THE WORLD'S GREAT SERMONS

_COMPILED BY_

GRENVILLE KLEISER

Formerly of Yale Divinity School Faculty; Author of "How to Speak inPublic, " Etc. 

With Assistance from Many of the Foremost Living Preachers and OtherTheologians

INTRODUCTION BY LEWIS O. BRASTOW, D. D. 

Professor Emeritus of Practical Theology in Yale University

VOLUME III

MASSILLON TO MASON

1908

CONTENTS

VOLUME III

MASSILLON (1663-1742). The Small Number of the Elect

SAURIN (1677-1730). Paul Before Felix and Drusilla

EDWARDS (1703-1758). Spiritual Light

WESLEY (1703-1791). God's Love to Fallen Man

WHITEFIELD (1714-1770). The Method of Grace

BLAIR (1718-1800). The Hour and the Event of all Time

DWIGHT (1752-1817). The Sovereignty of God

ROBERT HALL (1764-1831). Marks of Love to God

EVANS (1766-1838). The Fall and Recovery of Man

SCHLEIERMACHER (1768-1834). Christ's Resurrection an Image of our New Life

MASON (1770-1829). Messiah's Throne

MASSILLON

THE SMALL NUMBER OF THE ELECT

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Jean Baptiste Massillon was born in 1663, at Hyères, in Provence, France. He first attracted notice as a pulpit orator by his funeralsermons as the Archbishop of Vienne, which led to his preferment fromhis class of theology at Meaux to the presidency of the Seminaryof Magloire at Paris. His conferences at Paris showed remarkablespiritual insight and knowledge of the human heart. He was a favoritepreacher of Louis XIV and Louis XV, and after being appointed bishopof Clermont in 1719 he was also nominated to the French Academy. In1723 he took final leave of the capital and retired to his see, wherehe lived beloved by all until his death in 1742. 

MASSILLON

1662-1742

THE SMALL NUMBER OF THE ELECT

_And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet;and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian_. --Luke iv. , 27. 

Every day, my brethren, you continue to ask of us, whether the road toheaven is really so difficult, and the number of the saved really sosmall as we represent? To a question so often proposed, and stilloftener resolved, our Savior answers you here, that there were manywidows in Israel afflicted with famine; but the widow of Sarepta wasalone found worthy the succor of the prophet Elias; that the numberof lepers was great in Israel in the time of the prophet Eliseus; andthat Naaman was only cured by the man of God. 

Were I here, my brethren, for the purpose of alarming, rather thaninstructing you, I had only to recapitulate what in the holy writingswe find dreadful with regard to this great truth; and, running overthe history of the just, from age to age, show you that, in all times, the number of the saved has been very small. The family of Noah alonesaved from the general flood; Abraham chosen from among men to be thesole depositary of the covenant with God; Joshua and Caleb the onlytwo of six hundred thousand Hebrews who saw the Land of Promise;Job the only upright man in the land of Uz; Lot, in Sodom. Torepresentations so alarming, would have succeeded the sayings of theprophets. In Isaiah you would see the elect as rare as the grapeswhich are found after the vintage, and have escaped the search of thegatherer; as rare as the blades which remain by chance in the field, and have escaped the scythe of the mower. The evangelist would stillhave added new traits to the terrors of these images. I might havespoken to you of two roads--of which one is narrow, rugged, and thepath of a very small number; the other broad, open, and strewed withflowers, and almost the general path of men: that everywhere, in theholy writings, the multitude is always spoken of as forming the partyof the reprobate; while the saved, compared with the rest of mankind, form only a small flock, scarcely perceptible to the sight. I wouldhave left you in fears with regard to your salvation; always cruel tothose who have not renounced faith and every hope of being among thesaved. But what would it serve to limit the fruits of this instructionto the single point of setting forth how few persons will be saved?Alas! I would make the danger known, without instructing you how toavoid it; I would allow you, with the prophet, the sword of the wrathof God suspended over your heads, without assisting you to escape thethreatened blow; I would alarm but not instruct the sinner. 

My intention is, to-day, to search for the cause of this small number, in our morals and manner of life. As every one flatters himself hewill not be excluded, it is of importance to examine if his confidencebe well founded. I wish not, in marking to you the causes which rendersalvation so rare, to make you generally conclude that few will besaved, but to bring you to ask yourselves if, living as you live, youcan hope to be saved. Who am I? What am I doing for heaven? And whatcan be my hopes in eternity? I propose no other order in a matter ofsuch importance. What are the causes which render salvation so rare?I mean to point out three principal causes, which is the onlyarrangement of this discourse. Art, and far-sought reasonings, wouldbe ill-timed. Oh, attend, therefore, be ye whom ye may. No subject canbe more worthy your attention, since it goes to inform you what may bethe hopes of your eternal destiny. 

Few are saved, because in that number we can only comprehend twodescriptions of persons: either those who have been so happy as topreserve their innocence pure and undefiled, or those who, afterhaving lost, have regained it by penitence. This is the first cause. There are only these two ways of salvation: heaven is only open tothe innocent or to the penitent. Now, of which party are you? Are youinnocent? Are you penitent?

Nothing unclean shall enter the kingdom of God. We must consequentlycarry there either an innocence unsullied, or an innocence regained. Now to die innocent is a grace to which few souls can aspire; and tolive penitent is a mercy which the relaxed state of our morals rendersequally rare. Who, indeed, will pretend to salvation by the chain ofinnocence? Where are the pure souls in whom sin has never dwelt, andwho have preserved to the end the sacred treasure of grace confided tothem by baptism, and which our Savior will redemand at the awful dayof punishment?

In those happy days when the whole Church was still but an assembly ofsaints, it was very uncommon to find an instance of a believer who, after having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and acknowledgedJesus Christ in the sacrament which regenerates us, fell back to hisformer irregularities of life. Ananias and Sapphira were the onlyprevaricators in the Church of Jerusalem; that of Corinth had only oneincestuous sinner. Church penitence was then a remedy almost unknown;and scarcely was there found among these true Israelites one singleleper whom they were obliged to drive from the holy altar, andseparate from communion with his brethren. But since that time thenumber of the upright diminishes in proportion, as that of believersincreases. It would appear that the world, pretending now to havebecome almost generally Christian, has; brought with it into theChurch its corruptions and its maxims. 

Alas! we all go astray, almost from the breast of our mothers! Thefirst use which we make of our heart is a crime; our first desires. Are passions; and our reason only expands and increases on the wrecksof our innocence. The earth, says a prophet, is infected by thecorruption of those who inhabit it: all have violated the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the alliance which should haveendured forever: all commit sin, and scarcely is there one to be foundwho does the work of the Lord. Injustice, calumny, lying, treachery, adultery, and the blackest crimes have deluged the earth. The brotherlays snares for his brother; the father is divided from his children;the husband from his wife: there is no tie which a vile interest doesnot sever. Good faith and probity are no longer virtues except amongthe simple people. Animosities are endless; reconciliations arefeints, and never is a former enemy regarded as a brother: they tear, they devour each other. Assemblies are no longer but for the purposeof public and general censure. The purest virtue is no longer aprotection from the malignity of tongues. Gaming is become eithera trade, a fraud, or a fury. Repasts--those innocent ties ofsociety--degenerate into excesses of which we dare not speak. Our agewitnesses horrors with which our forefathers were unacquainted. 

Behold, then, already one path of salvation shut to the generality ofmen. All have erred. Be ye whom ye may, listen to me now, the timehas been when sin reigned over you. Age may perhaps have calmed yourpassions, but what was your youth? Long and habitual infirmitiesmay perhaps have disgusted you with the world; but what use did youformerly make of the vigor of health? A sudden inspiration of gracemay have turned your heart, but do you not most fervently entreatthat every moment prior to that inspiration may be effaced from theremembrance of the Lord?

But with what am I taking up time? We are all sinners, O my God! andThou knowest our hearts! What we know of our errors is, perhaps, inThy sight, the most pardonable; and we all allow that by innocencewe have no claim to salvation. There remains, therefore, only oneresource, which is penitence. After our shipwreck, say the saints, itis the timely plank which alone can conduct us into port; there is noother means of salvation for us. Be ye whom ye may, prince or subject, high or low, penitence alone can save you. Now permit me to ask whereare the penitent? You will find more, says a holy father, who havenever fallen, than who, after their fall, have raised themselves bytrue repentance. This is a terrible saying; but do not let us carrythings too far: the truth is sufficiently dreadful without adding newterrors to it by vain declamation. 

Let us alone examine as to whether the majority of us have a right, through penitence, to salvation. What is a penitent? According toTertullian, a penitent is a believer who feels every moment his formerunhappiness in forsaking and losing his God; one who has his guiltincessantly before his eyes; who finds everywhere the traces andremembrance of it. 

A penitent is a man instrusted by God with judgment against himself;one who refuses himself the most innocent pleasures because he hadformerly indulged in those the most criminal; one who puts up with themost necessary gratification with pain; one who regards his body as anenemy whom it is necessary to conquer--as an unclean vessel which mustbe purified--as an unfaithful debtor of whom it is proper to exact tothe last farthing. A penitent regards himself as a criminal condemnedto death, because he is no longer worthy of life. In the loss ofriches or health he sees only a withdrawal of favors that he hadformerly abused: in the humiliations which happen to him, only thepains of his guilt: in the agonies with which he is racked, only thecommencement of those punishments he has justly merited. Such is apenitent. 

But I again ask you--Where, among us, are penitents of thisdescription? Now look around you. I do not tell you to judge yourbrethren, but to examine what are the manners and morals of those whosurround you. Nor do I speak of those open and avowed sinners who havethrown off even the appearance of virtue. I speak only of those who, like yourselves, live as most live, and whose actions present nothingto the public view particularly shameful or depraved. They are sinnersand they admit it: you are not innocent, and you confess it. Now arethey penitent? or are you? Age, vocation, more serious employments, may perhaps have checked the sallies of youth. Even the bitternesswhich the Almighty has made attendant on our passions, the deceits, the treacheries of the world, an injured fortune, with ruinedconstitution, may have cooled the ardor, and confined the irregulardesires of your hearts. Crimes may have disgusted you even with sinitself--for passions gradually extinguish themselves. Time, andthe natural inconstancy of the heart will bring these about; yet, nevertheless, tho detached from sin by incapability, you are no neareryour God. According to the world you are become more prudent, moreregular, to a greater extent what it calls men of probity, more exactin fulfilling your public or private duties. But you are not penitent. You have ceased your disorders but you have not expiated them. You arenot converted: this great stroke, this grand operation on the heart, which regenerates man, has not yet been felt by you. Nevertheless, this situation, so truly dangerous, does not alarm you. Sins whichhave never been washed away by sincere repentance, and consequentlynever obliterated from the book of life, appear in your eyes as nolonger existing; and you will tranquilly leave this world in a stateof impenitence, so much the more dangerous as you will die withoutbeing sensible of your danger. 

What I say here is not merely a rash expression, or an emotion ofzeal; nothing is more real, or more exactly true: it is the situationof almost all men, even the wisest and most esteemed of the world. The morality of the younger stages of life is always lax, if notlicentious. Age, disgust, and establishment for life, fix theheart and withdraw it from debauchery: but where are those who areconverted? Where are those who expiate their crimes by tears of sorrowand true repentance? Where are those who, having begun as sinners, endas penitents? Show me, in your manner of living, the smallest trace ofpenitence! Are your graspings at wealth and power, your anxietiesto attain the favor of the great--and by these means an increase ofemployments and influence--are these proofs of it? Would you wishto reckon even your crimes as virtues?--that the sufferings of yourambition, pride, and avarice, should discharge you from an obligationwhich they themselves have imposed? You are penitent to the world, butare you so to Jesus Christ? The infirmities with which God afflictsyou, the enemies He raised up against you, the disgraces and losseswith which He tries you--do you receive them all as you ought, withhumble submission to His will? Or, rather, far from finding in themoccasions of penitence, do you not turn them into the objects of newcrimes? It is the duty of an innocent soul to receive with submissionthe chastisements of the Almighty; to discharge with courage thepainful duties of the station allotted to him, and to be faithful tothe laws of the gospel. But do sinners owe nothing beyond this? Andyet they pretend to salvation! Upon what claim? To say that you areinnocent before God, your own consciences will witness against you. Toendeavor to persuade yourselves that you are penitent, you dare not;and you would condemn yourselves by your own mouths. Upon what thendost thou depend, O man! who thus livest so tranquil?

