac cords with the sacred Scriptures, but requires to be introduced in those connections in which the Scriptures introduce it. We have heard it described as if it were a talent, the use or abuse of which would either issue in our sal vation or heighten our guilt. This is true of opportunities and means of grace, or of what is above described as the indirect influence of the Holy Spirit ; but not of his special in fluence. The things done for the Lord's vineyard, concerning- which he asks, "What more could I have done ? " include the form er, and not the latter. The mighty works done in Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caperna um, relate, not to the special influences of the Spirit on their minds, but to the miracles wrought before their eyes, accompanied as they were by the heavenly doctrine. I do not remember an instance in the sacred Scriptures in which the renewing and sanc tifying influences of the Spirit are thus rep resented. Divine influence has been intro duced as an excuse for sin committed previ ously to our being the subject of it, as if, be cause it is necessary to any thing truly good being done by us, therefore it must be neces sary to its being required of us. But, if so, there would have been no complaints of Si mon the Pharisee for his want of love to Christ ; nor of unbelievers at the last judg ment for the same thing; nor would Paul have carried with him so humbling a sense ofhis sin in having persecuted the church of God, while in unbelief, as to reckon himself the chief of sinners on account of it. The want of divine influence has been introduced as an apology for negligence and slothfulness in the Christian life. What else do men mean when they speak of this and the other PLAN PROPOSED TO BE PURSUED. 491 duty as " no farther binding upon them than as the Lord shall enable them to discharge it ? " If it be so, we have no sin to confess for "not doing that which we ought to have done;" for, as far as the Lord enables us to discharge our obligations, we discharge them. The doctrine of divine influence is introduced in the sacred Scriptures as a mo tive to activity : " Work out your own sal vation with fear and trembling ; for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his own good pleasure." Finally : We have often heard this doc trine introduced in the pulpit in such a way as to weaken the force of what has been pre viously said on behalf of God and righteous ness. When the sacred Scriptures speak ofthe cause of good, they ascribe everything to God's Holy Spirit. The writers seem to have no fear of going too far. And it is the same with them when they exhort, or warn, or expostulate ; they discover no apprehension of going so far as to render void the grace of God. In all their writings, the one never seems to stand in the way of the other : each is allowed its full scope, without any apparent suspicion of inconsistency between them. But is it so with us ? If one dares to ex hort sinners in the words of Scripture, to "repent and believe the gospel," he present ly feels himself upon tender ground ; and, if he does not recede, yet he must qualify his words, or he will be suspected of disbelieving the work of the Spirit ! To prevent this he must needs introduce it, though it be only to blunt the edge ofhis exhortation — " Repent and believe the gospel; I know, indeed, you cannot do this of yourselves ; but you can pray for the Holy Spirit to enable you to do it." It is right to pray for the Holy Spirit, as well as for every thing else that we need, and to exhort others to do so ; and it may be one of the first petitions of a mind return ing to God, "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned : " but to introduce it instead of re penting and believing, and as something which a sinner can do, though he cannot do the other, is erroneous and dangerous. LETTER III. PLAN PROPOSED TO BE PURSUED. I wish, in this letter, to state the princi pal and general outlines of what I shall at tempt. In observing different systematic writers, I perceive they have taken different methods of arrangement. The greatest number proceed on the analytical plan, be ginning with the being and attributes of God, the creation of the world, moral government, the fall of angels and men, and so proceed to redemption by Jesus Christ, and the ben efits and obligations resulting from it. One eminent divine, you know, has treated the subject historically, tracing the gradual de- velopement of divine truth as it actually took place in the order of time.* These differ ent methods have each their advantages ; but it has for some time appeared to me that the great number of them have also their disadvantage ; so much so as to render truth, in a systematic form, almost uninteresting. I do not know how it may prove on trial, but I wish to begin with the centre of .Christianity — the doctrine of the cross, and to work round it ; or with what may be called the heart of Christianity, and to trace it through its principal veins or relations, both in doctrine and practice. If Christianity had not been comprehended in this doctrine, the apostle, who shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God, could not have de termined to know nothing else in his minis try. The whole of the Christian system appears to be presupposed by it, included in it, or to arise from it : if, therefore, I write any thing, it will be on this principle. In its fa vor, the following things may be alleged : — First: It accords with truth. All things are said to have been created nol only by Christ, but for him. All things in creation, therefore, are rendered subservient to his glory as Redeemer ; and, being thus con nected, they require to be viewed So, in order to be seen with advantage. Secondly : By viewing all divine truths and duties as related to one great object, as so many lines meeting in a centre, a charac ter of unity is imparted to the subject which it would not otherwise possess, and which seems properly to belong to the idea of a system. A system, if I understand it, is a whole, composed of a number of parts, so combined and arranged as to show their proper connections and dependencies, and to exhibit every truth and every duty to the best advantage. The unity of a number in one great object, and so forming a whole, gives an interest to the subject which it would not otherwise possess. It is interest ing, no doubt, to view the works of nature as revolving round the sun as their centre ; but to view nature and providence as cen tering in the glory of the Redeemer is much more interesting. Thirdly: The object in which all the parts of the system are united being Christ must tend to shed a sweet savor on the whole. We have often heard the epithet dry applied to the doctrines of the gospel, especially when systematically treated : but this must have arisen from the faults or de fects of the system, or from the uninterest ing manner of treating it, or from a defect in the hearer or reader. The doctrine of the gospel, if imparted in its genuine sim plicity, and received in faith and love, " drops as the rain and distils as the dew * President Edwards's History of Redemption. 492 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. upon the tender herb." I may not be able thus to impart it : but, whether I do or not, it may be done ; and, so far as I or any other may fail, let the fault be imputed to us, and not to the doctrine of God our Saviour. Fourthly : There is a singular advantage attending the study of other truths through this medium. We might know something of God and of ourselves through the medi um of the divine law ; and it is necessary for some purposes to understand this subject as distinct from the gospel. But a sense of the holiness and justice of God, contrasted with our depravity and guilt, might be more than we could bear. To view these great sub jects on the other hand through the cross of Christ is to view the malady through the medium of the remedy, and so never to want an antidote for despair. With the idea of all divine truth bearing an intimate relation to Christ agrees that notable phrase in Ephes. iv. 21 : " The truth as it is in Jesus." To believe the truth concerning Jesus is to believe the whole doctrine of the Scriptures. Hence it is that in all the brief summaries of Christian doctrine the person and work of Christ are prominent. Such are the follow ing : " Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein ye stand ; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I de livered unto you, among the first principles, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scrip tures. — Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, re ceived up into glory. — This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. — This is the record, that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. — He that believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. — Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God ? " Fully aware that this golden link would draw along with it the whole chain of evangelical truth, the sacred writers seem careful for nothing in compari son of it. It is on this ground that faith in Christ is represented as essential to spiritual life. — See John vi. 53 — 56. "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily,. I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." We may be Christians by education, may be well versed in Christianity as a science, may be able to converse, and preach, and write, in defence of it ; but if Christ crucified be not that to us which food is to the hungry, and drink to the thirsty, we are dead while we live. It is on this ground that error con cerning the person and work of Christ is of such importance as frequently to become death to the party. We may err on other subjects and survive, though it be in a maim ed state ; but to err in this is to contract a disease in the vitals, the ordinary effect of which is death. When Peter confessed him to be the Son of the living God, Jesus an swered, "Upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not pre vail against it." Upon this principle, as a foundation, Christianity rests ; and it is remarkable that, to this day, deviation con cerning the person and work of Christ is followed by a dereliction of almost every other evangelical doctrine, and of the sphit of Christianity. How should it be other wise ? If the foundation be removed, the building must fall. What is it that is denominated the great mystery of godliness ? Is it not that " God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory ? " It is this that the apostle John introduces at the beginning ofhis gos pel under the name of " the Word : " " The Word was with God, and was God ; by whom all things were made, and who was made flesh, and dwelt among us." * It is this up on which he dwells in the introduction of his first epistle : " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us ; ) that which we have seen and heard de clare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." Christ is here described, 1. As to what he was in his pre-incarnate state; namely, as that which was from the begin ning, the word of life, and that eternal life which was with the Father. 2. As to what he became by his incarnation : he was so manifested that his disciples could see him, and look on him, and handle him ; and thus be qualified to bear witness of him, and to show unto others that eternal life that was with the Father. 3. As having opened a * Whether we read God, or the Son of God, or the Lord, or the Word, the idea is the same. There is no meaning in saying of any one who was not God that ho was manifest in the flesh, or that he was made flesh, &c. THE HEING OF GOD. 493 way in which those who believed in him were admitted to fellowship with God, and with him, and were commissioned to invite others to partake with them. I have long considered this passage as a decisive proof of the divinity of Christ, and as a summary ofthe gospel. LETTER IV. ON THE BEING OF GOD. , Having in the foregoing letters endeavor ed to show the importance of system, and of that system being the true one, and pro posed the plan of what I may communicate, I shall now proceed to execute it as well as I am able. In the last letter it was stated, concerning the doctrine of the cross, that every thing pertaining to Christianity was presupposed by it, included in it, or arose out of it. This threefold distribution will form the three parts into which what I write will be divided. Under the first ; namely, prin ciples presupposed by the doctrine of the cross, I begin with the being of God, to which fundamental principle this letter will be de voted. God is the first cause and last end of all things. " Of him, and through him, and to him are all things ; to him be glory forever, Amen ! " To undertake to prove his existence seems to be almost as unnecessa ry as to go about to prove our own. The Scriptures at their outset take it for granted ; and he that calls it in question is not so much to be reasoned with as to be reproved. His error belongs to the heart rather than to the understanding. His doubts are ei ther affected, or arise from a, wish to free himself from the idea of accountableness. The things that are seen in the visible crea tion contain so clear a manifestation of the things that are not seen, even of his eternal power and Godhead, as to leave atheists and idolaters " without excuse." — Rom. i. 20. All reasoning must proceed upon some acknowledged principles ; and what can de serve to be so considered more than our own existence, and that of the great First Cause ? There are truths among men which it is indecorous to attempt to prove. To discuss the question whether a parent ought to be acknowledged and obeyed by his chil dren, whatever proof might be alleged for it, would tend to agitate a subject which ought to be at rest. I question whether argu mentation in favor of the existence of God has not made more sceptics than believers. An Orissa pundit, not being able to see God, required of a missionary a proof of his exist ence. He was asked, in answer, whether he could see his own soul ; and whether he had any doubts of his possessing one. " Cer tainly not," said the pundit. " Such," said the missionary, "is the living God: he is invisible to us, but he is every where present." In the early ages of the world there ap pears to have been a much stronger per suasion of divine interposition in human affairs than generally prevails in our times. Even heathens, whose gods were vanity, put their trust in them. In all their wars, they not only took counsel with their wise men, but consulted their oracles, liollin, from Xenophon, holds it up as one of the great virtues of Cyrus that he respected the gods. " In the sight of all his army," says he, " he makes mention of the gods, offers sacrifices and libations to them, ad dresses mmself to them by prayer and in- . vocation, and implores their succor and pro tection. What a shame, then, and a re proach, would it be to a Christian officer or general, if, on a day of battle, he should blush to appear as religious and devout as a pagan prince ; and if the Lord of hosts and God of armies, whom he acknowledges as such, should make a less impression on his mind than a respect for the false deities of paganism did upon the mind of Cyrus." Yet this is the fact. Now and then, on an occasion of great success, God is acknow ledged ; but in general he is disregarded. How is this to be accounted for ? Cyrus's gods were according to his mind ; but, with the true God, the dispositions of the greater part of mankind are at perfect variance. Real Christians still acknowledge him in all their ways, and he directs their paths ; but merely nominal Christians, having a God who is not according io their minds, think but little of him, feel ashamed to own him, and thus sink into practical atheism. To know that there is a God is necessary, in deed, to true religion ; but, if we stop there, it will be of no use. What is the Supreme Being of modern unbelievers? and of what account is their knowledge of him ? As the Author ofthe machinery ofthe universe, he is admired, and magnified in such a way as to render it beneath him to interfere with the affairs of mortals, or to call them to ac count. The true knowledge of God is less spec ulative than practical. It is remarkable with what deep reverence the inspired writers speak of God. Moses, when relating his appearance at the bush, did not attempt to explain his name, but communicated it in the words which he heard. "And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they will say unto me, What is his name ? what shall I say unto them ? And God said unto Moses, J am that lam : and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, / am hath sent me unto you." This sublime language sug gests not only his self-existence, but his in- 494 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. comprehensibleness. It is beyond the pow ers of a creature even to be taught what he is. " As to the being of God," says Dr. Osven, "we are so far from a knowledge of it, so as to be able to instruct one another therein by words and expressions of it, as that to frame any conceptions in our own mind, with such species and impressions of things as we re ceive the knowledge of all other things by, is to make an idol to ourselves, and so to worship a God of our own making, and not the God that made us. We may as well and as lawfully hew him out of wood and stone, as form him a being in our minds suited to our It is the name of God that gives authority, importance, and glory, to every person or thing with which it stands connected. The glory of man, above the rest ofthe creatures, consisted in this : " God created man in his own image ; in the image of God created he him." This, and not merely the well-being of man, is the reason given why murder should be punished with death. "He that sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed ; for in the image qf God made he man." This is the great sanction to the precepts and threatenings of the law : " That thou mayest fear that fearful name, the Lord apprehensions. The utmost of the best of thy God." Herein consists the great evil of sin ; and of that sin especially which is com mitted immediately against God. "Know thou therefore, and see, that it is an evil thing, and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord qf hosts. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him ; but, if a man sin against the Lord, who shall entreat for him ? " The sin of the men of Sodom, though it had reached to heaven, yet was not completed till they persevered in it, when smitten of God with blindness. Pha- our thoughts of the being of God is, that we can have no thoughts of it. Our knowledge of a being is but low when it mounts no higher but only to know that we know it not. — There be some things of God which he himself hath taught us to speak of, and to regulate our expressions of them ; but, when we have so done, we see not the things themselves, we know them not; to believe and to admire is all that we can attain to. We profess, as we are taught, that God is infinite, omnipotent, eternal ; and we know what disputes and notions there are about raoh and the Egyptians had grievously op- omnipresence, immensity, infinity, and eter- pressed Israel ; but it was by perseverino- nity. We have, I say, words and notions in their sins notwithstanding the judgments about these things ; but, as to the things of God, and presuming to follow his people themselves, what do we know ? what do into the sea, that they brought upon them- we comprehend of them? Can the mind of selves destruction. Of this°nature was the man do any thing more but swallow itself disobedience of Saul, the boasting of Senna- up in an infinite abyss, which is as nothing? cherib and Rabshakeh, the pride of Nebu- Give itself up to what it cannot conceive, chadnezzar, the profanation of the sacred much less express ? Is not our understand- vessels by Belteshazzar, and the shutting up ing brutish in the contemplation of such of John in prison by Herod. Each of these things? and is as if it were not? Yea, the men had done much evil before; but, by perfection of our understanding i3, not to setting themselves directly against God, understand, and to rest there : they are but they sealed their doom. It is on this prin- the back parts of eternity and infinity that ciple that idolatry and blasphemy were pun- we have a glimpse of. What shall I say of ished with death under the theocracy, and the trinity, or the subsistence of distinct per- that, under the gospel, unbelief and aposta- sons in the same individual essence ; a mys- cy are threatened with damnation. tery by many denied, because by none un- God manifested himself in creation, in derstood ; a mystery whose very letter is giving laws to his creatures, in the provi- mysterious. — 'How little a portion is heard dential government of the world, and in ofhim!'" other ways; but all these exhibited him In the epistles of Paul there are various only in part : it is in the gospel of salvation, instances in which, having mentioned the through his dear Son, that his whole char- name of God, he stops to pay him adoration, acter appears ; so that, from invisible, he in Thus, when describing the dishonor put upon a sense becomes visible. "No one had him by worshipping and serving the creature seen God at any time ; but the only beo-ot- more than the Creator, he pauses, and adds, ten Son, who dwelleth in the bosom of "the " Who is blessed forever, Amen ! " Thus Father, he declared him." What is it that also, speaking of Christ as having "given believers see in the gospel when their minds himself to deliver us from this present evil are spiritually enlightened? It is "the world, according to the will of God and our glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." Father," he adds, "To Him be glory forever Whatever is visible in an object is called its and ever, Amen ! " And thus, when having face. Thus we speak of the face of the spoken of the exceeding abundant grace heavens, ofthe earth, and of the sea; and shown to himself as the chief of sinners, he in each of these the glory of God is to be adds, " Now unto the King eternal, immor- seen ; but in the face of Jesus Christ, that tal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor is, in that which has been manifested to us and glory forever and ever, Amen ! " by his incarnation, life, preaching, miracles, NECESSITY OF A DIVINE REVELATION. 495 sufferings, resurrection, and ascension, the glory of God is seen in a degree that it has never been seen in before. The apostle, when speaking of God in relation to the gos pel, uses the epithet " blessed " with singu lar propriety: "According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God." The gospel is the grand emanation from the fountain of blessedness, an overflow of the divine good ness. It is the infinitely happy God, pour ing forth his happiness upon miserable sin ners, through Jesus Christ. The result is, that, as God is the Great Supreme, he must in all things occupy the supreme place. Thus we are required, by his law, to love him first, and then to love our neighbor as ourselves ; and thus the coming of Christ is celebrated, first as giving " glory to God in the highest," and then " peace on earth and good will to men." LETTER V. ON THE NECESSITY OF A DIVINE REVELATION. It would be improper, I conceive, to rest the being of God on Scripture testimony : seeing the whole weight of that testimony must depend upon the supposition that he is, and that the sacred Scriptures were writ ten by holy men inspired by him. Hence, the Scriptures, at their outset, take this prin ciple for granted : yet, in the way that the works of nature imply a divine first cause, so does the work of revelation. Men were as morally unable to write such a book as they were naturally unable to create the heavens and the earth. In this way the sacred Scriptures prove the being of a God. I wish to offer a few remarks on the ne cessity of a divine revelation — on the evi dence ofthe Bible being written by inspi ration of God, so as to answer this necessity — and on its uniform bearing on the doctrine of salvation through the cross of Christ : but, as this is more than can be comprehended in a single letter, I must divide it into two or three. First: I shall offer a few remarks on the necessity of a revelation from God. In es tablishing this principle, let it be observed, we are not required to depreciate the light of nature. The word of God is not to be exalted at the expense of his works. The evidence which is afforded of the being and perfections of God by the creation which surrounds us, and of which we ourselves are a part, is no more superseded by revelation than the law is rendered void by faith. All things which proceed from God are in har mony with each other. If all the evidence which the heathen have of the being and perfections of God consist of traditional ac counts, derived originally from revelation, there must be great uncertainty in it, as in every thing else that comes through such an uncertain medium; and, if so, though they should disbelieve it, how are they without excuse ? and how are we to understand the reasonings of the apostle on the subject? He appears to represent the wrath of God as revealed from heaven against all ungodli ness, " because that which may be known is manifest in them ; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him, that is, his eternal power and godhead, are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made : so that they are without excuse." This is equal to saying, God is invisible, but his works are visible : bis eternal power and godhead are manifest from the things which he has created. All things which have a beginning must originate in a cause without beginning ; so that they are without excuse. Whether the heathen in any instance have, or have not, actually perceived the eternal power and godhead of the creator, merely from tlie works of his hands, is a question that I shall not undertake to answer. If such a case never occurred, it is sufficient for my argument that it has not been for want of objective light, but of a state of mind to receive it. In pleading for the ne cessity of divine revelation, as the means of enlightening and saving sinners, we should beware of imitating those who, in arguing for the necessity of divine grace to renew and sanctify them, represent them as physi cally unable to do good without it, and so excuse them in their sins. " Every mouth will be stopped, and all the world," whatever advantages or disadvantages they may have possessed in these respects, " will be found guilty before God." It is true that the guilt of those who have lived in sin without the light of revelation will be much less than ¦theirs who have continued in their sins under it ; but all are without excuse before God. Divine revelation is necessary to a campe- tent knowledge of God, and ofhis will con cerning us. This principle will be evident by a review of two others ; namely, the in sufficiency of human reason for these impor tant purposes, and the connection between revelation and faith. 1. Let us review the insufficiency of human reason to obtain from the mere light of nature a competent knowledge of God, and ofhis will cqncerning us. The light of nature fur nishes us with little or no knowledge of the moral character and government of God. While man was in a state of innocence, in deed, he might, by reflecting on his own mind, understand something of the charac ter of that divine original after whose image he was created ; but, having sinned, this image is effaced. It is also true that the judgments of God against sinners are man ifest in all the earth ; and every man's con science bears witness that what is wrong in 496 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. another towards him must be wrong in him towards another ; and that, having felt and acted contrary to this equitable principle, in innumerable instances, he is a sinner ; but as to the evil nature of sin as committed against God, and his own lost condition, conscience itself can yield him little or no in formation. And as to an hereafter, whether there be any, and, if there be, what it will prove ; whether we shall have to give account ofthe deeds done in the body ; whether there will be any hope of forgiveness ; and what we must do to be saved — all is darkness. The light of nature, though sufficient to bear witness for God, and so to leave sin ners without excuse, was never designed in any state to furnish man with all he needed. Even in innocence man was governed by a revealed law. It does not appear that he was left to find out the character or will of his Creator by his reason, though reason, being under the influence of rectitude, would lead him, as he understood the mind of God, to love and obey it. But, if revelation was necessary in innocence, much more now man's foolish heart is darkened by sin. The state of the heathen who are with out divine revelation, furnishes awful proof of its necessity. The grossness of their thoughts of God, and of a hereafter, is such that those who have received the light of revelation can scarcely think it possible for rational beings to entertain them. To say nothing of the uncivilized heathen, even the polished sons of Greece and Rome, though prodigies in science, yet, in relation to these things, were the subjects of the most sot tish stupidity. Well is it said, " The world by wisdom knew not God." That small por tion of real light which on these subjects appears in the writings of our modern De ists is borrowed from those very writings which they mean to depreciate. They live in the neighborhood of revelation, and, whether they will own it or not, are enlight ened by it. The speculations of those who have had only the light of nature to guide them are, in respect of God and religion, absurd in the extreme. Man is said to be wiser than the beasts qf the field ; but it is principally by means of instruction. We are born, it is true, with an immortal mind ; but, uninformed, what is it ? Knowledge chiefly enters in at the door of the senses. To what do we owe the gift of speech ? It seems to be natural to us ; but, if we look at one who is born deaf, we shall find him dumb also ; and, if to this be added blindness, there will be but little dif ference between him and the beasts of the field. But, if we need human instruction for the attainment of knowledge in things of this life, is it surprising that we should need a divine instructer for things heavenly and divine ? It is true that God instructs us, as has been said, by his works : but they con tain only a few of the rudiments of divine knowledge : like the parables of our Sa viour, they were not designed to furnish perfect information on the subject, but merely a general intimation, tending to ex cite humble inquiry for further instruction ; which, when asked, was readily granted, but, when set at nought, it was "seeing and not perceiving, hearing and not understanding; lest they should be converted and healed." The apostle, in his address to the Athenians, represents it as the design of God, in his works of creation and providence, to lead men to seek him : but, though he was not far from every one, seeing all live and move and have their being in him, yet the light of nature could only enable them " to feel after him, if haply they might find him." Though "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy work;" though " day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge," and though their voice is heard in every language and in every clime, even to the end of the world ; yet it is not by them, but by the word of Jehovah, that souls are converted, and the simple made wise. Some of the wisest among the old heathens felt and ac knowledged the need there was of a reve lation from heaven ; and heathens, of the present day acknowledge the same thing. A Hindoo fakeer, who was a brahmin goroo, being lately asked by one of his disciples, who had heard a missionary at Balasore, whether he could make known to him the living and only God, answered, " We know there is one living God, besides Kreshnoo, Seeb, and Ram; but we do not know his way." The disciple replied, " Come to the Sahib, Fakeer ; he will tell you of the God of heaven, whose way he knows." 2. The necessity of divine revelation wUl further appear, if we consider its relation to faith. Supposing mankind to be in a guilty and perishing condition, and that " God so loved the world as to give his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ; " a revela tion from heaven was necessary as the ground of faith. " Faith cometh by hear ing, and hearing by the word of God: " with out revelation, therefore, there would be no faith, and so no salvation. Both revelation and faith may, however, exist in widely different degrees. Revela tion was first given in obscure intimations, afterwards in types and shadows, in pro mises and in prophecies ; and under each it was the office of faith to keep pace with it. The faith of Abel and that of Paul, though as to their nature and object the same, yet, as to degree, must have been widely different, on account ofthe difference INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 497 of the degrees of divine revelation which each possessed. Revelation, like the shin ing light, shone "more and more unto the perfect day," and such was the " path of the just," which corresponded with it. From these remarks, we may see the force of such passages as the following: " He showeth his word unto Jacob, his stat utes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation, and as to his judgments they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord." — "What advantage then hath the Jew ? or what profit is there in circumcision ? Much every way : chiefly, because that unto them Were committed the oracles of God." — "At that time ye were without Christ (being aliens from the com monwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,) having no hope, and without God in the world: but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who some time ago were far off are made nigh, by the blood of Christ" We may also learn, from these remarks, to make allowance for the small degrees of faith where the light of revelation has been but little known. It is not for us to say how small a portion of divine truth may ir radiate the mind, nor by what means the Holy Spirit may impart it. According to the ordinary way of the divine proceeding under the gospel, it may be asked, " How shall they believe in him of whom tbey have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher ? and how shall they preach ex cept they.be sent ?" But this has not been the uniform method of the divine proceed ing from the beginning. Previously to the time of Moses,, there was no written revela tion, and till the coming of Christ no ordi nance for preaching the word. No mission aries till then were sent among the heathen. Good men under the Old Testament stood on much lower ground than those under the New Testament. Cornelius, the Roman centurion, being stationed in Judea, learned enough of the God of Israel to be just and devout, giving much alms to the people, and praying to God alway ; and, before he had heard of Jesus being the Messiah, his prayers and his alms were approved of God. Yet the words spoken to him by Peter were those by which he was saved : a proof this, not of there being another way of accept ance with God than that which the gospel reveals, nor of its being possible without faith to please God ; but that faith may ex ist while as yet there is no explicit revela tion of the Saviour. Finally : It is not for us to say what may be effected in an extra ordinary way upon the minds of men. A ray of divine revelation shot athwart the darkness of paganism, into the minds of the eastern magi, and led them to worship the new-born Saviour. LETTER VI. ON THE INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIP TURES. In my last, I endeavored to show the necessity of a divine revelation. In this, I shall offer evidence qf the Bible being written by inspiration of God, so as to answer to this necessity. It is certain that those who wrote the books which compose the Old and New Testaments profess to have been divinely inspired. " The Spirit of God spake by me, and his word was in my tongue : the God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me. — The Lord spake unto Moses saying, &c. — Thus saith the Lord. — All Scripture is giv en by inspiration of God. — Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. — The things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." We must, therefore, either admit these writ ings to be the word of God, or consider them as mere imposture. To pretend to "venerate them as authentic records of the dispensation of God," and yet deny their inspiration, is absurd: it is believing the writers in what they say of other sub jects, and disbelieving them in what they say of themselves. If their writings be not what they profess them to be, they are imposture, and deserve to be rejected. There is no consistent medium between faith and un belief. But, though all Scripture is given by in spiration of God, it does not follow that it is so in the same sense and degree. It required one degree of inspiration to foretel future events, and another to narrate facts which fell under the writer's knowledge. The one required less exercise of his own judgment, the other more. Inspiration, in the latter case, might be little more than a divine superintendence, preserving him from error, and from other defects and faults, to which ordinary historians are subject. Di vine inspiration, of whatever kind or degree, must have carried in it its own evidence to the party, or he could not with propriety have declared, " Thus saith the Lord "—and " The things that I write unto you are the com mandments of the Lord." And it appears, in some cases, to have been equally evident to those who were present. Thus, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, and he foretold the overthrow of the Moabites and Ammonites, Jehoshaphat and the people appear to have been as certain that it was by inspiration of God as he himself was ; and therefore fell before the Lord, and worship ped. — 2 Chron. xx. The only question is, whether that which was evident to them can be so to us, at this distance of time and place; if not in ffte same Vol. 2.— Sig. 63. 498 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. degree, yet with sufficient certainty to warrant our unreserved dependence upon it. Some of the principal grounds on which the affirma tive may be maintained, I conceive to be the following: the truth ofthe things contained in the sacred writings, their consistency, their perfection, their pungency, and their utility. Let us review these particulars. 1. The truth ofthe things contained in the sacred writings. It requires that a book pro fessing to be a revelation from God should contain truth, and nothing but truth : such particularly must be its history, its prophe cies, its miracles, and its doctrines. Now, as the Scriptures abound with these, if they be untrue, it can be no difficult undertaking to prove them so. The facts being stated, with the evidence accompanying them, it lies upon those who disbelieve them to show cause. It certainly has not been for want of adversaries, nor of adversaries of talent, that this work has never been accomplished. How is that, out of all those who have writ ten against the Bible, not an individual has soberly and modestly undertaken to answer the evidence which has been adduced for the veracity of its history, the fulfilment of its prophecies, the reality of its miracles, and the purity and consistency of its doctrines? Instead of this, many of them have meanly pretended to believe the Bible, while yet they have been deceitfully undermining it ; and those who have avowed their hostility have commonly dealt in ridicule, rather than in reason. Verily, it is to the honor ofthe Bible to have such men for its adversaries. 2. Their consistency. A book written by more than thirty men, of different talents and stations in life, living in different ages, the greater part of whom, therefore, could have no communication with each other, must, had it not been written under the inspiration of God, have been full of contradictions. Let any other production be named which has preserved a consistency under such cir cumstances. To suppose a succession of writings, the work of designing impostors or at least of weak-headed fanatics, capable of maintaining that harmony which is appa rent in the sacred Scriptures, is no less ab surd than the notion of Epicurus, that the world was formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, without a designing cause. Great as are the differences between Jews and Christians, there is none between their sa cred writings. The Old and New Testa ments are dictated by one apd the same Spir it. Paul was hated by his unbelieving coun trymen, and treated as an apostate from the religion ofhis ancestors ; but he was not an apostate. "I thank God," says he to Timo thy, " whom I serve from my forefathers." He speaks also of the same faith which was in Timothy as having dwelt first in his grand mother Lois, and then in his mother Eunice ; the former of whom lived and died under the former dispensation. The same God who, "at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets," in the "last days spoke unto us by his Son." Consistency, it is true, may not in every instance be a test of truth ; since error and falsehood may, in some particu lars, be made to agree; but, in a subject whose bearings are multifarious and minute, they cannot escape detection : nothing but truth in such cases will be found consistent throughout. 