These, my brethren, as I have already told you, are not merely advicesand pious arts; they are the most essential of our obligations. But, alas! who fulfils them? Who even knows them? Ah! my brethren, did youknow how far the title you bear, of Christian, engages you; could youcomprehend the sanctity of your state, the hatred of the world, ofyourself, and of everything which is not of God that it enjoys, thatgospel life, that constant watching, that guard over the passions, ina word, that conformity with Jesus Christ crucified, which it exactsof you--could you comprehend it, could you remember that you ought tolove God with all your heart, and all your strength, so that a singledesire that has not connection with Him defiles you--you would appeara monster in your own sight. How! you would exclaim. Duties so holy, and morals so profane! A vigilance so continual, and a life socareless and dissipated! A love of God so pure, so complete, souniversal, and a heart the continual prey of a thousand impulses, either foreign or criminal! If thus it is, who, O my God! will beentitled to salvation? Few indeed, I fear, my dear hearers! At leastit will not be you (unless a change takes place) nor those whoresemble you; it will not be the multitude!

Who shall be saved? Those who work out their salvation with fear andtrembling; who live in the world without indulging in its vices. Whoshall be saved? That Christian woman who, shut up in the circle of herdomestic duties, rears up her children in faith and in piety; dividesher heart only between her Savior and her husband; is adorned withdelicacy and modesty; sits not down in the assemblies of vanity; makesnot a law of the ridiculous customs of the world, but regulates thosecustoms by the law of God; and makes virtue appear more amiable by herrank and her example. Who shall be saved? That believer who, inthe relaxation of modern times, imitates the manners of the firstChristian--whose hands are clean and his heart pure--who iswatchful--who hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, but who, in themidst of the dangers of the great world, continually applies himselfto purify it; just--who swears not deceitfully against his neighbor, nor is indebted to fraudulent ways for the aggrandizement of hisfortune; generous--who with benefits repays the enemy who sought hisruin; sincere--who sacrifices not the truth to a vile interest, andknows not the part of rendering himself agreeable by betraying hisconscience; charitable--who makes his house and interest the refuge ofhis fellow creatures, and himself the consolation of the afflicted;regards his wealth as the property of the poor; humble inaffliction--a Christian under injuries, and penitent even inprosperity. Who will merit salvation? You, my dear hearer, if you willfollow these examples; for such are the souls to be saved. Now theseassuredly do not form the greatest number. While you continue, therefore, to live like the multitude, it is a striking proof that youdisregard your salvation. 

These, my brethren, are truths which should make us tremble! nor arethey those vague ones which are told to all men, and which none applyto themselves. Perhaps there is not in this assembly an individual whomay not say of himself, "I live like the great number; like those ofmy rank, age, and situation; I am lost, should I die in this path. "Now, can anything be more capable of alarming a soul, in whom someremains of care for his salvation shall exist? It is the multitude, nevertheless, who tremble not. There is only a small number of thejust who work out severally their salvation with fear and trembling. All the rest are tranquil. After having lived with the multitude, theyflatter themselves they shall be particularized at death. Every oneaugurs favorably for himself, and vainly imagines that he shall be anexception. 

On this account it is, my brethren, that I confine myself to you whoare now here assembled. I include not the rest of men; but consideryou as alone existing on the earth. The idea which fills and terrifiesme is this--I figure to myself the present as your last hour, and theend of the world! the heavens opening above your heads--the Savior, inall His glory, about to appear in the midst of His temple--you onlyassembled here as trembling criminals, to wait His coming, and hearthe sentence, either of life eternal, or everlasting death! for it isvain to flatter yourselves that you shall die more innocent than youare at this hour. All those desires of change with which you areamused, will continue to amuse you till death arrives. The experienceof all ages proves it. The only difference you have to expect willmost likely be only a larger balance against you than what you wouldhave to answer for now; and from what would be your destiny, were youto be judged in this moment, you may almost decide upon what it willbe at death. Now, I ask you--and, connecting my own lot with yours, Iask it with dread--were Jesus Christ to appear in this temple, in themidst of this assembly, to judge us, to make the awful separationbetween the sheep and the goats, do you believe that the most of uswould be placed at His right hand? Do you believe that the numberwould at least be equal? Do you believe that there would even be foundten upright and faithful servants of the Lord, when formerly fivecities could not furnish that number? I ask you! You know not! I knowit not! Thou alone, O my God, knowest who belong to Thee. 

But if we know not who belong to Him, at least we know that sinnersdo not. Now, who are the just and faithful assembled here at present?Titles and dignities avail nothing; you are stript of all these in thepresence of your Savior! Who are they? Many sinners who wish not to beconverted; many more who wish, but always put it off; many others whoare only converted in appearance, and again fall back to their formercourse; in a word, a great number, who flatter themselves they have nooccasion for conversion. This is the party of the reprobate! Ah! mybrethren, cut off from this assembly these four classes of sinners, for they will be cut off at the great day! And now stand forth yerighteous:--where are ye? O God, where are Thine elect! What remainsas Thy portion!

My brethren, our ruin is almost certain! Yet we think not of it! If inthis terrible separation, which will one day take place; there shouldbe but one sinner in the assembly on the side of the reprobate, and avoice from heaven should assure us of it, without particularizing him, who of us would not tremble, lest he be the unfortunate and devotedwretch? Who of us would not immediately apply to his conscience, toexamine if its crimes merited not this punishment? Who of us, seizedwith dread, would not demand of our Savior, as did the apostles, crying out, "Lord, is it I?" And should a small respite be allowedto our prayers, who of us would not use every effort, by tears, supplication, and sincere repentance, to avert the misfortune?

Are we in our senses, my dear hearers? Perhaps among all who listen tome now, ten righteous ones would not be found. It may be fewer still. What do I perceive, O my God! I dare not, with a fixt eye, regard thedepths of Thy judgments and justice! Not more than one, perhaps, would be found among us all! And this danger affects you not, my dearhearer! You persuade yourself that in this great number who shallperish, you will be the happy individual! You, you have less reason, perhaps, than any other to believe it! You, upon whom alone thesentence of death should fall, were only one of all who hear me tosuffer! Great God! how little are the terrors of Thy law known to theworld? In all ages the just have shuddered with dread in reflecting onthe severity and extent of Thy judgments, touching the destinies ofmen! Alas! what are they laying up in store for the sons of men!

But what are we to conclude from these awful truths? That all mustdespair of salvation? God forbid! The impious alone, to quiet his ownfeelings in his debaucheries, endeavors to persuade himself that allmen shall perish as well as he. This idea ought not to be the fruit ofthe present discourse. It is intended to undeceive you with regard tothe general error, that any one may do whatever is done by others. Toconvince you that, in order to merit salvation, you must distinguishyourself from the rest; that in the midst of the world you are to livefor God's glory, and not follow after the multitude. 

When the Jews were led in captivity from Judea to Babylon, a littlebefore they quitted their own country, the prophet Jeremiah, whom theLord had forbidden to leave Jerusalem, spoke thus to them: "Childrenof Israel, when you shall arrive at Babylon, you will behold theinhabitants of that country, who carry upon their shoulders gods ofsilver and gold. All the people will prostrate themselves and adorethem. But you, far from allowing yourselves, by these examples, to beled to impiety, say to yourselves in secret, It is Thou, O Lord! whomwe ought to adore. "

Let me now finish by addressing to you the same words. 

At your departure from this temple, you go to enter into anotherBabylon. You go to see the idols of gold and silver, before which allmen prostrate themselves. You go to regain the vain objects of humanpassions, wealth, glory, and pleasure, which are the gods of thisworld and which almost all men adore. You will see those abuses whichall the world permits, those errors which custom authorizes, and thosedebaucheries, which an infamous fashion has almost constituted aslaws. Then, my dear hearer, if you wish to be of the small number oftrue Israelites, say, in the secrecy of your heart, "It is Thou alone, O my God! whom we ought to adore. I wish not to have connection witha people which know Thee not; I will have no other law than Thy holylaw; the gods which this foolish multitude adore are not gods; theyare the work of the hands of men; they will perish with them; Thoualone, O my God! art immortal; and Thou alone deservest to be adored. The customs of Babylon have no connection with the holy laws ofJerusalem. I will continue to worship Thee, with that small numberof the children of Abraham which still, in the midst of an infidelnation, composes Thy people; with them I will turn all my desirestoward the holy Zion. The singularity of my manners will be regardedas a weakness; but blest weakness, O my God! which will give mestrength to resist the torrent of customs, and the seduction ofexample. Thou wilt be my God in the midst of Babylon, as Thou wilt oneday be in Jerusalem above!"

Ah! the time of the captivity will at last expire. Thou wilt call toThy remembrance Abraham and David. Thou wilt deliver Thy people. Thouwilt transport us to the holy city. Then wilt Thou alone reign overIsrael, and over the nations which at present know Thee not. All beingdestroyed, all the empires of the earth, all the monuments of humanpride annihilated, and Thou alone remaining eternal, we then shallknow that Thou art the Lord of hosts, and the only God to be adored. 

Behold the fruit which you ought to reap from this discourse! Liveapart. Think, without ceasing, that the great number work their owndestruction. Regard as nothing all customs of the earth, unlessauthorized by the law of God, and remember that holy men in all ageshave been looked upon as a peculiar people. 

It is thus that, after distinguishing yourselves from the sinful onearth, you will be gloriously distinguished from them in eternity!

SAURIN

PAUL BEFORE FELIX AND DRUSILLA

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Jacques Saurin, the famous French Protestant preacher of theseventeenth century, was born at Nismes in 1677. He studied at Genevaand was appointed to the Walloon Church in London in 1701. The sceneof his great life work was, however, the Hague, where he settled in1705. He has been compared with Bossuet, tho he never attained thegraceful style and subtilty which characterize the "Eagle of Meaux. "The story is told of the famous scholar Le Clerc that he long refusedto hear Saurin preach, on the ground that he gave too much attentionto mere art. One day he consented to hear him on the condition that heshould be permitted to sit behind the pulpit where he could not seehis oratorical action. At the close of the sermon he found himself infront of the pulpit, with tears in his eyes. Saurin died in 1730. 

SAURIN

1677--1730

PAUL BEFORE FELIX AND DRUSILLA

_And before certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning thefaith of Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, andjudgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for thistime; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee_. --Actsxxiv. , 24, 25. 

My brethren, tho the kingdoms of the righteous be not of this world, they present, however, amidst their meanness, marks of dignity andpower. They resemble Jesus Christ. He humbled Himself so far as totake the form of a servant, but frequently exercised the rights of asovereign. From the abyss of humiliation to which He condescended, emanations of the Godhead were seen to proceed. Lord of nature, Hecommanded the winds and seas. He bade the storm and tempest subside. He restored health to the sick, and life to the dead. He imposedsilence on the rabbis; He embarrassed Pilate on the throne; anddisposed of Paradise at the moment He Himself was pierced with thenails, and fixt on the cross. Behold the portrait of believers! "Theyare dead. Their life is hid with Christ in God. " (Col. Iii. , 3. ) "Ifthey had hope only in this life, they were of all men most miserable. "(I Cor. Xv. , 19. ) Nevertheless, they show I know not what superiorityof birth. Their glory is not so concealed but we sometimes perceiveits luster! just as the children of a king, when unknown and ina distant province, betray in their conversation and carriageindications of illustrious descent. 

We might illustrate this truth by numerous instances. Let us attend tothat in our text. There we shall discover that association of humilityand grandeur, of reproach and glory, which constitutes the conditionof the faithful while on earth. Behold St. Paul, a Christian, anapostle, a saint. See him hurried from tribunal to tribunal, fromprovince to province; sometimes before the Romans, sometimes beforethe Jews, sometimes before the high-priest of the synagog, andsometimes before the procurator of Caesar. See him conducted fromJerusalem to Caesarea, and summoned to appear before Felix. In allthese traits, do you not recognize the Christian walking in the narrowway, the way of tribulation, marked by his Master's feet? But considerhim nearer still. Examine his discourse, look at his countenance;there you will see a fortitude, a courage, and a dignity whichconstrain you to acknowledge that there was something really grand inthe person of St. Paul. He preached Jesus Christ at the very momenthe was persecuted for having preached Him. He preached even when inchains. He did more; he attacked his judge on the throne. He reasoned, he enforced, he thundered. He seemed already to exercise the functionof judging the world, which God has reserved for His saints. He madeFelix tremble. Felix felt himself borne away by a superior force. Unable to hear St. Paul any longer without appalling fears, he senthim away. "After certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ, " etc. 

We find here three considerations which claim our attention: Anenlightened preacher, who discovers a very peculiar discernment in theselection of his subject; a conscience appalled and confounded on therecollection of its crimes and of that awful judgment where they mustbe weighed, a sinner alarmed, but not converted; a sinner who desiresto be saved, but delays his conversion: a case, alas! of but toocommon occurrence. 

You perceive already, my brethren, the subject of this discourse:first, that St. Paul reasoned before Felix and Drusilla ofrighteousness, temperance, and judgment to come; second, that Felixtrembled; third, that he sent the apostle away; three considerationswhich shall divide this discourse. May it produce on your hearts, onthe hearts of Christians, the same effects St. Paul produced on thesoul of this heathen; but may it have a happier influence on yourlives. Amen. 

Paul preached before Felix and Drusilla "on righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. " This is the first subject of discussion. Before, however, we proceed further with our remarks, we must firstsketch the character of this Felix and this Drusilla, which will serveas a basis to the first proposition. 

After the scepter was departed from Judah, and the Jewish nationsubjugated by Pompey, the Roman emperors governed the country byprocurators. Claudius filled the imperial throne while St. Paul wasat Caesarea. This emperor had received a servile education from hisgrandmother Lucia, and from his mother Antonia; and having beenbrought up in obsequious meanness, evinced, on his elevation to theempire, marks of the inadequate care which had been bestowed on hisinfancy. He had neither courage nor dignity of mind. He who was raisedto sway the Roman scepter, and consequently to govern the civilizedworld, abandoned his judgment to his freedmen, and gave them acomplete ascendency over his mind. Felix was one of those freedmen. "He exercised in Judea the imperial functions with a mercenary soul. "Voluptuousness and avarice were the predominant vices of his heart. Wehave a proof of his avarice immediately after our text, where it issaid he sent for Paul, --not to hear him concerning the truth of thegospel which this apostle had preached with so much power; not toinquire whether this religion, against which the Jews raised thestandard, was contrary to the interest of the State; but because hehoped to have received money for his liberation. Here is the effect ofavarice. 

Josephus recited an instance of his voluptuousness. It is his marriagewith Drusilla. She was a Jewess, as is remarked in our text. KingAzizus, her former husband, was a heathen; and in order to gain heraffections, he had conformed to the most rigorous ceremonies ofJudaism. Felix saw her, and became enamored of her beauty. Heconceived for her a violent passion; and in defiance of the sacredties which had united her to her husband, he resolved to become masterof her person. His addresses were received. Drusilla violated herformer engagements, and chose rather to contract with Felix anillegitimate marriage than to adhere to the chaste ties which unitedher to Azizus. Felix the Roman, Felix the procurator of Judea and thefavorite of Caesar appeared to her a noble acquisition. It is indeed atruth, we may here observe, that grandeur and fortune are charms whichmortals find the greatest difficulty to resist, and against which thepurest virtue has need to be armed with all its constancy. Recollectthese two characters of Felix and Drusilla. St. Paul, before thosetwo personages, treated concerning "The faith in Christ"; that is, concerning the Christian religion, of which Jesus Christ is the sumand substance, the author and the end: and from the numerous doctrinesof Christianity, he selected "righteousness, temperance, and judgmentto come. "

Here is, my brethren, an admirable text; but a text selected withdiscretion. Fully to comprehend it, recollect the character we havegiven of Felix. He was covetous, luxurious, and governor of Judea. St. Paul selected three subjects, correspondent to the characteristics. Addressing an avaricious man, he treated of righteousness. Addressingthe governor of Judea, one of those persons who think themselvesindependent and responsible to none but themselves for their conduct, he treated of "judgment to come. "

But who can here supply the brevity of the historian, and report thewhole of what the apostle said to Felix on these important points? Itseems to me that I hear him enforcing those important truths he hasleft us in his works, and placing in the fullest luster those divinemaxims interspersed in our Scriptures. "He reasoned of righteousness. "There he maintained the right of the widow and the orphan. There hedemonstrated that kings and magistrates are established to maintainthe rights of the people, and not to indulge their own caprice; thatthe design of the supreme authority is to make the whole happy by thevigilance of one, and not to gratify one at the expense of all; thatit is meanness of mind to oppress the wretched, who have no defensebut cries and tears; and that nothing is so unworthy of an enlightenedman as that ferocity with which some are inspired by dignity, andwhich obstructs their respect for human nature, when undisguised byworldly pomp; that nothing is so noble as goodness and grandeur, associated in the same character; that this is the highest felicity;that in some sort it transforms the soul into the image of God; who, from the high abodes of majesty in which He dwells, surrounded withangels and cherubim, deigns to look down on this mean world which weinhabit, and "Leaves not Himself without witness, doing good to all. "

"He reasoned of temperance. " There he would paint the licentiouseffects of voluptuousness. There he would demonstrate how opposite isthis propensity to the spirit of the gospel; which everywhere enjoinsretirement, mortification, and self-denial. He would show how itdegrades the finest characters who have suffered it to predominate. Intemperance renders the mind incapable of reflection. It debasesthe courage. It debilitates the mind. It softens the soul. He woulddemonstrate the meanness of a man called to preside over a greatpeople, who exposes his foibles to public view; not having resolutionto conceal, much less to vanquish them. With Drusilla, he would makehuman motives supply the defects of divine; with Felix, he wouldmake divine motives supply the defects of human. He would make thisshameless woman feel that nothing on earth is more odious than a womandestitute of honor, that modesty is an attribute of the sex; that anattachment, uncemented by virtue, can not long subsist; that those whoreceive illicit favors are the first, according to the fine remark ofa sacred historian, to detest the indulgence: "The hatred wherewith'Ammon, the son of David, ' hated his sister, after the gratificationof his brutal passion, was greater than the love wherewith he hadloved her" (II Sam. Xiii. , 15). He would make Felix perceive that, however the depravity of the age might seem to tolerate a criminalintercourse with persons of the other sex, with God, who has called usall to equal purity, the crime was not less heinous. 

"He reasoned, " in short, "of judgment to come. " And here he wouldmagnify his ministry. When our discourses are regarded as connectedonly with the present period, their force, I grant, is of no avail. We speak for a Master who has left us clothed with infirmities, whichdiscover no illustrious marks of Him by whom we are sent. We have onlyour voice, only our exhortations, only our entreaties. Nature is notaverted at our pleasure. The visitations of Heaven do not descend atour command to punish your indolence and revolts: that power wasvery limited, even to the apostle. The idea of a future state, thesolemnities of a general judgment, supply our weakness, and St. Paulenforced this motive; he proved its reality, he delineated its luster, he displayed its pomp. He resounded in the ears of Felix the noise, the voices, the trumpets. He showed him the small and the great, therich man and Lazarus, Felix the favorite of Caesar, and Paul thecaptive of Felix, awakened by that awful voice: "Arise, ye dead, andcome to judgment. "

But not to be precipitate in commending the apostle's preaching. Itsencomiums will best appear by attending to its effects on the mind ofFelix. St. Jerome wished, concerning a preacher of his time, that thetears of his audience might compose the eulogy of his sermons. Weshall find in the tears of Felix occasion to applaud the eloquenceof our apostle. We shall find that his discourses were thunder andlightning in the congregation, as the Greeks used to say concerningone of their orators. While St. Paul preached, Felix felt I know notwhat agitations in his mind. The recollection of his past life; thesight of his present sins; Drusilla, the object of his passion andsubject of his crime; the courage of St. Paul--all terrified him. His heart burned while that disciple of Jesus Christ expounded theScriptures. The word of God was quick and powerful. The apostle, armed with the two-edged sword, divided the soul, the joints, and themarrow, carried conviction to the heart. Felix trembled, addsour historian, Felix trembled! The fears of Felix are our secondreflection. 

What a surprizing scene, my brethren, is here presented to your view. The governor trembled, and the captive spoke without dismay. Thecaptive made the governor tremble. The governor shuddered in thepresence of the captive. It would not be surprizing, brethren, if weshould make an impression on your hearts (and we shall do so, indeed, if our ministry is not, as usual, a sound of empty words); it wouldnot be surprizing if we should make some impression on the hearts ofour hearers. This sanctuary, these solemnities, these groans, thissilence, these arguments, these efforts, --all aid our ministry, andunite to convince and persuade you. But here is an orator destitute ofthese extraneous aids: behold him without any ornament but the truthhe preached. What do I say? that he was destitute of extraneous aids?See him in a situation quite the reverse, --a captive, loaded withirons, standing before his judge. Yet he made Felix tremble. Felixtrembled! Whence proceeded this fear, and this confusion? Nothing ismore worthy of your inquiry. Here we must stop for a moment: followus while we trace this fear to its source. We shall consider thecharacter of Felix under different views; as a heathen, imperfectlyacquainted with a future judgment, and the life to come; as a prince, or governor, accustomed to see every one humble at his feet; as anavaricious magistrate, loaded with extortions and crimes; in short, asa voluptuous man, who has never restricted the gratification of hissenses. These are so many reasons of Felix's fears. 

First, we shall consider Felix as a heathen, imperfectly acquaintedwith a future judgment and the life to come: I say, imperfectlyacquainted, and not as wholly ignorant, the heathens having the "workof the law written in their hearts" (Rom. Ii. , 15). The force of habithad corrupted nature, but had not effaced its laws. They acknowledgeda judgment to come, but their notions were confused concerning itsnature. 

Such were the principles of Felix, or rather such were theimperfections of his principles, when he heard this discourse of St. Paul. You may infer his fears from his character. Figure toyourselves a man hearing for the first time the maxims of equity andrighteousness inculcated in the gospel. Figure to yourselves a man whoheard corrected the immorality of pagan theology; what was doubtful, illustrated; and what was right, enforced. See a man who knew of noother God but the incestuous Jupiter, the lascivious Venus, taughtthat he must appear before Him, in whose presence the seraphim veiltheir faces, and the heavens are not clean. Behold a man, whosenotions were confused concerning the state of souls after death, apprized that God shall judge the world in righteousness. See a manwho saw described the smoke, the fire, the chains of darkness, theouter darkness, the lake of fire and brimstone; and who saw themdelineated by one animated by the Spirit of God. What consternationmust have been excited by these terrific truths!

This we are incapable adequately of comprehending. We must surmountthe insensibility acquired by custom. It is but too true that ourhearts--instead of being imprest by these truths, in proportion totheir discussion--become more obdurate. We hear them without alarm, having so frequently heard them before. But if, like Felix, we hadbeen brought up in the darkness of paganism, and if another Paul hadcome and opened our eyes, and unveiled those sacred terrors, howexceedingly should we have feared! This was the case with Felix. Heperceived the bandage which conceals the sight of futurity drop in amoment. He heard St. Paul, that herald of grace and ambassador to theGentiles, he heard him reason on temperance and a judgment to come. His soul was amazed; his heart trembled; his knees smote one againstanother. 

Amazing effects, my brethren, of conscience! Evident argument of thevanity of those gods whom idolatry adorns after it has given themform! Jupiter and Mercury, it is true, had their altars in the templesof the heathens; but the God of heaven and earth has His tribunal inthe heart: and, while idolatry presents its incense to sacrilegiousand incestuous deities, the God of heaven and earth reveals Histerrors to the conscience, and there loudly condemns both incest andsacrilege. 