3. Their perfection. If the Bible be of God, perfection must be one of its proper ties ; for " He is a Rock, and his work is perfect." This property, however, belongs to it, not as having been begun and ended at once. This the work of creation was not : each day had its proper work ; which, on review, was pronounced very good, and all together, when finished, formed a glori ous whole. Such was the work of inspira- _ tion : the sacred Scriptures were upwards of " fifteen hundred years from their commence ment to their completion ; but, being com pleted, they form a whole, and every part of them is very good. There is this peculiar property belonging to the sacred Scriptures, that, if you are in possession of only a single book, you may generally learn from it the leading principles which run through all the rest. The strong language of David con cerning the sacred Scriptures, such as their being " more to be desired than thousands of gold and silver, sweeter than honey and the honey- comb," and the like, could have reference to little more than the Pentateuch of Moses. Even a leaf from the sacred ora cles would, in innumerable instances, teach him that should find it, and read it with a humble mind, the way to everlasting life ; and this not as possessing any thing like a charm, but as containing principles which, if understood and followed, will lead the in quirer to God. 4. Their pungency. There is nothing in the sacred Scriptures to gratify an idle cu riosity ; but much that commends itself to the conscience, and that interests the heart. They are a, mirror, into which he that seri ously looks must, in a greater or less degree, see his own likeness, and discover what kind of character he is. That which was said of Jesus by the Samaritan woman, might be said of them, in thousands of instances : " He told me aU that ever I did." They are "the words of the wise, which are as goads, and as nails fastened by the master of assem blies." They not only prick the sinner in his heart, but stick so fast that he is incapa ble of extracting them. It has been remarked that they who heard the preaching of the apostles were generally moved by it, either to repent and be converted, or to oppose the truth with bitter resentment. Their doctrine was a savor of life unto life in them that be- INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 499 lieyed, and of death unto death in them that resisted. Surely, if we preached more in the spirit and power of the apostles, the effects of our ministry would more resemble theirs, and our hearers would not be able to sit year after year easy in their sins. " The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two- edged sword ; piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow ; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." If our preaching be but little adapted to produce these effects, surely it contains but little of the word of God. 5. Their utility. There is much in the sacred Scriptures that is entertaining and pleasing to the ingenious, and more to con sole the sorrowful : it was not, however, to please, nor merely to comfort, but to profit us that they were written. That which is given by inspiration of God is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for in struction in righteousness ; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." Unbelievers may declaim against the Bible ; but universal ex perience proves that, in respect of the pre sent life only, they who believe it and form their lives on its principles are, beyond all comparison, the best members of society ; while they who disbelieve and traduce it are the worst. And, if to this be added the life to come, it is no longer a subject of com parison; but of contrast ; for the former or dinarily die in peace and hope, the latter either blinded by insensibility, or, if awaken ed to reflection, in fearful forebodings ofthe wrath to come. I shall conclude this letter with a few re marks on the properties and tendencies as cribed to the sacred Scriptures in the nine teenth Psalm. Having declared the glory of God, as manifested by his works, the writer proceeds to exhibit another medium of the divine glory, less magnificent, but more suited to the cases of sinful men, namely, his word. The law, the testimony, the stat utes, the commandments, the fear, and the judgments of the Lord, are but different names given to the Scriptures. "The law ofthe Lord is perfect, convert ing the soul." — The book of nature declares the " eternal power and Godhead" of the Creator ; but that of Scripture represents his whole character ; not only as the Crea tor, but as the Moral Governor and Saviour of men. Hence it is " able to make us wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." " The testimony ofthe Lord is sure, mak ing wise the simple." — The opinions of the greatest men, formed merely from the works of nature, are full of uncertainty, and but ill adapted to instruct the illiterate part of mankind in their best interests ; but the sa cred Scriptures contain the true sayings of God, wliich may be safely depended upon. " The statutes of the Lord are right, re joicing the heart." — The principles inculcat ed in the sacred Scriptures accord with the nature and fitness of things. That which they require approves itself to the con science ; and that which they teach, though foolishness in the account of unbelievers, is, to those who understand and believe it, the wisdom of God. This property gives joy to every upright mind ; for the friends of righteousness must needs rejoice in that which is right. "The commandments of the Lord are pure, enlightening the eyes." — Their free dom from every mixture of corruption ren ders them fit to illuminate the mind and cheer the heart. Wearied with the discord ant opinions of men, we turn to the Scrip tures, and, like Jonathan on tasting the honey, our eyes are enlightened. " The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever." — The worship of God, as taught in the sacred Scriptures, is chaste and uncor- rupt; and therefore shall continue when idolatry, and every abomination which has passed under the name of religion, shall be no more. " The judgments of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether." — The sacred Scrip tures contain the decisions of the Judge of all, both as to things and characters, from which there is no appeal : nor is it fit there should be ; seeing they are not only formed in wisdom, but perfectly accord with truth and equity. ¦ " More to be desired are they than gold ; yea, than much fine gold : sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb." — There is a rich, a valuable, I might say an invaluable quality in these writings, which is not to be found in any other; and which so interests the heart that the things most valued in the world lose all their attractions in comparison of it. " Moreover, by them is thy servant warn ed ; and in keeping of them there is great reward." — They are adapted at the same time to preserve us from evil, and to lead us in the good and the right way : and, as we follow it, yield inexpressible satisfaction. If in reading these holy oracles we make the proper use of them, we shall, according to the remaining verses in the Psalm, perceive that our errors are innumerable ; shall feel the need of keeping grace to preserve us even from the worst of crimes ; and shall aspire to a conformity in our words and thoughts to the will of God. May the blessing of God attend the vari ous attempts to translate and circulate the sacred Scriptures ! A few years ago, a cer tain infidel braggadocio pretended to have gone through the wood and cut down trees, 500 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. which the priests, he said, might stick in again, but they would not grow ! And have the sacred Scriptures been less in request since that time than they were before ? Rather have they not been much more so ? ¦Infidelity, by overacting its part, has given itself a wound ; and its abettors, like Herod, have been eaten of worms, and have died. But the word of the Lord has grown and been multiplied. LETTER VII. jft)N THE UNIFORM BEARING OF THE SCRIP TURES ON THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST.In the two preceding letters I have en deavored to show the necessity of divine revelation, and to give evidence ofthe Bible's being written by inspiration of God, so as to answer to that necessity ; in this I shall add a few thoughts on its uniform bearing on the person and work of Christ. We need not follow those who drag in Christ on all occasions. To suppose, for instance, that all the Psalms of David refer to him, is to establish the gospel on the ruins of common sense. Still less need we see him prefigured by every thing in which a heated imagination may trace a resemblance. This were to go into a kind of spiritual Quixotism, finding a castle where others would only find a windmill. Nevertheless, the sacred Scriptures are full of Christ, and uniformly lead to him. The holy book be gins with an account of the creation of the world: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." But they elsewhere inform us that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." Yea more, that all things were made not only by him, as the first cause, but for him, as the last end. The creation seems to have been designed as a theatre on which he should display his glory, particularly in the work of redemption. Surely it was in this view that he "rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the sons of men." The history contained in the sacred Scrip tures is that ofthe church or people of God : other nations are introduced only in an in cidental manner as being connected with them: and this people were formed for Christ. Him God appointed to be " heir of all things." All that was done by the pa triarchs and prophets, under the Old Testa ment, was preparatory to his kingdom. It was in his field that they labored, and there fore his apostles " entered into their labors." God s calling Abraham, and blessing and in creasing him. had all along a reference to the kingdom of his Son. He was the prin cipal seed in whom all the kindreds of the earth were to be blessed. Why did Mel chizedek, on meeting Abraham, when he returned from tiie slaughter of the kings, bless him with so much heart ? Was it not as knowing that he had the promises, espe cially thatof the Messiah ? Why is Esau's despising his birthright reckoned profane riess, but on account of its referring to some thing sacred ? The promises made to Abra ham's posterity chiefly related to things at a great distance ; but Esau longed for some thing nearer at hand, and therefore sold his birthright for a present enjoyment. Why is the reproach which Moses preferred to tiie treasures of Egypt called "the reproach of Christ," but that Israel being in possession of Him, and Moses believing it, cast in his lot with them, though in a state of slavery ? Were not these the " good things " to which he referred, in persuading Hobab to go with them ? All that was done for Israel from their going down into Egypt to their settle ment in Canaan, and from thence to the coming of Christ, was in reference to him. The conquest of the seven nations was au thorized, and even commanded by JeHo- VaH, for the purpose of re-establishing his government in his own world, from which he had in a manner been driven by idolatry. It was setting up his standard with the de sign of ultimately subduing the world to the obedience of faith. What but the promise of Christ, as including the covenant that God made with David, rendered it all his salva tion arwl all his desire ? It was owing to the bearing which the Old-testament history had on the person and work of Christ that Stephen and Paul, when preaching him to the Jews, made use of it to introduce their subject. — Acts vii. xiii. The body of the Jewish institutions was but a shadow of good things to come, of which Christ was the substance. Their priests and prophets and kings were typical of him. Their sacrifices pointed to him who " gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor." The manna on which they fed in the wil derness referred to him, as the "bread of God that should come down from heaven." The rock, from whence the water flowed that followed them in their journeys, is said to be Christ, as being typical of him. Their cities of refuge represent him, " as the hope set before us." The whole dispensation served as a foil, to set off the superior glory of his kingdom. The temple was but as the scaffolding to that which he would build, and the glory of which he would bear. The moral law exhibited right tilings, and the ceremonial law a shadow of good tilings ; but "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The Christian dispensation is to that of the Old Testament as the jubilee to a state of THE PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 501 captivity. It might be in reference to such things as these that the psalmist prayed, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wonderful things out of thy law ! " Of the prophecies with which the Scrip tures abound, the person and work of Christ form the principal theme. "To him gave all the prophets -witness" either in what they wrote or spoke. " The testimony .of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." From the first mention of the woman's seed, to his appear ance in the flesh, the language of prophecy concerning him became more explicit and distinct. The blessing on JeHoVaH the God of Shem seems to intimate designs of mercy towards his descendants. The promise to Abraham and his seed is more express. Abraham, understanding it as in cluding the Messiah, believed, and it was counted to him for righteousness. He earnestly desired to see his day ; he saw it, and rejoiced. Jacob's prophecy is still more explicit and distinct. He foretells his being of the tribe of Judah, and that under his reign the Gentiles should be gathered. After this, the house of David is specified, as that from which the Messiah should spring. The Psalms abound in predictions concerning him. Isaiah tells of his being miraculously born of a virgin — of his hum ble and gentle character, " not breaking the bruised reed, nor quenching the smoking flax " — ofhis sufferings, death, and everlast ing kingdom, which implied his resurrec tion. — Acts xiii. 34. Micah named the town- of Bethlehem as the place where he should be born. Zachariah mentioned the beasts on which he should make his public entry into Jerusalem. The spirit of inspiration in the prophets is calfed " the spirit of Christ," because it "testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." But, if the Old Testament had a uniform bearing on the person and work of Christ, much more the New. This is properly entitled " The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." The one abounds with prophecies ; the other relates to their accomplishment. The ordi nances of the former were prefigurative ; those of the latter are commemorative. But both point to the same object. Every divine truth bears a relation to him : hence tlie doctrine of the gospel is called "the truth as it is in Jesus." In the face of Jesus Christ we see the glory of the divine char acter in such a manner as we see it no where else. The evil nature of sin is man- . ifested in his cross, and the lost condition of sinners in the price at which our redemption was obtained. Grace, mercy, and peace are in him. The resurrection to eternal life is through his death. In him every precept finds its most powerful motive and every promise its most perfect fulfilment. The Jews possessed the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testament, and searched them,* thinking that in them they had eternal life ; but they would not come to him that they might have it. What a picture does this present to us of multitudes in our own times. We possess both the Old and the New Testament; and it is pleasing to see the zeal manifested of late in giving them circulation. All orders and degrees of men will unite in applauding them. But they overlook Christ, to whom they uniformly bear testimony ; and, while thinking to obtain eternal life, will not come to him that they might have it. LETTER VIII. ON THE PERFECTIONS OF GOD. I need not say to you that just views of the divine character lie at the foundation of all true religion. Without them, it is im possible, in the nature of things, to love God, or to perceive the fitness of our being re quired to love him, or the evil of not loving him, or the necessity of such a Saviour and such a salvation as the gospel reveals. We may be terrified by the fear of the wrath to come, and delighted with the hope of es caping it through Christ ; but if this terror and this hope have no respect to the charac ter of God, as holy, just, and good, there can be no hatred of sin as sin, nor love to God as God, and consequently no true religion. " This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." God is a Spirit, and cannot be known by sense, nor by any means but those in which he has been pleased to manifest him self. These are his works and his word. Every thing that meets our eyes, or accosts our ears, in heaven or in earth, is full of his glory. "The invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that, were there no other revelation of himself, this were sufficient to leave sinners without excuse. But, besides this silent mode of manifesting himself, God has dis played himself by his word. Even in a state of innocence, man was governed by the re vealed will of his Creator ; and the revela tion of God, from first to last, manifests the glory ofhis perfections. The perfections of God require to be dis tinguished into natural and moral : the for mer respect his greatness, the latter his goodness ; or, more particularly, the one re fers to his infinite understanding, his al mighty power, his eternity, immensity, om nipresence, immutability, &c. ; the other, to his purity, justice, faithfulness, goodness, or, * See Dr. Campbell's translation of John v. 39, 40. 502 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. in one word, to his holiness. The former are necessary to render him an object of respect, the latter of love, and both together of holy fear The natural perfections of God are principally manifested in the creation and providential government of the world ; his moral perfections in the creation, moral gov ernment, and salvation of intelligent beings. The former are glorious as connected with the latter, but the latter are glorious in themselves. Power and knowledge, and every other attribute belonging to the greatness of God,~could they be separated from his righteousness and goodness, would render him an object of dread, and not of love : but righteousness and goodness, whether connected with greatness or not, are lovely. Correspondent with this is what we are taught of the " image of God " in the soul of man : it is partly natural and partly moral. The moral image of God, consisting in "righteousness and true holiness," was effaced by sin ; but the natural image of God, consisting in hjs rational and immortal na ture, was not. In this respect, man, though fallen, still retains his Creator's image, and therefore cannot be murdered or cursed without incurring his high displeasure. — Gen. ix. 6. James iii. 9. The same distinction is perceivable in the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. He emptied or disrobed himself; he laid aside his glory for a season : yet not his goodness, but his greatness: not his purity, justice, faithfulness, or holiness ; but the display of his eternity, supremacy, immensity, wisdom, power, omniscience, and omnipresence : be coming a mortal man, subject to his parents, supported by the ordinary aliments of life, and ascribing his doctrine and miracles to the Father. It was thus that, " being rich, he became poor, that through his poverty we might be made rich." And this it is that ac counts for the ascriptions given him after his exaltation : " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Each of these terms has re spect to that glory of which he had disrobed himself, and with which he was therefore worthy now to be doubly invested. As it is not talent, but morality, that con stitutes character among men, so it is not the natural, butthe moral perfections of God, which properly constitute his character. Holiness is the glory of the divine nature. Thus, when he would show Moses his glory, he said, " I will make all my goodness pass before thee." Yet, as greatness illustrates goodness among men, so does the greatness of God illustrate his goodness. His being "the High and lofty One, that inhabiteth «termty," illustrates the holiness of his name, and the unexampled condescension of his nature towards the poor and contrite. It is by the union of these divine excellences that he stands opposed to all the deities of the heathen. His greatest enemies have often confessed him to be the " Most High" and "Most Holy." Hence Moses could say, " their rock is not as our Rock, our ad versaries themselves being judges." The precepts, prohibitions, and promises of the divine law, are a mirror in which we may perceive the moral perfections of the Lawgiver. They each express his heart ; or what he loves, and what he hates. They moreover show his goodness to his creatures, granting them every thing that would do them good, and withholding nothing but that which would prove their ruin. The sum of all his requirements was love to God and one another. And, as bis promises to the obedient would express his love of righteous ness, so his threatenings against transgress ors show his great abhorrence of sin. On no other principle can we account for such tremendous curses being denounced, by a Being full of goodness, against the work of his hands. Moreover, to show that these are not mere words given out to deter man kind, without any design of carrying them into execution, but that, in all his threaten ings of future punishment to the ungodly, he means what he says, he inflicts numerous and sore judgments upon his enemies, even in this world. In one instance, he destroyed, with the exception of a single family, the whole race of man which he had created. In many others, by war, by famine, by pesti lence, and other means, his displeasure against sin has been expressed in almost every age. Yet has he never failed to maintain his character, as " the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suf fering, and abundant in goodness and in truth." Often has he pardoned those who have sought his mercy ; and, even when the parties have not sought it, he has wrought for his great name's sake. These are a few of the expressions of the divine mind; but, as Job says, they are " but a part of his ways," and exhibit only a part of his char acter. The only display of the divine per fections which can be denominated perfect is in the salvation of sinners, through the obedience and death of his beloved Son. After all the preceding manifestations of his glory, it may be said, "No one hath seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. In his undertaking, every divine perfection meets and harmo nizes. There were, in former ages, various displays of truth and righteousness on the one hand, and of mercy and peace on the other: but there does not appear to have been a point in which they could meet and be united. If one prevailed, the other re ceded, or gave place. It was thus at the flood, and at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah : truth and righteousness prevail ed ; but mercy and peace retired, leaving ON THE TRINITY. 503 the transgressors to suffer. And thus, when Israel was pardoned at the intercession of Moses, mercy and peace prevailed; but justice was suspended. It was reserved for the only-begotten of the Father to unite them in the same instance. In him " mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other." When the appointed time was come, justice awoke and smote the Shepherd, that mercy might turn its hand towards the little ones. It is thus that every perfection in the divine nature, natural and moral, is declar ed; wisdom, and power, and faithfulness, and justice, and love, and mercy, all meet and blend their rays. God is "just, and the justifier of them that believe in Jesus." A greater honor is conferred on the divine law, both as to its precept and penalty, than is sufficient to counterbalance the utmost dis grace upon it, by man's rebellion ; and a greater display afforded of the divine dis pleasure against sin than if the whole world had suffered the reward of their deeds. And now love to sinners, which wrought unsolicited in the gift of Christ, flows with out any impediment towards all who come unto God by him. The struggles of justice and mercy, and the triumphs of the latter, are very affect- ingly represented in Jeremiah iii. 19, &c. Hosea xi. 8. " But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land ? " — " How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ? shall I deliver thee, Israel ? How shall I make thee as Admah ? shall I set thee as Zeboim ? My heart is turned within me, and my repentings are kindled together." In the former of these passages, it is intimated that, though God was dispos ed to" show mercy, yet their conduct put his very perfections to the proof. In the latter, we must conceive an offended father as hav ing hold of his son wifli one hand, and hold ing up a rod in the other, making alternate appeals, first to his own compassion, then to the conscience of the offender. Justice requires him to be delivered over to. punish ment, to be made as Admah, and set for an example as Zeboim. But mercy pleads in arrest of judgment, and overcomes. To such a case as this the divine conduct towards Israel might be compared ; but all this mercy, and all that follow, and all that shall yet follow, is through the atonement of Christ. His sacrifice has furnished the answers to these hard questions. LETTER IX. ON THE TRINITY — OR ON THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT BEING ONE GOD. A subject so great and so much above our comprehension as this is requires to be treated with trembling. Every thing that we can think or say, concerning the ever blessed God, requires the greatest modesty, fear, and reverence. Were I to hear two persons engaged in a warm contest upon the subject, I should fear for them both. One might in the main be in the right, and the other in the wrong: but, if many words were used, they might both be expected to incur the reproof of the Almighty : " Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge." The people of Israel were forbidden to break through the bounds which were set for them, and to gaze on the visible glory of Jehovah. The Bethshemites, for looking in to the ark, were smitten with death. Such judgments may not befal us in these days j but we may expect others, more to be dread ed. As the gospel is a spiritual dispensa tion, its judgments, as well as its blessings, are chiefly spiritual. Where men have em ployed themselves in curiously prying into things too high for them, they have ordina rily been smitten with a blast upon their minds and upon their ministry. There is a greater importance in the doc trine ofthe trinity than commonly appears on a superficial inspection of it ; chiefly, perhaps, on account of its affecting our views of the doctrine of the person and work of Christ; which doctrine, being the founda tion on which the church is built, cannot be removed without the utmost danger to the building. It is a subject of pure revelation. If the doctrine be not taught in the oracles of God, we have nothing to do with it ; but, if it be, whether we can comprehend it or not, we are required humbly to believe it, and to en deavor to understand so much as God has revealed concerning it. We are not re quired to understand how three are one: for this is not revealed. If we do not consid er the Father, Son, and Spirit, as being both three and one in the same sense, which cer tainly we do not, then we do not believe a contradiction. We may leave speculating minds to lose themselves and others in a labyrinth of conceits, while we learn what is revealed, and rest contented with it. In believing three divine persons in one essence, I do not mean that the distinction between the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit, is the same as that between three human persons : but neither is there any other term that answers to the scriptural idea; and, since Christ is said to be "the express image ofhis Father's person," I see nothing objectionable in using this. The doctrine was certainly less explicitly revealed in the Old Testament than it is in the New. When the Messiah came, it was ex pected that he would tell us all things. If the degree in which the doctrine was made known in the Old Testament bears a pro- 504 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY. portion to that of other important truths, it is sufficient. From the beginning ofthe crea tion the name of God is represented under a plural form ; with which agrees the moving ofthe Spirit of God upon the face of the waters ; and all things being made by tho Word, and without him nothing made that was made. The angel of the Lord which appeared to Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, &c, in the form of man, was consid ered and treated by them as God, and re ceived divine worship at their hands. In reference to this, I conceive, it is said in the New Testament, that, "being in the form of God, he thought it no usurpation to be as God." In the New Testament the doctrine is more explicitly revealed; particularly in Christ's commission to his apostles to bap tize in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In the Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, he in vokes the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit to be with them. And John, in his First Epistle, introduces the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, as bearing wit ness to the gospel ; or, that God had given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. If, in the first of these passages, the Son and Holy Spirit be considered as divine persons, and as one with the Father, both in na ture and in the economy of redemption, there is a fitness in our being baptized into this individual name ; but to be baptized into the name of God, a creature, and an energy, must be the height of incongruity. The next passage shows the importance of the doc trine to the existence and progress of vital godliness. It is not a subject of mere spec ulation, but one on which depends all the communications of grace and peace to sinful men; and it is remarkable that they who re ject it are seldom known to acknowledge any spiritual communion with God, but treat it as fanaticism. The last of these passages has been strongly opposed as an interpola tion. It is not for me to decide this question by a reference to ancient versions of the New Testament ; but there are two or three considerations which, after all that I have seen on the other side, weigh with me in its favor. First : From the seventh verse be ing wanting in some copies and found in others, all that can be fairly inferred is that there must have been either an interpolation by some copyist, or an omission by some oth er. The question is, Which is the most probable ? If it is an omission in the copies where it is wanting, it might not have been from design, but from mere oversight, espe cially as the eighth verse begins so much like the seventh; whereas, if it be an interpola tion, no oversight can account for it, but it must have arisen from wicked, wilful imposture. To which of these suppositions will candor its give vote? Secondly : Suppos ing the omission or interpolation, whichever it was, to have arisen from design ; which is the most probable, and the least likely to have escaped detection — that the antitrini- tarians should omit what was unfavorable to them, or that the trinitarians should in troduce what was favorable ? An omission would escape detection seven times where an interpolation would escape it once. Thirdly : The connection of the passage is altogether in its favor. The phraseology -is that of the apostle John ; so that, if the words are not his, it must have been the most successful imitation of him that can be imagined. As it stands in our translation, there is evidently a gradation of ideas, form ing a kind of climax of witnesses ; namely, that ofthe three in heaven, of the three on earth, and the testimony which a believer has within himself. To leave out the first were to weaken the passage and destroy its beauty. Besides, it is not the on-.ission of the seventh verse only that is necessary, to make any thing like sense of the passage. The words on earth, in the eighth verse, must also be left out, if not the whole ofthe ninth verse, in which the witness of God is sup posed to have been introduced : but which, if the seventh verse be left out, had not been introduced. Those who are now for new- modelling the passage leave out some of these, but not all ; nor can they prove that those words which they do leave out were uniformly left out of even those copies in which the seventh verse is omitted. As the Father is allowed on all hands to be a divine person, whatever proves the divinity and personality of the Son proves the plurality of divine persons in the Godhead. I need not adduce the evidences of this truth : the sacred Scriptures are full of them. Divine perfections are ordinarily ascribed to him, and divine worship is'paid to him, both by angels and men. If Jesus Christ is not God, equal with the Father, Christianity must have tended to establish a system of idolatry, more dangerous, as being more plausible, than that which it came to destroy. The union ofthe divine and human natures, in the person of Christ, is a subject on which the sacred writers delight to dwell ; and so should we, for herein is the glory of the gos pel. " Unto us a child is born ; and his name shall be called- — the mighty God" He was fc-ora in Bethlehem ; yet his " goings forth were frqm of old, from everlasting." He was made " of the seed of David according io tlie flesh," and " declared to be the Son qf God with power." " Of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all God blessed forever, Amen." In his original na ture, he is described as incapable of death, and as taking flesh and blood upon him to qualify himself for enduring it. — Heb. ii. 14. He was the " Son of God," yet " touched with ON THE TRINITY. 505 a feeling of our infirmities ; " — the root ahd the offspring of David." The sacred Scrip tures lay great stress on what Christ was antecedently to his assumption of human na ture, and ofthe official character of a Media tor and Saviour. " The Word teas with God, and the Word was God. — He who was rich for our sakes became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. — Who ie- ing the brightness of his glory, and the ex press image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, &c. — Who, being in the form of God, thought it not rob bery," or usurpation, " to be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." If divine per sonality' be not essential to Deity, distinct from all office capacity, and antecedent to it, what meaning is there' in this language ? An economical trinity, or that which would not havebeen but for the economy of redemp tion, is not the'trinity of the Scriptures. It is not artrinity of divine persons, but merely of offices personified ; whereas Christ is dis tinguished from the Father as the express image or character of his person, while yet in his pre-incarnate state. The sacred Scriptures lay great stress on the character of Christ as " the Son of God." It was this that formed the first link in the Christian profession, and was reckoned to draw after it the whole chain of evangeli cal truth. " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." From this rises the great love of God in the gift of him : " God so loved the world as to give his only-begot ten Son " — the condescension of his obedi ence : " Though he was a son yet learned he obedience " — the efficacy of his blood : " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans- eth us from all sin" — the dignity of his priesthood : " We have a great High Priest Jesus the Son of God" — the greatness of the sin of unbelief: *' He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only-begotten Son of God" — the greatness of the sin of apostacy : " Who have trodden under foot the Son of God." The incarnation, resur rection, and exaltation, of Christ declared, but did not constitute him the Son of God ; nor did any of his offices, to all which his Sonship was antecedent. God sent his Son into the world. This implies that he was his Son antecedently to his being sent, as much as Christ's sending his disciples im plies that they were his disciples before he sent them. The same may be said of the Son of God being made of a woman, made under the law. These terms no more ex press that which rendered him a Son, than his being made flesh expresses that which rendered him the Word. The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil ; he must therefore have been the Son Vol. 2.— Sig. 64. of God antecedently to his being manifested in the flesh. I have heard it asserted that " Eternal generation is eternal nonsense." But whence does this appear ? Does it fol low that, because a son among men is infe rior and posterior to his father, therefore it must be so with the Son of God ? If so, why should his saying that God was his own Father be considered as making himself equal with God ? Of the only-begotten Son it is not said he was, or will be, but he is in the bosom of the Father ; denoting the eter nity and immutability of his character. There never was a point in duration in which God was without his Son: he rejoiced al ways before him. Bold assertions are not to be placed in opposition to revealed truth. In Christ's being called the Son of God, there may be, for the assistance of our low con ceptions, some reference to sonship among men ; but not sufficient to warrant us to reason from the one to the other. The sa cred Scriptures often ascribe the miracles of Christ, his sustaining the load of his suffer ings, and his resurrection from the dead, to the power of the Father, or of the Holy Spirit, rather than to his own divinity. I have read in human writings, " But the di vinity within supported him to bear." But I never met with such an idea in the sacred Scriptures. They represent the Father as upholding his servant, his elect in whom his soul delighted : and as sending his angel to strengthen him in the conflict. While act ing as the Father's servant, there was a fit ness in his being supported by him, as well as his being in all things obedient to his will. But when the value, virtue, or efficacy of what he did and suffered, are touched upon, they are never ascribed either to the Father or the Holy Spirit, but to himself. Such is the idea suggested by those fore- quoted passages. " Who being the bright ness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high." — "Ye are not re deemed by corruptible things, but by the pre cious blood of Christ."— "The blood of Je sus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Much less is said in the sacred Scriptures on the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit, than on those of the Son. The Ho ly Spirit not having become incarnate, it might be less necessary to guard his honors, and to warn men against thinking meanly of him. All judgment was committed to the Son, because he was the Son qf Man. Yet there is enough said against grieving the Spirit, blasphemy against him, lying against him, doing despite to him, and defil ing his temple, to make us tremble. In the economy of redemption it is the office ofthe Holy Spirit, not to exhibit himself, but to " take of the things of Christ, and to show 506 SYSTEMATIC DIVINITY them to us." He is the great spring head of all the good that is in the world ; but, in pro ducing it, he himself appears not. We are no otherwise conscious of his influences than by their effects. He is a wind which bloweth where it listeth : we hear the sound, and feel the effects ; but know nothing more of it. The Holy Spirit is not the grand object of ministerial exhibition ; but Christ, in his per son, work, and offices. When Philip went down to, Samaria, it was not to preach God the Holy Spirit unto them, but to preach Christ unto them. While this was donej the Holy Spirit gave testimony to the word of his grace, and rendered it effectual. The more sensible we are, both as ministers and Christians, of our entire dependence on the Holy Spirit's influences, the better : but, if we make them the grand theme of our min istry, we shall do that which he himself avoids, and so shall counteract his opera tions. The attempts to reduce the Holy Spirit to a mere property, or energy, of the Deity, arise from much the same source as the attempts to prove the inferiority and pos teriority of Christ as the Son of God ; namely, reasoning from things human to things divine. The Spirit of God is com pared to the spirit of man ; and, as the lat ter is not a person distinguishable from man, so, it has been said, the former cannot be a person distinguishable from God the Father. But the design of the apostle, in 1 Cor. ii. 11, was not to represent the Spirit of God as resembling the spirit of man in respect qf his subsistence, but of his knowledge ; and it is presumptuous to reason from it on a subject that we cannot understand. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, tbe love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you, and your affectionate brother —A. F. THOUGHTS ON PREACHING, LETTERS TO A YOUNG MINISTER, &-C. &c. LETTER I. ON EXPOUNDING THE SCRIPTURES. " My dear brother, As you have expressed a wish for a few of my thoughts on your principal work as a Christian minister, I will endeavor to comply with your request,persuaded that what I write will be read with candor and seriousness. The work in which you are engaged is of great importance. To declare the whole counsel of God in such a way as to save yourself and them that hear you — or, if they are hot saved, to be pure from their blood; — is no small matter. The character of the preaching in an age contributes, more than most other things, to give a character to the Christians of that age. A great and solemn trust, therefore, is reposed in us, of which we must shortly give an account. The work of a Christian minister, as it respects the pulpit, may be distinguished into two general branches ; namely, ex pounding the Scriptures, and discoursing on divine subjects. In this letter I shall offer a few remarks on the former. I have found it not a little useful, both to myself and to the people, to appropriate one part of every Lord's-day to the exposition of a chapter, or part of a chapter, in the sacred writings. In this way, during the last eighteen years, I have gone over the greater part ofthe Old Testament, and some books in the New. It is advantageous to a minister to feel himself necessitated, as it were, to understand every part of Scripture, in order to explain it to the people. It is also ad vantageous to a people that what they hear should come directly from the word of God, and that they should be led to see the scope and connection of the sacred writers. For want of this, a great number of Scripture passages are misunderstood and misapplied. In going over a book, I have frequently been struck with surprise in meeting with texts which, as they had always occurred to me, I had understood in a sense utterly foreign from what manifestly appeared to be their meaning when viewed in connection with the context. The great thing necessary for expounding the Scriptures is to enter into their true mean ing. We may read them, and talk about them, again and again, without imparting any light concerning them. If the hearer, when you have done, understand no more of that part of Scripture than he did before, your labor is lost. Yet this is commonly the case with those attempts at expounding which consist of little else than comparing parallel passages, or, by the help of a Con cordance, tracing the use of the same word in other places, going from text to text till both the preacber and the people are weari ed and lost. This is troubling the Scriptures rather than expounding them. If I were to open a chest of oranges among my friends, and, in order to ascertain their quality, were to hold up one, and lay it down ; then hold up another, and say, This is like the last ; 508 THOUGHTS ON PREACHING. then a third, a fourth, a fifth, and so on, till .1 came to the bottom of the chest, saying of each, It is like the oth#r ; of what account would it be ? The company would doubt less be weary, and had much rather have tasted two or three of them. The scope of the sacred writers is of greater importance in understanding .the Scriptures than the most critical examination of terms, or the most laborious comparison ofthe use of them in different places. For want of attending to this, not only particular passages, but whole chapters, are frequently , misunderstood. The reasonings of both Christ and his apostles frequently proceed, not upon what is true in fact, but merely in the estimation ofthe parties addressed : that is to say, they reason with them on their own principles. It was not true that Simon the pharisee was a little sinner, nor a forgiven sinner, nor that he loved Christ a little : but he thought thus of himself, and upon these principles Christ reasoned with him. It was not true that the pharisees were just men, and needed no repentance : but such were their thoughts of themselves, and Christ suggested that therefore they had no need of him ; for that he came " not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Fi nally : It was not true that the Pharisees who murmured at' Christ's receiving publicans and sinners had never, like tlie ninety-nine sheep in the wilderness, gone astray ; nor that, like the elder son, they had served God, and never at any time transgressed his com mandment ; nor that all which God had was theirs : but such were their own views, and Christ reasons with them accordingly. It is as if he had said, Be it so that you are right eous and happy ; yet why should you mur mur at the return of these poor sinners ? Now, to mistake the principle on which such reasonings proceed, is to lose all the benefit of them, and to fall into many errors. Moreover, to enter into the true meaning of the Scriptures, it is absolutely necessary that we drink into the spirit of the writers. This is the greatest of all accomplishments. I do not mean that you are to expect a spirit of extraordinary inspiration ; but that of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. It is impossible to enter into the sentiments of any great writer without a kindred mind. Who but a Pope, or a Cowper, could have translated Homer ? and who can explain the oracles of God, but he who, in a measure, drinks into the same spirit ? Every Chris tian knows by experience that, in a spiritual frame of mind, he can understand more of • the Scriptures in an hour than he can at other times, with the utmost application, in a week. It is by an unction from the Holy One that we know all things. I may add, there are some things which, when known, wonderfully facilitate the knowledge of other things. It thus that a view ofthe glory ofthe divine character and government opens the door to the whole mystery of redemption. It is thus also that a lively faith in the sufferings of Christ, and the glory arising out of them, is a key which unlocks a large part of the sacred oracles. While the disciples remained ignorant of his death, they knew but little of the Scrip tures; but, having learned the design of this great event, a flood of light poured in upon them, and the Old Testament became plain and deeply interesting. A humble sense of our own ignorance, and of our entire dependence upon God, has also a great influence on our coming- at the true meaning of his word. There are few things which tend more to blind the mind than a conceit of our own powers. Hence we perceive the justness of such language as the following : — " Proud, knowing noth ing.'