Secondly, consider Felix as a prince; and you will find in this secondoffice a second cause of his fear. When we perceive the great men ofthe earth devoid of every principle of religion, and even ridiculingthose very truths which are the objects of our faith, we feel thatfaith to waver. They excite a certain suspicion in the mind that oursentiments are only prejudices, which have become rooted in man, brought up in the obscurity of humble life. Here is the apology ofreligion. The Caligulas, the Neros, those potentates of the universe, have trembled in their turn as well as the meanest of their subjects. This independence of mind, so conspicuous among libertines, isconsequently an art, --not of disengaging themselves from prejudices, but of shutting their eyes against the light, and of extinguishing thepurest sentiments of the heart. Felix, educated in a court fraughtwith the maxims of the great instantly ridicules the apostle'spreaching. St. Paul, undismayed, attacks him, and finds a conscienceconcealed in his bosom: the very dignity of Felix is constrained toaid our apostle by adding weight to his ministry. He demolishesthe edifice of Felix's pride. He shows that if a great nation wasdependent on his pleasure, he himself was dependent on a Sovereign inwhose presence the kings of the earth are as nothing. He proves thatdignities are so very far from exempting men from the judgment of Godthat, for this very reason, their account becomes the more weighty, riches being a trust which Heaven has committed to the great: and"where much is given, much is required. " He makes him feel this awfultruth, that princes are responsible, not only for their own souls, but also for those of their subjects; their good or bad exampleinfluencing, for the most part, the people committed to their care. 

See then Felix in one moment deprived of his tribunal. The judgebecame a party. He saw himself rich and in need of nothing; and yet hewas "blind, and naked, and poor. " He heard a voice from the God of thewhole earth, saying unto him, "Thou profane and wicked prince, removethe diadem and take off the crown. I will overturn, overturn, overturnit, and it shall be no more" (Ezekiel xxi. , 25-27). "Tho thou exaltthyself as the eagle, and tho thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord" (Obadiah, 4). Neitherthe dignity of governor, nor the favor of Caesar, nor all the glory ofempire shall deliver thee out of My hand. 

Thirdly, I restrict myself, my brethren, as much as possible in orderto execute without exceeding my limits the plan I have conceived;and proceed to consider Felix as an avaricious man: to find in thisdisposition a further cause of his fear. Felix was avaricious, and St. Paul instantly transported him into a world in which avarice shallreceive its appropriate and most severe punishment. For you know thatthe grand test by which we shall be judged is charity. "I was hungry, and ye gave me meat"; and of all the constructions of charitycovetousness is the most obstinate and insurmountable. 

This unhappy propensity renders us insensible of our neighbor'snecessities. It magnifies the estimate of our wants; it diminishes thewants of others. It persuades us that we have need of all, that othershave need of nothing. Felix began to perceive the iniquity of thispassion, and to feel that he was guilty of double idolatry: idolatry, in morality, idolatry in religion; idolatry in having offered incenseto gods, who were not the makers of heaven and earth; idolatry inhaving offered incense to Mammon. For the Scriptures teach, andexperience confirms, that "covetousness is idolatry. " The covetous manis not a worshiper of the true God. Gold and silver are the divinitieshe adores. His heart is with his treasure. Here then is the portraitof Felix: a portrait drawn by St. Paul in the presence of Felix, andwhich reminded this prince of innumerable prohibitions, innumerablefrauds, innumerable extortions; of the widow and the orphan heopprest. Here is the cause of Felix's fears. According to anexpression of St. James, the "rust of his gold and silver began towitness against him, and to eat his flesh as with fire" (James v. , 3). 

Fourthly, consider Felix as a voluptuous man. Here is the final causeof his fear. Without repeating all we have said on the depravity ofthis passion, let one remark suffice, that, if the torments of hellare terrible at all, they must especially be so to the voluptuous. Thevoluptuous man never restricts his sensual gratification; his souldies on the slightest approach of pain. What a terrific impressionmust not the thought of judgment make on such a character. Shall I, accustomed to indulgence and pleasure, become a prey to the worm thatdieth not and fuel to the fire which is not quenched? Shall I, whoavoid pain with so much caution, be condemned to eternal torments?Shall I have neither delicious meats nor voluptuous delights? Thisbody, my idol, which I habituate to so much delicacy, shall it be"cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, whose smoke ascendeth upforever and ever?" And this effeminate habit I have of refining onpleasure, will it render me only the more sensible of my destructionand anguish?

Such are the traits of Felix's character; such are the causes ofFelix's fear. Happy, if his fear had produced that "godly sorrow, andthat repentance unto salvation not to be repented of. " Happy if thefear of hell had induced him to avoid its torments. But, ah no! hefeared, and yet persisted in the causes of his fear. He trembled, yet said to St. Paul, "Go thy way for this time. " This is our lastreflection. 

How preposterous, my brethren, is the sinner! What absurdities doeshe cherish in his heart! For, in short, had the doctrines St. Paulpreached to Felix been the productions of his brain:--had the thoughtof a future judgment been a chimera, whence proceeded the fears ofFelix? Why was he so weak as to admit this panic of terror? If, on thecontrary, Paul had truth and argument on his side, why did Felix sendhim away? Such are the contradictions of the sinner. He wishes; herevolts; he denies; he grants; he trembles; and says, "Go thy way forthis time. " Speak to him concerning the truths of religion, open hellto his view, and you will see him affected, devout, and appalled:follow him in life, and you will find that these truths have noinfluence whatever on his conduct. 

But are we not mistaken concerning Felix? Did not the speech of St. Paul make a deeper impression upon him than we seem to allow? He sentthe apostle away, it is true, but it was "for this time" only. Andwho can censure this delay? The infirmities of human nature requirerelaxation and repose. Felix could afterward recall him. "Go thy wayfor this time; when I have a convenient season, I will send for thee. "

It pains me, I confess, my brethren, in entering on this head of mydiscourse, that I should exhibit to you in the person of Felix theportrait of whom? Of wicked men? Alas! of nearly the whole of thisassembly; most of whom seem to us living in negligence and vice, running with the children of this world "to the same excess of riot. "One would suppose that they had already made their choice, havingembraced one or the other of these notions: either that religion isa fantom, or that, all things considered, it is better to endure thetorments of hell than to be restricted to the practise of virtue. Ohno! that is not their notion. Ask the worse among them. Ask whetherthey have renounced their salvation. You will not find an individualwho will say that he has renounced it. Ask them again whether theythink it attainable by following this way of life. They will answer, No. Ask them afterward how they reconcile things so opposite as theirlife and their hopes. They will answer that they are resolved toreform, and by and by they will enter on the work. They will say, as Felix said to St. Paul, "Go thy way for this time; when I have aconvenient season, I will call for thee. " Nothing is less wise thanthis delay. At a future period I will reform. But who has assured methat at a future period I shall have opportunities of conversion? Whohas assured me that God will continue to call me, and that anotherPaul shall thunder in my ears?

I will reform at a future period. But who has told me that God at afuture period will accompany His word with the powerful aids of grace?While Paul may plant and Apollos may water, is it not God who givesthe increase? How then can I flatter myself that the Holy Spiritwill continue to knock at the door of my heart after I shall have sofrequently obstructed His admission?

I will reform in future. But who has told me that I shall ever desireto be converted? Do not habits become confirmed in proportion as theyare indulged? And is not an inveterate evil very difficult to cure? IfI can not bear the excision of a slight gangrene, how shall I sustainthe operation when the wound is deep?

I will reform in future! But who has told me that I shall live toa future period? Does not death advance every moment with giganticstrides? Does he not assail the prince in his palace and the peasantin his cottage? Does he not send before him monitors and messengers:acute pains, which wholly absorb the soul; deliriums, which renderreason of no avail; deadly stupors, which benumb the brightest andmost piercing geniuses? And what is still more awful, does He notdaily come without either warning or messenger? Does He not snatchaway this man without allowing him time to be acquainted with theessentials of religion; and that man, without the restitution ofriches ill acquired; and the other, before he is reconciled to hisenemy?

Instead of saying "Go thy way for this time" we should say, Stay forthis time. Stay, while the Holy Spirit is knocking at the door of myheart; stay, while my conscience is alarmed; stay, while I yet live;"while it is called to-day. " The arguments confounded my conscience:no matter. "Thy hand is heavy upon me": no matter still. Cut, strike, consume; provided it procure my salvation. 

But, however criminal this delay may be, we seem desirous to excuseit. "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I willcall for thee. " It was Felix's business then which induced him toput off the apostle. Unhappy business! Awful occupation! It seemsan enviable situation, my brethren, to be placed at the head of aprovince; to speak in the language of majesty; to decide on thefortunes of a numerous people; and in all cases to be the ultimatejudge. But those situations, so happy and so dazzling in appearance, are in the main dangerous to the conscience. Those innumerableconcerns, this noise and bustle, entirely dissipate the soul. While somuch engaged on earth, we can not be mindful of heaven. When we haveno leisure we say to St. Paul, "Go thy way for this time; when I havea convenient season, I will call for thee. "

Happy he who, amid the tumult of the most active life, has hoursconsecrated to reflection, to the examination of his conscience, andto insure the "one thing needful. " Or, rather, happy he who, in therepose of the middle classes of society, --places between indigence andaffluence, far from the courts of the great, having neither povertynor riches according to Agur's wish, --can in retirement and quietnesssee life sweetly glide away, and make salvation, if not the sole, yethis principal, concern. 

Felix not only preferred his business to his salvation, but hementions it with evasive disdain. "When I have a convenient season, Iwill call for thee. " "When I have a convenient season!" Might we notthence infer that the truths discust by St. Paul were not of seriousimportance? Might we not infer that the soul of Felix was createdfor the government of Judea; and that the grand doctrines ofrighteousness, temperance, and a judgment to come ought to serveat most but to pass away the time, or merely to engross one'sleisure--"when I have a convenient season?" . .. 

Yes, Christians, this is the only moment on which we can reckon. Itis, perhaps, the only acceptable time. It is, perhaps, the last day ofour visitation. Let us improve a period so precious. Let us nolonger say by and by--at another time; but let us say to-day--thismoment--even now. Let the pastor say: I have been insipid in mysermons, and remiss in my conduct; having been more solicitous, duringthe exercise of my ministry, to advance my family than to build up theLord's house, I will preach hereafter with fervor and zeal. I will bevigilant, sober, rigorous, and disinterested. Let the miser say: Ihave riches ill acquired. I will purge my house of illicit wealth. Iwill overturn the altar of Mammon and erect another to the supremeJehovah. Let the prodigal say: I will extinguish the unhappy fires bywhich I am consumed and kindle in my bosom the flame of divine love. Ah, unhappy passions, which war against my soul; sordid attachments;irregular propensities; emotions of concupiscence; law in themembers, --I will know you no more. I will make with you an eternaldivorce, I will from this moment open my heart to the eternal Wisdom, who condescends to ask it. 

If we are in this happy disposition, if we thus become regenerate, weshall enjoy from this moment foretastes of the glory which God hasprepared. From this moment the truths of religion, so far from castingdiscouragement and terror on the soul, shall heighten its consolationand joy; from this moment heaven shall open to this audience, paradiseshall descend into your hearts, and the Holy Spirit shall come anddwell there. He will bring that peace, and those joys, which pass allunderstanding. 

EDWARDS

SPIRITUAL LIGHT

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Jonathan Edwards, the New England divine and metaphysician, was bornat East Windsor, Connecticut, in 1703. He was graduated early fromYale College, where he had given much attention to philosophy, becametutor of his college, and at nineteen began to preach. His voice andmanner did not lend themselves readily to pulpit oratory, but hisclear, logical, and intense presentation of the truth produced aprofound and permanent effect upon his hearers. He wrote what wereconsidered the most important philosophical treatises of his time. Hisplace among the thinkers of the world is high and indisputable. He hadmany gifts of intellect and imagination, and a uniform gravity thatleft no doubt as to his deeply earnest nature. He was one of thegreatest preachers of his age. His most widely quoted sermon, "Sinnersin the Eyes of an Angry God, " while powerful and impressive, does notdo him justice. It is believed the sermon presented here discloses togreater advantage the tender and saintly side of his character. Hedied in 1758. 

EDWARDS

1703-1758

SPIRITUAL LIGHT

_And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, SimonBarjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but myFather which is in heaven. _--Matthew xvi. , 17. 

Christ says these words to Peter upon occasion of his professinghis faith in Him as the Son of God. Our Lord was inquiring of Hisdisciples, who men said He was; not that He needed to be informed, butonly to introduce and give occasion to what follows. They answer, that some said He was John the Baptist, and some Elias, and othersJeremias, or one of the prophets. When they had thus given an accountof who others said He was, Christ asks them, who they said He was?Simon Peter, whom we find always zealous and forward, was the first toanswer: he readily replied to the question, Thou art Christ, the Sonof the living God. 

Upon this occasion Christ says as He does to him, and of him in thetext: in which we may observe, 1. That Peter is pronounced blest on this account. "Blessed artThou. "--"Thou art a happy man, that thou art not ignorant of this, that I am Christ, the Son of the living God. Thou art distinguishinglyhappy. Others are blinded, and have dark and deluded apprehensions, asyou have now given an account, some thinking that I am Elias, and somethat I am Jeremias, and some one thing and some another; but none ofthem thinking right, all of them misled. Happy art thou, that art sodistinguished as to know the truth in this matter. "

2. The evidence of this his happiness declared; viz. , that God, and Heonly, had revealed it to him. This is an evidence of his being blest. 

First. As it shows how peculiarly favored he was of God above others:"How highly favored art thou, that others that are wise and great men, the scribes, Pharisees, and rulers, and the nation in general, areleft in darkness, to follow their own misguided apprehensions; andthat thou shouldst be singled out, as it were, by name, that myheavenly Father should thus set His love on thee, Simon Barjona. Thisargues thee blest, that thou shouldst thus be the object of God'sdistinguishing love. "

Secondly. It evidences his blessedness also, as it intimates that thisknowledge is above any that flesh and blood can reveal. "This is suchknowledge as my Father which is in heaven only can give: it is toohigh and excellent to be communicated by such means as other knowledgeis. Thou art blest, that thou knowest that which God alone can teachthee. "

The original of this knowledge is here declared, both negatively andpositively. Positively, as God is here declared the author of it. Negatively, as it is declared, that flesh and blood had not revealedit. God is the author of all knowledge and understanding whatsoever. He is the author of the knowledge that is obtained by human learning:He is the author of all moral prudence, and of the knowledge and skillthat men have in their secular business. Thus it is said of all inIsrael that were wise-hearted, and skilful in embroidering, that Godhad filled them with the spirit of wisdom. (Exod. Xxviii. , 3. )

God is the author of such knowledge; but yet not so but that flesh andblood reveals it. Mortal men are capable of imparting that knowledgeof human arts and sciences, and skill in temporal affairs. God is theauthor of such knowledge by those means: flesh and blood is made useof by God as the mediate or second cause of it; he conveys it by thepower and influence of natural means. But this spiritual knowledge, spoken of in the text, is that God is the author of, and none else:he reveals it, and flesh and blood reveals it not. He imparts thisknowledge immediately, not making use of any intermediate naturalcauses, as he does in other knowledge. What has passed in thepreceding discourse naturally occasioned Christ to observe this;because the disciples had been telling how others did not know Him, but were generally mistaken about Him, and divided and confounded intheir opinions of Him: but Peter had declared his assured faith, thatHe was the Son of God. Now it was natural to observe, how it was notflesh and blood that had revealed it to him, but God: for if thisknowledge were dependent on natural causes or means, how came it topass that they, a company of poor fishermen, illiterate men, andpersons of low education, attained to the knowledge of the truth;while the scribes and Pharisees, men of vastly higher advantagesand greater knowledge and sagacity in other matters, remained inignorance? This could be owing only to the gracious distinguishinginfluence and revelation of the Spirit of God. Hence, what I wouldmake the subject of my present discourse from these words, is thisdoctrine. That there is such a thing as a spiritual and divine light, immediately imparted to the soul by God, of a different nature fromany that is obtained by natural means. 

1. Those convictions that natural men may have of their sin and miseryis not this spiritual and divine light. Men in a natural condition mayhave convictions of the guilt that lies upon them, and of the anger ofGod, and their danger of divine vengeance. Such convictions are fromlight or sensibleness of truth. That some sinners have a greaterconviction of their guilt and misery than others, is because some havemore light, or more of an apprehension of truth than others. Andthis light and conviction may be from the Spirit of God; the Spiritconvinces men of sin: but yet nature is much more concerned in it thanin the communication of that spiritual and divine light that is spokenof in the doctrine; it is from the Spirit of God only as assistingnatural principles, and not as infusing any new principles. Commongrace differs from special, in that it influences only by assistingof nature; and not by imparting grace, or bestowing anything abovenature. The light that is obtained is wholly natural, or of nosuperior kind to what mere nature attains to, tho more of that kind beobtained than would be obtained if men were left wholly to themselves:or, in other words, common grace only assists the faculties of thesoul to do that more fully which they do by nature, as naturalconscience or reason will by mere nature, make a man sensible ofguilt, and will accuse and condemn him when he has done amiss. Conscience is a principle natural to men; and the work that it dothnaturally, or of itself, is to give an apprehension of right andwrong, and to suggest to the mind the relation that there is betweenright and wrong and a retribution. The Spirit of God, in thoseconvictions which unregenerate men sometimes have, assist conscienceto do this work in a further degree than it would do if they were leftto themselves: He helps it against those things that tend to stupifyit, and obstruct its exercise. But in the renewing and sanctifyingwork of the Holy Ghost, those things are wrought in the soul that areabove nature, and of which there is nothing of the like kind in thesoul by nature; and they are caused to exist in the soul habitually, and according to such a stated constitution or law that lays sucha foundation of exercises in a continued course, as is called aprincipal of nature. Not only are remaining principles assisted to dotheir work more freely and fully, but those principles are restoredthat were utterly destroyed by the fall; and the mind thenceforwardhabitually exerts those acts that the dominion of sin has made it aswholly destitute of, as a dead body is of vital acts. 

The Spirit of God acts in a very different manner in the one case, from what He doth in the other. He may indeed act upon the mind of anatural man, but He acts in the mind of a saint as an indwelling vitalprinciple. He acts upon the mind of an unregenerate person as anextrinsic, occasional agent; for in acting upon them, He doth notunite Himself to them; for notwithstanding all His influences thatthey may be the subjects of, they are still sensual, having not theSpirit (Jude 19). But He unites Himself with the mind of a saint, takes him for his temple, actuates and influences him as a newsupernatural principle of life and action. There is this difference, that the Spirit of God, in acting in the soul of a godly man, exertsand communicates Himself there in his own proper nature. Holiness isthe proper nature of the spirit of God. The Holy Spirit operates inthe minds of the godly, by uniting Himself to them, and living inthem, and exerting His own nature in the exercise of their faculties. The Spirit of God may act upon a creature, and yet not in actingcommunicate Himself. The Spirit of God may act upon inanimatecreatures; as, the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters, in thebeginning of the creation; so the Spirit of God may act upon the mindsof men many ways, and communicate Himself no more than when He actsupon an inanimate creature. For instance, He may excite thoughts inthem, may assist their natural reason and understanding, or may assistother natural principles, and this without any union with the soul, but may act, as it were, as upon an external object. But as He actsin His holy influences and spiritual operations, He acts in a wayof peculiar communication of Himself; so that the subject is thencedenominated spiritual. 

This spiritual and divine light does not consist in any impressionmade upon the imagination. It is no impression upon the mind, as thoone saw anything with the bodily eyes: it is no imagination or idea ofan outward light or glory or any beauty of form or countenance, or avisible luster or brightness of any object. The imagination may bestrongly imprest with such things; but this is not spiritual light. Indeed, when the mind has a lively discovery of spiritual things, andis greatly affected by the power of divine light, it may, and probablyvery commonly doth, much affect the imagination; so that impressionsof an outward beauty or brightness may accompany those spiritualdiscoveries. But spiritual light is not that impression upon theimagination, but an exceeding different thing from it. Natural menmay have lively impressions on their imaginations; and we can notdetermine but the devil, who transforms himself into an angel oflight, may cause imaginations of an outward beauty, or visible glory, and of sounds and speeches, and other such things; but these arethings of a vastly inferior nature to spiritual light. 

This spiritual light is not the suggesting of any new truths orpropositions not contained in the Word of God. This suggesting ofnew truths or doctrines to the mind, independent of any antecedentrevelation of those propositions, either in word or writing, isinspiration; such as the prophets and apostles had, and such as someenthusiasts pretend to. But this spiritual light that I am speakingof is quite a different thing from inspiration; it reveals no newdoctrine, it suggests no new proposition to the mind, it teaches nonew thing of God, or Christ, or another world, not taught in theBible, but only gives a due apprehension of those things that aretaught in the Word of God. 

It is not every affecting view that men have of the things of religionthat is this spiritual and divine light. Men by mere principles ofnature are capable of being affected with things that have a specialrelation to religion as well as other things. A person by mere nature, for instance, may be liable to be affected with the story of JesusChrist, and the sufferings He underwent, as well as by any othertragical story; he may be the more affected with it from the interesthe conceives mankind to have in it; yea, he may be affected with itwithout believing it; as well as a man may be affected with what hereads in a romance, or sees acted in a stage play. He may be affectedwith a lively and eloquent description of many pleasant things thatattend the state of the blest in heaven, as well as his imaginationbe entertained by a romantic description of the pleasantness offairy-land, or the like. And that common-belief of the truth of thethings of religion, that persons may have from education or otherwise, may help forward their affection. We read in Scripture of many thatwere greatly affected with things of a religious nature, who yet arethere presented as wholly graceless, and many of them very ill men. Aperson therefore may have affecting views of religion, and yet be verydestitute of spiritual light. Flesh and blood may be the author ofthis; one man may give another an affecting view of divine things butcommon assistance: but God alone can give a spiritual discovery ofthem. 

But I proceed to show positively what this spiritual and divine lightis. 

And it may be thus described: a true sense of the divine excellency ofthe things revealed in the Word of God, and a conviction of the truthand reality of them thence arising. 

This spiritual light primarily consists in the former of these--viz. , a real sense and apprehension of the divine excellency of thingsrevealed in the Word of God. A spiritual and saving conviction of thetruth and reality of these things arises from such a sight of theirdivine excellency and glory; so that this conviction of their truth isan effect and natural consequence of this sight of their divine glory. There is therefore in this spiritual light, 1. A true sense of the divine and superlative excellency of the thingsof religion; a real sense of the excellency of God and Jesus Christ, and of the work of redemption, and the ways and works of God revealedin the gospel. There is a divine and superlative glory in thesethings; an excellency that is of a vastly higher kind, and moresublime nature than in other things; a glory greatly distinguishingthem from all that is earthly and temporal. He that is spirituallyenlightened truly apprehends and sees it, or has a sense of it. Hedoes not merely rationally believe that God is glorious, but he hasa sense of the gloriousness of God in his heart. There is not only arational belief that is holy, and that holiness is a good thing, butthere is a sense of the loveliness of God's holiness. There is notonly a speculative judging that God is gracious, but a sense howamiable God is upon that account, or a sense of the beauty of thisdivine attribute. 

There is a twofold understanding or knowledge of good that God hasmade the mind of man capable of. The first, that which is merelyspeculative and notional; as when a person only speculatively judgesthat anything is, which, by the agreement of mankind, is called goodor excellent, viz. , that which is most to general advantage, andbetween which and a reward there is a suitableness, and the like. Andthe other is, that which consists in the sense of the heart: as whenthere is a sense of the beauty, amiableness, or sweetness of a thing;so that the heart is sensible of pleasure and delight in the presenceof the idea of it. In the former is exercised merely the speculativefaculty, or the understanding, strictly so called, or as spoken of indistinction from the will or disposition of the soul. In the latter, the will, or inclination, or heart is mainly concerned. 

Thus there is a difference between having an opinion that God is holyand gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of thatholiness and grace. There is a difference between having a rationaljudgment that honey is sweet, and having a sense of its sweetness. Aman may have the former that knows not how honey tastes; but a man cannot have the latter unless he has an idea of the taste of honey inhis mind. So there is a difference between believing that a person isbeautiful and having a sense of his beauty. The former may be obtainedby hearsay, but the latter only by seeing the countenance. There is awide difference between mere speculative rational judging anythingto be excellent, and having a sense of its sweetness and beauty. Theformer rests only in the head, speculation only is concerned in it;but the heart is concerned in the latter. When the heart is sensibleof the beauty and amiableness of a thing, it necessarily feelspleasure in the apprehension. It is implied in a person's beingheartily sensible of the loveliness of a thing, that the idea of it issweet and pleasant to his soul; which is a far different thing fromhaving a rational opinion that it is excellent. 

2. There arises from this sense of divine excellency of thingscontained in the word of God a conviction of the truth and reality ofthem; and that either directly or indirectly. 

First, indirectly, and that two ways. 