^ — " He that thinketh he knoweth any thing, knoweth nothing as he ought to know." — " If any man will be wise, let him first become a fool, that he may be wise." To understand the Scriptures in such a manner as profitably to expound them, it is necessary to be conversant with them in private ; and to mix, not only faith, but the prayer of faith, with what we read. There is a great difference between reading the Scriptures as a student, in order to find some thing to say to the people, and reading them as a Christian, with a view to get good from them to one's own soul. That which is gained in the latter of these ways is, beyond all comparison, of the greatest use, both to ourselves and others. That which we com municate will freeze upon our lips, unless we have first applied it to ourselves ; or, to use the language of Scripture, " tasted, felt, and handled the word of life." When I have read a psalm or chapter, which I mean to expound, and have en deavored to uuderstand it, I have commonly thought it right to consult the best exposi tors I could obtain, trying and comparing my ideas with theirs. Hereby I have gener ally obtained some interesting thought which had not occurred to me, and some times have seen reason to retract what be fore appeared to me to be the meaning. But to go first to expositors is to preclude the exercise of your own judgment ; and, after all, that which is furnished by the labors of another, though equally good in itself, will be far less interesting to us than that which is the result of our own application. I will only add that I have found it not a little useful to keep a book in which I write down all my expository notes, which, though illegible to others, yet answer two purposes to myself: first, by looking them over before I go into the pulpit, I have a clear under standing of every sentence : and, secondly, I can have recourse to them on future oc- EXPOUNDING THE SCRIPTURES. 509 LETTER Ml. .... ON SERMONS, AND THE SUBJECT-MATTER OK THEM. Though expounding the Scriptures be an7 important part of the public work of a min ister, yet it is not the whole of it. There is a great variety of subjects, both in doctrinal and practical religion, which require to be illustrated, established, and improved ; which cannot be done in an exposition. Dis courses of this kind are properly called sermons. You request me to give you my thoughts on this part of your work somewhat more particularly. I will endeavor to do so, by considering what must be the matter, and the manner of preaching, if we wish to do good to the souls of men. Unless the subject-matter of your preach ing be truly evangelical, you had better be any thing than a minister. When the apos tle speaks of a necessity being laid upon him to preach the gospel, he might mean that he was not at liberty to relinquish his work in favor of ease, or honor, or any other worldly object; but he was not bound to preach merely, but to preach that doctrine which had been delivered unto him. The same may be said of us ; wo unto us if we preaeh not the gospel ! It may seem to be a very easy thing, with the Bible in our hands, to learn the truth, clear of all impure mixtures, and to make it the subject of our ministry. But it is not so. We talk much of thinking and judging for ourselves ; but who can justly pretend to be free from the influences which surround him, especially in early life ? We are in sensibly, and almost irresistibly, assimilated by. the books we read, and the company with which we associate ; and the principles cur rent in our age and connections will ordina rily influence our minds. Nor is the dan ger solely from without : we are " slow of heart " to believe in a doctrine so holy and divine, and prone to deviate at every point If, therefore, we were wholly to think for ourselves, that were no security for our keeping to the mind of Christ. I mention these things, not to deter you from either reading or thinking for yourself ; but rather to inculcate the necessity of prayer for divine guidance and a close ad herence to the Scriptures. Though we must think for ourselves, we must not de pend upon ourselves, but, as little children, learn at the feet of our Saviour. If you look over the New Testament, you will find the subject-matter of your preach ing briefly yet fully expressed in such lan guage as the following : " Preach the word. — Preach the gospel. — Preach the gospel to every creature. — Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should he preached in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. — I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye 'have received, and wherein ye stand, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I de livered, unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. — We preach Christ crucified. — I am determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and him crucified. — This is the record, that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. — We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech men by us, we pray them in Christ's stead, saying, Be ye reconciled unto God. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. — I have kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Je sus Christ." Such, my brother, is the concurrent lan guage ofthe New Testament. Every one of the foregoing passages contains an epi tome of the gospel ministry. You will not expect me to expatiate upon their various connections : I may, however, notice three or four particulars, which follow from them. First : In every sermon we should have an errand ; and one of such importance that if it be received or complied with it will issue in eternal salvation. — I say nothing of those preachers who profess to go into the pulpit without an errand, and to depend upon the Holy Spirit to furnish them with one at the time. I write not for them, but for such as make a point of thinking before they attempt to preach. Even of these I have heard some who, in studying their texts, have appeared to me to have no other object in view than to find something to say, in order to fill up the time. This, however, is not preaching, but merely talking about good things. Such ministers, though they think of some thing beforehand, yet appear to me to re semble Ahimaaz, who ran without tidings. I have also heard many an ingenious dis course, in which I could not but admire the talents ofthe preacher ; but his only object appeared to be to correct the grosser vices, and to form the manners of his audience, so as to render them useful members of civil society. Such ministers have an errand; but not of such importance as to save those who receive it, which sufficiently proves that it is not the gospel. 510 THOUGHTS ON PREACHING. In preparing for the pulpit, it would be well to reflect in some such manner as this : — I am expected to preach, it may be to some hundreds of people, some of whom may come several miles to hear ; and what have I to say to them ? Is it for me to sit here studying a text merely to find some thing to say to fill up the hour ? I may do this without imparting any useful instruc tion, without commending myself to any man's conscience, and without winning, or even aiming to win, one soul to Christ. It is possible there may be in the audience a poor miserable creature, laboring under the load of a guilty conscience. If he depart without being told how to obtain rest for his soul, what may be the consequence ? Or, it may be, some stranger may be there who has never heard the way of salvation in his life. If he should depart without hearing it now, and should die before another opportu nity occurs, how shall I meet him at the bar of God ? Possibly some one of my constant hearers may die in the following week ; and is there nothing I should wish to say to him before his departure? It may be that I myself may die before another Lord's-day : this may be the last time that I shall ascend the pulpit ; and have I no important testi mony to leave with the people of my care ? Secondly : Every sermon should contain a portion of the doctrine of salvation by the death of Christ. — If there be any meaning in the foregoing passages, this is emphatically called the gospel. A sermon, therefore, in which this doctrine has not a place, and I might add a prominent place, cannot be a gospel sermon. It may be ingenious, it may be eloquent : but a want of the doctrine of the cross is a defect which no pulpit excel lence can supply. Far be it from me to encourage that fas tidious humour manifested by some hearers, who object to a sermon unless the cross of Christ be the immediate and direct topic of discourse. There is a rich variety in the sacred writings, and so there ought to be in our ministrations. There are various im portant truths supposed by this great doc trine, and these require to be illustrated and established. There are various branches pertaining to it, which require to be distinct ly considered ; various consequences arising from it, which require to be pointed out ; various duties corresponding with it, which require to be inculcated ; and various evils inimical to it, which may require to be ex posed. All I mean to say is that as there is a relation between these subjects and the doctrine of the cross, if we would introduce them in a truly evangelical manner, it re quires to be in that relation. I may establish the moral character and government of God ; the holiness, justice, goodness, and perpetu- al obligation of the law ; the evil of sin; and the exposedness of the sinner to end less punishment : but if I have any other end in view than, by convincing him of his lost condition, to make him feel the need of a Saviour, I cannot be said to have preached the gospel; nor is my reasoning, however forcible, likely to produce any good effect. I may be very pointed in pressing the prac tical parts of religion, and in reproving the sins of the times ; but if I enforce the one, or inveigh against the other, or any other than evangelical principles, I, in so doing, proach not the gospel. All scriptural preaching is practical : but when practice is enforced in opposition to doctrine, or even to the neglect of it, it becomes antiscriptu- ral. The apostolic precept runs thus: "Preach the word; be instant in season, and out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine." Thirdly : In preaching the gospel, we must not imitate the orator, whose attention is taken up with his performance, but rather the herald, whose object is to publish, or proclaim, good tidings. — There is in the one an earnestness, a fulness of heart, a mind so interested in the subject as to be inattentive to other things, which is not in the other. "We believe, and therefore speak." The emphatical meaning of the terms xxpvo-o-u, tvayyiKi^a, to preach, and preach the gos pel, is noticeable in the account given ofthe ministry of John the Baptist. "The law and the prophets were until John ; since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." Moses and the prophets spoke of things at a distance ; but John did more than prophecy : his was " the voice of one that cried ; " he announced the fulfilment of what had been foretold, pro claiming the Messiah as being among them, and his kingdom as at hand. He opened the door of salvation, and great numbers pressed in! Fourthly : Though the doctrine of recon ciliation by the blood of Christ forms the ground-work ofthe gospel embassy, yet it be longs to the work qf the ministry, not merely to declare that truth, but to accompany it with earnest calls, and pressing invitations, to sin ners to receive it, together with the most solemn warnings and threatenings to unbe lievers who shall continue to reject it. — The preaching of both John and Christ is, in deed, distinguished from the calls to re pentance and faith which they addressed to their hearers, as being the ground on which they rested ; but the latter were no less essential to their work than the former. John came "preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye," &c. After John was put in prison, Jesus came intp Galilee, "preaching the gospel of the king dom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand — repent ye, and believe the gospel." And thus the „ apostle explains the ministry of reconcilia- COMPOSITION OE A SERMON. 511 tion as comprehending not only a declara tion of the doctrine, but the persuading of men, "beseeching" them to be "reconciled to God."— 2 Cor. v. 18—20. There is nothing in all this which clashes with the most entire dependence on the in fluence of the Holy Spirit to give success to our ministry. Though we invite men, yet it is not on their pliability that we must rest our hopes, but on the power and promise of God. These are a part of the weapons of our warfare ; but it is through God that they become mighty to the pulling down of strong holds. LETTER III. ON The COMPOSITION OF a sermon. You have requested my thoughts on the composition of a sermon. There are seve ral publications on this subject well worthy of your notice: If what I may offer have any peculiar claim to your attention, it will be on account of its familiarity. The form or manner in which a sermon is composed and delivered is of some im portance, inasmuch as it influences the' at tention, and renders the matter delivered more or less easy of being comprehended and retained. In general,,- 1 do not think a minister of Jesus Christ? should aim at fine composition for the pulpit. We ought to use sound speech, and good sense : but if we aspire after great elegance of expression, or be come very exact in the formation of our periods, though we may amuse and please the ears of a few, we shall not profit the many, and consequently shall not answer the great end of our ministry. Illiterate hearers may be very poor judges oi preaching ; yet the effect which it produces upon them is the best criterion of its real excellence. A considerable part of the ministerial gift consists in fruitfulness of invention ; but that which greatly aids in the composition and delivery of a sermon is spirituality of mind. Without this we shall get no good ourselves, and be likely to do but little good to others. The first thing, therefore, be fore we sit down to study, should be to draw near to God in prayer. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. When a passage of Scripture is fixed on as the ground of a sermon, it is necessary to read it, in connection with the context, and endeavor by your own judgment to gain a clear idea of its genuii^meanhlg. Hav ing formed your own judgment, I would then advise you to consult expositors, who may throw additional light upon it, or give a different sense to it ; and, if the sense which they give appear to have evidence in its favor, you must relinquish your own. Be satisfied, at all events, that you have the mind of the Holy Spirit before you pro ceed. In the next place, having determined on the meaning of the text, it is necessary to examine the force of each word or term' of importance in it. This may be done by ex amining the use of the same terms in other places of Scripture by the help of a con cordance : but here a good judgment of your own is required, that you may select a few out of the many parallel texts which really illustrate that on which you have fix ed. Some of the worst sermons are made out of a concordance, being a mere collec tion of similar sounds, which, instead of throwing light upon the subject, only throw it into confusion. The force of words or terms of importance may also be examined to great advantage by a judicious use of contrast. Place all the important terms of your text, one at a time, in contrast with other things, or ex amine to what ideas they stand opposed. For example, let your text be Psa. cxlv. 16 : " Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living tiling." Begin with the term openest. " Thou openest thy hand." What an idea does this convey of the paternal goodness of the great Father of his creation ! How opposite to the conduct of many of his creatures one to another, whose hands and hearts are shut! What an idea also does it convey of the ease with which the wants of the whole creation are supplied! Let me pause a moment and think of their wants. What a quantity of vegetable and animal food is daily consum ed in one town : what a quantity in a large city like London : what a quantity in a na tion : in the whole world ! But men do not compose a hundredth part of "every living thing ! " O what innumerable wants through out all animate nature ; in the earth, in the air, in the waters ! Whence comes their supply ? " Thou openest thy hand," and all are satisfied. And can all these wants be supplied by only the opening qf his hand? What then must sin be, and salvation from it ? That is a work of wonderful expense. God openeth his hand and satisfieth all crea tion, but he mnst purchase the church with his blood ! God is all sufficient as to power in the one case as well as the other ; but there are things relative to his moral conduct which he cannot do : he cannot deny him self. Here lies the great difficulty of salva tion. In what a variety of ways are our wants supplied. The earth is fruitful, the air is full of life, the clouds empty them selves upon the earth, the sun pours forth its genial rays ; but the operation of. all these second causes is only the opening qf his hand ! Nay, further : look we to instru ments as well as means ? Parents feed us in our childhood, and supply our youthful 513 THOUGHTS ON PREACHING. wants ; ways are opened for our future subsistence ; connections are formed, which prove sources of comfort ; friends are kind in seasons of extremity ; supplies are pre sented from quarters that we never expect ed. What are all these but the opening of his hand ? If his hand were shut, what a world would this be ! The heavens brass, the earth iron; famine, pestilence, and death must follow. — See Psalm civ. 27 — 29. Next take up the pronoun thou. You will infer from this, If thou openest thy hand, should I shut mine against my poor brother ? This important sentiment will properly oc cupy the place of improvement towards the close of the discourse. Consider next the term hand. There is a difference between the hand and the heart. God opens his hand, in the way of provi dence, towards his worst enemies. He gave Nebuchadnezzar all the kingdoms of the earth. But he opens his heart in the gos pel of his Son. This is the better portion of the two. While we are thankful for the one, let us not rest satisfied in it : it is mere ly a hand portion. Rather let us pray with Jabez to be blessed indeed; and that we might have a Joseph's portion ; not only the precious things of the earth and the fulness thereof, but "the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush ! " Proceed : "Thou satisfiest the desire" &c. God, I see, does not give grudgingly. It seems to be a characteristic of the divine nature, both in the natural and moral world, to raise desires, not with a view to disap point, but to satisfy them. -O what a con soling thought is this ! If there be any de sires in us which are not satisfied, it is through their being self-created ones, which is our own fault ; or through artificial scar city arising from men's luxury, which is the fault of our species. God raises no desires as our creator but he gives enough to satisfy them ; and none as our redeemer and sanc- tifier but what shall be actually satisfied. O the wonderful munificence of GOD ! " How great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty ! " Now, having examined the force of every term of importance, by contrasting it with the - opposite idea or ideas, you will find yourself in possession of a number of inter esting thoughts, which you may consider as so many recruits, and, having noted them down as they occurred, your next business is to arrange them in order, or to give each thought that place in your discourse which i it will occupy to the greatest advantage. Many sermons are a mob of ideas : they ! contain very good sentiments, but they have no object in view ; so that the hearer is con tinually answering the preacher, Very true, very true ; but what then ? What is it you ¦are aiming at? What is this to the pur pose ? A preacher, then, if he would inter est a judicious hearer, must have an object at which he aims, and must never l<^ie sight of it throughout his discourse. This1 is what writers on those subjects call- a uni-f ty of design : and this is a matter of far greater importance than studying well turned periods, or forming p'retty expressions. It is this that nails the attention of an audience. ' One thing at once is a maxim in common life, by which the greatest men have made the greatest proficiency. Shun, therefore, a multiplicity of divisions and subdivisions. He who aims to say every thing iri a single ' discourse, in effect says nothing. - Avoid j making a head or particular of every thought. Unity of design may be preserved consist ently with various methods of division ; but the thing itself is indispensable to good preaching. The following reasons have induced me to hold this opinion : 1. The human mind is so formed as to delight in unity. To divide the attention is to weaken, if not destroy it. President Edwards's sermons, though in some respects not proper for imitation, yet, in this, are worthy of notice. They all hold up some one great leading truth ; and that truth is the spirit of his text, and serves for the title of his sermon. Look over the table of contents to his Thirty-three Ser mons, and you will find the title of each sermon throw an amazing light upon the text. The sentiment expressed in the title he calls the doctrine of the text ; and all he says is to illustrate, establish, or improve it. It might be of use, if, in the composition of sermons, we were to oblige ourselves to give titles to them. Many of what are called sermons would be found to require three or four titles to answer to their con tents ; which at once proves that, properly speaking, they are not sermons. 2. It has been said, and I think justly, that evidence should constitute the body or substance of every doctrinal discourse. Evidence may be drawn from various sources ; as Scripture testimony, example, the reason of things, &c. ; but evidence always implies a leading truth to be proved. Where this is not the case, the preacher gives himself no opportunity of advancing evidence ; consequently his sermon, if it may be so called, will be without body, without substance, and will contain nothing that shall leave any strong impression upon a thinking mind. In opening a battery against a wall, you would not throw your balls at random, first at one place and then at another, but direct your whole force against a particular spot. In the one case your labor would be thrown away ; in the other you are likely to make an effectual impression. 3. It is greatly assisting to memory, both with respect to the preacher and the hearer. Memory is exercised by the relation of one COMPOSITION OF A SERMON. 513 thing to another. Were you to attempt to remember seven different objects which bore no manner of relation to each other, such as water, time, wisdom, fruit, contentment, foivls, and revenues, you would find it almost im possible ; but take seven objects which, though different in nature, yet possess some point of unity which associates them in the mind, and the work is easy. Thus, sun, moon, stars, earth, air, fire, and water, are readily remembered, being so many principal parts of the one creation. 4. I cannot so well satisfy my conscience unless I have some interesting truth to com municate, or some important duty to en force. When I, have been thinking of the approach of the Lord's-day, the questions have occurred to my mind, What message have I to deliver to the people of my charge ? What important doctrine to estab lish? What sin to expose? What duty to inculcate? What case to meet? What acknowledged truth to improve ? The method frequently used seems to afford an answer to none of these questions ; but is rather saying, None at all, only I have a text of Scripture, on the different parts of which I may say something that will fill up the time. Divisions are either topical, textual, or compound. The first, ot.topical method, is to collect all your remarks upon a text, and reduce them to a point, like so many rays of light in a focus. In other words, ask your self, What important truth, is it that the text contains, and which I feel impressed upon my own mind, and wish to impress upon that qf the congregation ? And make this the topic of discourse. After going over the passage before men tioned, as above, you could be at no loss to determine that the leading sentiment would be — The bounty qf providence. This is what the old divines called the dqctrine, oi the text ; and, when they printed their discours es, this was the title of them. But, you may ask, what am I to do with this doctrine when I have found it ? Am I to make no divisions, or subdivisions ? Of what is my discourse to be composed ? Yes, there must be divisions, and perhaps sub divisions ; but let them not be so many dis tinct subjects, which have no relation to each other, but so many parts of a whole. When I have a subject before me, I sometimes ask myself three questions : What is it ? On what evidence does it rest ? and what does it concern me, or any of the people, if it be true ? The division of many subjects will therefore be, I. Explain the doctrine. II. Establish it. III. Improve it. Let us try the above subject on this plan, and see whether we cannot find a place, un der one or other of these heads, for all the foregoing thoughts, which occurred spon taneously on looking over the terms ; and perhaps, as we go along, others no less in teresting may occur. Introduction. — However men have been in the dark respecting God, it has not been for want of evidence. He is not far from every one of us ; for in him we live, and move, and have our being. Creation is full of God. There is something in this passage won derfully sublime. It expresses a great truth in the most simple language. It represents the great Creator as the Father of his crea tion, encompassed round by an innumerable family, whose eyes all wait on him for daily- food ; while he, with paternal goodness, opens his bounteous hand, and satisfies their various wants. The subject which invites our attention is — the bounty qf providence. In discoursing on it, I shall offer some remarks by the way of explanation — notice the evidence on which it rests — and then improve the subject. I. Offer some remarks upon the subject by way of explanation. There is much dis content among men. Many objections may arise in the mind to this doctrine, and but few feel themselves duly impressed with its reality. In order to obviate such objections, I would observe, 1. The desires which God satifies are to be restricted to those of his own creating. — Men have a number of artificial, self-crea ted, and sinful desires These he does not engage to satisfy ; but merely those which are purely natural. 2. Though God satisfies the desire of every living thing, yet not all in the same ivay, but of every creature according to its nature and circumstances. Many of the creatures, like the lily, neither toil nor spin, but receive the bounties of providence ready prepared to their hand : but this is not the case with all. It is not thus with man : for, though we are forbidden to be inordinate ly careful, yet we must commonly labor for what we bave. It is a part of .the load laid upon us, that by the sweat of the brow we shall eat bread. Nor do I know whether there be more of judgment than of mercy in this sentence. Idleness is certainly a soil on which sin grows to its greatest perfection. Considering what man is, it is a mercy that we have employment. It is among the rich who have nothing to do, and the very poor who will do but little, that wickedness is most prevalent. 3. The text expresses what God does or dinarily, not universally, or in all cases. — There are cases of famine ; seasons in which God as it were shuts his hand, on account of the sins of men ; and, if he shuts his hand, the heavens become brass, and. the earth iron, and millions perish for want of bread. There are also cases more common than fam- Vol. 2.— Sig. 65. 514 THOUGHTS ON PREACHING. ine: great numbers of mankind labor under the hardships of poverty, pine away, and are stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field. But this is one of those evils under which the world groans, owing to the sin of man. If there were no waste or intemper ance among one part of mankind, there would be a sufficiency and more than a suf- flency for all. II. We proceed to notice a few ofthe ev idences by which this important truth is supported. There are some subjects which are- diffi cult to prove, not from a scarcity, but from a profusion of evidence. Where this is the case, the difficulty lies in selection : I shall content myself with offering three things to your consideration. 1. The supplies we constantly receive cannot be ascribed to our own labor as their first cause. — The whole of human labor is but a kind of manufactory of the materials with which God is pleased to furnish us. We make nothing : we only change the forms of different productions, to suit our conveni ence. We are as really, though not as sen sibly, dependent on God as Israel in the wil derness, who were fed with manna from heaven. To this may be added, when we have labored to the utmost, it amounts to nothing without a divine blessing upon it. All, therefore, that we possess proceeds from the opening of his hand. 2. A consideration of the number and mag nitude ofthe wants of creatures will convince us that nothing short ofthe all-sufficiency of God can supply them. — What a quantity of vegetable and animal food is required by a single town, for only one day ! more for a city; more for a nation ; more still for a world ; and that for a succession of ages ! And what are men, when compared with the whole animate creation ? All nature teems with life. The earth, the air, the sea, each swarms with being. Whence can all these be continually supplied, but by him that made them ? " Thou openest thy hand, and sat- isfiest the desire of every living thing." 3. If we consider the various ways and means by which our supplies reach us, we shall be convinced of the truth in question. God does not satisfy our desires immediately, so much as through the medium of second causes ; and, though we may be too insensi ble of that hand which puts all in motion, yet it is no less engaged than if we were suppli ed by miracle. A concatenation, or chain of causes, is apparent in the works of God. Our food is prepared by acomplicate but beau tiful machinery. The heavens are made to hear the earth, the earth to hear the corn, the wine, and oil, and the corn, the wine, and the oil to bear the people. What is that ten dency of vnrioua parts of tlie creation to sat isfy the desires of other parts, but the opera tion ofhis hand, who is concerned to uphold and render happy the creatures that he hath made ? The earth abounds in fertility, and the air with salubrity : the clouds pour forth their waters on the earth, and the sun it3 genial rays. Fire and hail, snow and winds and seas contribute to our welfare. We in hale life with every breath we breathe . The elements are employed for our sustenance and happiness. Look we to instruments as well as means ? Tender parents have supplied us during our childhood and youth ; ways have been opened for our future subsistence ; endearing con nections have been formed, which have proved a source of much enjoyment ; in sea sons of difficulty friends have kindly aided us ; supplies have arisen from quarters that we never expected : what are these but the openings of his hand ? III. Improve the subject. There is no divine truth but is of some account, and this will be found not a little fruitful. 1. If such be the bounty of divine provi dence, under what obligations do we lie ! yet what, actual returns have we made for all this goodness ? All the return that God re quires is a grateful heart: " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart." But, alas ! are there not many of you who are this day his enemies ? The idea is shocking, that such a God should have an enemy ; yet so it is. The worst thing that was said of one ofthe worst of men was, "He hath eat en at my table, and hath lifted up his heel against me!" God has been feeding a gen eration of vipers ; which, under the frost of childhood or adversity, seemed to claim his pity : but which, under the sunshine of ma- turer years and prosperous circumstances, do not fail to hiss and spit their venom in his face ! These things must all come into ac count. All God's goodness, and all .our abuses of it, will be brought to light at the last day. 2. From this view of the divine beneficence, what encouragement is there to trust in the Lord under all our wants and difficulties ! With what ease can he supply our wants ! In how many ways, unknown to us, and un expected by us, can he give a favorable turn to our affairs ! " Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and ve rily thou shalt be fed." — " Young lions do lack, and suffer hunger : but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." 3. If such be the bounty of providence, what is that of grace? If this be the opening of his hand, that is the opening of his heart. If he satisfies natural desires, much more those that are spiritual. — See ver. 19. That which is only done generally in the one case is done universally in the other. Not one soul shall perish through famine, or any kind of want, whose desires terminate on Christ. While therefore we cherish gratitude for temporal mercies, let us not rest satisfied in COMPOSITION OF A SERMON. 515 them. God gave Nebuchadnezzar all the kingdoms of the earth. See how light he makes of worldly good, to bestow it on the basest of men ; to throw it away, as it were, on his worst enemies. Do not be content with Nebuchadnezzar's portion ; but rather covet, with Jabez, to be blessed indeed. Worldly good, though a blessing in itself, is capable of being turned by sin into a curse. Covet the crowning point of Joseph's portion ; not only the precious things of the earth, and the fulness thereof; but "the good will of him that dwelt in the bush ! " 4. If God be thus good, what must sin be, that can induce him to load this world with such a degree of misery ! 5. If God can with such ease supply all creation, what a blessing must redemptiqn be ! For the one he has only to open his hand, and the work is done : the other must be accomplished by the purchase of his blood ! God was sufficient for the latter, as well as for the former, as to power ; but there are things relative to his moral conduct which he cannot do — He cannot deny himself. Here lies the great difficulty of salvation. 6. What a motive is here to be kind to the poor and needy ! If we be children of God we must imitate him : " Thou shalt open thy hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in thy land." This may serve as an example of the top ical method of preaching ; and, where it can be accomplished, it is very interesting. But there are some texts which cannot be easily reduced to a single topic : and indeed it is better not to be confined to one method, but to indulge variety. Whatever method may be pursued consistent with a unity of design is very allowable. This object may be at tained in what is called the textual method of division, on which I shall next proceed to offer a few observations. [N. B. Mr. Fuller appears not to have ful611ed his intention of proceeding with the subject, the foregoing letters being all that can be found of the series. The letter which follows was addressed to another of Mr. Fuller's friends, and has been kindly handed to the editor of this edition of the works.] LETTER IV. ON THE COMPOSITION OF A SERMON. Endeavor to understand a subject be fore you speak of it. Do not overload your memory with words. Write down a. few leading things for the sake of arrangement and assistance of memory ; but not a great deal. Memory must not be overburdened. Never carry what you write into the pulpit. Avoid vulgar expressions : do not affect finical ones, nor words out of common use. As to division and arrangement, it barely respects the assortment of your materials. You must endeavor to understand and feel your subject, or the manner in which you divide it will signify but little. But if both these may be taken for granted, then I should say much depends, as to your being heard with pleasure and profit, on a proper discus sion and management ofthe subject. At all events, avoid a multiplying of heads and par ticulars. A few well-chosen thoughts, ma tured, proved, and improved, are abundant ly more acceptable than when the whole is Chopped, as it were, into mince meat. It is very common to divide in a textual way, i. e. to propose to discourse first upon one part or branch of it ; secondly, upon another, &c. As for example : — " In thy light we shall . see light." — Ps. xxxvi. 9. First, inquire what is meant by that light which is ascribed to God: "Thy light;" secondly, what is that light which we see in God's light ; thirdly, what is included in seeing this light. I cannot say I approve of this method. It is not, properly speaking, a sermon. A sermon is a discourse on some divine subject, or a train of interesting thoughts on some sacred theme. The above process, I think, should be brought into the introduction and explication of the text, and should be done in about five minutes. Then, having made the text plain by explaining the difficult parts of it, I should state the leading truth taught in the text as the sub ject or theme of the discourse. For ex ample : — "In tl y light we shall see light." — Ps. xxxvi. 9. There is a great boast of light in the world, and there is some ground for it in natural things : but, as of old the world by wisdom knew not God, so of late. If ever we know God, it must be through the medi um of his word. This I take to be the meaning of the passage I have read. The term light in the last clause means the true knowledge of God: and, in the first, the true medium of attaining it, viz. divine revelation. The sun seems to amount to this : the word of God is the grand medium by which we can attain a true and saving knowledge of God. What the sun and stars are to the regions of matter, that rev elation is to the mental region. — Gen. i. 13, 17. I. Let us try to illustrate this impor tant TRUTH BT A FEW OBSERVATIONS. 1. The knowledge of God was objec tively manifested by the light of nature, , but through man's depravity rendered in operative. See Rom. i. 28. It is the reve lation of the law of the Lord that convert- eth the soul. — Psa. xix. 1 — -11. 516 THOUGHTS ON PREACHING. 2. The true knbwledge of God was ob tained under the patriarchal or Mosaic dis pensation by great numbers, but it was through the medium of revelation. As revelation increased, the knowledge of God increased with it ; prophecies, promises, and precepts; types, and shadows. In this light they saw light, though not so clearly as in after days. 3. The true knowledge of God has ob tained still more ground. under the gospel dispensation ; but it is still through the me dium of revelation. Whenever the latter has gone among the Gentiles, the former has gone along with it : and, as revelation is more perfect, God has the more honored it. 4. The light of the gospel dispensation is not yet perfect (Isa. xxx. 26 ;) but, whatever degree of brilliancy arises, it will be through this medium. We must not think we have exhausted Scripture knowledge : we know but little of it yet. A thousand promises and prophecies will appear in a glory, of which we have now but faint ideas. Let us now- — II. Endeavor to improve this sub ject. 1. Be thankful for the light of revelation. Regard not the ignis fatuus which wanders about under the name of reason in modern productions. — 2 Peter i. 19. 2. Walk in it particularly in finding your way to eternal life ; for settling disputed principles, and regulating your lives. 