(1) As the prejudices that are in the heart, against the truth ofdivine things, are hereby removed; so that the mind becomes susceptiveof the due force of rational arguments for their truth. The mindof man is naturally full of prejudices against the truth of divinethings: it is full of enmity against the doctrines of the gospel;which is a disadvantage to those arguments that prove their truth, andcauses them to lose their force upon the mind. But when a person hasdiscovered to him the divine excellency of Christian doctrines, thisdestroys the enmity, removes those prejudices, and sanctifies thereason, and causes it to lie open to the force of arguments for theirtruth. 

Hence was the different effect that Christ's miracles had to convincethe disciples from what they had to convince the scribes andPharisees. Not that they had a stronger reason, or had their reasonmore improved; but their reason was sanctified, and those blindingprejudices, that the scribes and Pharisees were under, were removed bythe sense they had of the excellency of Christ and His doctrine. 

(2) It not only removes the hindrances of reason, but positively helpsreason. It makes even the speculative notions the more lively. Itengages the attention of the mind, with the more fixedness andintenseness to that kind of objects; which causes it to have aclearer view of them, and enables it more clearly to see their mutualrelations, and occasions it to take more notice of them. The ideasthemselves that otherwise are dim and obscure, are by this meansimprest with the greater strength, and have a light cast upon them, sothat the mind can better judge of them; as he that beholds the objectson the face of the earth, when the light of the sun is cast upon them, is under greater advantage to discern them in their true forms andmutual relations, than he that sees them in a dim starlight ortwilight. 

The mind having a sensibleness of the excellency of divine objects, dwells upon them with delight; and the powers of the soul are moreawakened and enlivened to employ themselves in the contemplation ofthem, and exert themselves more fully and much more to the purpose. The beauty and sweetness of the objects draw on the faculties, anddraw forth their exercises; so that reason itself is under far greateradvantages for its proper and free exercises, and to attain its properend, free of darkness and delusion. 

Secondly. A true sense of the divine excellency of these things is sosuperlative as more directly and immediately to convince of thetruth of them; and that because the excellency of these things is sosuperlative. There is a beauty in them that is so divine and godlike, that it greatly and evidently distinguishes them from things merelyhuman, or that men are the inventors and authors of; a glory that isso high and great, that when clearly seen, it commands assent to theirdivinity and reality. When there is an actual and lively discovery ofthis beauty and excellency, it will not allow of any such thoughtas that it is a human work, or the fruit of men's invention. Thisevidence that they who are spiritually enlightened have of the truthof the things of religion, is a kind of intuitive and immediateevidence. They believe the doctrines of God's word to be divine, because they see divinity in them; _i. E. _, they see a divine, andtranscendent, and most evidently distinguishing glory in them; such aglory as, if clearly seen, does not leave room to doubt of their beingof God, and not of men. 

Such a conviction of the truth of religion as this, arising, theseways, from a sense of the divine excellency of them, is that truespiritual conviction that there is in saving faith. And this originalof it, is that by which it is most essentially distinguished from thatcommon assent, which unregenerated men are capable of. 

I proceed now to show how this light is immediately given by God, andnot obtained by natural means. 

1. It is not intended that the natural faculties are not made use ofin it. The natural faculties are the subject of this light: and theyare the subject in such a manner that they are not merely passive, but active in it; the acts and exercises of men's understanding areconcerned and made use of in it. God, in letting in this light intothe soul, deals with man according to his nature, or as a rationalcreature; and makes use of his human faculties. But yet this light isnot the less immediately from God for that; tho the faculties are madeuse of, it is as the subject and not as the cause; and that acting ofthe faculties in it is not the cause, but is either implied in thething itself (in the light that is imparted) or is the consequence ofit; as the use that we make of our eyes in beholding various objects, when the sun arises, is not the cause of the light that discoversthose objects to us. 

2. It is not intended that outward means have no concern in thisaffair. As I have observed already, it is not in this affair, as it isin inspiration, where new truths are suggested: for here is by thislight only given a due apprehension of the same truths that arerevealed in the word of God; and therefore it is not given withoutthe word. The gospel is made use of in this affair: this light is thelight of the glorious gospel of Christ. (II Cor. Iv. , 4. ) The gospelis as a glass, by which this light is conveyed to us (I Cor. Xiii. , 12). Now we see through a glass. 

3. When it is said that this light is given immediately by God, andnot obtained by natural means, hereby is intended that it is given byGod without making use of any means that operate by their own power, or a natural force. God makes use of means; but it is not as mediatecauses to produce this effect. There are not truly any second causesof it; but it is produced by God immediately. The Word of God is noproper cause of this effect: it does not operate by any natural forcein it. The Word of God is only made use of to convey to the mind thesubject matter of this saving instruction, and this indeed it dothconvey to us by natural force or influence. It conveys to our mindsthese and those doctrines; it is the cause of the notion of them inour heads, but not of the sense of the divine excellency of them inour hearts. Indeed, a person can not have spiritual light without theWord. But that does not argue that the Word properly causes the lightThe mind can not see the excellency of any doctrine unless thatdoctrine be first in the mind; but the seeing of the excellency of thedoctrine may be immediately from the Spirit of God; tho the conveyingof the doctrine or proposition itself may be by the Word. So that thenotions that are the subject-matter of this light are conveyed to themind by the Word of God; but that due sense of the heart, wherein thislight formally consists, is immediately by the Spirit of God. As forinstance, that notion that there is a Christ, and that Christ is holyand gracious, is conveyed to the mind by the Word of God; but thesense of the excellency of Christ by reason of that holiness andgrace, is nevertheless immediately the work of the Holy Spirit. 

This is the most excellent and divine wisdom that any creature iscapable of. It is more excellent than any human learning; it is farmore excellent than all the knowledge of the greatest philosophers orstatesmen. Yea, the least glimpse of the glory of God in the face ofChrist doth more exalt and ennoble the soul than all the knowledge ofthose that have the greatest speculative understanding in divinitywithout grace. This knowledge has the most noble object that is orcan be, viz. , the divine glory or excellency of God and Christ. Theknowledge of these objects is that wherein consists the most excellentknowledge of the angels, yea, of God himself. 

This knowledge is that which is above all others sweet and joyful. Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in studies ofnatural things; but this is nothing to that joy which arises from thisdivine light shining into the soul. This light gives a view of thosethat are immensely the most exquisitely beautiful, and capable ofdelighting the eye of the understanding. This spiritual light isthe dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing sopowerful as this to support persons in affliction, and to give themind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world. 

This light is such as effectually influences the inclination, andchanges the nature of the soul. It assimilates the human nature to thedivine nature, and changes the soul into an image of the same glorythat is beheld (II Cor. Iii. , 18), "But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into thesame image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. "This knowledge will wean from the world, and raise the inclinationto heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain ofgood, and to choose him for the only portion. This light, and thisonly, will bring the soul to a saving close with Christ. It conformsthe heart to the gospel, mortifies its enmity and opposition againstthe schemes of salvation therein revealed: it causes the heart toembrace the joyful tidings, and entirely to adhere to, and acquiescein the revelation of Christ as our Savior: it causes the whole soulto accord and symphonize with it, admitting it with entire credit andrespect; cleaving to it with full inclination and affection; and iteffectually disposes the soul to give up itself entirely to Christ. 

This light, and this only, has its fruit in a universal holiness oflife. No merely notional or speculative understanding of the doctrinesof religion will ever bring us to this. But this light, as itreaches the bottom of the heart, and changes the nature, so itwill effectually dispose to a universal obedience. It shows God'sworthiness to be obeyed and served. It draws forth the heart in asincere love to God, which is the only principle of a true, gracious, and universal obedience; and it convinces of the reality of thoseglorious rewards that God has promised to them that obey him. 

WESLEY

GOD'S LOVE TO FALLEN MAN

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

John Wesley was born at Epworth rectory in Lincolnshire, England, in 1703. He was educated at Charterhouse school and in 1720 enteredChrist Church College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1724. He wasnoted for his classical taste as well as for his religious fervor, andon being ordained deacon by Bishop Potter, of Oxford, he became hisfather's curate in 1727. Being recalled to Oxford to fulfil his dutiesas fellow of Lincoln he became the head of the Oxford "Methodists, " asthey were called. He had the characteristics of a great general, beingsystematic in his work and a lover of discipline, and establishedMethodism in London by his sermons at the Foundery. His speaking stylesuggested power in repose. His voice was clear and resonant, hiscountenance kindly, and his tone extremely moderate. His sermons worecarefully written, altho not read in the pulpit. They moved othersbecause he was himself moved. At an advanced age he preached severaltimes a day, and traveled many miles on horseback. At seventy yearsof age he had published thirty octavo volumes. He composed hymns onhorseback, and studied French and mathematics in spare hours, and wasnever a moment idle until his death, in 1791. 

WESLEY

1703--1791

GOD'S LOVE TO FALLEN MAN

_Not as the transgression, so is the free gift_. --Romans v. , 15. 

How exceedingly common, and how bitter is the outcry against our firstparent, for the mischief which he not only brought upon himself, butentailed upon his latest posterity! It was by his wilful rebellionagainst God "that sin entered into the world. " "By one man'sdisobedience, " as the apostle observes, the many, as many as were thenin the loins of their forefathers, were made, or constituted sinners:not only deprived of the favor of God, but also of His image; of allvirtue, righteousness, and true holiness, and sunk partly into theimage of the devil, in pride, malice, and all other diabolicaltempers; partly into the image of the brute, being fallen under thedominion of brutal passions and groveling appetites. Hence also deathentered into the world, with all his forerunners and attendants; pain, sickness, and a whole train of uneasy as well as unholy passions andtempers. 

"For all this we may thank Adam, " has been echoed down from generationto generation. The self-same charge has been repeated in every age andevery nation where the oracles of God are known, in which alone thisgrand and important event has been discovered to the children of men. Has not your heart, and probably your lips too, joined in the generalcharge? How few are there of those who believe the Scriptural relationof the Fall of Man, and have not entertained the same thoughtconcerning our first parent? severely condemning him, that, throughwilful disobedience to the sole command of his Creator, Brought death into the world and all our wo. 

Nay, it were well if the charge rested here: but it is certain it doesnot. It can not be denied that it frequently glances from Adam to hisCreator. Have not thousands, even of those that are called Christians, taken the liberty to call His mercy, if not His justice also, intoquestion, on this very account? Some indeed have done this a littlemore modestly, in an oblique and indirect manner: but others havethrown aside the mask, and asked, "Did not God foresee that Adam wouldabuse his liberty? And did He not know the baneful consequences whichthis must naturally have on all his posterity? And why then did Hepermit that disobedience? Was it not easy for the Almighty to haveprevented it?" He certainly did foresee the whole. This can not bedenied. "For known unto God are all His works from the beginning ofthe world. " And it was undoubtedly in His Power to prevent it; for Hehath all power both in heaven and earth. But it was known to Him atthe same time, that it was best upon the whole not to prevent it. Heknew that, "not as the transgression, so is the free gift"; that theevil resulting from the former was not as the good resulting from thelatter, not worthy to be compared with it. He saw that to permitthe fall of the first man was far best for mankind in general; thatabundantly more good than evil would accrue to the posterity of Adamby his fall; that if "sin abounded" thereby over all the earth, yetgrace "would much more abound"; yea, and that to every individual ofthe human race, unless it was his own choice. 

It is exceedingly strange that hardly anything has been written, orat least published, on this subject: nay, that it has been so littleweighed or understood by the generality of Christians: especiallyconsidering that it is not a matter of mere curiosity, but a truth ofthe deepest importance; it being impossible, on any other principle, To assert a gracious Providence, And justify the ways of God with men:

and considering withal, how plain this important truth is, to allsensible and candid inquirers. May the Lover of men open the eyesof our understanding, to perceive clearly that by the fall of Adammankind in general have gained a capacity, First, of being more holy and happy on earth, and, Secondly, of being more happy in heaven than otherwise they could havebeen. 