3. There are many things of which you may entertain no doubt, concerning which there may be no manner of dispute ; yet make a point of seeing them in God's light. Many content themselves with seeing them in the light in which great and good men have placed them ; but, though angels, they are not the true light : they all view things partially. If what they say be true, yet, if we receive it merely on their repre sentation, our faith will stand in the wisdom of men, and not in the power of God. — 1 Cor. ii. 9. That knowledge or faith which has not God's word for its ground will not stand the day of trial. 4. Endeavor to spread it In your connec tions and in the world at large, &c. I do not pretend to say that sermons should be formed after this or any^ other mode. Every subject, in some degree, requires a mode of discussion for itself. There are, however, some general observations, that will ordinarily apply to most subjects. In doctrinal subjects, in which some great truth is taught, your business is to find out that truth, and state it in the introduction : if clearly stated, search for the evidences, and make it one head ofthe discourse to establish it. If it be a truth to be illustrated, set it before the hearers in various points of light; and as no divine truth is merely speculative, but some way or other concerns the hearers, the latter part ofthe subject should consist in improvement. I. To explain — II. To es- stablish — III. To improve it. But in all cases the division must be governed by the materials you have to divide. It would be absurd to explain a subject that was already as plain as you could make it, or in which there appeared no difficulties or liability to misunderstand. There are three questions I have often put to myself in thinking on a subject — What? Why? What then ? In other words — What am I going to teach ? Why ? or on what ground do I ad vance it as a truth ? And what does it-con cern any or all of my hearers if it be true ? On practical subjects there is seldom much room for you to prove and improve. Not the former, since there is no truth to be es tablished ; not the latter, because the whole sermon is an address upon those things of which no improvement is made. I have generally found that exhortations include matter for a two-fold division, and have very commonly proposed, first, to inquire into the meaning and extent of the exhortation ; secondly, to enforce it. Under the former there is room to expatiate upon every idea or branch of the duty. In the latter, to in troduce any motive that serves either for that or other texts. If a text be partly doctrinal and partly practical, the practical part may often be introduced first : I think the doctrinal part will come as a motive to enforce it. [The subject of the following paper, which ori ginally appeared in the Evangelical Magazine, will it is presumed sufficiently justify its insertion in this place.] ON THE ABUSE OF ALLEGORY IN PREACHING. After what several able writers have produced of late years upon this practice, particularly the late Dr. Stennett on the Parable ofthe Sower, it might have been expected that this evil would at least have been considerably diminished. But the misfortune is, those who are most addicted to this way of preaching seem in general to have very little inclination to read. Wheth er they deem it unlawful, as involving them in the sin charged upon the prophets, of stealing every one from his neighbor — or whether they be so enamored of their own thoughts as to set all others at defiance — I cannot decide ; but certain it is that many preach as if they had never read or thought upon the subject. Very little observation will convince us that the preachers with whom this practice mostly prevails are ofthe lower sort with re spect to seriousness and good sense, how- ABUSE OP ALLEGORY OF PREACHING. 517 ever high they may affect to soar in their notions. Of such characters I have but lit tle hope. But as some godly men are, I believe, too much infected with this disease, if the editor will indulge me with two or three pages in the magazine, I will expostu late with one of them on the causes and con sequences ofhis conduct. Let me intreat you then, my friend, to consider, in the first place, whether, when you turn plain historical facts into allegory, you treat the word of God with becoming reverence. Can you seriously think th ¦ Scriptures to be a book of riddles and co nundrums, and that a Christian minister is properly employed in giving scope to his fancy, in order to discover their solution ? I have been asked the meaning of certain passages of Scripture ; and, when I have an swered according to what appeared to be the scope of the sacred writer, it has been said, " Yes, that may be the literal meaning ; but what is the spiritual meaning of it ? " as though every part of Scripture had a spirit ual, that is, a hidden or allegorical meaning, besides its obvious one. That some parts of Scripture are allegorical — that some pro phecies have a double reference — and that the principle suggested by many a passage may be applied to other things besides what is immediately intended — there is no doubt: but this is very different from the practice to which I allude. All Scripture is profitable in some way ; some for doctrine, some for reproof, some for correction, and some for instruction in righteousness : but all is not to be turned into allegory. If we must play, let it be with things of less consequence than the word of the eternal God ! Secondly : consider whether the motive that stimulates you to such a manner of treating the sacred oracles be any other than vanity. If you preached to a people pos sessed of any thing like good sense, they would consider it as perverting the word of God, and whipping it into froth. Instead of applauding you, they would be unable to endure it. But, if your people be ignorant, such things will please them ; and they may gaze, and admire, and smile, and say one to another, it may be in your hearing too, Well, what a man ! Who would have thought that he would have found so much gospel in that text? Ah, very true: who indeed? But what would the apostle Paul say ? " Are ye not carnal ? " Is it for a man of God to " court a grin when he should woo a soul ? " For shame ! desist from such folly, or lay aside the Christian ministry ! You are commanded to " feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood : " but it is not every thing pleasing to a people that feeds them in the sense of the apostle. He did not mean to direct the Ephesian elders to feed men's fancies, and still less their prejudices ; but their spiritual desires : an J this is accomplished only by administering to them the words of truth and soberness. If your preaching be such as God approves, and if you study to show yourself approved of him, it will lead the people to admire your Saviour rather than you, and render him the topic of their con versation. Thirdly : Consider whether both you and your people be not in danger of mistaking this spiritualizing passion for spirituality of mind and a being led into " the deep things of God." There are few objects at a great er distance than the effervescence of a vain imagination and that holy and humble spirit by which spiritual things are discerned ; yet the one is often mistaken for the other. The preacher dreams of deep discoveries : and the people wonder to hear them: but what saith the Scriptures ? " The prophet that hath only a dream must tell his dream ; but he that hath God's word, let him speak it faithfully : for what is the chaff to the wheat ? " Finally : Consider the consequences which must follow from this practice. If an un believer come into your assembly, and find you arraying Christianity in this fancy dress, is it likely he should be convinced of all — and, the secrets of his heart being made manifest, fall down and worship God, and report that Cod is among you, and thajt of a truth ? If he hear you treat of the historical parts of Scripture as meaning something very different from what they appear to mean, will he not say you are mad, and be furnished with a handle for representing religion itself as void of truth and good. sense ? Or if he hear you interpret the miracles, which Christ wrought in proof of his Messiahship, of that change which is now wrought in the minds of sinners by the Spirit of God, will he not say that you your selves appear to consider the whole as a string of fables, and are employed in finding out the morals of them ? But perhaps you are seldom attended by men of this description. Be it so ; what, think you, must be the effect of such preach ing on professing Christians, either nomi nal or real? The former will either fall asleep under it, as something which does not concern them ; or, if they attend to you, and understand your interpretations, they will think they are quite in the secret, and set themselves down for deep Christians; when, in truth, they know nothing yet as they ought to know. And, as to real Chris tians, their souls will either pine under your ministry, or, by contracting a false taste, will thirst after the froth of human fancy, to the neglect ofthe sincere milk ofthe word; 518 THOUGHTS ON PREACHING. and instead of growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, will make no progress in either. It is an easy thing for a man of a luxuri ant imagination, unincumbered byjudgment, to make any thing he pleases of the Scrip tures, as well as any other book ; but in so doing he must destroy their simplicity, and of course their efficacy ; which in fact is re ducing them to nothing. If they be not ap plied to their appropriate uses, they are per verted; and a perverted good proves the greatest of evils. Thus it is that characters abound who are full of scripture language, while yet they are awfully destitute of scrip ture knowledge, or scriptural religion. MEMOIRS REV. SAMUEL PEARCE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF MR. PEARCE, THESE MEMOIRS, COMPILED WITH THEIR APPROBATION AND FROM A TENDER REGARD TO HIS MEMORY, ARE AFFECTIONATELY AND RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED BY THE COMPILER. INTRODUCTION. It was observed by this excellent man, during his affliction, that he never till then gained any personal instruction from our Lord's telling Peter by what death he should glorify God. To die by a consumption had used to be an object of dread to him: but " Oh my dear Lord," said he, '' if by this death I can most glorify thee, I prefer it to all others." The lingering death of the cross, by which our Saviour himself expired, afforded him an opportunity of uttering some of the most affecting sentences which are left on sacred record: and to the lingering death of this his honored servant we are indebted for a considerable part ofthe materials which appear in these Me moirs. Had he been taken away suddenly, there had been no opportunity for him to have express ed his sentiments and feelings in the manner he has now done in letters to his friends. While in health, his hands were full of labor, and consequently his letters were written mostly upon the spur of occasion; and related principally to business, or to things which would be less interesting to Christians in general. It is true, even in them it was his manner to drop a few-sentiments, towards the close, of an experimental kind; -and many of these hints will be interspersed in this brief account of him: but it was during his affliction, when, being laid aside nearly a year, and obliged to desist from all public concerns, that he gave scope to all the feelings of his heart. Here, standin-r as on an eminence, he reviewed his life, re-examined the ground of his hope, and anticipated the crown which awaited him, with a joy truly unspeakable and full of glory. Like Elijah, he has left the " chariot of Israel," and ascended as in a " chariot of fire;" but not without having first communicated of his eminently Christian spirit. Oh that a double portion of it may rest upon us! MEMOIRS OF THE LATE REV. SAMUEL PEARCE CHAPTER I. HIS PARENTAGE, CONVERSION, CALL TO THE MINISTRY, AND SETTLEMENT AT BIR MINGHAM. Mr. Samuel Pearce was born at Ply mouth, on July 20th, 1766. His father who survives him, is a respectable silversmith, and has been many years a deacon of the baptist church in that place. When a child, he lived with his grand father, who was very fond of him, and en deavored to impress his mind with the prin ciples of religion. At about eight or nine years of age he came home to his father with a view of learning his business. As he ad vanced in life, his evil propensities, as he has said, began to ripen ; and, forming con nexions with several vicious school-fellows, he became more and more corrupted. So greatly was his heart at this time set in him to do evil, that had it not been for the re straining goodness of God, which somehow, he knew not how, preserved him in most in stances from carrying his wicked inclinations into practice, he supposed he should have been utterly ruined. At times he was under strong convictions, which rendered him miserable ; but at other times they subsided, and then he would re turn with eagerness to his sinful pursuits. When about fifteen years old he was sent by his father to inquire after the welfare of a person in the neighborhood, in dying cir cumstances, who (though before his depar ture he was in a happy state of mind) at that time was sinking into deep despair. While in the room of the dying man, he heard him cry out with inexpressible agony of spirit, " I am damned forever ! " These awful words pierced his soul ; and he felt a resolu tion at the time to serve th/r Lord ; but the impression soon wore off, and he again re turned to folly. Vol. 2.— Sig. 66. When about sixteen years of age, it pleas ed God effectually to turn him to himself. A sermon delivered by Mr. Birt, who was then co-pastor with Mr. Gibbs ofthe baptist' church at Plymouth, was the first means of impressing his heart with a sense ofhis lost condition, and of directing him to the gospel remedy. The change in him appears to have been sudden, but effectual ; and, though his vicious propensities were bitter to his recol lection, yet, being now sensibly subdued, he was furnished with so much the clearer evi dence that the work was of God. " I be lieve," he says, " few conversions were more joyful. The change produced in my views, feelings, and conduct, was so evident to my self, that I could no more doubt of its being from God than of my existence. I had the witness in myself, and was filled with peace and joy unspeakable." His feelings being naturally strong, and receiving a new direction, he entered into religion with all his heart ; but, not having known the devices of Satan, his soul was in jured by its own ardor, and he was thrown into great perplexity. Having read Dod dridge's " Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul," he determined formally to dedi cate himself to the Lord, in the manner re commended in the seventeenth chapter of that work. The form of a covenant, as there drawn up, he also adopted as his own ; and, that he might bind himself in the mostsolemn and affecting manner, signed it with his blood. But afterwards, failing in his engagements, he was plunged into great distress, and al most into despair. On a review of his cov enant, he seems to have accused himself of a pharisaical reliance upon the strength of his own resolutions ; and therefore, taking the paper to the top of his father's house, he tore it into small pieces, and threw it from him to be scattered by the wind. He did not however consider his obligation to be the Lord's as hereby nullified ; but, feeling more 522 MEMOIRS OE MR. PEARCE. suspicious of himself, he depended solely upon the blood ofthe cross. After this he was baptized, and became a member ofthe baptist church at Plymouth, the ministers and members of which, in a few years, perceived in him talents for pub lic work. Being solicited by both his pas tors, he exercised as a probationer ; and, re ceiving a unanimous call from the church, entered on the work of the ministry in No vember, 1786. Soon after this he went to the academy at Bristol, then under the su perintendence of Dr. Caleb Evans. Mr. Birt, now pastor of the baptist church, in the square, Plymouth Dock, in a letter to the compiler of these memoirs, thus speaks of him : — " Though he was, so far as I know, the very first-fruits of my ministry on my coming hither, and though our friendship and affection for each other were great and con stant, yet previously to his going to Bristol I had but few opportunities of conversing with him, or of making particular observa tions on him. All whobestknew him, how ever, well remember and most tenderly speak ofhis loving deportment; and those who at tended the conferences with him soon re ceived the most impressive intimations of his future eminence as a minister of our Lord Jesus Christ." " Very few," adds Mr. Birt, " have entered upon and gone through their religious pro fession with more exalted piety or warmer zeal than Samuel Pearce ; and as few have exceeded him in the possession and display of that charity which 'suffereth long, and is kind, that envieth not, that vaunteth not it self, and is not puffed up, that doth not be have itself unseemly, that seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, that beareth all things, believeth all things, endureth all things.' But why should I say this to you ? You know him yourself." While at the academy he was much dis tinguished by the amiableness of his spirit and behavior. It is sometimes observable that where the talents of a young man are admired by his friends, and his early efforts flattered by crowded auditories, effects have been produced which have proved fatal to his future respectability and usefulness. But this was not the case with Mr. Pearce. Notwithstanding the popularity which even at that early period attended his ministerial exercises, his tutors have more than once remarked that he never appeared to them to be in the least elated, or to have neglected his proper studies ; but was uniformly the serious, industrious, docile, modest, and un assuming young man. Towards the latter end of 1789, he came to the church in Cannon-street, Birmingham, to whom he was rscommended by Mr. Hall, now of Cambric! re, at that time one ofhis tutors. After preaching to them a while on probation he was chosen to be their pas tor. His ordination was in August 1790. Dr. Evans gave the charge, and the late venerable Mr. Hall, of Arnsby, delivered an address to the church on the occasion. About two months after this he wrote to his friend Mr. Summers. Whether the sen timents contained in that letter arose from the recollection of his late solemn engage ment is uncertain ; but they were certainly very appropriate to the occasion. Request ing his friend to pray for him, he says :— "Paul speaks of blessings received through the prayers of his fellow-christians : no won der, therefore, he so often solicits their con tinuance. But, if it be well to be interested in the prayers of fellow-christians, how much more to believe the great High Priest of our profession, Jesus the Son of God, is gone into the holy of holies, with our names on his breast-plate, ever to plead in the presence of God for us — for us : O transporting thought! Who cap doubt ofthe success of suchan intercessor? " I have of late had my mind very plea santly, and I hope profitably, exercised on this subject, more than ever, and find increas ing pleasure from a well-grounded faith in the divinity oi my incarnate advocate. I see the glory ofhis office, arising from the infi nite extent of his knowledge, power, and love, as well as from the efficacy ofhis aton ing sacrifice. I do not wonder at those men who deny the priestly office of Christ, when they have refused him the honors qf deity. I rejoice in that he who pleads for us knows our wants individually, as well as the ne cessities of the whole church collectively. Through his intercession alone I expect my sins to be pardoned, my services accepted, and my soul preserved, guided, and comfort ed : and, with confidence in his intercession, I cannot doubt but I shall enjoy all. O how sweet is it, my dear friend, to exercise a lively faith in a living Saviour ! May you and I do this daily. Thus for us to live will be Christ, and to die gain : living or dying, we shall be the Lord's." In this early stage ofhis ministry; redemp tion by the blood of Christ appears to have heen his chosen theme. Writing to the same friend as above, on Sept. 30, 1791, he says : — " I have for my evening discourse the best subject in all the Bible — redemp tion.— Ephes. i. 7. How welcome to the captive ! Forgiveness,' how delightful to the guilty ! Grace, how pleasing to the heart of a saved sinner ! O, my dear friend, how much do we lose of gospel blessings for want of realizing our personal concern with them ! Hence it is that we are no more humble, thankful, watchful, prayerful, joyful. We view the glories ofthe gospel at a distance ; and for want of that faith which is the sub stance of things hoped for, and evidence of things not seen, think too lightly of them. " Lord, increase our faith ! " CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. STEADMAN. 623 In the year 1791 he married Miss Sarah Hopkins, daughter of Mr. Joshua Hopkins of Alcester — a connection which appears to have been all along a source of great enjoy ment to him. The following lines addressed to Mrs. Pearce when he was on a journey, a little more than a year after their marriage, seem to be no more than a common letter: yet they show, not only the tenderness of his affection, but his heavenly-mindedness, his gentle manner of persuading, and how every argument was fetched from religion, and every incident improved for introducing it:— " Chipping Norton, August 15, 1792. " I believe, on retrospection, that I have hitherto rather anticipated the proposed time of my return, than delayed the interview with my dear Sarah for an hour. But what shall I say, my love, now to reconcile you to my procrastinating my return for several days more ? Why I will say — It appears I am called of God ; and I trust the piety of both of us will submit and say, ' Thy will be done.' " You have no doubt perused Mr. Ryland's letter to me, wherein I find he solicits an ex change. The reason he assigns is so obvi ously important that a much greater sacrifice than we are called to make should not be withheld to accomplish it. I therefore pro pose, God willing, to spend the next Lord's day at Northampton. I thought of taking tea with you this evening : that would have been highly gratifying to us both ; but it must be our meat and drink to do and submit to the will of our heavenly Father. All is good that comes from him, and all is done right which is done in obedience to him. Oh to be perfectly resigned to his disposal — how good is it! May you, my dearest Sarah, and myself, daily prove the sweetness of this pious frame of soul : then all our duties will be sweet, all our trials will be light, all our pleasures will be pure, and all our hopes sanctified. " This evening I hope to be at Northamp ton. Let your prayers assist my efforts on the ensuing Sabbath. You will, I trust, find in Mr. R. a ship richly laden with spiritual treasures. Oh for more supplies from the exhaustless mines of grace ! " The soul of Mr. Pearce was formed for friendship : it was natural therefore to sup pose that, while engaging in the pursuit of his studies at the academy, he would con- . tract religious intimacies with some ofhis brethren ; and it is worthy of notice that the grand cement of his friendship was kin dred piety. In the two following letters, addressed to his friend Mr. Steadman, the, reader will perceive the justness of this re mark, as well as the encouraging prospects which soon attended his labors at Birming ham: — May 9, 1792. " My very dear Brother, " You live so remote that I can hear nothing of your prosperity at Broughton. I hope you are settled with a comfortable people, and that you enjoy much of your Master's presence, both in the study and in the pulpit. For my part, I have nothing to lament but an insensible ungrateful heart,and that is sufficient cause for lamentation. This, only this, bows me down ; and under this pressure 1 am ready to adopt the words I preached from last evening — •' Oh that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest ! ' " As a people we are generally united : I believe more so than most churches of the same dimensions. Our number of members is about 295, between forty and fifty of whom have joined us since I saw you, and most of them I have the happiness of con sidering as my children in the faith. — There is still a crying out amongst us after salva tion ; and still, through much grace, it is my happiness to point them to ' the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world.' , " In preaching, I have often peculiar lib erty ; at other times barren. I suppose my experience is like that of most of my breth ren : but I am not weary of my work. I hope still that I am willing to spend and be spent, so that I may win souls to Christ, and finish my course with joy : but I want more heart-religion : I want a more habitual sense of the divine presence : I want to walk with God as Enoch walked. There is nothing that grieves me so much, or brings so much darkness on my soul, as my little spirituality, and frequent wanderings in secret prayer. I cannot neglect the duty ; but it is seldom that I enjoy it. 4 Ye that love the Lord indeed, Tell me, is it so with you V When I come to the house of God, I pray and preach with freedom. Then I tbink the presence of the people seems to weigh more with me than the presence of God, and deem myself a hypocrite, almost ready to ¦leave my pulpit, for some more pious preach er. But the Lord does own the word : and again I say, If I go to hell myself, I will do what I can to keep others from going thith er ; and so in the strength of the Lord I will. " An observation once made to me helps to support me above water: — 'If you did not plough in your closet, you would not reap - in the pulpit.' And again I think, 'the Lord dwelleth in Zion, and loveth it more than the dwellings of Jacob.' " Feb. 1793. " The pleasure which your friendly epistle gave me rises beyond expression ; and it is one of the first wishes of my heart ever to 524 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. live in your valued friendship. Accept this and my former letters, my dear brother, as sufficient evidences of my ardent wishes to preserve, by correspondence, that mutual remembrance of each other which on my part will ever be pleasurable, and on yours, I hope, never painful. " But, ah, how soon may we be rendered incapable of such an intercourse! When I left Bristol, I left it with regret. I was sor ry to leave my studies to embark, inexpe rienced as I am, on the tempestuous ocean of public hfe, where the high blowing winds, and rude noisy billows, must more or less inevitably annoy the trembling voyager. Nor did it make a small addition to my pain that I was to part with so many of my dear companions, with whom I had spent so many happy hours, either in furnishing or unbur dening the mind. I need not say, amongst the first of these I considered Josiah Evans.* But ah, my friend, we shall see his face no more ! Through divine grace I hope we shall go to him ; but he will not return to us. 'He wasted away, he gave up the ghost, and where is he ? ' I was prepared for the news because I expected it. The last time I heard directly from him was by a very serious and affectionate letter, which I received, I think, last September. To it I replied ;. but received no answer. I conjec tured — I feared; and now my conjectures and fears are all realized. Dear departed youth ! Thy memory will ever be grateful to this affectionate breast. May thy amia ble qualities live again in thy surviving friend, that, to the latest period of his life, he may thank God for the friendship of Josiah Evans ! " I assure you, my dear Steadman, I feel, "keenly feel, tiie force ofthe sentiment which Blair thus elegantly expresses : — ' Of joys departed, ne'er to be recalled, How painful the remembrance !' " But I sorrow not as one without hope. I have a two-fold hope : I hope he is now among the spirits of the just made perfect, and that he will be ofthe blessed and holy number who have part in the first resurrec tion: and I hope also, through the same rich, free, sovereign, almighty, matchless grace, to join the number too. Pleasing thought ! Unite to divide no more ! " f preached last night from Rev. xxi. 6 : 'I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain ofthe water of life freely.' I took occasion to expound the former part of the chapter, and found therein a pleasure inex pressible; especially when speaking from the first verse — 'and there was no more sea.' The first idea that presented itself to me was this — there shall be no bar lo inter- * See a brief account of him, given iu part by Mr. Pearce, in Dr. Rippon'a Register, Vol. I. pp. 51.— 516. course. Whether the thought be just, or not, I leave with you and my hearers to de termine ; but 1 found happy liberty in illus trating it. What is it that separates one nation, and one part of the globe, from another? Is it not the sea? Are not Christians, though all of one family, the common Father of wliich is God, separated by this sea, or that river, or the other stream below ? Yes, but they are one family still. There shall be none of these obstructions to communion, of these bars to intercourse ; nothing to divide their affections or disunite their praise forever. — Forgive my freedoms. I am writing to a friend, to a brother." There are few, if any, thinking men but who at some seasons have had their minds perplexed with regard to religious princi ples, even those which are of the greatest importance. In the end, however, where the heart is right, such exercises commonly issue in a more decided attachment to the truth. Thus it was with Mr. Pearce. In another part of the above letter, he thus writes to his friend Steadman : — "I have, since I saw you, been much perplexed about some doctrinal points, both Arminian and Socinian, I believe through reading very attentively, but without sufficient depen dence on tbe Spirit of truth, several contro versies on those subjects ; particularly the writings of Whitby, Priestly, and others. Indeed, had the state of mind I was in about ten weeks since continued, I should have been incapable of preaching with comfort at all. But in the mount of the Lord will he be seen. Just as I thought of giving up, he who hath the hearts of all men in his hand, and turneth them as the rivers of water are turned, was pleased, by a merci ful though afflicting providence, to set me at a happy liberty. " I was violently seized with a disorder very rife here, and which carried off many, supposed to be an inflammation in the bowels. One Sabbath evening I felt such alarming symptoms that I did not expect to see tiie Monday morning. In these circum stances I realized the feelings of a dying man. My mind had been so accustomed to reflect on virtue and moral goodness, that the first thing I attempted was a survey of my own conduct ; my diligence and faith fulness in the ministry, my unspotted life, &c. &c. But, ah, vain props these for dy ing men to rest on ! Such heart-sius, such corruptions, and evil propensities, recurred to my mind, that, if ever I knew the moment when I felt my own righteousness to be as loathsome and filthy rags, it was then. And where should I, where could I, where did I flee, but to Him whose glory and grace I had been of late degrading, at least in my thoughts ? Yes, there 1 saw peace for guilty consciences was to be alone obtained through an almighty Saviour. And oh, CORRESPONDENCE WITH MR. SUMMERS. 525 wonderful to tell, I again came to him ; nor was I sent away without the blessing. I found him full of all compassion, ready to receive the most ungrateful of men. ' Oh to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrain'd to be !' Thus, my dear brother, was the snare broken, and thus I escaped. * A debtor to mercy alone, Of covenant mercy I sing.* Join with me in praising Him who remem bered me in my low estate, because his mercy endureth forever. Yet this is among the all things. I have found it has made me more spiritual in preaching. I have prized the gospel more than ever, and hope it will be the means of guarding me ao-ainst future temptations." From his first coming to Birmingham, his meekness and patience were put to the trial by an antinomian spirit which infected many individuals, both in and out of his con- ¦ gregation. It is well known with what af fection it was his practice to beseech sinners to be reconciled to God, and to exhort Christians to the exercise of practical god liness : but these were things which they could not endure. Soothing doctrine was all they desired. Therefore it was that his ministry was traduced by them as arminian, and treated with neglect and contempt. But, like his divine Master, he bore the con tradiction of sinners against himself, and this while he had the strongest satisfaction that, in those very things to which they ob jected, he was pleasing God. And though he plainly perceived the pernicious influence of their principles upon their own minds, as well as the minds of others, yet he treated them with great gentleness and long for bearance ; and, when it became necessary to exclude such of this description as were in communion with him, it was with the greatest reluctance that he came into that measure, and not without having first tried all other, means in vain. He was not apt to deal in harsh language; yet, in one ofhis letters about that time, he speaks of the principles and spirit of these people as a " cursed leaven." Among his numerous religious friendships, he seems to have formed one for the special purpose oi spiritual improvement. This was with Mr. Summers, of London, who often accompanied him in his journeys ; to whom, therefore, it might be expected he would open his heart without reserve. Here, it is true, we sometimes see him, like his breth ren, groaning under darkness, want of spir ituality, and the remains of indwelling sin ; but frequently rising above all, as into his native element, and pouring forth his ardent soul in expressions of joy and praise. — On Aug. 19, 1793, he writes thus :— " My dear Brother, " When I take my pen to pursue my cor respondence v/ith you, I have no concern but to communicate something which may answer the same end we propose in our an nual journeys ; viz. lending some assistance in the important object of getting and keep ing nearer to God. This, I am persuaded, is the mark at which we should be contin ually aiming, nor rest satisfied until we at tain that to which we aspire. I am really ashamed of myself, when, on the one hand, I review the time that has elapsed since I first assumed the christian name, with the op portunities of improvement in godliness which have crowded on my moments since that period ; and when, on the other, I feel the little advance I have made ! More light, to be sure, I have ; but light without heat leaves the Christian half dissatisfied. Yes terday, I preached on the duty of engaged- ness in God's service, from Jer. xxx. 21, ' Who is this that engaged his heart to ap proach unto me, saith the Lord ¦ (a text for which I am indebted to our last journey.) While urging the necessity of Tieari-religion, including sincerity and ardor, I found my self much assisted by reflecting on the ardor which our dear Redeemer discovered in the cause of sinners. ' Ah,' I could not help saying, ' if our Saviour had measured his in- tenseness in his engagements for us, by our fervency in fulfilling our engagements to him, — we should have been now farther from hope than we are from perfection." 4 Dear Lord the ardor of thy love Reproves my cold returns.5 " Two things are causes of daily aston ishment to me : — The readiness of Christ to come from earth to heaven for me ; and my backwardness to rise from earth to heaven with him. But, oh, how animating the pros pect! A time approaches when we shall rise to sink no more : to 'be forever with the Lord.' To be with the Lord for a week, for a day, for an hour; how sweetly must the moments pass! But to he forever with the Lord, — that enstamps salvation with perfec tion ; that gives an energy to our hopes, and a dignity to our joy, so as to render it un speakable and full of glory ! I have had a few realizing moments since we parted, and the effect has been, I trust, a broken heart. Oh, my brother, it is desirable to have a broken heart, were it only for the sake of the pleasure it feels in being helped and healed by Jesus ! Heart-affecting views of the cursed effects of sin are highly salutary to a Christian's growth in humility, confi dence, and gratitude. At once how abasing and exalting is the comparison of our loath some hearts with that of the lovely Saviour ! In Him we see all that can charm an angel's heart : in ourselves all that can gratify a devil's. And yet we may rest perfectly as- 526 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. sured that, these nests of iniquity shall, ere long, be transformed into the temples of God ; and these sighs of sorrow be exchanged for songs of praise. " Last Lord's-day I spent the most profit able Sabbath to myself that I ever remem ber since I have been in the ministry ; and to this hour I feel the sweet solemnities of that day delightfully protracted. Ah ! my brother, were it not for past experience I should say, ' My heart presumes I cannot lose The relish all my days.' But now I rejoice with trembling, desiring to 'hold fast what I have, that no man take my crown.' Yet fearing that I shall find how, — e Ere one fleeting hour is past, The flatt'ring world employs Some sensual bait to seize my taste, And to pollute my joys.' " In April, 1794, dropping a few lines to the compiler of these Memoirs, on a Lord's day evening, he thus concludes : — " We have had a good day. I find, as a dear friend once said, it is pleasant speaking for God when we walk with him. Oh, for much of Enoch's spirit! The Head of the church grant it to my dear brother, and his affec tionate friend — S. P." In another letter to Mr. Summers, dated June 24, 1794, he thus writes: — "We, my friend, have entered on a correspondence of heart with heart ; and must not lose sight of that avowed object. I thank you sincerely for continuing the remembrance of so un worthy a creature in your intercourse with heaven ; and I thank that sacred Spirit whose quickening influences, you say, you enjoy in the exercise. Yes, my brother, I have reaped the fruits of your supplications. I have been indulged with some seasons of unusual joy, tranquil as solitude, and solid as the rock on which our hopes are built. In public exercises, peculiar assistance has been afforded ; especially in these three things : — The exultation of the Redeemer's glory — the detection of the crooked ways, false refuges, and self-delusions of the hu man heart — and the stirring up of the saints to press onward, making God's cause their own, and considering themselves as living not for themselves, but for Him alone. " Nor hath the word been without its effect: above fifty have been added to our church this year, most of whom I rejoice in as the seals of my ministry in the Lord. In deed, I am surrounded with goodness ; and scarcely a day passes over my head but I say, were it not for an ungrateful heart, I should be the happiest man alive ; and, that excepted, I neither expect nor wish to be happier in this world. My wife, my children, and myself, are uninterruptedly healthy; my friends kind ; my soul at rest ; my la bors successful, &c. Who should be con tent and thankful if I should not? Oh, my brother, help me to praise ! " In a letter to Mrs. Pearce, from Plymouth, dated Sept. 2, 1794, the dark side of the cloud seems towards him : — " I have felt much barrenness," says he, " as to spiritual things, since I have been here, compared with my usual frame at home ; and it is a poor exchange to enjoy the creature at the expense of the Creator's presence ! A few seasons of spirituality I have enjoyed; but my heart, my inconstant heart, is too prone to rove from its proper centre. Pray for me, my dear, my dearest friend : I do for you daily. Oh, wrestle for me, that I may have more of Enoch's spirit ! I am fully persuaded that a Christian is no longer really happy, and inwardly satisfied, than whilst he walks with God ; and I would this moment rejoice to abandon every pleasure here for a closer walk with him. I cannot, amidst all the round of social pleasure, amidst the most in viting scenes' of nature,y"eeZ that peace with God which passeth understanding. My thirst for preaching Christ, I fear, abates, and a detestable vanity for tbe reputation of a 'good preacher' (as the world terms it) has already cost me many conflicts. Daily I feel convinced of the propriety of a remark which my friend Summers made on his jour ney to Wales, that ' it is easier for a Chris tian to walk habitually near to God than to be irregular in our walk with him.' But I want resolution ; I want a contempt for the world ; I want more heavenly-mindedness ; I want more humility; I want much, very much, of that which God alone can bestow. Lord, help the weakest lamb in all thy flock! " I preached this evening from Cant. ii. 3: 'I sat down under his shadow with great de light, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.' But how little love for my Saviour did I feel ! With what little affection and zeal did I speak ! I am by some praised. I am fol lowed by many. I am respected by most of my acquaintance. But all this is nothing, yea, less than nothing, compared with pos sessing this testimony, that I please God. Oh, thou friend of sinners, humble me by re pentance, and melt me down with love ! "To-morrow morning I set offforLaun- ceston. I write to-night, lest my stay in Cornwall might make my delay appear te dious to the dear and deserving object of my most undissembled love. Oh, my Sarah, had I as much proof that I love Jesus Christ as I have of my love to you, I should prize it more than rubies ! As often as you can find an hour for correspondence, think of your more than ever affectionate — S. P." On the same subject, and the same occa sion, about three weeks afterwards (Sept. 23, 1794,) he wrote to Mr. Summers. His dissatisfaction with himself while spending his time in visits, and his satisfaction when engaged in his proper work, are well worthy EXERTIONS IN PROMOTING MISSIONS. 527 of attention. "I was pretty much engaged in preaching," says he, " and often felt en larged in public work : but, in private, my almost daily cry was, 'My leanness, my leanness ! ' Indeed if was a barren visit, as to the inward exercises of grace. Now and then I felt a brokenness of spirit, and a pant ing after God ; but in general my mind was in a dissipated state. After so long an ab sence from so large an acquaintance, I was always crowded with company, some of whom though amiable, were very gay. Their politeness and cheerfulness, joined with a high degree of indulgence, were too fasci nating for my volatile mind. I admired, and was too much conformed to their spirit. I did indeed often struggle with myself, and watched for occasions of dropping some im proving hint ; but, either through want of opportunity or of fortitude, the hint seldom produced a long conversation, or a perma nent effect. New visits, or excursions, were every day proposed, and my heart was con tinually divided between painful recollection and flattering hopes. One lesson, indeed, I have thoroughly learned — that real, solid satisfaction, is to be found in nothing but God. May I have grace to improve it throughout my future life. "The last week I have known more of the power of inward religion than all the four which I have spent from home. I de voted the week to my Lord's service entire ly, and I found in keeping his command ments great reward." In another letter to Mr. Summers, dated Nov. 10, 1794, he says — " I suppose I shall visit London in the spring: prepare my way by communion both with God and man. I hope your soul prospers. I have enjoyed more of God within this month than ever since the day of my espousals with him. Oh, my brother, help me to praise ! I cannot say that I am quite so exalted in my frame to day ; yet still I acknowledge what I have lived upon for weeks — that, were there no being or thing in the universe beside God and me, I should be at no loss for happiness. Oh, ' 'Tis heaven to rest in his embrace, And no where else but there.' " CHAP. II. HIS LABORIOUS EXERTIONS IN PROMOTING MISSIONS TO THE HEATHEN, AND HIS OF FERING HIMSELF TO BECOME A MISSION ARY.Mr. Pearce was uniformly the spiritual and the active servant of Christ ; but neither his spirituality nor his activity would have appeared in the manner they have, but for his engagement in the introduction qf the gospel among the heathen. It was not long after bis settlement at Birmingham that he became acquainted with Mr. Carey, in whom he found a soul nearly akin to his own. When the brethren in the counties of Northampton and Leicester formed themselves into a missionary society at Kettering, in October, 1792, he was there, and entered into the business with all his heart. On his return to Birmingham, he communicated the subject to his congrega tion with so much effect that, in addition to the small sum of £13. 2s. 6d., with which the subscription was begun, £70 were col lected, and transmitted to the treasurer; and the leading members of the church formed themselves into an assistant society. Early in the following spring, when it was resolved that our brethren, Thomas and Carey, should go on a mission to the Hin doos, and a considerable sum of money was wanted for the purpose, he labored with increasing ardor in various parts of the kingdom ; and, when the object was accom plished, he rejoiced in all his labor, smiling in every company, and blessing God. During his labors and journeys on this important object he wrote several letters to his friends, an extract or two from which will discover the state of his mind at this period, as well as the encouragements that he met with in his work at home : — To Mr. Steadman. Birmingham, Feb. 8, 1793. " My very dear Brother, " Union of sentiment often creates friend ship among carnal men, and similarity of feeling never fails to produce affection among pious men, as far as that similarity is known. I have loved you ever since I knew you. We saw, we felt alike, in the interesting concerns of personal religion. We formed a reciprocal attachment. We expressed it by words. We agreed to do so by correspondence ; and we have not alto gether been wanting to our engagements. But our correspondence has been interrupt ed, not, I believe, through any diminution of regard on either side ; I am persuaded not on mine. I rather condemn myself as the first aggressor ; but I excuse while I condemn, and so would you, did you know half the concerns which devolve upon me in my present situation. Birmingham is a central place ; the inhabitants are nume rous ; our members are between three and four hundred. The word preached has lately been remarkably blessed. In less than five months I baptized nearly forty persons, almost all newly awakened. Next Lord's-day week I expect to add to their number. These persons came to my house to propose the most important of all in quiries — ' What must we do to be saved ?' I have been thus engaged some weeks, during the greatest part of most days. This, 528 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. with four sermons a week, will account for my neglect. But your letter, received this evening calls forth every latent affection of my heart for you. We are, my dear brother, not only united in the common object of pursuit— salvation ; not only rest our hopes on the same foundation — Jesus Christ ; but we feel alike respecting the poor heathens. Oh how Christianity expands the mind! What tenderness for our poor fellow-sinners ! What sympathy for their moral misery ! What desires to do them everlasting good doth it provoke ! How satisfying to our judgments is this evidence of grace ! How gratifying to our present taste are these benevolent breathings ! Oh, how I love that man whose soul is deeply affected with the importance of the precious gospel to idola trous heathens! Excellently, my dear brother, you observe, that, great as its bless ings are in the estimation of a sinner called in a christian country, inexpressibly greater must they shine on the newly illuminated mind of a converted pagan. " We shall be glad of all your assistance in a pecuniary way, as the expense will be heavy. Dear brother Carey has paid us a visit of love this week. He preached ex cellently to-night. I expect brother Thomas next week, or the week after. I wish you would meet him here. I have a house at your command, and a heart greatly attached to you." To Mr. Fuller. Feb. 23, 1793. " I am willing to go any where, and do any thing in my power, but I hope no plan will be suffered to interfere with the affect ing — hoped for— dreaded day, March 13 (the day of our brethren Carey and Thomas's solemn designation at Leicester.) Oh how the anticipation of it at once rejoices and afflicts me ! Our hearts need steeling to part with our much-loved brethren, who are about to venture their all for the name ofthe Lord Jesus. I feel my soul melting within me when I read the 20th chapter of the Acts, and especially verses' 3(3 — 38. But why grieve ? We shall see them again. Oh yes ; them and the children whom the Lord will give them ; — we and the children whom the Lord hath given us. We shall meet again, not to weep and pray, but to smile and praise." From the day ofthe departure ofthe mis sionaries, no one was more importunate in prayer than Mr. Pearce ; and, on the news of their safe arrival, no one was more filled with joy and thankfulness. Hitherto we had witnessed his zeal in promoting this important undertakino- at home ; but this did not satisfy him. In°Oc- tober 1794 we were given to understand that he had for some time had it in serious ms lot with his brethren in India. When his designs were first discovered, his friends and connexions were much concerned, and endeavored to persuade him that he was already in a sphere of usefulness too impor tant to be relinquished. But his answer was that they were too interested in the affair to be competent judges. And nothing would satisfy him short of his making a formal offer of his services to the committee : nor could he be happy for them to decide upon it without their appointing a day of solemn prayer for the purpose, and, when assembled, hearing an account of the prin cipal exercises of his mind upon the subject, with the reasons which induced him to make the proposal, as well as the reasons alleged by his connections against it. On October 4, 1794, he wrote to an inti mate friend, of whom he entertained a hope that he might accompany him, as follows : — " Last Wednesday I rode to Northamp ton, where a ministers' meeting was held on the following day. We talked much about the mission. We read some fresh and very encouraging accounts. We lamented that we could obtain no suitable persons to send out to the assistance of our brethren. Now, what do you think was said at this meeting ? My dear brother, do not be sur prised that all present united in opinion that in all our connection there was no man known to us so suitable as you, provided you were disposed for it, and things could be brought to bear. I thought it right to men tion this circumstance ; and one thing more I cannot refrain from saying, that, were it manifestly the will of God, I should call that the happiest hour of my life which witness ed our bqth embarking with our families on board one ship as helpers of the servants of Jesus Christ already in Hindostan. Yes, I could unreluctantly leave Europe and all its contents for the pleasures and perilsof this glorious service. Often my heart in the sincerest ardors thus breathes forth its desires unto God, — ' Here am I, send me.' But I am ignorant whether you from expe rience can realize my feelings. Perhaps you have friendship enough for me to lay open your meditation on this subject in your next. If you have had half the exercises that I have, it will be a relief to your la boring mind : or, if you think I have made too free with you, reprove me, and I will love you still. Oh if I could find a heart that had been tortured and ravished like my own in this respect, I should form a new kind of alliance, and feel a friendship of a novel species. With eagerness should I communicate all the vicissitudes of my sen sations, and with eagerness listen to a reci tal of kindred feelings. With impatience I should seek, and with gratitude receive, di rection and support ; and I hope feel a new occasion of thankfulness when I bow my knee to the Father of mercies and the God NARRATIVE PRESENTED TO THE COMMITTEE. 529 of all comfort Whence is it that I thus write to you, as I have never written to any one before ? Is there a fellowship of the spirit ; or is it the confidence that I have in your friendship that thus directs my pen? Tell me, dear ! Tell me how you felt, and how you still feel, on this interesting subject, and do not long delay the gratifi cation to your very affectionate friend and brother— S. P." About a month preceding the decision of this affair, he drew up a narrative of his ex perience respecting it; resolving at the same time to set apart one day in every week for secret fasting and prayer to God for direction ; and to keep a diary of the ex ercises of his mind during the month. When the committee were met at North ampton, according to his desire, he present ed to them the narrative, which was as fol lows : — " October 8, 1794. Having had some pe culiar exercises of mind relative to my per sonally attempting to labor for the dear Redeemer amongst the heathen, and being at a loss to know what is the will of the Lord 'in this matter respecting me, I have thought that I might gain some satisfaction by adopting these two resolutions : — First, that I will, in the presence of God, faithful ly endeavor to recollect the various work ings of my mind on this subject, from the first neriod of my feeling any desire of this nature until now, and commit them to wri ting ; together with what considerations do now on the one hand impel me to the work, and, on the other, what prevent me from im mediately resolving to enter upon it. Sec ondly, That I will from this day keep a reg ular journal, with special relation to this matter. "This account and journal will, I hope, furnish me with much assistance in forming a future opinion ofthe path of duty ; as well as help any friends whom I may hereafter think proper to consult to give me suitable advice in the business. Lord, help me ! " It is very common for young converts to feel strong desires for the conversion of others. These desires immediately follow ed the evidences of my own religion ; and I remember well they were particularly fixed upon the poor heathen. I believe the first week that I knew the grace of God in truth I put up many fervent cries to heaven in their behalf, and at the same time felt a strong desire to be employed in promoting their salvation. It was not long after that the first settlers sailed for Botany Bay. I longed to go with them, although in company with the convicts, in hopes of making known the blessings of the great salvation in New Zealand, i actually had thought of making an effort tq go out unknown to my friends ; but, ignorant how to proceed, I abandoned my purpose. Nevertheless, I could not help Vol. 2.— Sig. 67. talking about it ; and at one time a report was circulated that I was really going, and a neighboring minister very seriously con versed with meupon the subject. " While I was at the Bristol 'academy, the desire remained j but not with' that en ergy as at first, except on one or two occa sions. Being sent by my tutor to preach two Sabbaths at Coleford, I felt particular 'sweetness in devoting the evenings of the week to going from house to house among the colliers, who dwelt in the Forest of Dean, adjoining the town, conversing and praying with them, and preaching to them. In these exercises I found the most solid satisfaction that I have ever known in dis charging the duties of my calling. In a poor hut, with a stone to stand upon, and a three-legged stool for my desk, surround ed with thirty or forty ofthe smutty neigh bors, I have felt such an unction from above that my whole auditory have been melted into tears, whilst directed to " the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world ; " and I, weeping among them, could scarcely speak, or they hear, for interrupt ing sighs and sobs. Many a time did I then think, thus it was with the apostles of our Lord, when they went from house to house among the poor heathen. In work like this I could live and die. Indeed, had I at that time been at liberty to settle, I should have preferred that situation to any in the king dom with which I was then acquainted. " But the Lord placed me in a situation very different. He brought me to Birming ham ; and here, amongst the novelties, cares, and duties of my station, I do not re member any wish for foreign service, till, after a residence of some months, I heard Dr. Coke preach at one of Mr. Wesley's chapels, from Psalm lxviii. 31: 'Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.' Then it was that, in Mr. Home's phrase, ' I felt a passion for missions.' Then I felt an interest in the state ofthe heathen world far more deep and permanent than before, and seriously thought how I could best pro mote their obtaining the knowledge of the crucified Jesus. "As no way at that time was open, I can not say that I thought of taking a, part of the good work among the heathen abroad ; but resolved that I would render them all the assistance I could at home. My mind was employed during the residue of that week in meditating on Psalm lxvii. 3: 'Glo rious things are spoken of thee, O city of Godl'^and the next Sabbath morning I spoke from those words, on the promised increase of the church of God. I had ob served that our monthly meetings forprayer had been better attended than the othe-* prayer-meetings, from the time that I fiiat knew the people in Cannon-street: but I thought a more general attention to i-. •$ S30 MEMOIRS Ot MR. PEARCE. was desirable. I therefore preached on the Sabbathsday evening preceding the next monthly prayer-meeting from Matthew vi. 10— 'Thy kingdom come ;' and urged with ardor and affection a universal union of the serious part of the congregation in this ex ercise. It rejoiced me to see three times as many the next night as usual ; and, for some time after that, Ihad nearly equal cause for joy. "As to my own part, I continued to preach much upon the promises of God re specting the conversion of the heathen na tions ; and by so doing, and always commu nicating to my people every piece of infor mation I could obtain respecting the pres ent state of missions, they soon imbibed the same spirit ; and from that time to this they have discovered so much concern for the more extensive spread ofthe gospel that at our monthly prayer-meetings, both stated and occasional, I should be as much surprised at the case ofthe heathen being omitted in any prayer as at an omission of the name and merits of Jesus. " Indeed it has been a frequent means of enkindling my languid devotion, in my pri vate, domestic, and public engagements in prayer. When I have been barren in peti tioning for myself, and other things, often have I been sweetly enlarged when I came to notice the situation of those who were perishing for lack of knowledge. " Thus I went on, praying and preaching, and conversing on the subject, till the time of brother Carey's ordination at Leicester, May 24, 1791. On the evening of that day he read to the ministers a great part of his manuscript, since published, entitled ' An Inquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use Means for the Conversion of the Hea then.' This added fresh fuel to my zeal. But to pray and preach on the subject was all I could then think of doing. But when I heard of a proposed meeting at Ketter ing, October 2, 1792, for the express purpose of considering our duty in regard to the heathen, I could not resist my inclination for going, although at that time I was not much acquainted with the ministers of the Northamptonshire association. There I got my judgment informed, and my heart increasingly interested. I returned home resolved to lay myself out in the cause. The public steps I have taken are too well known to need repeating ; but my mind be came now inclined to go among the heathen myself. Yet a consideration of my con nections with the dear people-of God in Bir mingham restrained my desires, and kept me from naming my wishes to anybody (as I remember,) except to brother Carey. With him I was pretty free. We had an interesting conversation about it justjjefore he left Europe. I shall never forget the manner of his saying, 'Well, you will come after us.' My heart said Amen ! and my eagerness for the work increased ; though I never talked freely about it, except to my wife, and we then both thought that my -re lation to the church in Cannon-street, and usefulness there, forbad any such an attempt. However, I have made it a constant matter of prayer, often begging of God, as I did when first I was disposed for the work of the ministry, either that he would take away the desire or open a door for its fulfilment. And the result has uniformly been that the more spiritual I have been in the frame of my mind, the more love I have felt for God, and the more communion I have enjoyed with him, so much the more disposed have I been to engage as a missionary among the heathen. " Until the accounts came of our brethren's entrance on the work in India, my connect ions in Europe pretty nearly balanced my desire for going abroad ; and, though I felt quite devoted to the Lord's will and work, yet I thought the scale rather prepondera ted on the side of my abiding in my present situation. " But since our brethren's letters have informed us that there are such prospects of usefulness in Hindostan, and that preachers are a thousand times more wanted than peo ple to preach to, my heart has been more deeply affected than ever with their condi tion ; and my desires for a participation of the toils and pleasures, crosses and comforts, of which they are the subjects, are advanced to an anxiety which nothing can remove, and time seems to increase. " It has pleased God also lately to teach me, more than ever, that Himself is the fountain of happiness ; that likeness to him, friendship for him, and communion with him, form the basis of all true enjoyment ; and that this can be attained as well in an east ern jungle, amongst Hindoos and Moors, as in the most polished parts of Europe. The very disposition which, blessed be my dear Redeemer ! he has given me, to be any thing, do any thing, or endure any thing, so that his name might be glorified, 1 say, the disposition itself is heaven begun below ! I do feel a daily panting after more devo tedness to his service, and I can never think of my suffering Lord without dissolving into love — love wliich constrains me to glorify him with my body and spirit, which are his. " I do often represent to myself all the possible hardships of a mission, arising from my own heart, the nature of the country, do mestic connections, disappointment in my hopes, &c. &c. : and then I set over against them all these two thoughts, — / am God's servant ; and God is my friend. In this I anticipate happiness in the midst of suffer ing, light in darkness, and life in death. Yea, I do not count my life dear unto my self, so that I may win some poor heathen DECISION OF THE COMMITTEE. 531 unto Christ ; and I am willing to be offered as a sicrifice on the service of the faith of the gospel. "Mr. Home justly observes 'that, in or der to justify a man's undertaking the work of a missionary, he should be qualified for it, disposed heartily to enter upon it, and free from such ties as exclude an engage ment.' — As to the first, others must judge for me ; but they must not be men who have an interest in keeping me at home. I shall rejoice in opportunities of attaining to an acquaintance with the ideas of judicious and impartial men in this matter, and with them I must leave it. A willingness to em bark in this cause I do possess; and I can hardly persuade myself that God has for ten years inclined my heart to this work with out having any thing for me to do in it. But the third thing requires more considera tion ; and here alone I hesitate." — Here he goes on to state all the objections from this quarter, with his answers to them, leaving it with his brethren to decide, when they had heard the whole. The committee, after the most serious and mature deliberation, though they were fully satisfied as to brother Pearce's qualifications, and greatly approved ofhis spirit, yet were unanimously of opinion that he ought not to go ; and that not merely on account of his connections at home, which might have been pleaded in the case of brother Carey, but on account of the mission itself, which required his assistance in the station which he already occupied. In this opinion brother Carey himself, with singular disinterestedness of mind, afterwards concurred ; and wrote to brother Pearce to the same effect.* On receiving the opinion of the committee he immediately wrote to Mrs. P. as fol lows : — Northampton, Nov, 13, 1794. " My dear Sarah, " I am disappointed, but not dismayed. I ever wish to make my Saviour's will my own. I am more satisfied than ever I ex pected I should be with a negative upon my earnest desires, because the business has been so conducted that I think (if by any means such an issue could be ensured) the mind of Christ has been obtained. My dear brethren here have treated the affair with as much seriousness and affection as I could possibly desire, and I think more than so insignificant a worm could expect. After we had spent the former part of this day in fasting and prayer, with conversation on the subject, till nearly two o'clock, brother Potts, King, and I retired. We prayed, while the committee consulted. The case seemed difficult, and I suppose they were * See Periodical Accounts, Vol. 1. p. 374. nearly two hours in deciding it. At last, time forced them to a point, and their an swer I enclose for your satisfaction. Pray take care of it ; it will serve for me to refer to when my mind may labor beneath a bur den of guilt another day. I am my dear Sarah's own— S. P." The decision of the committee, though it rendered him much more reconciled to abide in his native country than he could have been without it, yet did not in the least abate his zeal for tjjie object. As he could not promote it abroad, he seemed resolved to lay himself out more for it at home. In March, 1795, after a dangerous illness, he says, in a letter to Mr. Fuller — " Through mercy I am almost in a state of convales- ence. May my spared life be wholly devo ted to the service of my dear Redeemer ! I do not care where I am, whether in Eng land or in India, so I am employed as he would have me : but surely we need pray hard that God would send some more help to Hindostan." In January, 1796, when he was first in formed by the secretary of a young man (Mr. Fountain) being desirous of going, of the character that was given of him by our friend Mr. Savage of London, and of a com mittee-meeting being in contemplation, he wrote thus in answer : — -" Your letter, just arrived, put — I was going to say — another soul into my little body ; at least it has ad ded new life to the soul I have. I cannot be contented with the thought of being ab sent from your proposed meeting. No, no ; I must be there (for my own sake I mean) and try to sing with you, ' O'er the gloomy hills of darkness.' ' ' * In August, the same year, having received a letter from India, he wrote to Mr. Fuller as follows : — " Brother Carey speaks in such a manner of the effects of the gospel in his neighborhood as in my view promises a fair illustration of our Lord's parable, when he compared the kingdom of heaven to a little leaven, hid in three measures of meal, which insinuated itself so effectually as to leaven the lump at last. Blessed be God, the leaven is already in the meal ; the fer mentation is begun ; and my hopes were never half so strong as they are now that the whole shall be effectually leavened. O THAT I WERE THERE TO WITNESS THE DE LIGHTFUL process ! But whither am I running ? I long to write you from Hindostan ! " On receiving other letters from India, in January, 1797, he'thus writes : — " Perhaps you are now rejoicing in spirit with me over fresh intelligence from Bengal. This mo ment have I concluded reading two letters from brother Thomas : one to the Society, * The 428th hymn of Dr. Rippon's Selection, frequently sung at our committee meetings. £32 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. and the other to myself.* He speaks of ethers from brother Carey. I hope they are already in your possession. If his corres pondence has produced the same effects on your heart as brother Thomas's has on mine you are filled with gladness and hope. I am grieved that I cannot convey them to you immediately. I long to witness the pleasure their contents will impart to all whose hearts are with us. O that I were accounted worthy of the Lord to preach the gospel to the Booteas ! " Being detained from one of our mission meetings by preparing the Periodical Ac counts for the press, he soon after wrote as follows : " We shall now get out No. IV. very soon. I hope it will go to the press in a very few days. Did you notice that the very day on which we invited all our friends to a day of prayer on behalf of the mission (December 28, 1796) was the same in which brother Carey sent his best and most inter esting accounts to the society ? I hope you had solemn and sweet seasons at North ampton. On many accounts I should have rejoiced to have been with you : yet I am satisfied that on the whole I was doing best at home." It has been already observed that, for a month preceding the decision of the com mittee, he resolved to devote one day in every week to secret prayer and fasting, and to keep a diary ofthe exercises ofhis mind during the whole of that period. This diary was not shown to the committee at the time, but merely the preceding narrative. Since his death a few of them have perused it, and have been almost ready to think that, if they had seen it before, they would not have dared to oppose his going. But the Lord hath taken him to himself. It no longer remains a question now whether he shall labor in England, or in India. A few pas sages, however, from this transcript ofhis heart, while contemplating a great and dis interested undertaking, will furnish a better idea of hi3 character than could be given by any other hand ; and with these we shall close the present chapter. " Oct. 8, 1794. — Had some remarkable freedom and affection this morning, both in family and secret prayer. With many tears I dedicated myself, body and soul, to the service of Jesus; and earnestly implored full satisfaction respecting the path of duty — I feel an increasing deadness for all earthly comforts; and derive my happiness imme diately from God himself. May I still en dure, as Moses did, by seeing him who is invisible ! ?' 10. — Enjoyed much freedom to-day in the family. Whilst noticing in prayer the state of the millions of heathen who know * See these Letters printed in Periodical Ac counts, Vol. I., pp. 294, 301. not God, I felt the aggregate value of their immortal souls with peculiar energy. " Afterwards was much struck whilst (on my knees before God in secret) I read the fourth chapter of Micah. The ninth verse I fancied very applicable to the church inCan- non-street: but what reason is there for such a cry about so insignificant a worm as I am ? The third chapter of Habakkuk too well expresses that mixture of solemnity and confidence with which I contemplate the work ofthe mission. " Whilst at prayer-meeting to-night, I learned more of the meaning of some pas sages of Scripture than ever before. Suita ble frames of soul are like good lights, in which a painting appears to its full advan tage. I had often meditated on Phil. iii. 7, 8, and Gal. vi. 14, but never felt crucifixion to the world, and disesteem for all that it contains, as at that time. All prospects of pecuniary independence, and growing repu tation, with which in unworthier moments I had amused myself, were now chased from my mind ; and the desire of living wholly to Christ swallowed up every other thought. Frowns and smiles, fulness and want, honor and reproach, were now equally indifferent ;• and, when I concluded the meeting, my whole soul felt, as it were, going after the lost sheep of Christ among the heathen. " I do feel a growing satisfaction in the proposal of spending my whole life in some thing nobler than the locality of this island will admit. I long to raise my Master's ban ner in climes where the sound of his fame hath but scarcely reached. He hath said, for my encouragement, that ' all nations shall flow unto it.' "The conduct and success of Stach, Boonish, and other Moravian missionaries in Greenland, both confound and stimulate me. O Lord, forgive my past indolence in thy service, and help me to redeem the residue of my days for exertions more worthy a friend of mankind and a servant of God. " 13. — Being taken up with visiters the former part of the day, I spent the after part in application to the Bengal language, and found the difficulties I apprehended vanish as fast as I encountered them. I read and prayed, prayed and read, and made no small advances. Blessed be God ! " 15. — There are in Birmingham 50,000 inhabitants ; and, exclusive of the vicinity, ten ministers wbo preach the fundamental truths of the gospel. In Hindostan there are twice as many millions of inhabitants ; and not so many gospel preachers. Now Jesus Christ hath commanded his ministers to go into all the world, and preach the gos pel to every creature : why should we be so disproportionate in our labors ? Peculiar circumstances must not be urged against positive commands : I am therefore bound, if EXTRACTS FROM HIS DIARY. 533 others do not go, to make the means more proportionate to the multitude. "To-night, reading some letters from brother Carey, in which he speaks of his wife's illness when she first came into the country, I endeavored to realize myself not only with a sick but a dead wife. The thought was like a cold dagger to my heart at first : but on recollection I considered the same God ruled in India as in Europe ; and that he could either preserve her, or support me, as well there as here. My business is only to be where he would have me. Other things I leave to him. O Lord, though with timid ity, yet I hope not without satisfaction, I look every possible evil in the face, and say, ' Thy will be done ! ' " 17. — This is fiie first day I have set apart for extraordinary devotion in relation to my present exercise of mind. Rose earlier than usual, and began the day in prayer that God would be with me in every part of it, and grant the end I have in view may be clearly ascertained — the knowledge ofhis will. " Considering the importance of the work before me, I began at the foundation bf all religion, and reviewed the grounds on which I stood, — The being of a God, the relation of mankind to him, with the divine inspiration ofthe Scriptures — and the review afforded me great satisfaction.* I also compared the different religions which claimed divine ori gin, and found little difficulty in determining which had most internal evidence of its di vinity. I attentively read and seriously con sidered Doddridge's three excellent Sermons on the Evidences of the Christian Religion ; which was followed by such conviction that I had hardly patience to conclude the book before I fell on my knees before God, to bless him for such a religion, established on such a basis ; and I have received more solid satisfaction this day upon -the subject than ever I did before. " I also considered, since the gospel is true, since Christ is the head of the church, and his will is the law of all his followers, what are the obligations ofhis servants in respect of the enlargement of his kingdom. I here referred to our Lord's commission, which I could not but consider as universal.in its ob ject and permanent in its obligations. I read brother Carey's remarks upon it : and as the command has never been repealed — as there are millions of beings in the world on whom the command may be exercised — as I can produce no counter-revelation — and as I lie under no natural impossibilities of perform- * There is a wide difference between admitting these principles in theory, and making use of them. David might have worn Saul's accoutrements at a parade; but, in meeting Goliah, he must go forth in an armor that had been tried. A mariner may sit in his cabin at his ease, while the ship is in har bor; but, ere he undertakes a voyage, he must ex amine its soundness, and inquire whether it will endure the storms which may overtake him. ing it — I concluded that I, as a servant of Christ, was bound by this law. " I took the narrative of my experience, and statement of my views on this subject, in my hand, and, bowing down before God, I earnestly besought an impartial and en lightened spirit. I then perused that paper ; and can now say that I have (allowing for my own fallibility) not one doubt upon the subject. I therefore resolved to close this solemn season with reading a portion of both Testaments, and earnest prayer to God for my family, my people, the heathen world, the society, and particularly for the success of our dear brethren Thomas and Carey, and his blessing, presence, and grace, to be ever my guide and glory. Accordingly I read the forty-ninth chapter of Isaiah ; and with what sweetness ! I never read a chapter in private with such feelings since I have been in the ministry. The eighth, ninth, tenth, twentieth, and twenty-first verses, I thought remarkably suitable. " Read also part of the epistle to the Ephe sians, and the first chapter to the Philippians. O, that for me to live may be Christ alone ! Blessed be my dear Saviour! in prayer I have had such fellowship with him as would warm me in Greenland, comfort me in New Zealand, and rejoice me in the valley ofthe shadow of death ! " 18. — I dreamed that I saw one of the Christian Hindoos. O, how I loved him ! I long to realize my dream. How pleasant will it be to sit down at the Lord's table with our swarthy brethren, and hear Jesus preach ed in their language ! Surely then will come to pass the saying that is written, In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, all are one in him. " Have been happy to-day in completing the manuscript of Periodical Accounts, No. 1. Any thing relative to the salvation of the heathen brings a certain pleasure with it. I find I cannot pray, nor converse, nor read, nor study, nor preach with satisfaction, with out reference to this subject. " 20. — Was a little discouraged on read ing Mr. Zeigenbald's conferences with the Malabarians, till I recollected, what ought to be ever present to my mind, in brother Carey's words, — ' The work is God's.' " In the evening I found some little diffi culty with the language ; but, considering how merchants and captains overcome this difficulty for the sake of wealth, I sat con founded before the Lord that I should ever have indulged such a thought ; and, looking up to him, I set about it with cheerfulness, and found that I was making a sensible ad vance, although I can never apply till eleven o'clock at night on account of my other du- ties.f f Night studies, often continued till two or three o'clock in the morning, it is to be feared were the first occasion of impairing Mr. Pearce'B health, 534 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. "Preached from 2 Kings iv. 26, 'It is well' .... was much enlarged both in thought and expression. Whilst speaking ofthe satisfaction enjoyed by a truly pious mind when it feels itself in all circumstances and times in the hand of a good God, I felt that were the universe destroyed, and I the only being in it beside God, he is fully ade quate to my complete happiness ; and had I been in an African wood, surrounded with venomous serpents, devouring beasts, and savage men, in such a frame I should be the subject of perfect peace and exalted joy. Yes, O my God, thou hast taught me that thou alone art worthy of my confidence ; and, with this sentiment fixed in my heart, I am free from all solicitude about any tem poral prospects or concerns. If thy presence be enjoyed, poverty shall be riches, darkness light, affliction prosperity, reproach my honor, and fatigue my rest; and thou hast said, 'My presence shall go with thee.' Enough, Lord ! I ask for nothing, nothing more. " But how sad the proofs of our depravity ; and how insecure the best frames we enjoy! Returning home, a wicked expression from a person who passed me caught my ear, and recurred so often to my thoughts for some minutes as to bring guilt upon my mind, and overwhelm me with shame before God. But I appealed to God for my hatred of all such things, secretly confessed the sin of my heart, and again ventured to the mercy -seat. On such occasions how precious a mediator is to the soul ! "22. — I did not on the former part ofthe day feel my wonted ardor for the work of a missionary, but rather an inclination to con sult flesh and blood, and look at the worst side of things. I did so : but, when on my knees before God in prayer about it, I first considered that my judgment was still equally satisfied, and my conscience so convinced that I durst not relinquish the work for a thousand worlds ! And then I thought that this dull frame had not been without its use, as I was now fully convinced that my desire to go did not arise from any fluctuation of inconstant passions, but the settled convic tions of my judgment. I therefore renewed my vows unto the Lord, that, let what diffi culties soever be in the way, I would, pro vided the society approved, surmount them all. I felt a kind of unutterable satisfaction of mind in my resolution of leaving the de cision in the hands of my brethren. May God rightly dispose their hearts ! I have no doubt but he will. and brought on that train of nervous sensations with which he was afterwards afflicted. Though not much accustomed to converse on the subject, he once acknowledged to a brother in the ministry, that, owing to his enervated state, he sometimes dreaded the approach of public services to such a degree that he would rather have submitted to stripes than engage in them; and that while in the pulpit he was frequently distressed with the apprehension of falling over it. " 23. — Have found a little time to apply to the Bengallee language. How pleasant it is to work for God ! Love transforms thorns to roses, and makes pain itself a pleasure. I never sat down to any study with such pe culiar and continued satisfaction. The thought of exalting the Redeemer in this language is a spur to my application para mount to every discouragement for want of a living tutor. I have passed this day with an abiding satisfaction respecting my pres ent views. " 24. — O for the enlightening, enlivening, and sanctifying presence of God to-day! It is the second of those days of extraordina ry devotion which I have set apart for seek ing God in relation to the mission. How shall I spend it? I will devote the morning to prayer, reading, and meditation ; and the afternoon to visiting the wretched, and re lieving the needy. May God accept my services, guide me by his counsel, and em ploy me for his praise ! " Having besought the Lord that he would not suffer me to deeeive myself in so impor tant a matter as that which I had now re tired to consider, and exercised some confi dence that he would be the rewarder of those who diligently seek him, I read the 119th Psalm at the conclusion of my prayer, and felt and wondered at the congruity of so many of the verses to the breathings of my own heart. Often with holy admiration I paused, and read, and thought, and prayed over tbe verse aarain, especially verses 20, 31, 59, 60, 112, 145, 146. 'My soul break eth for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.' — 'I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O Lord, put me not to shame.' " Most of the morning I spent in seriously reading Mr. Home's ' Letters on Missions,' having first begged ofthe Lord to make the perusal profitable to my instruction in the path of duty. To the interrogation, ' Which of you will forsake all, deny himself, take up his cross, and, if God pleases, die for his re ligion ? ' I replied spontaneously, Blessed be God, I am willing ! Lord, help me to ac complish it ! " Closed this season with reading the 61st and 62d chapters of Isaiah, and prayer for the'church of God at large, my own congre gation, the heathen, the society, brethren Thomas and Carey, all missionaries whom God hath sent of every denomination, my own case, my wife and family, and for as sistance in my work. "The after part of this day has been gloomy indeed. All the painful circum stances which can attend my going have met upon my heart, and formed a load al most insupportable. A number of things which have been some time accumulating have united their pressure, and made me groan being- burdened. Whilst at a prayer- meeting I looked round on my Christian EXTRACTS FROM HIS DIARY. 