And, first, mankind in general have gained by the fall of Adam acapacity of attaining more holiness and happiness on earth than itwould have been possible for them to attain if Adam had not fallen. For if Adam had not fallen, Christ had not died. Nothing can be moreclear than this: nothing more undeniable: the more thoroughly weconsider the point, the more deeply shall we be convinced of it. Unless all the partakers of human nature had received that deadlywound in Adam it would not have been needful for the Son of God totake our nature upon Him. Do you not see that this was the very groundof His coming into the world? "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. And thus death passed upon all" through him, "inwhom all men sinned. " (Rom. V. , 12. ) Was it not to remedy this verything that "the Word was made flesh"? that "as in Adam all died, soin Christ all might be made alive"? Unless, then, many had been madesinners by the disobedience of one, by the obedience of one many wouldnot have been made righteous (ver. 18); so there would have been noroom for that amazing display of the Son of God's love to mankind. There would have been no occasion for His "being obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. " It would not then have been said, to theastonishment of all the hosts of heaven, "God so loved the world, "yea, the ungodly world, which had no thought or desire of returning toHim, "that he gave his Son" out of His bosom, His only begotten Son, to the end that "whosoever believeth on him should not perish, buthave everlasting life. " Neither could we then have said, "God was inChrist reconciling the world to himself"; or that He "made him to besin, " that is, a sin-offering "for us, who know no sin, that we mightbe made the righteousness of God through him. " There would have beenno such occasion for such "an advocate with the Father" as "JesusChrist the Righteous"; neither for His appearing "at the right hand ofGod, to make intercession for us. "

What is the necessary consequence of this? It is this: there couldthen have been no such thing as faith in God, thus loving the world, giving His only Son for us men, and for our salvation. There couldhave been no such thing as faith in the Son of God, as loving us andgiving Himself for us. There could have been no faith in the Spirit ofGod, as renewing the image of God in our hearts, as raising us fromthe death of sin unto the life of righteousness. Indeed, the wholeprivilege of justification by faith could have no existence; therecould have been no redemption in the blood of Christ: neither couldChrist have been "made of God unto us, " "wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, or redemption. "

And the same grand blank which was in our faith, must likewise havebeen in our love. We might have loved the Author of our being, theFather of angels and men, as our Creator and Preserver: we might havesaid, "O Lord our Governor, how excellent is Thy name in all theearth!" But we could not have loved Him under the nearest and dearestrelation, as delivering up His Son for us all. We might have lovedthe Son of God, as being the "brightness of his Father's glory, " theexpress image of His person (altho this ground seems to belong ratherto the inhabitants of heaven than earth). But we could not have lovedHim as "bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, " and "bythat one oblation of himself once offered, making a full oblation, sacrifice, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world. " We wouldnot have been "made conformable to his death, " nor have known "thepower of his resurrection. " We could not have loved the Holy Ghost asrevealing to us the Father and the Son, as opening the eyes of ourunderstanding, bringing us out of darkness into His marvelous light, renewing the image of God in our soul, and sealing us unto the day ofredemption. So that, in truth, what is now "in the sight of God, eventhe Father, " not of fallible men "pure religion and undefiled, " wouldthen, have had no being: inasmuch as it wholly depends on those grandprinciples, "By grace ye are saved through faith"; and "Jesus Christis of God made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. "

We see then what unspeakable advantage we derive from the fall of ourfirst parent, with regard to faith: faith both in God the Father, who spared not His own Son, His only Son, but wounded Him for ourtransgressions and bruised Him for our iniquities; and in God the Son, who poured out His soul for us transgressors, and washed us in His ownblood. We see what advantage we derive therefrom with regard to thelove of God, both of God the Father and God the Son. The chief groundof this love, as long as we remain in the body, is plainly declaredby the apostle, "We love him, because he first loved us. " But thegreatest instance of His love had never been given if Adam had notfallen. 

And as our faith, both in God the Father and the Son, receives anunspeakable increase, if not its very being, from this grand event, asdoes also our love both of the Father and the Son: so does the love ofour neighbor also, our benevolence to all mankind: which can not butincrease in the same proportion with our faith and love of God. Forwho does not apprehend the force of that inference drawn by the lovingapostle, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love oneanother. " If God so loved us--observe, the stress of the argument lieson this very point: so loved us! as to deliver up His only Son to diea curst death for our salvation. "Beloved, what manner of love isthis, " wherewith God hath loved us? So as to give His only Son! Inglory equal with the Father: in majesty coeternal! What manner of loveis this wherewith the only begotten Son of God hath loved us, as toempty Himself, as far as possible, of His eternal Godhead; as todivest Himself of that glory, which He had with the Father before theworld began; as to take upon Him "the form of a servant, being foundin fashion as a man"! And then to humble Himself still further, "beingobedient unto death, even the death of the cross"! If God so loved us, how ought we to love one another? But this motive to brotherly lovehad been totally wanting if Adam had not fallen. Consequently we couldnot then have loved one another in so high a degree as we may now. Nor could there have been that height and depth in the command of ourblest Lord. "As I have loved you, so love one another. "

Such gainers may we be by Adam's fall, with regard both to the love ofGod and of our neighbor. But there is another grand point, which, tholittle adverted to, deserves our deepest consideration. By that oneact of our first parent, not only "sin entered into the world, " butpain also, and was alike entailed on his whole posterity. And hereinappeared, not only the justice, but the unspeakable goodness of God. For how much good does He continually bring out of this evil! How muchholiness and happiness out of pain!

How innumerable are the benefits which God conveys to the children ofmen through the channel of sufferings! so that it might well be said, "What are termed afflictions in the language of men, are in thelanguage of God styled blessings. " Indeed, had there been no sufferingin the world, a considerable part of religion, yea, and in somerespects, the most excellent part, could have no place therein: sincethe very existence of it depends on our suffering: so that had therebeen no pain it could have had no being. Upon this foundation, evenour suffering, it is evident all our passive graces are built; yea, the noblest of all Christian graces, love enduring all things. Here isthe ground for resignation to God, enabling us to say from the heart, and in every trying hour, "It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth himgood. " "Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall wenot receive evil?" And what a glorious spectacle is this? Did it notconstrain even a heathen to cry out, "_Ecce spectaculum Deo dignum!_See a sight worthy of God: a good man struggling with adversity, andsuperior to it. " Here is the ground for confidence in God, both withregard to what we feel, and with regard to what we should fear, wereit not that our soul is calmly stayed on him. What room could therebe for trust in God if there was no such thing as pain or danger? Whomight not say then, "The cup which my Father hath given me, shallI not drink it?" It is by sufferings that our faith is tried, and, therefore, made more acceptable to God. It is in the day of troublethat we have occasion to say, "Tho he slay me, yet will I trust inhim. " And this is well pleasing to God, that we should own Him in theface of danger; in defiance of sorrow, sickness, pain, or death. 

Again: Had there been neither natural nor moral evil in theworld, what must have become of patience, meekness, gentleness, long-suffering? It is manifest they could have had no being: seeingall these have evil for their object. If, therefore, evil had neverentered into the world, neither could these have had any place in it. For who could have returned good for evil, had there been no evil-doerin the universe? How had it been possible, on that supposition, toovercome evil with good? Will you say, "But all these graces mighthave been divinely infused into the hearts of men?" Undoubtedly theymight: but if they had, there would have been no use or exercise forthem. Whereas in the present state of things we can never long wantoccasion to exercise them. And the more they are exercised, themore all our graces are strengthened and increased. And in the sameproportion as our resignation, our confidence in God, our patience andfortitude, our meekness, gentleness, and long-suffering, togetherwith our faith and love of God and man increase, must our happinessincrease, even in the present world. 

Yet again: As God's permission of Adam's fall gave all his posteritya thousand opportunities of suffering, and thereby of exercising allthose passive graces which increase both their holiness and happiness, so it gives them opportunities of doing good in numberless instances, of exercising themselves in various good works, which otherwise couldhave had no being. And what exertions of benevolence, of compassion, of godlike mercy, had then been totally prevented! Who could then havesaid to the lover of men, Thy mind throughout my life be shown, While listening to the wretches' cry, The widow's or the orphan's groan; On mercy's wings I swiftly fly The poor and needy to relieve; Myself, my all, for them to give?

It is the just observation of a benevolent man, --All worldly joys are less, Than that one joy of doing kindnesses. 

Surely in keeping this commandment, if no other, there is greatreward. "As we have time, let us do good unto all men;" good of everykind and in every degree. Accordingly the more good we do (othercircumstances being equal), the happier we shall be. The more we dealour bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with garments; the morewe relieve the stranger, and visit them that are sick or in prison;the more kind offices we do to those that groan under the variousevils of human life; the more comfort we receive even in the presentworld; the greater the recompense we have in our own bosom. 

To sum up what has been said under this head: As the more holy we areupon earth, the more happy we must be (seeing there is an inseparableconnection between holiness and happiness); as the more good we do toothers, the more of present reward rebounds into our own bosom:even as our sufferings for God lead us to rejoice in Him "with joyunspeakable and full of glory"; therefore, the fall of Adam, first, bygiving us an opportunity of being far more holy; secondly, by givingus the occasions of doing innumerable good works, which otherwisecould not have been done; and, thirdly, by putting it into our powerto suffer for God, whereby "the spirit of glory and of God rests uponus": may be of such advantage to the children of men, even in thepresent life, as they will not thoroughly comprehend till they attainlife everlasting. 

It is then we shall be enabled fully to comprehend not only theadvantages which accrue at the present time to the sons of men by thefall of their first parent, but the infinitely greater advantageswhich they may reap from it in eternity. In order to form someconception of this, we may remember the observation of the apostle, "As one star differeth from another star in glory, so also is theresurrection of the dead. " The most glorious stars will undoubtedlybe those who are the most holy; who bear most of that image of Godwherein they were created. The next in glory to these will be thosewho have been most abundant in good works: and next to them, thosethat have suffered most, according to the will of God. But whatadvantages in every one of these respects will the children of Godreceive in heaven, by God's permitting the introduction of pain uponearth, in consequence of sin? By occasion of this they attained manyholy tempers, which otherwise could have had no being: resignationto God, confidence in him in times of trouble and danger, patience, meekness, gentleness, long-suffering, and the whole train of passivevirtues. And on account of this superior holiness they will thenenjoy superior happiness. Again: every one will then "receive hisown reward, according to his own labor. " Every individual willbe "rewarded according to his work. " But the Fall gave rise toinnumerable good works, which could otherwise never have existed, suchas ministering to the necessities of the saints, yea, relieving thedistrest in every kind. And hereby innumerable stars will be added totheir eternal crown. Yet again: there will be an abundant reward inheaven, for suffering as well as for doing, the will of God: "theselight afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out for us a farmore exceeding and eternal weight of glory. " Therefore that event, which occasioned the entrance of suffering into the world, has therebyoccasioned to all the children of God, an increase of glory to alleternity. For altho the sufferings themselves will be at an end: altho

 The pain of life shall then be o'er, The anguish and distracting care; The sighing grief shall weep no more; And sin shall never enter there:--

yet the joys occasioned thereby shall never end, but flow at God'sright hand for evermore. 

There is one advantage more that we reap from Adam's fall, which isnot unworthy our attention. Unless in Adam all had died, being in theloins of their first parent, every descendant of Adam, every child ofman, must have personally answered for himself to God: it seems tobe a necessary consequence of this, that if he had once fallen, onceviolated any command of God, there would have been no possibility ofhis rising again; there was no help, but he must have perished withoutremedy. For that covenant knew not to show mercy: the word was, "Thesoul that sinneth, it shall die. " Now who would not rather be on thefooting he is now; under a covenant of mercy? Who would wish to hazarda whole eternity upon one stake? Is it not infinitely more desirable, to be in a state wherein, tho encompassed with infirmities, yet wedo not run such a desperate risk, but if we fall, we may rise again?Wherein we may say, My trespass is grown up to heaven! But, far above the skies, In Christ abundantly forgiven, I see Thy mercies rise!

In Christ! Let me entreat every serious person, once more to fix hisattention here. All that has been said, all that can be said, on thesesubjects, centers in this point. The fall of Adam produced the deathof Christ! Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! Yea, Let earth and heaven agree, Angels and men be joined, To celebrate with me The Saviour of mankind; To adore the all-atoning Lamb, And bless the sound of Jesus' name!