535 friends, and said to myself, A few months more, and probably I shall leave you all ! But in the deepest of my gloom I resolved, though faint, yet to pursue ; not doubting but my Lord would give me strength equal to the day. "I had scarcely formed this resolution before it occurred, my Lord and Master was a man of sorrows. Oppressed and covered with blood, he cried, ' If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.' Yet in the depth of his agonies he added, 'Thy will be done.' This thought was to me what the sight of the cross was to Bunyan's pilgrim; I lost my burden. Spent the remainder of the meeting in sweet communion with God. " But, on coming home, the sight of Mrs. P. replaced my load. She had for some time been much discouraged at the thoughts of going. I therefore felt reluctant to say any thing on this subject, thinking it would be unpleasant to her ; but, though I strove to conceal it, an involuntary sigh betrayed my uneasiness. She kindly required the cause. I avoided at first an explanation, till she, guessing the reason, said to this effect : — ' I hope you will be no more un easy on my account. For the last two or three days I have been more comfortable than ever in the thought of going. I have considered the steps you are pursuing to know the mind of God, and I think you can not take more proper ones. When you con sult the ministers, you should represent your obstacles as strongly as your induce ments : and then, if they advise your going, though the parting from my friends will be almost insupportable, yet I will make myself as happy as I can, and God can make me happy any where.' " Should this little diary fall into the hands of a man having the soul of the missionary, circumstanced as I am, he will be the only man capable of sharing my peace, my joy, my gratitude, my rapture of soul. Thus at evening-tide it is light : thus God brings his people through fire and through water into a wealthy place : thus those who ask do receive, and their joy is full. ' O love the Lord, ye his saints : there is no want to them that fear him I ' " 26. — Had much enlargement this morn ing whilst speaking on the nature, extent, and influence of divine love : what designs it formed — with what energy it acted — with what perseverance it pursued its object — what obstacles it surmounted — what diffi culties it conquered — and what sweetness it imparted under the heaviest loads and se verest trials. Almost through the day I en joyed a very desirable frame ; and, on com ing home, my wife and I had some conver sation on the subject of my going. She said, Though in general the thought was painful, yet there were some seasons when she had no preference, but felt herself dis posed to go or stay as the Lord should direct. " This day wrote to brother Fuller, briefly stating my desires, requesting his advice, and proposing a meeting of the committee on the business. I feel great satisfaction arising from my leaving the matter to the determination of my honored brethren, and to God through them. " 27. — To-day I sent a packet to our breth ren in India. I could not forbear telling brother Carey all my feelings, views, and expectations ; but without saying I should be entirely governed by the opinion ofthe Society. " 28. Still panting to preach Jesus among my fellow-sinners to whom he is yet un known. Wrote to Dr. Rogers, of Philadel phia, to-day, upon the subject with freedom and warmth, and inquired whether, whilst the people ofthe United States were form ing societies to encourage arts, liberty, and emigration, there could not a few be found among them who would form a society for the transmission of the word of life to the benighted heathen ; or, in case that could not be, whether they might not strengthen our hands in Europe, by some bene7oIent proof of concurring with us in a design which they speak of with such approbation. With this I sent Home's Letters. I will follow both with my prayers ; and who can tell ? "29. — Looked over the Code of Hindoo Laws to-day. How much is there to admire in it, founded on the principles of justice ! The most salutary regulations are adopted in many circumstances. But what a pity that so much excellence should be debased by laws to establish or countenance idola try, magic, prostitution, prayers for the dead, false-witnessing, theft, and suicide. How perfect is the morality ofthe gospel of Jesus ; and how desirable that they should embrace it ! Ought not means to be used ? Can we assist them too soon ? There is reason to think that their shasters were penned about the beginning of the Kollee Jogue, which must be soon after the deluge : and are not 4000 years long enough for 100,000,- 000 of men to be under the empire ofthe devil ? "31. — lam encouraged to enter upon this day (which I set apart for supplicating God) by a recollection of his promises to those who seek him. If the sacred word be true, the servants of God can never seek his face in vain ; and, as I am conscious of my sin cerity and earnest desire only to know his pleasure that I may perform it, I find a de gree of confidence that I shall realize the fulfilment of the word on which he causeth me to hope. "Began the day with solemn prayer for the assistance ofthe Holy Spirit in my pres ent exercise, that so I might enjoy the spirit 536 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCTE. and power of prayer, and have my personal religion improved, as well as my public steps directed. In this duty I found a little quick ening. " I then read over the narrative of my ex perience, and my journal. I find my views are still the same : but my heart is much more established than when I began to write. " Was much struck in reading Paul's words in 2 Cor. i. 17, when, after speaking of his purpose to travel for the preaching of the gospel, he saith, ' Did I then use light ness when I was thus minded ? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, nay, nay ? ' The piety oi the apostle in not purposing after the flesh, the seriousness of spirit with which he formed his designs, and his steadfast adherance to them, were in my view worthy of the highest admiration and strictest imitation. "Thinking that I might get some assist ance from David Brainerd's experience, I xead his life to the time of his being appoint ed a missionary among the Indians. The «xalted devotion of that dear man almost made me question mine. Yet, at some sea sons, he speaks of sinking as well as rising. His singular piety excepted, his feelings, prayers, desires, comforts, hopes, and sor rows, are my own ; and if 1 could follow him in nothing else, I knew I had been enabled to say this with him, ' I feel exceedingly calm, and quite resigned to God respecting my future improvement (or station) when and where he pleased. My faith lifted me above the world, and removed all those mountains which I could not look, over of late. I thought I wanted not the favor of man to lean upon ; for I knew God's favor was infi nitely better, and that it was no matter where, or when, or how Christ should send me, nor with what trials he should still exercise me, if I might be prepared for his work and will.' " Read the second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters of the second epistle to the Corinthians. Felt a kind of placidity, but not much joy. On beginning the conclud ing prayer I had no strength to wrestle, nor power with God at all. I seemed as one desolate and forsaken. I prayed for myself, the society, the missionaries, the converted Hindoos, the church in Cannon-street, my family, and ministry ; but yet all was dull ness, and I feared I had offended the Lord. I felt but little zeal for the mission, and was about to conclude with a lamentation over the hardness of my heart, when on a sudden it pleased God to smite the rock with the rod of his Spirit, and immediately the waters began to flow. O what a heavenly, glorious, melting power was it ! My eyes, almost clos ed with weeping, hardly suffer me to write. I feel it over again. O what a view of the love of a crucified Redeemer did I enjoy ! the attractions ofhis cross how powerful! I was as a giant refreshed with new wine, as to my animation : like Mary at the master's feet, weeping for tenderness of soul ; like a little child, for submission to my heavenly Father's will ; and like Paul, for a victory over all self-love and creature-love, and fear of man, when these things stand in the way of my duty. The interest that Christ took in the redemption of the heathen, the situa tion of our brethren in Bengal, the worth of the soul, and the plain command of Jesus Christ, together with an irresistible drawing of soul, which by far exceeded any thing I ever felt before, and is impossible to be de scribed to or conceived of by those who have never experienced it — all compelled me to vow that I would, by his leave, serve him among the heathen. The Bible lying open before me (upon my knees,) many passages caught my eye, and confirmed the purposes of my heart. If ever in my life I knew any thing of the influence of the Holy Spirit, I did at this time. I was swallowed up in God. Hunger, fulness, cold, heat, friends, and en emies, all seemed nothing before God. I was in a new world. All was delightful ; for Christ was all, and in all. Many times I concluded prayer ; but, when rising from my knees, communion with God was so desira ble that I was sweetly drawn to it again and again, till my animal strength was almost exhausted. Then I thought it would be pleasure to burn for God ! " And now while I write such a heavenly sweetness fills my soul that no exterior cir cumstances can remove it ; and I do uni formly feel that the more I am thus, the more I pant for the service of my blessed Jesus among the heathen. Yes, my dear, my dying Lord, I am thine, thy servant ; and, if I neglect the service of so good a master, I may well expect a guilty conscience in life, and a death awful as that of Judas or of Spira ! " This evening I had a meeting with my friends. Returned much dejected. Re ceived a letter from brother Fuller, which, though he says he has many objections to my going, yet is so affectionately expressed as to yield me a gratification. " Nov. 3. — This evening received a letter from brother Ryland, containing many ob jections : but contradiction itself is pleasant when it is the voice of judgment mingled with affection. I wish to remember that 1 may be' mistaken, though I cannot say I am at present convinced that it is so. I am happy to find that brother Ryland approves of my referring it to the committee. I have much confidence in the judgment of my brethren, and hope I shall be perfectly satis fied with their advice. I do, think however, if they knew how earnestly I pant for the work, it would be impossible for them to withhold their ready acquiescence. O Lord, thou knowest my sincerity ; and that, if I go RESIGNATION UNDER AFFLICTING PROVIDENCES. 537 not to the work, it will not be owing to any reluctance on my part! If I stay in Eng land, I fear I shall be a poor useless drone ; or, if a sense of duty prompt me to activity I doubt whether I shall ever know inward peace and joy again. O Lord, I am, thou knowest I am oppressed, undertake for me ! " 5. At times to-day I have been recon ciled to the thought of staying, if my breth ren should so advise ; but at other times I seem to thinkl could not. I look at brother Carey's portrait as it hangs in my study : I love him in the bowels of Jesus Christ, and long to join his labors! every look calls up a hundred thoughts, all of which inflame my desire to be a fellow-laborer with him in the work of the Lord. One thing however I have resolved upon, that the Lord helping me, if I cannot go abroad, I will do all 1 can to serve the mission at home. " 7. — This is the last day of peculiar de votion before the deciding meeting. May I have strength to wrestle with God to-day for his wisdom to preside in the committee, and by faith to leave the issue to their de termination ! " I did not enjoy much enlargement in prayer to-day. My mind seems at present incapable of those sensations of joy with which I have lately been much indulged, through its strugglings in relation to my going or staying : yet I have been enabled to commit the issue into the hands of God, as he may direct my brethren, hoping that their advice will be agreeable to his will." The result ofthe committee-meeting has already been related ; together with the state of his mind, as far as could be collect ed from his letters, for some time after it. The termination of these tender and inter esting exercises, and of all his other labors, in so speedy a removal from the present scene of action, may teach us not to draw any certain conclusion, as to the designs of God concerning our future labors, from the ardor or sincerity of our feelings. He may take it well that " it was in our hearts to build him a house," though he should for wise reasons have determined not to grati fy us. Suffice it that in matters of ever lasting moment he has engaged to "per fect that which concerns us." In this he hath condescended to bind himself, as by an oath, for our consolation ; here, therefore we may safely consider our spiritual desires as indica tive ofhis designs : but itis otherwise in vari ous instances with regard to present duty. CHAPTER III. HIS EXERCISES AND LABORS, FROM THE TIME OF HIS GIVING UP THE IDEA OF GOING ABROAD TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS LAST AFFLICTION. Had the multiplied labors of this excellent man permitted his keeping a regular diary, Vol. 2.— Sig. 68 we may see, by the foregoing specimen of a single month, what a rich store of truly christian experience would have pervaded these memoirs. We should then have been better able to trace the gradual openings of his holy mind, and the springs of that ex traordinary unction of spirit, and energy of action, by which his life was distinguished. As it is, we can only collect the gleanings of the harvest, partly from memory, and partly from letters communicated by his friends. This chapter will include a period of about four years, during which he went twice to London, to collect for the Baptist Mission, and once he visited Dublin, at the invitation ofthe Evangelical Society in that city. There appears throughout the general tenor of his life a singular submissiveness to the will of God ; and, what is worthy of notice, this disposition was generally most conspicuous when his own will was most counteracted. The justness of this remark is sufficiently apparent from his letter to Mrs. Pearce, of November 13, 1794,* after the decision of the committee; and the same spirit was carried into the common concerns of life. Thus, about a month after wards, when his dear Louisa was ill of a fever, he thus writes from Northampton to Mrs. Pearce : — Northampton, Dec. 13, 1794. " My dear Sarah, " I am just brought on the wings of celes- t ial mercy safe to my Sabbath's station. I am well ; and my dear friends here seem healthy and happy : but I feel for you. I long to know how our dear Louisa's pulse beats : I fear still feverish. We must not, however, suffer ourselves to be infected with a mental fever on this account. Is she ill ? It is right. Is she very ill dying ? It is still right. Is she gone to join the heavenly choristers ? It is all right, not withstanding our repinings .... Repinings ! No; we will not repine. It is best she should go. It is best for her: This we must allow. It is best for us : Do we ex pect it? O, what poor, ungrateful, short sighted worms are we ! Let us submit, my Sarah, till we* come to heaven : if we do not then see that it is best, let us then complain. But why do I attempt to console ? Perhaps an indulgent providence has ere now dissi pated your fears : or, if that same kind prov idence has removed our babe, you have con solation enough in Him who suffered more than we ; and more than enough to quiet all our passions in that astonishing considera tion, — " Gqd so loved the world, that he spared nqt his own Son." Did God cheer- * See page 531. 538 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. fully give the holy child Jesus for us ; and shall we refuse our child to him ? He gave his Son to suffer : He takes our children to enjoy : Yes ; to enjoy Himself. Yours with the tenderest regard,- — S. P." In June, 1795, he attended the association at Kettering, partly on account of some mis sionary business there to be transacted. That was a season of great joy to many, especially the last forenoon previous to parting. Thence he wrote to Mrs. Pearce as follows : — "From a pew in the house of God at Kettering, with my cup of joy running over, I address you by the hands of brother Sim mons. Had it pleased divine providence to have permitted your accompanying me, my pleasures would have received no small ad dition, because I should have hoped that you would have been filled with similar consola tion, and have received equal edification by the precious means of grace on which I have attended. Indeed, I never remember to have enjoyed a public meeting to such a high degree since I have been in the habit of attending. upon them. Oh, that 1 may return to- you, and the dear church of God, in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ ! I hope, my beloved, that you are not without the enjoyment ofthe sweetness and the supports ofthe blessed gospel. Oh, that you may get and keep near to God, and in Him find infinitely more than you can possibly lose by' your husband's absence ! " Mr. Hall preached, last evening, from 1 Pet. i. 8. A most evangelical and experi mental season ! I was charmed and warmed. Oh, that Jesus may go on to reveal himself to him as altogether lovely ! I am unable to write more now. To-day I set off for Northampton, and preach there to-night. The Lord bless you ! " In July, 1795, he received a pressing in vitation from the General Evangelical Socie ty in Dublin to pay them a. visit, and to as sist in diffusing the gespel ofthe grace of God in that kingdom. To this invitation he replied in the following letter, addressed to Dr. M'Dowal :— Birmingham, Aug. 3, 1795> " Rev. and dear Sir, "I received your favour of the 22nd ult., and, for the interesting reason you assign, transmit a 'speedy answer.' The society, on whose behalf you wrote, I have ever con sidered with the respect due to the real friends of the best of causes — the cause of God and of his Christ — a cause which em braces the most important and durable inter ests of our fellow-men ; and your name, dear sir 1 have been taught to hold in more than common evte»ui by my dear brother and Mb or, Messrs. Birt and Francis. Ihe ben,;volc„t institution which you are engaged in supporting, I am persuaded, deserves more than the good wishes or prayers of your brethren in the kingdom and patience of Jesus, on this side the channel ; and it will yield me substantial-pleasure to afford personal assistance in your pious la bors. But for the present, I am sorry to say, I must decline your proposal, being engaged to spend a month in London this autumn on the business of our mission society, of which you have probably heard. " When I formed my present connections with the church in Birmingham, I proposed an annual freedom for six weeks from my pastoral duties ; and, should the ' Evangeli cal Society ' express a wish for my services the ensuing year, I am perfectly inclined, God willing, to spend that time beneath their direction, and at what part of the year they conceive a visit would be most serviceable to the good design. I only request that, should this be their desire, I may receive the information as soon as they can conven iently decide, that I may withhold myself from other engagements, which may inter fere with the time they may appoint. I en treat you to make my christian respects ac ceptable to the gentlemen who compose the society ; and assure yourself that I am, dear sir, respectfully and affectionately, your brother, in our Lord Jesus, — S. P." The invitation was repeated, and he com plied with their request, engaging to go over in the month of June, 1796. A little before this journey, it occurred to Dr. Ryland that an itinerating mission into Cornwall might be of use to the cause of true religion, and that two acceptable ministers might be induced to undertake it ; and that, if executed during the vacation at the Bris tol academy, two of 'the students might sup ply their place. He communicated his thoughts to Mr. Pearce, who wrote thus in answer : — " My very dear Brother, May 30, 1796. " I thank you a thousand times for your last letter. Blessed be God, who hath put it into your heart to propose such a plan for increasing the boundaries of Zion ! I have read your letter to our wisest friends here, and they heard it with great joy. The plan, the place, the mode, the persons, — all, all meet our most affectionate wishes. How did such a scheme never enter our minds be fore ? Alas ! we have nothing in our hearts that is worth having, save what God puts there. Do write to me when at Dublin, and tell me whether it be resolved on, when they set out, &c. I hope, ere long, to hear that as many disciples are employed in Great Britain, as the Saviour employed in Judea. When he gives the word, great will be the company ofthe preachers. " Oh, my dear brother, let us go on still CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING A MISSION INTO CORNWALL. 539 ' praying, contriving, laboring, defending, un til the little leaven leaveneth the whole lump, and the small stone from the mountain fill the whole earth. " What pleasures do those lose who have no interest in God's gracious and holy cause ! How thankful should we be that we are not strangers to the joy which the friends of Zion feel, when the Lord turneth again Zion's captivity ! I am, beyond expression, your affectionate brother in Christ, — S. P." On May 31 he set off for Dublin, and " the Lord prospered his way " so that he arrived at the time appointed; and from every ac count it appears that he was not only sent in the fulness ofthe blessing of the gospel of peace, but that the Lord himself went with him. His preaching was not only highly accepta ble to every class of hearers, but the word came from him with power ; and there is abundant reason to believe that many will, through eternity, praise God for sending his message to them by this dear ambassador of Christ. His memory lives in their hearts, and they join with the other churches of Christ in deploring the loss they have sus tained by his death. He was earnestly solicited by the Evangel ical Society to renew his visit to that king dom in 1798. Ready to embrace every call of duty, he had signified his compliance ; and the time was fixed: but the breaking out of the late rebellion prevented him from realizing his intention. This was a painful disappointment to many, who wished once more to see his face, and to have heard the glad tidings from his lips. Such is the brief account of his visit to Dublin given by Dr. M'Dowal. The follow ing letter was written to Mrs. Pearce, when he had been there little more than a week : — Dublin, June 30, 1796. " My dear Sarah, " I long to know how you do, and you will be as much concerned to know how I go on at this distance from you. I haste to satisfy vour inquiries. "lam in perfect health : am delightfully disappointed with the place and its inhabi tants. I am very thankful that I came over. I have found much more religion here al ready than I expected to meet with during the whole of my stay. The prospect^of use fulness is flattering. I have already many more friends ( I hope Christian friends) than I can gratify by visits. Many doors are open for preaching the gospel in the city ; and my country excursions will probably be few. Thus much for outline. " But you will like to know how I spend my time, &c. Well, then: I am at the house of a Mr. H utton, late high-sheriff for the city, a gentleman of opulence, respectability, and evangelical piety. He is by profession a Calvinistic presbyterian, an elder of Dr. M'Dowal's church ; has a most amiable wife, and four children. I am very thankful for being placed here during my stay. I am quite at home — I mean as to ease and fami liarity ; for, as to style of living, I neither do, nor desire to equal it. Yet, in my present situation, it is convenient. It would, how ever, be sickening and dull, had I not a God to go to, to converse with, to enjoy, and to call my own. O it is this, it is this, my dear est Sarah, which gives a point to every en joyment, and sweetens all the cup of life. " The Lord's-day after I wrote to you last, I preached for Dr. M'Dowal in the morning, at half past eleven ; heard a Mr. Kilburne at five ; and preached again atPlunket-street at seven. On Tuesday evening I preached at an hospital ; and on Thursday evening at Plunket-street again. Yesterday for the baptists, in the morning; Dr. M'Dowal at five ; and at Plunket-street at seven. " The hours of worship will appear singu lar to you: they depend on the usual meal times. We breakfast at ten ; dine between four and five, sometimes between five and six ; take tea from seven to nine ; and sup from ten to twelve. " I thank God that I possess an abiding determination to aim at the consciences of the people in every discourse. I have borne the most positive testimony against the pre vailing evils of professors here : as sensuali ty, gaiety, vain amusements, neglect of the Sabbath, &c. ; and last night told an immense crowd of professors of the first rank ' that, if they made custom and fashion their plea, they were awfully deluding their souls ; for it had always been the fashion to insult God, to dissipate time, and to pursue the broad road to hell : but it would not lessen their torments there that the way to damnation was the fashion.' "I feared my faithfulness would have given them offence : but, I am persuaded, it was the way to please the Lord ; and those who I expected would be enemies are not only at peace with me, but even renounce their sensual indulgences to attend on my ministry. I do assuredly believe that God hath sent me hither for good. The five o'clock meetings are miserably attended in general. In a house that will hold 1500 or 2000 people, you will hardly see above fifty ! Yesterday morning I preached on the sub ject oi public worship, from Psalm v. 7, and seriously warned them against preferring their bellies to God, and their own houses to his. I was delighted and surprised, at the five o'clock meeting, to see the place nearly full. Surely this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in my eyes. Never, never did I more feel how weak I am in myself—a mere nothing : and how strong I am in the omnipotence of God. I feel a superiority to all fear, and possess a conscious dignity in beino- the ambassador of Christ. O help me 540 MEMOIRS OF Mr. PEARCE. to praise ! for it is he alone who teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight : and still pray for me ; for, if he withdraw for a moment, I become as weak and unprofitable as the briars of the wilderness. " You cannot think how much I am sup ported by the assurance that I have left a praying people at Birmingham ; and I be lieve that, in answer to their prayers, I have hitherto been wonderfully assisted in the public work, as well as enjoyed much in private devotion. "I have formed a most pleasing acquaint ance with several serious young men in the university here, and with two of the fellows of the college — most pious gentlemen in deed, who have undergone a world of re proach for Christ and his gospel, and " have been forbidden to preach in the churches by the archbishop : but God has raised another house for them here, where they preach with much success, and have begun a meet ing in the college, which promises fresh prosperity to the cause of Jesus." The following particulars, in addition to the above, are taken partly from some notes in his own hand- writing, and partly from the account given by his friend Mr. Summers, who accompanied him during the latter part of his visits. At his first arrival, the congregations were but thinly attended, and the baptist congre gation in particular, amongst whom he de livered several discourses. It much affect ed him to see the whole city given to sen suality and worldly conformity ; and es pecially to find those of his own denomina tion amongst the lowest and least affected with their condition. But, the longer he continued, the more the congregations in creased, and every opportunity became in creasingly interesting, both to him and them. His faithful remonstrances, and earnest recommendations of prayer-meetings to his baptist friends, though at first apparently ill received, were well taken in the end ; and he had tbe happiness to see in them some hopeful appearances of a return to God. On June the 20th he wrote to' his friend Mr. Summers as follows : — My dear friend, "If you mean to abide by my opinion, I say, Come to Dublin, and come directly ! I have been most delightfully disappointed. I expected darkness, and behold light ; sor row, and I have had cause for abundant joy. I thank God that I came hither, and hope that many, as well as myself, will have cause to praise him. Never have I been more deeply taught my own nothingness — never hath the power of God more evident ly rested upon me. The harvest here is great indeed ; and the Lord of the harvest hath enabled me to labor in it with delight. ' I praise him for all that is past ; I trust him for all that's to come.' " The Lord hath of late been doing great things for Dublin. Several of the young men in the college have been awakened ; and two of the fellows are sweet evangelical preachers. One of them is of a spirit serene as the summer's evening, and sweet as the breath of May. I am already intimate with them, and have spent several mornings in college with various students who bid fair to be faithful watchmen on Jerusalem's walls. But I hope you will come ; and then you will see for yourself. If not, I will give yon some pleasant details when we meet in England." Mr. Summers complied with this invita tion; and ofthe last-seven or eight days of Mr. Pearce's continuance at Dublin he him self thus writes : — "Monday, July 4. — At three in the after noon I went with my friend, Mr. Summers, to Mr. K.'s. Spent a very agreeable day. Miss A. K. remarked two wonders in Dub lin : — A praying society composed of stu dents at college, and another of lawyers. — The family were called together. We sung : I read, and expounded the twelfth chapter of Isaiah ; and 'prayed. — At seven we went to a prayer-meeting at Plunket- street — there was a very large attendance. Mr. R. and Mr. S. prayed ; and I spoke from Rom. x. 12, 13: "There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all who call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." — Many seemed affected. — After I had closed the opportunity, I told them some of my own experience, and requested that, if any present wished for conversation, they would come to me, either that evening or on Thursday evening, in the vestry. — Five per sons came in : one had been long impressed with religion, but could never summon courage enough to open her heart before. Another, a Miss W., attributed her first im pressions, under God, to my ministry ; and told me that her father had regularly- attend ed of late, and that her mother was so much alarmed as to be almost in despair.' Poor girl! she seemed truly in earnest about her own soul, and as much concerned for her parents. — The next had possessed a serious concern for some time, and of late had been much revived.— One young lady, a Miss H., staid in the meeting-house, exceedingly af fected indeed. Mr. K. spoke to her. — She said she would speak to me on Thursday. "Tuesday, 5th.— Went to Leislip. At seven preached to a large and- affected auditory. "Wednesday, 6th.— Mr. H. and myself went to Mrs. M'G., to inquire about the young lady who was so much affected at the meeting. Mrs. M'G. -said her mother and sister were pious ; that she had been very giddy; but that last Lord's-day she VISIT AT DUBLIN. 541 was seriously awakened to a sense of sin ; had expressed her delight in religion, and fled for refuge to the blood of Jesus. — Her sister was introduced to me ; a sweetly pi ous lady. — I agreed to wait for an interview with the young lady at Mr. H.'s, in Eccles- street, to-morrow. " Thursday, 7th. — Miss H., her sister, and Mrs. M'G. came to Eccles-street. — A most delightful interview. Seldom have I seen such proficiency in so short a time. — That day week, at Plunket-street, she received her first serious impressions. Her concern deepened at Mass-lane, on Lord's-day morn ing — more so in the evening at Plunket- street — but most of all on Monday night. I exhorted them to begin a prayer and ex perience-meeting ; and they agreed. Bless ed be God ! this strengthens my hands greatly. — At seven o'clock preached at Plunket-street, from Jer. i. 4, 5 : ' Going and weeping — they shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward.' A full house ; and an impressive season. Tarried after the public services were ended, to con verse on religion. The most pleasing case was that of a young man of Mr. D.'s. " Saturday, 9th. — Went with my friend, Mr. S., to call on Miss H. — Found her at her mother's. — We first passed the door. — She ran out after us. — Seemed happy ; but agitated. Ran, and called her mother. — Soon we saw the door of the parlor open, and a majestic lady appeared ; who, as she entered the room, thus accosted me : — ' Who art thou, ob, blessed of the Lord ? Welcome to the widow's house ! Accept the widow's thanks for coming after the child whom thou hast begotten in the gos pel ! ' — I was too much overcome to do more than take by the hand the aged saint. A solemn silence ensued for a minute or two ; when the old lady, recovering, expressed the fulness of her satisfaction respecting the reality of the change effected in her daugh ter, and her gratitude for great refreshment of her own soul, by means of my poor la bors. She said she had known the Lord during forty years, being called under the ministry of John Fisher, in the open air, when on a visit to an officer, who was her brother-in-law. She told us much of her experience, and promised to encourage the prayer-meeting which I proposed to be held in her house every Lord's-day evening. They are to begin to-morrow, after preach ing. — It was a pleasant meeting ; and we returned with pleasure to Eccles-street. After we rose up to come away, the old lady affectionately said, 'May the good-will of Him who dwelt in the bush attend you wherever you go, for ever and ever. The young lady, some months after, wrote to Mr. S., and says, amongst other things, ' I have great reason to be thankful for the many blessings the Lord has been pleased to bestow upon me, and in particular for his sending Mr. Pearce to this city ; and that through his means I have been convinced of sin. I am happy to inform you that, through grace, I am enabled to walk in the narrow path. The Lord has taken away all desire for worldly company ; all my desires, now, are to attend on the means of grace. Bless ed be his name ! I often find him present in them. My mother and I often remember the happy time we spent in your company at our house. She often speaks of it with great pleasure, and blesses the Lord for the change which grace has wrought in me." "Lord's-day, 10th (the last Sabbath) — Preached in the morning at Mary's Abbey, from Job xxxiii. 27, 28: 'He looked upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and per verted that which was right, and it profited me not, he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.' — A happy season. — In the afternoon, having dined with Mr. W., he took me to Swift's- alley, the baptist place of worship, where I gave an exhortation on brotherly love, and administered the Lord's supper. At Mr. W.'s motion, the church requested me to look out a suitable minister for them. In the evening I preached at Plunket-street, from 2 Tim. i. 18 : ' The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day ! ' — A very solemn season. Monday, 11th. — Met the dear Christian friends, for the last time, at a prayer-meet ing in Plunket-street. — The Lord was there ! Several friends spent the evening with us afterwards at Mr. H.'s. " Tuesday, 12th. — Went on board at four; arrived at Liverpool on Thursday, and safely at home on Friday, July 15th, 1796. Bless ed be the preserver of men, the Saviour of sinners, and the help of his servants, for evermore, amen, amen." Some time after, writing to his friend who accompanied him, he says, ' I have received several letters from Dublin : two from Master B., one from Miss H., one from M., three or four from our baptist friends, and some from others whom I cannot recollect. — Mr. K. lately called on me, in his way from Bath to Holyhead. We talked of you, and of our Lord, and did not part till we had presented ourselves be fore the throne." During his labors in Dublin, he was strongly solicited to settle in a very flatter ing situation in the neighborhood ; * and a very liberal salary was offered him. On his positively declining it, mention was made of only six months of tbe year. When that was declined, three months were proposed ; and, when he was about to answer this in the negative, the party refused to receive * At the Black Rock, the residence of some of the most genteel families in the vicinity of Dub lin. 542 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. his answer, - desiring him to take time to consider of it. He did so; and, though he entertained a very grateful sense ofthe kind ness and generosity expressed by the pro posal, yet, after the maturest deliberation, he thought it his duty to decline it. Mr. Pearce's modesty prevented his talking on such a subject ; but it was known at the time by his friend who accompanied him, and, since his death, has been frequently mentioned as an instance of his disinterest ed spirit. His friends at Birmingham were ready to think it hard that he should be so willing to leave them to go on a mission among the heathen : but they could not well complain, and much less think ill of him, when they saw that such a willingness was more than could be effected by the most flattering prospects of a worldly nature, accompanied, too, with promising appearances of religious usefulness. About a month after his return from Dub lin, Mr. Pearce addressed a letter to Mr. Carey, in which he gives some farther ac count of Ireland, as well as of some other interesting matters : — Birmingham, Aug. 12, 1796. " Oh, my dear brother, did you but know with what feelings I resume my pen, freely to correspond with you after receiving your very affectionate letter to myself, and pe rusing that which you sent by the same conveyance to the society, I am sure you would persuade yourself that I have no com mon friendship for you, and that your re gards are at least returned with equal ardor. " I fear (I had almost said) that I shall never see your face in the flesh ; but if any thing can add to the joy which tbe presence of Christ, and conformity, perfect conformi ty to him, will afford in heaven, surely the certain prospect of meeting with my dear brother Carey there is one of the greatest. Thrice happy should I be if the providence of God would open a way for my partaking of your labors, your sufferings, and your pleasures, on this side the eternal world : but all my brethren here are of opinion that I shall be more useful at home than abroad ; and I, though reluctantly, submit. Yet I am truly with you in spirit. My heart is at Mudnabatty, and at times I even hope to find my .body there : but with the Lord I leave it ; He knows my wishes, my motives, my regret: He knows all my soul; and, depraved as it is, I feel an inexpressible satisfaction that he does know it. However, it is an humbling thought to me, that he sees I am unfit for such a station, and unworthy of such an honor as to bear his name among ™e heathen. But I must be thankful still that, though he appoints me not to a post in foreign service, he will allow me to stand sentinel at home. In this' situation may I have grace to be faithful unto death ! " I hardly wonder at your being pained on account of the effects produced in the minds of your European friends, by the news of your engagement in the indigo business, be cause I imagine you are ignorant of the pro cess of that matter amongst us. When I received the news, I glorified God in sincer ity on account of it, and gave most hearty thanks to him for his most gracious appear ance on your behalf: but at the same time I feared lest, through that undertaking, the work of the mission might in some way or other be impeded. The same impression was made on the minds of many others ; yet no blame was attached, in our view, to you. Our minds were only alarmed for the future — not disposed to censure for the past. Had you seen a faithful copy of the prayers, the praises, and the conversation of the day in which your letters were read, I know you would not have entertained one unkind thought ofthe society towards you. Oh, no, my dear brother, far be it from us to lay an atom upon your spirits of a painful nature. Need I say, we do love you, we do respect you, we do confide too much in you, to de sign the smallest occasion of distress to your heart. But I close this subject. In future we will atone for an expression that might bear a harsh construction. We will strength en, we will support, we will comfort, we will encourage you in your aduous work : all, all shall be love and kindness ; glory to God, and good will to men. If I have done aught that is wrong, as an individual, pardon me ; if we have said aught amiss, as a society, pardon us. Let us forbear one another in love, ' for giving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us.' " By the time this reaches you, I hope you will have received Nos. I. and II. of Pe riodical Accounts. Should you find any thing in them which you think had better be omitted, pray be free in mentioning it, and in future your instructions shall be fully at tended to. We have taken all the pains, and used all the caution, in our power, to render them unexceptionable ; but you can better judge in some respects than we. If you should not approve of all (though we are not conscious of any thing that you will disap prove) you will not be offended, but believe we have done our best, and, with your re marks, hope to do better still. "With pleasure, approaching to rapture, I read the last accounts you sent us. I never expected immediate success : the prospect is truly greater than my most sanguine hopes. " The kingdom of heaven is like to a little leaven hid in three measures of meal, till the whole is leavened." Blessed be God ! the leaven is in the meal, and its influence is al ready discoverable. A great God is doing great things by you. Go on, my dearest LETTER TO DR. CAREY. 543 brother, go on ; God will do greater things than these. Jesus is worthy of a world of praise : and shall Hindostan not praise him ? Surely he shall see of the travail of his soul there, and the sower and the reaper shall re joice together. Already the empire of dark ness totters, and soon it shall doubtless fall. Blessed be the laborers in this important work ; and blessed be He who giveth them hearts and strength to labor, and promises that they shall not labor in vain ! " Do not fear the want of money. God is for us, and the silver and the gold are his ; and so are the hearts of those who possess the most of it. I will travel from the Land's end to the Orkney's but we will get money enough for all the demands ofthe mission. I have never had a fear on that head : a little exertion will do wonders ; and past experi ence justifies every confidence. Men, we only want ; and God shall find them for us in due time. " Is brother Fountain arrived ? We hope he will be an acceptable remittance, and, viva voce, compensate for the lack of epis tolary communications. "I rejoice in contemplating a church of our Lord Jesus Christ in Bengal, formed upon his own plan. Why do not the Hin doo converts join it ? Lord help their unbe lief ! But perhaps the drop is now withheld, that you may by and bye have the shower, and lift up your eyes and say, "These, whence came they ? They fly as clouds, or as doves to their windows." For three years we read of few baptized by the first disci ples of our Lord ; but, on the fourth, three thousand, and five thousand, openly avowed him. The Lord send you such another Pen tecost ! " I intend to write my dear brother a long letter. It will prove my desire to gratify him, if it do no more. I wish that I knew in what communications your other correspondents will be most deficient : then I would try to supply their omissions. "I will begin with myself: but I have nothing good to say. I think I am the most vile, ungrateful servant that ever Jesus Christ employed in his church. At some times, I question whether I ever knew the grace of God in truth ; and at others I hesitate on the most important points of christian faith. I have lately had peculiar struggles of this kind with my own heart, and have often half concluded to speak no more in the name of the Lord. When I am preparing for the pul pit, I fear I am going to avow fables for facts, and doctrines of men for the truths of God. In conversation I am obliged to be silent, lest my tongue should belie my heart. In prayer I know not what to say, and at times think prayer altogether useless. Yet I can not wholly surrender my hope, or my pro fession. — Three things I find, above all oth ers, tend to my preservation :— First, a re collection of a time when, at once, I was brought to abandon the practice of sins which the fear of damnation could never bring me to relinquish before. Surely, I say, this must be the finger of God, accor ding to the scripture doctrine of regenera tion : — Secondly, I feel such a consciousness of guilt that nothing but the gospel scheme can satisfy my mind respecting tbe hope of salvation : — Thirdly, I see that what true de votion does appear in the world seems only to be found among those to whom Christ is precious. " But I frequently find a backwardness to secret prayer, and much deadness in it : and it puzzles me to see how this can be consis tent with a life of grace. However, I re solve, that, let what will become of me, I will do all I can for God while I live, and leave the rest to him ; and this I usually ex perience to be the best way to be at peace. " I believe that, if I were more fully giv en up to God, I should be free from these distressing workings of mind ; and then I long to be a missionary, where I should have temptations to nothing but to abound in the work of the Lord, and lay myself entirely out for hiin. In such a situation, I think, pride would have but little food and faith more occasion for exercise ; so that the spir itual life and inward religion would thrive better than they do now. "At times, indeed I do feel, I trust, gen uine contrition, and sincerely lament my short-comings before God. Oh the sweets that accompany true repentance ! Yes, I love to be abased before God. 'There it is I find my blessing.' May the Lord daily and hourly bring me low, and keep me so ! ' As to my public work, I find, whilst en gaged in it, little cause to complain for want either' of matter or words. My labors are acceptable and not altogether unprofitable to the hearers ; but what is this to me, if my own soul starve whilst others are fed by me ? Oh, my brother, I need your prayers ; and I feel a great satisfaction in the hope that you do not forget me. Oh, that I may be kept faithful unto death ! Indeed, in the midst of my strugglings, a gleam of bope that I shall at last awake in the likeness of God, affords me greater joy than words can express. To be with Christ is far better than to continue sinning here : but, if the Lord hath any thing to do by me, His will be done. " I have never so fully opened my case to any one before. Your freedom on similar topics encourages me to make my complaint to you, and I think if you were near me I should feel great relief in revealing to you all my heart. But I shall fatigue you with my moanings, so I will have done on this subject. " It is not long since I returned from a mission to Ireland. A society is established in Dublin for the purpose of inviting from 544 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. England, ministers of various denominations to assist in promoting the interests of the kingdom of Christ there. Some of our Bap tist brethren had been there before me, as Rippon, Langdon, Francis, and Birt ; and I think tbe plan is calculated for usefulness. I have, at Dr. Rippon's request, sent him some remarks on my visit for the Register, but, as it is probable you will receive this before that comes to hand, I will say some thing of my excursion here. " Having engaged to spend six Lord's-days in that kingdom, I arrived there the day be fore the first Sabbath in June. I first made myself acquainted with the general state of religion in Dublin. I found there were four presbyterian congregations ; two of these belong to the southern presbytery, and are Arians or Socinians ; the other two are con nected with the northern presbytery, and retain the Westminster confession of faith. One of these latter congregations is very small, and the minister, though orthodox, ap pears to have but little success. The other is large and flourishing : the place of worship is ninety feet by seventy, and in a morning well filled. Their times of public service are at half-past eleven and five. In the afternoon the stated congregations are small indeed ; for five o'clock is the usual dining- hour in Dublin, and few ofthe hearers would leave their dinners for the gospel. Dr. M'Dowal is the senior pastor of this church — a very affectionate, spiritual man. The ju nior is Mr. Horner. The doctor is a warm friend to the society at whose request I went over to Ireland. " There is one congregation of burgher seceders, and another of antiburghers. The latter will not hear any man who is not of their own cast ; the former are much more liberal. I preached for them once, and they affectionately solicited a repetition of my services. " Lady Huntingdon's connection has one society here, the only one in the kingdom, perhaps, except at Sligo, where there- is another. It is not large and I fear rather declining. There is not one independent church in the whole kingdom. There were tam baptist societies in Ireland: but they are now reduced to six ; and are I fear, still on the decline. "The inhabitants of Dublin seem to be chiefly composed of two classes ; the one assumes the appearance of opulence ; the other exhibits marks of the most abject pov erty : and, as there are no parishes in Ireland which provide for the poor, many die every year for want ofthe common necessaries »f life. " Most of the rich are by profession pro testants ; the poor are nearly all papists, and strongly prejudiced against the reformed re ligion. Their ignorance and superstition are scarcely inferior, to your miserable Hin doos. On Midsummer-day I had an affect ing proof of the latter. On the public road about a mile from Dublin is a well, which was once included in the precincts of a prio ry dedicated to St. John of Jerusalem. This well is in high repute for curing a number of bodily complaints, and its virtues are said to be the most efficacious on the saint's own day. So from twelve o'clock at night, for twenty-four hours, it becomes the rendez vous for all the lame, blind, and otherwise diseased people, within a circuit of twenty miles. Here they brought old and young, and applied the 'holy water' both internally and externally ; some by pouring, some by immersion, and all by drinking ; whilst, for the good of those who could not attend in person, their friends filled bottles with the efficacious water to use at home. Several I saw on their knees before the well at their devotions, which were not unfrequently in terrupted with a glass of whiskey. With this they were supplied from a number of dealers in that article, who kept standings all round the well. "Near to the spot was a church-yard, where great numbers kneeled upon the tombs of their diseased relatives, and ap peared earnestly engaged in praying for the repose of their souls. "It was truly a lamentable sight. My heart ached at their delusions, whilst I felt gratitude, I hope unfeigned, for an acquaint ance with the 'water of life, of which if a man drink he shall live forever!' "There are few or none of the middle class to connect the rich and the poor, so that favorable access to them is far more difficult than to the lower orders of the peo ple in England ; and their priests hold them in such bondage that, if a catholic ser vant only attend on family-worship in a pro testant house, penance must be performed for the offence." Mention has already been made ofhis hav ing " formed a. pleasing acquaintance with several serious young gentlemen ofthe uni versity of Dublin."* The following letter was addressed to one of them, the Rev. Mr. Matthias, a few months after his return : " Dear brother Matthias, " I have been employed this whole day in writing letters to Dublin ; and it is the first day I have been able to redeem for that pur pose. I will not consume a page in apology. Let it sufiice to say that necessity, not dis inclination, has detained from my Irish friends those proofs of my gratitude and es teem which in other circumstances I ought to have presented three months ago. I thought this morning of answering all their demands before I slept ; but I have written so many sheets, and all full, that I find my * Page 640. EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. £45 eyes and my fingers both fail ; and I believe this must close my intercourse with Dublin this day. When I shall be able to complete my purpose I do not know. To form friend ships with good men is pleasant; but to maintain all that communion which friendship expects, is in some cases very difficult. Hap py should I be could I meet my Irish friends in propria persona, instead of sitting in soli tude, and maintaining, by the tedious medium of the pen, this distant intercourse. But ' the Lord he shall choose our inheritance for us.' Were all the planets of our system embodied and placed in close association, the light would be greater and the object grand er ; but then usefulness and systematic beauty consist in their dispersion : and what are we, my brother, but so many satellites to Jesus, the great Sun ofthe Christian system ? Some, indeed, like burning Mercuries, keep nearer the luminary, and receive more of its light and heat, whilst others, like the ringed planet, or the Georgium Sidus, preserve a greater distance, and reflect a greater por tion ofhis light; yet if, amidst all this diver sity, they belong to the system, two things may be affirmed of all : — all keep true to one cen tre, and borrow whatever light they have from one source. True it is that the further they are from the sun, the longer are they in performing then revolutions : and is not this exemplified in us ? The closer we keep to Jesus, the more brilliant are our graces ; the more cheerful and active are our lives : but alas ! we are all comets ; we all move in eccentric orbits : at one time glowing be neath the ray divine, at another congealing and freezing into icicles. ' Oh what a mir acle to man is man ! ' " Little did I think when I begun this let ter that I should thus have indulged myself in allegory : but true friendship, I believe, always dictates extempore ; and my friends must never expect from me a studied epistle. They can meet with better thoughts than I can furnish them with, in any bookseller's shop. It is not the dish, however well it may be cooked, that gives the relish, but the sweet sauce of friendship ; and this I think sometimes makes even nonsense palatable. " But I have some questions to put to you : first, how are all my college friends, Messrs. Walker, Maturin, Hamilton, &c. ? How is their health ? But, chiefly, how are the in terests of religion among you ? Are there any praying students added to your number? Do all those you thought well of continue to justify their profession ? You know what it is that interests me. Pray tell me all, whe ther it makes me weep or rejoice. " I hope Mr. H — 's ministry was blessed in Dublin. Do you know any instances of it ? We must sow in hope, and I trust that we shall all gather fruit to eternal life, even where the buddings have never appeared to us in this world. How is it with your own Vol. 2.— Sig. 69 soul ? I thank God I never, I think, rejoiced habitually so much in him as I have done of late. ' God is love.' That makes me happy. I rejoice that God reigns; that he reigns over all ; that he reigns over me ; over my crosses, my comforts, my family, my friends, my senses, my mental powers, my designs, my words, my preaching, my conduct ; that he is God over all, blessed forever. I am willing to live, yet I long to die, to be freed from all error and all sin. I have nothing else to trouble me ; no other cross to carry. The sun shines without all day long ; but I am sensible of internal darkness. Well, through grace it shall be all light by and by. Yes, you and I shall be angels of light; all Mercuries then ; all near the sun ; always in motion ; always glowing with zeal, and flam ing witb love. Oh, for the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteous ness ! ' Oh what love and concord there, And what sweet harmony In heaven above, where happy souls, Adore thy majesty ! Oh how the heavenly choirs all sing To him who sits enthroned above ! What admiring ! And aspiring ! Still desiring: Oh how I long to taste this feast of love!' " Will you tell brother M- ¦ that I wait an opportunity of sending a parcel to him ? In that I will enclose a letter. My very affectionate respects to him and Mr. H , and all my college friends as though named. If you be not weary of such an eccentric correspondent, pray do not be long ere you write to y our unworthy but affectionate broth er in Christ,— S. P." Awhile after this, he thus writes to his friend Mr. Summers : — , " December, 1796. I rejoice that you have been supported under and brought through your late trials. I do not wonder at it ; for it is no more than God has promised : and though we may well wonder that he pro mises any thing, yet his performance is no just ground of surprise : and, when we find ourselves so employed, we had better turn our wonder to our own unbelief, that for one moment suspected God would not be as good as his word. " I have been lately more than ever de lighted with the thought that God hath en- faged to do any thing for such worms as we. never studied the deistical controversy so much, nor ever rejoiced in revelation more- Alas ! what should we know if God had not condescended to teach us ? Paul very just ly remarks that no one knoweth any thing of God, but the Spirit of God, and he to whom the Spirit revealeth him. Now the Spirit hath revealed God in the Bible ; but to an unbeliever the Bible is a sealed book. He can know nothing from a book that he looks 546 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. upon as an imposture, and yet there is no o ther book in which God is revealed : so that to reject the Bible is to immerse ourselves in darkness, and, whilst professing to be wise actually to become fools : whereas no sooner do we believe what the Spirit saith, than unto us is God revealed, and in his light do we see light." To the above may be added a few extracts of letters which he addressed to his friends in 1797 and 1798. To Dr. Ryland. March, 1797. " During the last three weeks I have, at times, been very poorly, with colds, &c. Am better now, and have been all along assisted in going through my public duties. Let us continue to pray for each other till death makes it a needless service. How uncer tain is life, and what a blessing is death to a saint! I seem lately to feel a kind oi affec tion for death. Methinks if it were visible I could embrace it. 'Welcome herald that bids the prisoner be free; that announces the dawn of everlasting day ; that bids the redeemed come to Zion with everlasting joy, to be beyond the reach of an erroneous judgment and a depraved heart.' To believe, to feel, to speak, to act exactly as God will have me ; to be wholly absorbed and taken up with him ; this, nothing short of this, can make my bliss complete. But all this is mine. Oh the height, the depth, the length, the breadth of redeeming love ! It conquers my heart, and constrains me to yield myself a living sacrifice, acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ. My dear brother, we have had many happy meetings on earth : the best is in reserve. ' No heart upon earth can conceive The bliss that in heaven they share ; Then who this dark world would not leave, And cheerfully die to be there t ' " Oh how full of love, and joy, and praise, shall we be when that happy state is ours ! Well, yet a little while, and He that shall come will come : Even so come, Lord Jesus ! My dear brother, forgive the hasty effusions of a heart that loves you in the bowels of Jesus, and is always happy in testifying it self to be affectionately yours, — S. P." To Mr. Cave, On tbe falling away of some who had promised fair in religion. -, 1797. "I thank you, my dear brother, for the confidence you repose in me, the affection you have forme, and the freedom with which you write to me. Assure yourself; that I sin cerely sympathize in the cutting events which you have lately experienced. Trying indeed! Your heart must bleed. Yet be not discouraged in your work. The more Satan opposes Christ, the more let us oppose him. He comes with great violencebecanse his time is 'short. His kingdom is on the decline ; his strong holds are besieged, and he knows they must soon be taken. Whilst it lasts, he is making desperate sallies on the armies ofthe Lamb. It is no great wonder that he fights and wounds a raw recruit now and then, who strays from the camp, and, thoughtless of the danger, keeps not close by the captain's tent. I hope our glorious leader will heal the wounded, and rescue the captive. He is sure to make reprisals. Christ will have ten to one. You will see his arm made bare. , He shall go forth like a man of war. The prisoners shall be re deemed, and the old tyrant shall be cast into the bottomless pit. Be of good cheer, my fellow-soldier. The cause is not ours, but God's. Let us endure hardness, and still fight the goqd fight of faith. At last we shall come off conquerors through him who hath loved us. " I hope you have some causes for joy as well as grief. I trust though one, or two, or three fall, the tens and the twenties stand their ground. Oh do what you can to cheer them under the common trial. Let them not see a faint heart, in you. Fight manfully still. Tell them to watch the more ; to pray the harder; to walk the closer with God. So out ofthe eater shall come forth meat, and sweetness out ofthe strong." To Mr. Bates and Mrs. Barnes, Who had been burnt out of their residence. " The many expressions of christian friend ship which I received from you, and your affectionate families, during my late visit to London, will often excite grateful recollec tion in future, as they have almost daily since I parted from you ; and though I do not write this avowedly as a mere letter of acknow ledgment, yet I wish it to assure you that I am not forgetful of my friends, nor un thankful for their kindness. May all the fa vor you show to the servants of our common Lord, for his sake, be amply recompensed in present peace, and future felicity, when the promise of him who cannot lie shall be ful filled, — ' A cup of cold water given to a dis ciple, in the name of a disciple, shall not lose its reward.' " But, whilst you, my dear friends, live ' in hope of the glory ' that remains ' to be re vealed,' I am persuaded that you expect all as the fruit of sovereign, mercy, which first forms us to the mind of Christ, then accepts, and then rewards. Truly, if sinners be re warded, itmust be ' of grace, and not of debt.' Yet it is a mercy of unspeakable magnitude that grace should establish a connection be tween obedience and enjoyment, such a con nection as at once ensures joy to the believer, and glory to Christ. " Oh that our thoughts, our affections, our EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 547 desires, may be much in heaven ! Here, you have been taught, is ' no continuing city,' no ' certain place of abode ; and though you have been taught it awfully in flames, yet, if you learn it effectually, the terror of the means will be conquered by the excellency and glory of the consequences. Yes, my friends, ' in heaven we have a better and en during substance : ' the apartments there are more spacious ; the society more sweet ; the enjoyments more perfect; and all to last forever. Well may Christians 'rejoice in hope ofthe glory of God ! ' To Mr. and Mrs. Bowter, Pall Mall. Nov. 17, 1797. " Blessed be ' the preserver of men,' for all his goodness to dear Mr. and Mrs. B . With theirs shall my gratitude also ascend, whilst separated from their society; and with theirs shall it more warmly and per manently ascend, when we meet to form a part ofthe ' general assembly, and church of the first-born.' "I do not return to London this autumn, but I mean to visit Portsmouth. I must be indebted to you for my directions. We shall be very happy to see you at Luke-street : but Wales I suppose will be the vortex that will swallow up much of your time. Well, so you are happy, we must be disinterested enough to be satisfied, although we be de nied a personal participation. " Let us not forget that we are Christians ; and Christians profess a hope of a better country than Cambria contains. There we all belong. Already citizens by privilege, we shall be so by possession soon. ' Roll swifter round, ye wheels of time, And bring the welcome day ! ' "In hope of greeting you both in that good land, I remain most affectionately yours— S. P." v To Dr. Ryland. Nov. 17, 1797. " I feel much for you in relation both to the duties and trials of your present situa tion : at the same time I bless God who fixed you in it, because I am persuaded that it will be for his glory in the churches of Christ. And, though none but those whose hands are full of religious concerns can guess at your difficulties, yet our blessed Redeemer knows them all. Oh, my brother, you are travailing for him who redeemed you by his blood, who sympathizes with you, and who will graciously crown you at last. Small as my trials are, I would turn smith, and work at the anvil and the forge, rather than bear them for any other master than Christ. Yet were they ten thousand times as many as they are, the thought of their being for Him, I trust, would sweeten them all. " I have reason to be very thankful for much pleasure of late both as a Christian and a minister. I have never felt so deeply my need of a divine Redeemer, and seldom possessed such solid confidence that he is mine. I want more and more to become a little child, to dwindle into nothing in my own esteem, to renounce my own wisdom, power, and goodness, and simply look to and live upon Jesus for all. I am ashamed that I have so much pride, so much self-will. Oh my Saviour ! make me ' meek and lowly in heart;' in this alone I find 'rest to my soul.' " I could say much of what Immanuel has done for my soul ; but I fear lest even this should savor of vanity. When shall I be like my Lord ? Oh welcome death, when I have nothing more to do for Christ! To him, till then, may I live every day and every hour. Rather may I be annihilated than not live to him ! " You will rejoice with me to hear that we have a pleasing prospect as a church. Sev eral very hopeful and some very valuable characters are about to join us. Lord, carry on thy work ! " To Mrs. Pearce, On the dangerous illness of one of the children. " Portsmouth, Jan. 29, 1798. "Ignorant of the circumstances of our dear child, how shall I address myself to her dearer mother ! With a fluttering heart, and a trembling hand, I, in this uncertainty, resume my pen. One consideration tran quillizes my mind, — I and mine are in the hands of God; the wise, the good, the in dulgent parent of mankind ! Whatever he does is best. I am prepared for all his will, and hope that I shall never have a feeling whose language is not, ' Thy will be done.' " I am most kindly entertained here by Mr. and Mrs. Shoveller; and, except my dear Sarah's presence, feel myself at home. They have had greater trials than we can at present know. They have attended seven children to the gloomy tomb : they have been supported beneath their loss by him who hath said, ' As thy days so shall thy strength be.' Mrs. S. tells me she ' blessed God for all.' May my dear Sarah be ena bled to do the same, whatever the result may prove. To-morrow I expect another letter from you ; yet, lest you should too much feel my absence, I will not delay for warding this a single post. O that it may prove in some degree a messenger of con solation ! " Yesterday I preached three times : God was very good. I received your letter be fore the first service : you may be assured that I bore you on my heart in the presence of my Lord and yours ; nor shall I pray in vain : He will either restore the child, or support you under the loss of it. I dare not pray with importunity for any earthly good ; for ' who knoweth what is good for man in 548 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. this life, all the days of his vain life, which the spendeth as a shadow ? ' But strength to bear the loss of earthly comforts he has promised : for that I importune ; and that, I doubt not, will be granted. " In a house directly opposite to the win dow before which I now write, a wife, a mother, is just departed ! Why am I not a bereaved husband ? Why are not my chil dren motherless ? When we compare our condition with our wishes, we often com plain : but, if we compare it with that of many around us, our complaints will be ex changed for gratitude and praise." To R. Bowter, Esq. Feb. 14, 1798. "Not a day has hurried by, since I parted with my dear friends in Pall Mall, but they have been in my affectionate remembrance ; but, not being able to speak with any satis faction respecting our dear child, I have withheld myself from imparting new anxie ties to bosoms already alive to painful sen sibility. " At length, however, a gracious God puts it in my power to say that there is hope. After languishing between life and, death for many days, she now seems to amend. We flatter ourselves that she has passed the crisis, and will yet be restored to our arms ; but parental fears forbid too strong a confidence. It may be that our most mer ciful God saw that the shock of a sudden removal would be too strong for the tender feelings of a mother; and so by degrees prepares for the stroke which must fall at last. However, she is in the best hands, and we are, I hope, preparing for submis sion to whatever may be the blessed will of God. " I was brought home in safety, and feel myself in much better health in consequence of my journey. Oh that it may be all conse crated to my Redeemer's praise ! "Happy should I be if I could oftener en joy your friendly society ; but we must wait for the full accomplishment of our social wishes till we come to that better world for which divine grace is preparing us ; — There our best, our brightest hopes, and there our warmest affections must be found. Could we have all we want below, we should be reluctant to ascend, when Jesus calls us home. No, this is not our rest ; it is pollu ted with sin, and dashed with sorrow : but though our pains in themselves are evil, yet our God turns the curse into a blessing, and makes all that we meet with accomplish our good. " What better can I wish, my friends, than the humble place of Mary, or the happy rest of John ! Faith can enjoy them both, till actually we fall at the Saviour's feet, and lean upon his bosom, when we see him as he is. ' Oh the delights, the heavenly joys, The glories of the place, Where Jesus sheds the brightest beams Of his o'erflowing grace ! ' " CHAPTER IV. AN ACCOUNT OF HIS LAST AFFLICTION, AND THE HOLT AND HAPPY EXERCISES OF HIS MIND UNDER IT. Early in October, 1798, Mr. Pearce at tended at the Kettering ministers' meeting, and preached from Psalm xc. 16, 17 : " Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty ofthe Lord our God be. upon us : and establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.' He was observed to be singularly solemn and affectionate in that discourse. If he had known it to be the last time that he should address his brethren in that part of the country, he could scarcely have felt or spoken in a more interesting manner. It was a discourse full of instruction, full of a holy unction, and that seemed to breathe an apostolical ardor. On his return, he preach ed at Market Harborough ; and riding home the next day in company with his friend Mr. Summers, of London, they were overtaken with rain. Mr. Pearce was wet through his clothes, and towards evening complained of a chilliness. A slight hoarseness follow ed. He preached several times after this, which brought on an inflammation, and issued in a consumption. It is probable that, if his constitution had not been pre viously impaired, such effects might not have followed in this instance. His own ideas on this subject are expressed in a let ter to Dr. Ryland, dated Dec. 4, 1798 ; and in another to Mr. King, dated from Bristol, on his way to Plymouth, March 30, 1799. In the former, he says, "Ever since my Christmas journey last year to Sheepshead, Nottingham, and Leicester, on the mission business, I have found my constitution greatly debilitated, in consequence of a cold caught after the unusual exertions which circumstances then demanded : so that, from a frame that could endure any weatber, I have since been too tender to encounter a single shower without tlanger ; and the du ties ofthe Lord's day, which, as far as bodi ly strength went, I could perform with little fatigue, have since frequently overcome me. But the severe cold I caught in my return from the last Kettering ministers' meeting has affected me so much that I have some times concluded I must give up preaching entirely ; for, though . my head and spirits are better than for two years past, yet my stomach is so very weak that I cannot pray CORRESPONDENCE DURING LAST ILLNESS. 549 in my family without frequent pauses for breath, and in the pulpit it is labor and agony which must be felt to be conceived of. I have however made shift to preach some times thrice, but mostly only twice on a Lord's day, till the last, when, the morning sermon only, though I delivered it with great pleasure of mind and with as much caution as to my voice as possible, yet cost me so much labor as threw me into a fever till the next; day, and prevented my sleeping all night." — In the latter, he thus writes, — "Should my life be spared, I and my family, and all my connections, will stand indebted, under God, to you. Uususpecting of dan ger myself, I believe I should have gone on with my exertions, till the grave had receiv ed me. Your attention sent Mr. B. (the apothecary) to me, and then I flrst learned what I have since been increasingly con vinced of — that I was rapidly destroying the vital principle. And the kind interest you have taken in my welfare ever since has often drawn the grateful tear from my eye. May the God of heaven and earth reward your kindness to his unworthy servant, and save you from all the evils from which your distinguished friendship would have saved me!" Such were his ideas. " His labors were certainly abundant; perhaps too great for his constitution: but it is probable that nothing was more injurious to his health than a frequent exposure to night air, and an inattention to the necessity of changing damp clothes. Hitherto we have seen in Mr. Pearce the active, assiduous, and laborious servant of Jesus Christ: but now we see him laid aside from his work, wasting away by slow degrees, patiently enduring the will of God, and cheerfully waiting for his dissolution. And, as here is but little to narrate, I shall content myself with copying his letters, or extracts from them, to his friends, in the or der bf time in which they were written, only now and then dropping a few hints to fur nish the reader with the occasions of some of them. To Dr. Ryland. Birmingham, Oct. S, 1798. (1 Oh ! my dear brother, your letter of the 5th, which I received this morning, has made me thankful for all my pulpit agonies, as they enable me to weep witii a weeping brother. They have been of use to me in other respects ; particularly in teaching me the importance of attaining and maintaining that spirituality and pious ardor in which I have found the most effectual relief; so that on the whole I must try to ' glory in tribula tions also.' I trust I often can when the conflict is past ; but to glory ' in ' them, es pecially in mental distress— hic labor, hoc opus est. " But how often has it been found that when ministers have felt themselves most embarrassed the most effectual good has been done to the people ! Oh for hearts en tirely resigned to the will of God ! "How happy should I be could I always enjoy the sympathies of a brother who is tried in these points as I of late have been !" To Mr. Fuller. Birmingham, Oct. 29, 1798. " I caught a violent cold in returning from our last committee-meeting, from which I have not yet recovered. A little thing now affects my constitution, which I once judged would be weather and labor-proof for at least thirty years, if I lived so long. I thank God that I am not debilitated by iniquity. I have lately met with an occurrence which occa sioned me much pain and perplexity .... Trials soften our hearts, and make us more fully prize the dear few into whose faithful sympathizing bosoms we can with confidence pour our sorrows. I think I should bless God for my afflictions, if they produced no other fruit than these— the tenderness they inspire, and the friendships they capacitate us to enjoy. Pray, my dear brother, for yours affectionately, — S. P." To a young man who had applied to him for advice how he should best improve his time, previous to his going to the Bristol Academy : — Birmingham, Nov. 13, 179S. " My dear M. " I can only confess my regret at not re plying to yours at a much earlier period, and assure you that the delay has been acciden tal, and not designed. I felt the importance of your request for advice — I was sensible it deserved some consideration before it was answered. — I was full of business at the mo ment — I put it by, and it was forgotten ; and now it is too late. The time of your going to Bristol draws nigh. If, instead of an opinion respecting the best way of occupy ing your time before you go, you will accept a little counsel during your continuance there, I shall be happy at any time to con tribute such a mite as my experience and observation have put in my power. " At present, the following rules appear of so much moment, that, were I to resume a place in any literary establishment, I would religiously adopt them as the standard of my conduct : — First, I would cultivate a spirit of habitual devotion. Warm piety connect ed with my studies, especially at my en trance upon them, would not only assist me in forming a judgment on their respective importance, and secure the blessing of God upon them ; but would so cement the reli gious feeling with literary pursuit, as that it might abide with me for life. The habit of uniting these, being once formed, would, I 550 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. hope, be never lost; and I am sure that, without this, I shall both pursue trivial and unworthy objects, and those that are worthy I shall pursue for a wrong end. — Secondly, I would determine on a uniform submission to the instructions of my preceptor, and study those things which would give him pleasure. If he be not wiser than I am, for what purpose do I come under his care ? I accepted the pecuniary help of the Society on condition of conforming to its will ; and it is the Society's will that my tutor should govern me. My example will have influ ence : let me not, by a single act of disobe dience, or by a word that implicates dissatis faction, sow the seeds of discord in the bosoms of my companions. — Thirdly, I would pray and strive for the power oi self -government, to form no plan, to utter not a word, to take no step, under the mere influence of passion. Let my judgment be often asked, and let me always give -it time to answer. Let me al ways guard against a light or trifling spirit ; and particularly as I shall be amongst a num ber of youths whose years will incline them all to the same frailty. — Fourthly, I would in all my weekly and daily pursuits observe the strictest order. Always let me act by a plan. Let every hour have its proper pursuit ; from which let nothing but a settled convic tion that I can employ it to better advantage ever cause me to deviate. Let me have fix ed time for prayer, meditation, reading, lan guages, correspondence, recreation, sleep, &c. — Fifthly, I would not only assign to ev ery hour its proper pursuit ; but what I did I would try to do with all ray might. The hours at such a place are precious beyond conception, till the student enters on life's busy scenes. Let me set the best of my class ever before me, and strive to be bet ter than they. In humility and diligence let me aim to be the first.— Sixthly, I would particularly avoid a versatile habit. In all things I would persevere. Without this, I may be a gaudy butterfly ; but never, like the bee, will my hive bear examining. What ever I take in hand, let me first be sure I un derstand it, then duly consider it, and, if it be good, let me adopt and use it. "To these, my dear brother, let me add three or four things more minute, but which, I am persuaded, will help you much. — Guard against a large acquaintance while you are a student. Bristol friendship, while you sustain that character, will prove a vile thief, and rob you of many an invaluable hour. Get two or three of the students, whose piety you most approve, to meet for one -hour in a week for experimental conversation and mutual prayer. I found this highly beneficial, though, strange to tell, by some we were persecuted for our practice i—Keep a diary. Once a week at farthest call yourself to an account : What advances you have made in your different studies; ii.> divinity, history, language, nat ural philosophy, style, arrangement; and, amidst all, do not forget to inquire, Am I more fit to serve and to enjoy God than I was last week ? " On Dec. 2, 1798, he delivered his last ser mon. The subject was taken from Dan. x. 19, " Oh man, greatly beloved, fear not, peace be unto thee ; be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my Lord speak ; for thou hast strengthened me." — " Amongst all the Old Testament saints," said he, in his introduction to that discourse, " there is not one whose imperfections were fewer, than those of Daniel. By the history given of him in this book, which yet seems not to be complete, he appears to have excelled among the excellent." Doubtless, no one was far ther from his thoughts than himself: sever al of his friends, however, could not help ap plying it to him, and that with a painful ap prehension of what followed soon after. To Mr. Cave, Leicester. "Birmingham, Dec. 4, 1798. " Blessed be God, my mind is calm ; and, though my body be weakness it self, my spirits are good, and I can write as well as ever, though I can hardly speak two sentences without a pause. All is well, brother ! all is well, for time and eternity. My soul rejoices in the everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure. Peace from our dear Lord Jesus be with your spirit, as it is (yea, more also) with your affectionate brother— S. P." To Mr. Nichols, Nottingham. " Birmingham, Dec. 10, 1798. " I am now quite laid by from preaching, and am so reduced in my internal strength that I can hardly converse with a friend for five minutes without losing my breath. In deed, I have been so ill that I thought the next ascent would be, not to a pulpit, but to a throne — the throne of glory. Yes, indeed, my friend, the religion of Jesus will support when flesh and heart fail ; and, in my worst state of body, my soul was filled with joy. I am now getting a little better, though but very slowly. But fast or slow, or as it may, the Lord doth all things well." To R. Bowyer, Esq. -I have overdone myself in preach ing. I am now ordered to lie by, and not even to converse, without great care ; nor in deed, till to-day, have I for some time been able to utter a sentence without a painful ef fort. Blessed be God! I have been filled all through my affliction with peace and joy in believing ; and at one time, when I thought I was entering the valley of death, the pros pect beyond was so full of glory, that, but for CORRESPONDENCE DUring LAST ILLNESS. 551 the sorrow it would have occasioned to some who would be left behind, I should have long ed that moment to have mounted to the skies. Oh, my friend, what a mercy that I am not receiving the wages of sin ; that my health has not been impaired by vice ; but that, on the contrary, I am bearing in my body the marks ofthe Lord Jesus ! To him be all the praise ! Truly, I have proved that God is faithful: and most cheerfully would I take double the affliction for one half of the joy and sweetness which have attended it. Ac cept a sermon which is this day published."* To Mr. Bates and Mrs. Barnes, Minories. " Birmingham, Dec. 14, 1798. " I could tell you much of the Lord]s goodness during my affliction. Tru ly ' his right hand hath been under my head, and his left embraced me.' And when I was at the worst, especially, and expected ere long to have done with time, even then, such holy joy, such ineffable sweetness filled my soul, that I would not have exchanged that situation for any besides heaven itself. " Oh, my dear friends, let us live to Christ, and lay ourselves wholly out for him whilst we live ; and then, when health and life for sake us, he will be the strength of our heart; and our portion forever." About this time the congregation at Can non-street was supplied for several months by Mr. Ward, who has since gone as a mis sionary to India. Here that amiable young man became intimately acquainted with Mr. Pearce, and conceived a most affectionate esteem for him. In a letter to a friend, da ted Jan. 5, 1799, he writes as follows : — "I am happy in the company of dear bro ther Pearce. I have seen more of God in him than in any other person I ever knew. Oh how happy should I be to live and die with him ! When well, he preaches three times on a Lord's-day, and two or three times in the week besides. He instructs the young people in the principles of religion, natural philosophy, astronomy, &c. They have a benevolent society, from the funds of which they distribute forty or fifty pounds a year to the poor of the congregation. They have a sick society for visiting the afflicted in gen eral : a book society at chapel : a Lord's-day school, at which more than two hundred chil dren are instructed. Add to this, mission ary business, visiting the people, an exten sive correspondence, two volumes of mission history preparing for the press, &c. ; and then you will see something of the soul of Pearce. He is every where venerated, though but a young man ; and all the kind, tender, gentle affections, make him as a little child at the feet of his Saviour.— W. W." * The last but one he ever preached, entitled, Motives to Gratitude. It was delivered on the day of national thanksgiving, and printed at the request of his own congregation. In February, he rode to the opening of a baptist meeting-house at Bedworth ; but did not engage in any ofthe services. Here several of his brethren saw him for the last time. Soon afterwards, writing to the com piler of these memoirs, he says, — "The, Lord's-day after I came home I tried to speak a little after sermon. It inflamed my lungs afresh, produced phlegm, coughing, and spitting of blood. Perhaps I may never preach more. Well, the Lord's will be done. I thank him that he ever took me into his service ; and now, if he see fit to give me a discharge, I submit." During the above meeting a word was dropped by one of his brethren which he took as a reflection, though nothing was farther from the intention of the speaker. It wrought upon his mind; and in a few days after he wrote as follows : — " Do you remember what passed at B ? Had I not been accustomed to receive plain friendly remarks from you, I should have thought you meant to insinuate a reproof. If you did, tell me plainly. If you did not, it is all at an end. You will not take my naming it unkindly, although I should be mistaken ; such affectionate explanations are necessary, when suspicions arise, to the preservation of friendship ; and I need not say that I hold the preservation of your friendship in no small account." The above is copied, not only to set forth the spirit and conduct of Mr. Pearce in a case wherein he felt himself aggrieved, but to show in how easy and amiable a manner thousands of mistakes might be rectified, and differences prevented, by a frank and timely explanation. To Mr, Comfield, Northampton. " Birmingham, March 4, 1799. "I could wish my sympathies to be as extensive as human — I was going to say (and why not?) as animal misery. The very limited comprehension of the human intelligence forbids this indeed, and whilst I am attempting to participate as far as the news of affliction reaches me, I find the same events do not often produce equal feelings. We measure our sympathies, not by the causes of sorrow, but by the sensi bilities ofthe sorrowful: hence I abound in feeling on your account. The situation of your family must have given distress to a president of any character; but in you it must have produced agonies. I know the tenderness of your heart : your feelings are delicately strong. You must feel much, or nothing ; and he that knows you, and does not feel much when you feel, must be a brute. " May the fountain of mere/ supply you with the cheering stream ! May your sor row be turned into joy ! " I am sure that I omjht to value more 552 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. than ever your friendship for me. You have remembered me, not merely in my affliction, but in your own. Our friendship , our benevolence, must never be compared with that of Jesus ; but it is truly delightful to see the disciple treading, though at an humble distance, in the footsteps of a Mas ter, who, amidst the tortures of crucifixion, exercised forgiveness to his murderers, and the tenderness of filial piety to a disconso late mother ! When we realize the scene, how much do our imaginations embrace — the. persons — the circumstances — the words — 'Woman, behold thy Son; John, behold thy mother!'" By the above letter, the reader will per ceive that, while deeply afflicted himself, he felt in the tenderest manner for the afflictions of others. To Mr. Fuller. "March 23, 1799. " He was now setting out for Plymouth ; and after observing the great danger he was supposed to be in, with respect to a con sumption, he adds, — " But thanks be to God who giveth my heart the victory, let my poor body be consumed, or preserved. In the thought of leaving, I feel a momentary gloom ; but in the thought oi going, a heav enly triumph. ' Oh to grace how great a debtor ! ' "Praise God with me, and for me, my dear brother, and let us not mind dying any more than sleeping. No, no; let every Christian sing the loudest as he gets the nearest to the presence of his God. Eter nally yours in Him who hath washed us both in his blood— S. P." To Mr. Medley, London. " March 23, 1799. " My affliction has been rendered sweet by the supports and smiles of Him whom I have served in the gospel of his Son. He hath delivered, he doth deliver, and I trust that he will yet deliver. Living or dying, all is well forever. Oh what shall I render to the Lord ! " It seems that, in order to avoid wounding Mrs. P.'s feelings, he deferred the settle ment ofhis affairs till he arrived at Bristol ; whence he wrote to his friend, Mr. King, requesting him to^become an executor. Receiving a favorable answer, he replied as follows : — " Bristol, April 6, 1799. " Your letter, just received, affected me too much, with feelings both of sympathy and gratitude, to remain unanswered a sin gle post. Most heartily do I thank you for accepting a service which friendship alone can render agreeable in the most simple cases. Should that service demand your activities at an early period, may no unfore seen occurrence increase the necessary care ! But may the father of the fatherless, and judge ofthe widows, send you a recom pense into your own bosom, equal to all that friendship to which, under God, I have been so much indebted in life, and reposing on whose bosom, even death itself loses a part of its gloom. In you, my children will find another father — in you, my wife another husband. Your tenderness will sympathize with the one, under the most distressing sensibilities ; and your prudent counsels be aguide to the others, through the unknown mazes of inexperienced youth. Enough — blessed God! My soul prostrates, and adores thee for such a friend." To Mr. Fuller. " Plymouth, April 18, 1799. " The last time that I wrote to you was at the close of a letter sent to you by brother Ryland. I did not like that postscript form ; it looked so card-like as to make me fear that you would deem it unbrotherly. After all, perhaps, you thought nothing about it ; and my anxieties might arise only from my weakness, which seems to be constantly in creasing my sensibilities. If ever I felt love in its tenderness for my friends, it has been since my affliction. This, in a great meas ure, is no more than the love of ' publicans and harlots, who love those that love them.' I never conceived myself by a hundred de grees so interested in the regards of my friends, as this season of affliction has man ifested I was ; and therefore, so far from claiming any 'reward' for loving them in return, I should account myself a monster of ingratitude were it otherwise. Yet there is something in affliction itself, which, by increasing the delicacy of our feelings, and detaching our thoughts from the usual round of objects which present themselves to the mind when in a state of health, may be ea sily conceived to make us susceptible of stronger and more permanent impressions of an affectionate nature. " I heard at Bristol that you and your friends had remembered me in your prayers, at Kettering. Whether the Lord whom we serve may see fit to answer your peti tions on my account, or not, may they at least be returned into your own bosoms ! " For the sake of others I should be hap py could I assure you that my health was improving. As to myself, I thank God that I am not without a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better. I find that neither in sickness, nor in health, I can be so much as I wish like Him whom I love. ' To die is gain : ' oh to gain that state, those feelings, that character, which perfectly ac cord with the mind of Christ, and are attend ed with the full persuasion of his complete and everlasting approbation! I want no heaven but this; and, to gain this, most CORRESPONDENCE DURING LAST ILLNESS. 553 gladly would I this moment expire. But, if to abide in the flesh be more needful for an individual of my fellow-men, — Lord, let thy will be done ; only let Christ be magni fied by me, whether in life or death ! "The weather has been so wet and windy since I have been at Plymouth that I could not reasonably expect to be much bet ter ; and I cannot say that I am much worse. All the future is uncertain. Professional men encourage me ; but frequent returns appear, and occasional discharges of blood check my expectations. If I speak but for two minutes, my breast feels as sore as though it were scraped with a rough-edged razor ; so that I am mute all the day long, and have actually learned to converse with my sister by means of our fingers. "I thank you for yours of April 4th, which I did not receive till the 12th, the day that I arrived at Plymouth. On the 16th, a copy of yours to brother Ryland came to hand, to which I should have replied yester day, but had not leisure. I am happy and thankful for your success. May the Lord himself pilot the ' Criterion ' safely to Cal cutta river ! " Unless the Lord work a miracle for me, I am sure that I shall not be able to attend the Olney meeting. It is to my feelings a, severe anticipation ; but how can I be a Christian, and not submit to God ? " To Mr. Wm. Ward. " Plymouth, April 22, 1799. " Most affectionately do I thank you for your letter, so full of information, and of friendship. To our common friend, who is gone into heaven, where he ever sitteth at the right hand of God for us, I commend you. Whether I die, or live, God will take care of you till he has ripened you for the common salvation. Then shall I meet my dear bro ther Ward again ; and who can tell how much more interesting our intercourse in heaven will be made by the scenes that most distress our poor spirits here ? Oh, had I none to live for, I had rather die than liye, that I may be at once like Him whom I love. But, while he ensures me grace, why should I regret the delay of glory ? No : I will wait his will who performeth all things for me. " My dear brother, had I strength I should rejoice to acquaint you with the wrestlings and the victories, the hopes and the fears, the pleasures and the pangs, which I have lately experienced. But I must forbear. All I can now say is that God hath done me much good by all, and made me very thank ful for all he has done. " Alas ! I shall see you no more. I can not be at Olney on the 7th of May. The journey would be my death. But the Lord whom you serve will be with you then, and forever. My love to all the dear assembled Vol. 2.— Sie. 70. saints, who will give you their benedictions at that solemn season. To Dr. Ryland. " Plymouth, April 24, 1799. " Very dear brother, " My health is in much the same state as when I wrote last, excepting that my mus cular strength rather increases, and my powers of speaking seem less and less every week. I have, for the most part, spoken only in whispers for several days past ; and even these seem too much for my irritable lungs. My father asked me a question to-day ; he did not understand me when I whispered; so I was obliged to utter one word, and one word only, a little louder, and that brought on a soreness, which I expect to feel till bed time. "I am still looking out for fine weather; all here is cold and rainy. We have had but two or three fair and warm days since I have been here ; then I felt better. I am perfectly at a loss even to guess what the Lord means to do with me ; but I desire to commit my ways to him, and be at peace. I am going to-day about five miles into the country (to Tamerton,) where I shall await the will of God concerning me. " I knew not of any committee-meeting of our society to be held respecting Mr. Marsh- man and his wife. I have therefore sent no vote, and, indeed, it is my happiness that I have full confidence in my brethren, at this important crisis, since close thinking, or much writing, always increases my fever, and pro motes my complaint. " My dear brother, I hope you will cor respond much with Kettering. I used to be a medium ; but God has put me out of the way. I could weep that I can serve him no more ; and yet I fear some would be tears of pride. Oh, for perfect likeness to my hum ble Lord ! " To Mr. King. Tamerton, May 2, 1799. " . . . . Give my love to all the dear peo ple at Cannon-street. Oh, pray that he who afflicts would give me patience to endure. Indeed, the state of suspense in which I have been kept so long requires much of it ; and I often exclaim, ere I am aware, Oh, my dearpeople! Oh, my dear family ! when shall I be restored to you again ? The Lord for give all the sin of my desires ! At times I feel a sweet and perfect calm, and wish ever to live under the influence of a belief in the foodness of God, and of all his plans, and all is works." The reader has seen how much he regret ted being absent from the solemn designa tion of the missionaries at O! ney. He, how ever, addressed the following lines to Mr. 554 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. Fuller, which were read at the close of that meeting, to the dissolving of nearly the whole assembly in tears : — " Tamerton, May 2, 1799. " . . . . Oh that the Lord, who is uncon- fined by place or condition, may copiously pour out upon you all the rich effusions of his Holy Spirit on the approaching day ! My most hearty love to each missionary who may then encircle the throne of grace. Happy men ! Happy women ! You are going to be fellow-laborers with Christ him self! I congratulate — I almost envy you ; yet I love you, and can scarcely now forbear dropping a tear of love as each of your names passes across my mind. Oh what promises are yours ; and what a reward ! Surely heaven is filled with double joy, and resounds- with unusual acclamations, at the arrival of each missionary there. Oh be faithful, my dear brethren, my dear sisters, be faithful unto death, and all this joy is yours ! Long as I live, my imagination will be hovering over you in Bengal ; and, should I die, if sep arate spirits be allowed a visit to the world they have left, methinks mine would soon be at Mudnabatty, watching your labors, your conflicts, and your pleasures, whilst you are always abounding in the work of the Lord." To Dr. Ryland. " Plymouth, May 14, 1799. " My dear brother, "Yours ofthe 11th instant I have just re ceived, and thank you for your continued concern for your poor unworthy brother. " I have suffered much in my health since I wrote to you last, by the increase of my feverish complaint, which filled me with heat and horror all night, and in the day some times almost suffocated me with the violence of its paroxysms. I am extremely weak ; and now that warm weather, which I came into Devon to seek, I dread as much as the cold, because it excites the fever. I am happy, however, in the Lord. I have not a wish to live or die, but as he pleases. I truly enjoy the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and would not be without his divine atone ment, whereon to rest my soul, for ten thou sand worlds. I feel quite weaned from earth, and all things in it. Death has lost his sting, the grave its horrors, and the attractions of heaven, I had almost said, are sometimes violent. ' Oh to grace how great a debtor ! ' " But I am wearied. May all grace abound towards my dear brother, and his affectionate — S. P." To the Church in Cannon-street. " Plymouth, May 31, 1799. " To the dear people of my charge, the flock of Christ, assembling in Cannon-street, Birmingham, their afflicted but affectionate pastor, presents his love in Christ Jesus, the great Shepherd ofthe sheep. " My dearest, dearest, friends and brethren, " Separated as I have been a long time from you, and during that time of separation having suffered much both in body and mind, yet my heart has still been with you, parti cipating in your sorrows, uniting in your prayers, and rejoicing with you in the hope of that glory to which divine faithfulness has engaged to bring us, _and for which our heavenly Father, by all his providences and by every operation of his Holy Spirit, is daily preparing us. " Never, my dear brethren, did I so much rejoice in our being made ' partakers of the heavenly calling ' as during my late afflic tions. The sweet thoughts of glory, where I shall meet my dear Lord Jesus, with all his redeemed ones, perfectly freed from all that sin which now burdens us and makes us groan from day to day, — this transports my soul, whilst out of weakness I am made strong, and at times am enabled to glory even in my bodily infirmities, that the power of Christ, in supporting when jflesh and heart fail, may the more evidently rest upon me. Oh, my dear brethren and sisters, let me, as one alive almost from the dead, let me ex hort you to stand fast in that blessed gospel which for ten years I have now preached among you — the gospel of the grace of God ; the gospel of God ; the gospel of free, full, everlasting salvation, founded on the suffer ings and death of God manifest in the flesh. Look much at this all-amazing scene ! * Behold ! a God descends and dies To save my soul from gaping hell ; ' and then say, whether any poor broken-heart ed sinner need be afraid to venture his hopes of salvation on such a sacrifice; especially since He who is thus ' mighty to save ' hath said that ' whosoever cometh to him he will in no wise cast out.' You, beloved, who have found the peace-speaking virtue of this blood of atonement, must not be satisfied with what you have already known or enjoyed. The only way to be constantly happy, and constantly prepared for the most awful changes which we must all experience, is, to be constantly looking and coming to a dy ing Saviour ; renouncing all our own worth iness ; cleaving to the loving Jesus as our all in all; giving up every thing, however valuable to our worldly interests, that clashes with our fidelity to Christ ; begging that of his fulness we may receive ' grace upon grace,' whilst our faith actually relies on his power and faithfulness, for the full accom plishment of every promise in his word that we plead with him ; and guarded against every thing that might for a moment bring distance and darkness between your souls and your precious Lord. If you thus live, RESIGNATION DURING LAST ILLNESS. 555 (and oh that you may daily receive fresh life from Christ so to do !) ' the peace of God will keep your hearts and minds,' and you will be filled with 'joy unspeakable and full of glory.' " As a church, you cannot conceive what pleasure I have enjoyed in hearing that you are in peace, that you attend prayer-meet ings, that you seem to be stirred up of late for the honor and prosperity of religion. Go on in these good ways, my beloved friends, and assuredly the God of peace will be with you.' Yea, if after all I should be taken en tirely from you, yet God will surely visit you, and never leave you, nor forsake you. " As to my health, I seem on the whole to be still mending, though but very slowly. The fever troubles me often, both by day and night, but my strength increases. I long to see your faces in the flesh ; yea, when I thought myself near the gates ofthe grave, I wished, if it were the Lord's will, to depart among those whom I so much loved. But I am in good hands, and all must be right. " I thank both you and the congregation most affectionately for all the kindness you have shown respecting me and my family during my absence. The Lord return it a thousand fold ! My love to every one, both old and young, rich and poor, as though named. The Lord bless to your edification the occasional ministry which you enjoy. I hope you regularly attend- upon it, and keep together, as ' the horses in Pharaoh's chariot.' I pray much for you : pray, still pray, for your very affectionate, though unworthy, pastor." In a postscript to Mr. King, he says, "I have made an effort to write this letter: my affections would take no denial ; but it has brought on the fever." Towards the latter end of May, when Mr. Ward and his companions were just ready to set sail, a consultation concerning Mr. Pearce was held on board the Criterion, in which all the missionaries and some of the members of the Baptist Missionary Society were present. It was well known that he had for several years been engaged in pre paring materials for a " History of Missions," to be comprised in two volumes octavo : and, as the sending of the gospel amongst the heathen had so deeply occupied his heart, considerable expectations had been formed by religious people of his producing an in teresting work on the subject. The ques tion now was, Could not this performance be finished by other hands, and the profits of it be appropriated to the benefit bf Mr. Pearce's family ? It was admitted by all that this work would, partly from its own merits, and partly from the great interest which the author justly possessed in the public esteem, be very productive ; and that it would be a delicate and proper method of enabling the religious public, by subscribing liberally to it, to afford substantial assistance to the family of this excellent man. The result was that one of the members of the society addressed a letter to Mr. Pearce's relations at Plymouth, requesting them to consult him, as he should be able to bear it, respecting the state of his manuscripts, and to inquire whether they were in a condition lo admit of being finished by another hand ; desiring them also to assure him, for his present relief concerning his dear family, that whatever the hand of friendship could effect on their behalf should be accomplish ed. The answer, though it left no manner of hope as to the accomplishment ofthe ob ject, yet it is so expressive of the reigning dispositions of the writer's heart, as an affectionate husband, a tender father, a grateful friend, and a sincere Christian, that it cannot be uninteresting to the reader : — " Tamerton, June 24, 1799. " To use the common introduction of ' dear brother ' would fall so far short of my feel ings towards a friend whose uniform con duct has ever laid so great a claim to my affection and gratitude, but whose recent kindness — kindness in adversity — kindness to my wife — kindness to my children — kind ness that would go far to ' smooth the bed of death,' has overwhelmed my whole soul in tender thankfulness, and engaged my everlasting esteem. I know not how to begin . . . . ' Thought is poor, and poor ex pression.' The only thing that lay heavy on my heart, when in the nearest prospect of eternity, was the future situation of my family. I had but a comparatively small portion to leave behind me, and yet that little was the all that an amiable woman, — • delicately brought up, and, through mercy, for the most part comfortably provided for since she entered on domestic life, — with five babes to feed, clothe, and educate, had to subsist on. Ah, what a prospect ! Hard and long I strove to realize the promises made to the widows and the fatherless ; but these alone I could not fully rest on and en joy. For my own part, God was indeed very gracious. I was willing, I hope, to linger in suffering, if I might thereby most glorify him ; and death was an angel whom I longed to come and embrace me, ' cold as his embraces are : but how could I leave those who were dearest to my heart in the midst of a world in which although thousands now professed friendship for me, and, on my account, for mine ; yet, after my decease, would, with few exceptions, soon forget my widow and my children, among the crowds ofthe needy and distressed. — It was at this moment of painful sensibility that your heart meditated a plan to remove my anxieties — a plan too that would involve much personal labor before it could be accomplished. 556 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. ' Blessed be God, who put it into thy heart, and blessed be thou.' May the blessing of the widow and the fatherless rest on you and yours for ever. Amen and amen ! "You will regret perhaps that I have taken up so much respecting yourself; but I have scarcely gratified the shadow of my wishes. Excuse then, on the one hand, that I have said so much ; and accept, on the other, what remains unexpressed. "My affections and desires are among my dear people at Birmingham ; and, unless I find my strength increase here, I purpose to set out for that place in the course of a fortnight, or at most a month. The journey, performed by short stages, may do me good ; if not, I expect when the winter comes to sleep in peace ! and it will delight my soul to see them once more before I die. Be sides, I have many little arrangements to make among my books and papers, to pre vent confusion after my decease. Indeed, till I get 'home, I cannot fully answer your kind letter; but I fear that my materials consist so much in references which none but myself would understand, that a second person could not take it up and prosecute it. I am still equally indebted to you for a proposal so generous, so laborious. " Rejoice with me that the blessed gos pel still ' bears my spirits up.' I am become familiar with the thoughts of dying. I have taken my leave often of the world, and, thanks be to God, I do it always with tran quillity, and often with rapture. Oh, what grace, what grace it was that ever called me to be a Christian ! What would have been my present feelings, if I were going to meet God with all the filth and load of my sin about me ! But God in my nature hath put my sin away, taught me to love him, and long for his appearing. Oh, my dear brother, how consonant is everlasting praise with such a great salvation ! " After this, another letter was addressed to Mr. Pearce, informing him more particu larly that the above proposal did not origi nate with an individual, but with several of the brethren who dearly loved him, and had consulted on the business ; and that it was no more than an act of justice to one who had spent his life in serving the public ; also requesting him to give directions by which his manuscripts might be found and examin ed, lest he should be taken away before his arrival at Birmingham. To this he answer ed as follows : — " Plymouth, July 6, 1799. " I need not repeat the growing sense I have of your kindness, and yet I know not how to forbear. " I cannot direct Mr. K to all my papers, as many of them are in books from which I was making extracts ; and, if I could, I am persuaded that they are in a state too confused, incorrect, and unfinished, to suffer you or any other friend to realize your kind intentions. " I have possessed a tenacious memory. I have begun one part of the history ; read the necessary books ; reflected ; aranged ; written perhaps the introduction, and then trusting to my recollection, with a revisal of the books as I should want them, have em ployed myself in getting materials for another part, &c. Thus, till my illness, the volumes existed in my head — my books wera at hand, and I was on the eve of writing them out, when it pleased God to make me pause : and, as close thinking has been strongly forbidden me, I dare say that were I again restored to health I should find it necessary to go over much of my former reading to refresh my memory. "Itis now Saturday. On Monday next we purpose setting out on our return. May the Lord prosper our way! Accept the sincere affection, and the ten thousand thanks, of your brother in theLord, — S. P." As the manuscripts were found to be in such a state that no person, except the au thor himself, could finish them, the design was necessarily dropped. The public mind however, was deeply impressed with Mr. Pearce's worth ; and that which the friend ship of a few could not effect has since been amply accomplished by the liberal exertions of many. To Mr. Birt. Birmingham, July 26, 1799. "It is not with common feelings that I begin a letter to you. Your name brings so many interesting circumstances of my life before me, in which your friendship has been so uniformly and eminently displayed, that now, amidst the imbecilities of sick ness and the serious prospect of another world, my heart is overwhelmed with grati tude, whilst it glows with affection, — an affection which eternity shall not annihilate, but improve. " We reached Bristol on the Friday after we parted from you, having suited our pro gress to my strength and spirits. We staid with Bristol friends till Monday, when we pursued our journey, and went comfortably on till the uncommonly rough road from Tewksbury to Eversham quite jaded me ; and I have not yet recovered from the ex cessive fatigue pf that miserable ride. At Alcester we rested a day and a half; and, through the abundant goodness of God, we safely arrived at Birmingham on Friday evening, the 19th of July. " I feel an undisturbed tranquillity of soul, and am cheerfully waiting the will of God. My voice is gone, so that I cannot whisper without pain; and of this circumstance I am at times most ready to complain. For, to see my dear and amiable Sarah look at CORRESPONDENCE DURING LAST ILLNESS. 557 me, and then at the children, and at length bathe her face in tears, without my being able to say one kind word of comfort, Oh !!.... Yet the Lord supports me under " this also ; and I trust will support me to the end." To Mr. Rock. " July 28, 1799. " .... I am now to all appearance within a few steps of eternity. In Christ I am safe. In him I am happy. I trust we shall meet in heaven." To R. Bowyer, Esq. " Birmingham, Aug. 1, 1799. " Much disappointed that I am not releas ed from this world of sin, and put in posses sion of the pleasures enjoyed by the spirits of just men made perfect, I once more ad dress my dear fellow-heirs of that glory which, ere long, shall be revealed to us all. " We returned from Devon last Friday week. I was exceedingly weak, and for several days afterwards got rapidly worse. My friends compelled me to try another physician. I am still told that I shall recov er. Be that as it may, I wish to have my own will annihilated, that the will of the Lord may be done. Through his abundant grace, I have been, and still am, happy in my soul ; and I trust my prevailing desire is that, living or dying, I may be the Lord's." To R. Bowyer, Esq. On his having senthim aprintof Mr. Schwartz, the missionary on the Malabar coast. " Birmingham, Aug. 16, 1799. " On three accounts was your last parcel highly acceptable. It represented a man whom I have long been in the habit of lov ing and revering ; and whose character and labors I intended, if the Lord had not laid his hand upon me by my present illness, to have presented to the public in Europe, as he himself presented them to the millions of Asia. — The execution, bearing so strong a likeness to the original, heightened its value. And then the hand from whence it came, and the friendship it was intended to ex press, add to its worth." To Mr. Fuller. " Birmingham, Aug. 19, 1799. " The doctor has been making me worse and weaker for three weeks. In the middle ofthe last week he spoke confidently of my recovery ; but to-day he has seen fit to alter his plans ; and, if I do not find a speedy alteration for the better, I must have done with all physicians but Him who ' healeth the broken in heart.' " For some time after I came home, I was led to believe my case to be consumptive ; and then, thinking myself of a certainty near the kingdom of heaven, I rejoiced hourly in the delightful prospect. " Since then I have been told that I am not in a dangerous way ; and, though I give very little credit to such assertions in this case, yet I have found my mind so taken up with earth again, that I seem as though I had another soul. My spiritual pleasures are greatly interrupted, and some of the most plaintive parts of the most plaintive psalms seem tlie only true language of my heart. Yet, 'Thy will be done,' I trust, prevails ; and if it be the Lord's will that I linger long, and suffer much, Oh, let him give me the patience of hope, and still, his will be done ! — I can write no more. This is a whole day's work ; for it is only after tea that, for a few minutes, I can sit up, and attend to any thing." From the latter end of August, and all through the month of September, to the 10th of October, the day on which he died, he seems to have been unable to write. He did not, however, lose the exercise of his mental powers ; and though, in the last of the above letters, he complains of darkness, it appears that he soon recovered that peace and joy in God by which his affliction, and even his life, were distinguished. A little before he died, he was visited by Mr. Medley, of London, with whom he had been particularly intimate on his first com ing to Birmingham. Mr. Pearce was much affected at the sight of his friend, and con tinued silently weeping for nearly ten min utes, holding and pressing his hand. After this, he spoke, or rather whispered, as fol lows : — " This sick bed is a Bethel to me : it is none other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven. I can scarcely express the pleasures that I have enjoyed in this affliction. The nearer I draw to my disso lution, the happier I am. It scarcely can be called an affliction, it is so counterbal anced with joy. You have lost your pious father ; tell me how it was." — Here Mr. Medley informed him of particulars. He wept much at the recital, and especially at hearing of his last words, " Home, home ! " Mr. Medley telling him of some temptations he had lately met with, he charged him to keep near to God. " Keep close to God," said he, " and no thing will hurt you ! " The following letters and narrative were read by Dr. Ryland at the close of his fune ral sermon ; and, being printed at the end of it, were omitted in some of the former editions ofthe Memoirs. To Dr. Ryland. " Birmingham, Dec. 9, 1798. " My dear brother, Lord's-day Evening. " After a Sabbath — such a one I never knew before — spent in an entire seclusion from the house and ordinances of my God) I 558 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. seek Christian converse with you, in a way in which I am yet permitted to have inter course with my brethren. The day after I wrote to you last, my medical attendant laid' me under the strictest injunctions not to speak again in public for one month at least. He says that my stomach is become so irrita ble, through repeated inflammations, that conversation, unless managed with great caution, would be dangerous ;— that he does not think my present condition alarming, provided I take rest ; but, without that, he intimated my life was in great danger. He forbids my exposing myself to the evening air, on any account, and going out of doors, or to the door, unless when the air is dry and clear ; so that I am, during the weather we now have in Birmingham (very foggy,) a complete prisoner ; and the repeated cau tions from my dear and affectionate friends, whose solicitude, I conceive, far exceeds the danger, compels me to a rigid observ ance ofthe doctor's rules. "This morning brother Pope took my place ; and, in the afternoon, Mr. Brewer (who has discovered uncommon tenderness and respect for me and the people, since he knew my state) preached a very affection ate sermon from 1 Sam. iii. 18 — ' It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.' By what I hear, his sympathizing observations, in relation to the event which occasioned his being then in my pulpit, drew more tears from the people's eyes than a dozen such poor creatures as their pastor could deserve. But I have, .... blessed be God, long had the satisfaction of finding myself embosom ed in friendship the friendship of the people of my charge : though I lament their love should occasion them a pang .... but thus it is ... . our heavenly Father sees that, for our mixed characters, a mixed state is best." I anticipated a day of gloom : but I had unexpected reason to rejoice, that the shadow of death was turned into the joy of the morning ; and though I said, with per haps before unequalled feeling, ' How amia ble are thy tabernacles ! ' yet I found the God of Zion does not neglect the dwellings of Jacob. My poor wife was much affected at so novel a thing as leaving me behind her, and so it was a dewy morning ; but the Sun of Righteousness soon arose, and shed such ineffable delight throughout my soul that I could say, ' It is good to be here.'— Motive to resignation and gratitude also crowded upon motive, till my judgment was convinced that I ought to rejoice in the Lord exceedingly, and so my whole soul took its fill of joy. May I, if it be my Sa viour's will, feel as happy when I come to die ! When my poor Sarah lay at the point of death, for some days after her first lying in, towards the latter days, I ' enjoyed such support, and felt my will so entirely bowed down to that of God, that I said in my heart, ' I shall never fear another trial .... He that sustained me amidst this flame will de fend me from every spark ! ' And this con fidence I long enjoyed. — But that was near ly six years ago, and I had almost forgotten the land of the Hermonites and the hill Mi- zar. But the Lord has prepared me to re ceive a fresh display of his fatherly care, and his (shall I call it?) punctilious veracity. If I should be raised up again, I shall be able to preach on the faithfulness of God more experimentally than ever. Perhaps some trial is coming on, and I am instru mental in preparing them for it ; or if not, if I am to depart hence to be no more seen, I know the Lord can carry on his work as well without me as with me. He who re deemed the sheep with his blood will never suffer them to perish for want of shepherding, especially since he himself is the chief Shepherd of souls. But my family ! Ah, there I find my faith but still imperfect. However, I do not think the Lord will ever take me away till he helps me to leave my fatherless children in his hands, and trust my widow also with him. ' His love in times past,' and I may add in times present too, ' forbids me to think he will leave me at last in trouble to sink.' "Whilst my weakness was gaining ground, I used to ask myself how I could like to be laid by ? I have dreamed that this was the case ; and both awake and asleep I felt as though it were an evil that could not be borne :— but now I find the Lord can fit the back to the burden ; and, though I think I love the thought of serving Christ at this moment better than ever, yet he has made me willing to be ... . nothing, if he please to have it so ; and now my happy heart ' could sing itself away to everlasting bliss." " O what a mercy that I have not brought on my affliction by serving the devil ! What a mercy that I have so many dear sympa thizing friends ! What a mercy that I have so much dear domestic comfort! What a mercy that I am in no violent bodily pain ! What a mercy that I can read and write without doing myself an injury ! What a mercy that my animal spirits have all the time this has been coming on (ever since the last Kettering meeting of ministers) been vigorous — free from dejection ! And, which I reckon among the greatest of this day's privileges, what a mercy that I have been able to employ myself for Christ and his dear cause to-day; as 'I have been al most wholly occupied in the concerns ofthe (I hope) reviving church at Bromsgrove, and the infant church at Cradley ! O, my dear brother, it is all mercy ; is it not ? O help me then in his praise, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. "Ought I to apologize for this experi mental chat with you, who have concerns to CORRESPONDENCE DURING LAST ILLNESS. 559 transact of so much more importance than any that are confined to an individual ? Forgive me, if I have intrude.d too much on your time — but do not forg-et to praise on my be half a faithful God. I shall now leave room against I have some business to write about — till then adieu — but let us not forget that ' this God is our God forever and ever, and will be our guide even until death.' Amen. Amen. We shall soon meet in heaven." To Mr. King. " Plymouth, April 23, 1799. " My dear friend and brother, "I have the satisfaction to inform you that at length my complaint appears to be removed, and that I am by degrees return ing to my usual diet, by which, with the di vine blessing, I hope to be again strength ened for the discharge of the duties and the enjoyment ofthe pleasures which await me among the dear people of my charge. " I am indeed informed, by a medical at tendant here, that I shall never be equal to the labors of my past years, and that my return to moderate efforts must be made by slow degrees. As the path of duty, I desire to submit; but, after so long a suspension from serving the Redeemer in his church, my soul pants for usefulness more extensive than ever, and I long to become an apostle to the world. I do not think I ever prized the ministerial work so much as I now do. Two questions have been long before me. The first was, Shall I live or die ? The second, If I live, how will my life be spent ? With regard to the former, my heart answered, 'It is no matter — all is well. — for my own sake, I need not be taught that it is best to be with Christ; but, for the sake of others, it may be best to abide in the body — I am in the Lord's hands, let him do by me as seemeth him best forme and mine, and for his cause and honor in the world ! — But, as to the second question, I could hardly reconcile myself to the thoughts of living, unless it were to promote the interest of my Lord ; and, if my disorder should so far weaken me as to render me incapable ofthe ministry, nothing then appeared before me but gloom and darkness. However, I will hope in the Lord that, though he hath chastened me sorely, yet, since he hath not given me over unto death, sparing mercy will be followed with strength, that I may show forth his praise in the land ofthe living. " I am still exceedingly weak ; more so than at any period before I left home, except the first week of my lying by ; but I am getting strength, though slowly. It is im possible at present to fix any time for my re turn. It grieves me that the patience of the dear people should be so long tried; but the trial is as great on my part as it can be on theirs, and we must pity and pray for one another. It is now a task for me to write at all, or this should have been longer." To Mr. Pope. "Plymouth, May 24, 1799. " I cannot write much — this I believe is the only letter I have written (except to my wife) since I wrote to you last. My com plaint has issued in a confirmed, slow, ner vous fever ; which has wasted my spirits and strength, and taken a great part of the little flesh I had, when in health, away from me. The symptoms have been very threatening, and I have repeatedly thought that, let the physician do what he will, he cannot keep me long from those heavenly joys for which, blessed be God, I have lately been much longing ; and, were it not for my dear people and family, I should have earnestly prayed for leave to depart, and to be with Christ, which is so much better than to abide in this vain, suffering, sinning world. " The doctors however pronounce my case very hopeful — say there is little or no dan ger — but that all these complaints require a great deal of time to get rid of. I still feel myself on precarious ground, but quite re signed to the will of him, who, unworthy as I am, continues daily to ' fill my soul with joy and peace in believing.' Yes, my dear friend, now my soul feels the value of a free, full, and everlasting salvation — and, what is more, I do enjoy that salvation ; while I rest all my hope on the Son of God in human nature dying on the cross for me. To me now, health or sickness, pain or ease, life or death, are things indifferent. I feel so hap py, in being in the hands of infinite love, that, when the severest strokes are laid upon me, I receive them with pleasure, because they come from my heavenly Father's hands ! ' O to grace how great a debtor ! ' &c." To Dr. Ryland. "Birmingham, July 20, 1799. " My very dear brother, " Your friendly anxieties on my behalf de mand the earliest satisfaction. We had a pleasant ride to Newport on the afternoon we left you, and the next day without much fatigue reached Tewksbury ; but the road was so rough from Tewksbury to Eversham, that it wearied and injured me more than all the jolting we had had before, put together. However we reached Alcester on Wednes day evening, stopped there a day to rest, and last night, (Friday) were brought safely hither, blessed be God ! " I find myself getting weaker and weak er, and so my Lord instructs me in his plea sure to remove me soon. You say well, my dear brother, that at such a prospect ' I can not complain.' No, blessed be his dear name who shed his blood for me, he helps me to rejoice at times with joy unspeakable. Now I see the value of the religion of the cross. 560 MEMOIRS OF MR. PEARCE. It is a religion f