If God had prevented the fall of man, the Word had never been madeflesh: nor had we ever "seen his glory, the glory as of the onlybegotten of the Father. " Those mysteries had never been displayed, "which the very angels desire to look into. " Methinks thisconsideration swallows up all the rest, and should never be out ofour thoughts. Unless "by one man, judgment had come upon all men tocondemnation, " neither angels nor men could ever have known "theunsearchable riches of Christ. "

See then, upon the whole, how little reason we have to repine atthe fall of our first parent, since herefrom we may derive suchunspeakable advantages, both in time and eternity. See how smallpretense there is for questioning the mercy of God in permittingthat event to take place, since therein, mercy, by infinite degrees, rejoices over judgment! Where, then, is the man that presumes to blameGod for not preventing Adam's sin? Should we not rather bless Him fromthe ground of the heart, for therein laying the grand scheme of man'sredemption, and making way for that glorious manifestation of Hiswisdom, holiness, justice, and mercy? If indeed God had decreed beforethe foundation of the world that millions of men should dwell ineverlasting burnings, because Adam sinned, hundreds or thousands ofyours before they had a being, I know not who could thank him forthis, unless the devil and his angels: seeing, on this supposition, all those millions of unhappy spirits would be plunged into hell byAdam's sin, without any possible advantage from it. But, blest be God, this is not the case. Such a decree never existed. On the contrary, every one born of a woman may be an unspeakable gainer thereby; andnone ever was or can be a loser, but by his own choice. 

We see here a full answer to that plausible account "of the origin ofevil, " published to the world some years since, and supposed to beunanswerable: that it "necessarily resulted from the nature ofmatter, which God was not able to alter. " It is very kind in thissweet-tongued orator to make an excuse for God! But there is really nooccasion for it: God hath answered for Himself. He made man in His ownimage, a spirit endued with understanding and liberty. Man abusingthat liberty, produced evil, brought sin and pain into the world. This God permitted, in order to a fuller manifestation of His wisdom, justice, and mercy, by bestowing on all who would receive it aninfinitely greater happiness than they could possibly have attained ifAdam had not fallen. 

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"Altho a thousand particulars of His judgments, and of His ways areunsearchable to us, and past our finding out, yet we may discern thegeneral scheme running through time into eternity. "According to thecouncil of his own will, " the plan He had laid before the foundationof the world, He created the parent of all mankind in His own image. And He permitted all men to be made sinners by the disobedience ofthis one man, that, by the obedience of One, all who receive the freegift may be infinitely holier and happier to all eternity!

WHITEFIELD

THE METHOD OF GRACE

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

George Whitefield, evangelist and leader of Calvinistic Methodists, who has been called the Demosthenes of the pulpit, was born atGloucester, England, in 1714. He was an impassioned pulpit orator ofthe popular type, and his power over immense congregations was largelydue to his histrionic talent and his exquisitely modulated voice, which has been described as "an organ, a flute, a harp, all in one, "and which at times became stentorian. He had a most expressive face, and altho he squinted, in grace and significance of gesture he knewperfectly how to "suit the action to the word. " But he had not thestyle or scholarship of Wesley, and his printed sermons do not fullybear out his reputation. Whitefield died in 1770. 

WHITEFIELD

1714--1770

THE METHOD OF GRACE

_They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace_. --Jeremiah vi. , 14. 

As God can send a nation or people no greater blessing than to givethem faithful, sincere, and upright ministers, so the greatest cursethat God can possibly send upon a people in this world is to give themover to blind, unregenerate, carnal, lukewarm, and unskilful guides. And yet, in all ages, we find that there have been many wolves insheep's clothing, many that daubed with untempered mortar, thatprophesied smoother things than God did allow. As it was formerly, so it is now; there are many that corrupt the word of God and dealdeceitfully with it. It was so in a special manner in the prophetJeremiah's time; and he, faithful to his Lord, faithful to that Godwho employed him, did not fail from time to time to open his mouthagainst them, and to bear a noble testimony to the honor of thatGod in whose name he from time to time spake. If you will read hisprophecy, you will find that none spake more against such ministersthan Jeremiah, and here especially in the chapter out of which thetext is taken he speaks very severely against them. He charges themwith several crimes; particularly he charges them with covetousness:"For, " says he, in the thirteenth verse, "from the least of them evento the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness; and fromthe prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. "

And then, in the words of the text, in a more special manner heexemplifies how they had dealt falsely, how they had behavedtreacherously to poor souls: says he, "They have healed also the hurtof the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, whenthere is no peace. " The prophet, in the name of God, had beendenouncing war against the people; he had been telling them that theirhouse should be left desolate, and that the Lord would certainly visitthe land with war. "Therefore, " says he, in the eleventh verse, "I amfull of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in; I will pourit out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young mentogether; for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the agedwith him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned untoothers, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch outmy hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord. "

The prophet gives a thundering message, that they might be terrifiedand have some convictions and inclinations to repent; but it seemsthat the false prophets, the false priests, went about stiflingpeople's convictions, and when they were hurt or a little terrified, they were for daubing over the wound, telling them that Jeremiah wasbut an enthusiastic preacher, that there could be no such thing as waramong them, and saying to people, Peace, peace, be still, when theprophet told them there was no peace. 

The words, then, refer primarily unto outward things, but I verilybelieve have also a further reference to the soul, and are tobe referred to those false teachers who, when people were underconviction of sin, when people were beginning to look toward heaven, were for stifling their convictions and telling them they were goodenough before. And, indeed, people generally love to have it so; ourhearts are exceedingly deceitful and desperately wicked; none but theeternal God knows how treacherous they are. 

How many of us cry, Peace, peace, to our souls, when there is nopeace! How many are there who are now settled upon their lees, thatnow think they are Christians, that now flatter themselves that theyhave an interest in Jesus Christ; whereas if we come to examine theirexperiences we shall find that their peace is but a peace of thedevil's making--it is not a peace of God's giving--it is not a peacethat passeth human understanding. 

It is a matter, therefore, of great importance, my dear hearers, toknow whether we may speak peace to our hearts. We are all desirousof peace; peace is an unspeakable blessing; how can we live withoutpeace? And, therefore, people from time to time must be taught how farthey must go and what must be wrought in them before they can speakpeace to their hearts. This is what I design at present, that I maydeliver my soul, that I may be free from the blood of all those towhom I preach--that I may not fail to declare the whole counsel ofGod. I shall, from the words of the text, endeavor to show you whatyou must undergo and what must be wrought in you before you can speakpeace to your hearts. 

But before I come directly to this give me leave to premise a cautionor two. 

And the first is, that I take it for granted you believe religion tobe an inward thing; you believe it to be a work of the heart, a workwrought in the soul by the power of the Spirit of God. If you do notbelieve this, you do not believe your Bibles. If you do not believethis, tho you have got your Bibles in your hand, you hate the LordJesus Christ in your heart; for religion is everywhere representedin Scripture as the work of God in the heart. "The kingdom of God iswithin us, " says our Lord; and, "he is not a Christian who is oneoutwardly; but he is a Christian who is one inwardly. " If any of youplace religion in outward things, I shall not perhaps please you thismorning; you will understand me no more when I speak of the work ofGod upon a poor sinner's heart than if I were talking in an unknowntongue. 

I would further premise a caution, that I would by no means confineGod to one way of acting. I would by no means say that all persons, before they come to have a settled peace in their hearts, are obligedto undergo the same degrees of conviction. No; God has various ways ofbringing His children home; His sacred Spirit bloweth when, and where, and how it listeth. But, however, I will venture to affirm this: thatbefore ever you can speak peace to your heart, whether by shorter orlonger continuance of your convictions, whether in a more pungent orin a more; gentle way, you must undergo what I shall hereafter laydown in the following discourse. 

First, then, before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must bemade to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, youractual transgressions against the law of God. According to thecovenant of works, "the soul that sinneth it shall die"; curst is thatman, be he what he may, be he who he may, that continueth not in allthings that are written in the book of the law to do them. 

We are not only to do some things, but we are to do all things, and weare to continue to do so, so that the least deviation from the morallaw, according to the covenant of works, whether in thought, word, or deed, deserves eternal death at the hand of God. And if one evilthought, if one evil word, if one evil action deserves eternaldamnation, how many hells, my friends, do every one of us deservewhose whole lives have been one continued rebellion against God!Before ever, therefore, you can speak peace to your hearts, you mustbe brought to see, brought to believe, what a dreadful thing it is todepart from the living God. 

And now, my dear friends, examine your hearts, for I hope you camehither with a design to have your souls made better. Give me leave toask you, in the presence of God, whether you know the time, and if youdo not know exactly the time, do you know there was a time when Godwrote bitter things against you, when the arrows of the Almighty werewithin you? Was ever the remembrance of your sins grievous to you? Wasthe burden of your sins intolerable to your thoughts? Did you ever seethat God's wrath might justly fall upon you, on account of your actualtransgressions against God? Were you ever in all your life sorry foryour sins? Could you ever say, My sins are gone over my head as aburden too heavy for me to bear? Did you ever experience any suchthing as this? Did ever any such thing as this pass between God andyour soul? If not, for Jesus Christ's sake, do not call yourselvesChristians; you may speak peace to your hearts, but there is no peace. May the Lord awaken you, may the Lord convert you, may the Lord giveyou peace, if it be His will, before you go home!

But, further, you may be convinced of your actual sins, so as to bemade to tremble, and yet you may be strangers to Jesus Christ, you mayhave no true work of grace upon your hearts. Before ever, therefore, you can speak peace to your hearts, conviction must go deeper; youmust not only be convinced of your actual transgressions against thelaw of God, but likewise of the foundation of all your transgressions. And what is that? I mean original sin, that original corruption eachof us brings into the world with us, which renders us liable to God'swrath and damnation. There are many poor souls that think themselvesfine reasoners, yet they pretend to say there is no such thing asoriginal sin; they will charge God with injustice in imputing Adam'ssin to us; altho we have got the mark of the beast and of the devilupon us, yet they tell us we are not born in sin. Let them look abroadand see the disorders in it, and think, if they can, if this is theparadise in which God did put man. No! everything in the world is outof order. 

I have often thought, when I was abroad, that if there were no otherarguments to prove original sin, the rising of wolves and tigersagainst man, nay, the barking of a dog against us, is a proof oforiginal sin. Tigers and lions durst not rise against us unless itwere as much as to say, "You have sinned against God, and we take upour master's quarrel. " If we look inwardly, we shall see enough oflusts and man's temper contrary to the temper of God. There is pride, malice, and revenge in all our hearts; and this temper can not comefrom God; it comes from our first parent, Adam, who, after he fellfrom God, fell out of God into the devil. 

However, therefore, some people may deny this, yet when convictioncomes, all carnal reasonings are battered down immediately, and thepoor soul begins to feel and see the fountain from which all thepolluted streams do flow. When the sinner is first awakened, he beginsto wonder, How came I to be so wicked? The Spirit of God then strikesin, and shows that he has no good thing in him by nature; then hesees that he is altogether gone out of the way, that he is altogetherbecome abominable, and the poor creature is made to lie down at thefoot of the throne of God and to acknowledge that God would be just todamn him, just to cut him off, tho he never had committed one actualsin in his life. 

Did you ever feel and experience this, any of you--to justify God inyour damnation--to own that you are by nature children of wrath, andthat God may justly cut you off, tho you never actually had offendedHim in all your life? If you were ever truly convicted, if your heartswere ever truly cut, if self were truly taken out of you, you would bemade to see and feel this. And if you have never felt the weight oforiginal sin, do not call yourselves Christians. I am verily persuadedoriginal sin is the greatest burden of a true convert; this evergrieves the regenerate soul, the sanctified soul. The indwelling ofsin in the heart is the burden of a converted person; it is the burdenof a true Christian. He continually cries out: "Oh! who will deliverme from this body of death, this indwelling corruption in my heart?"This is that which disturbs a poor soul most. And, therefore, if younever felt this inward corruption, if you never saw that God mightjustly curse you for it, indeed, my dear friends, you may speak peaceto your hearts, but I fear, nay, I know, there is no true peace. 

Further, before you can speak peace to your hearts you must not onlybe troubled for the sins of your life, the sins of your nature, butlikewise for the sins of your best duties and performances. 

When a poor soul is somewhat awakened by the terrors of the Lord, then the poor creature, being born under the covenant of works, flies directly to a covenant of works again. And as Adam and Eve hidthemselves among the trees of the garden and sewed fig-leaves togetherto cover their nakedness, so the poor sinner when awakened flies tohis duties and to his performances, to hide himself from God, and goesto patch up a righteousness of his own. Says he, I will be mighty goodnow--I will reform--I will do all I can; and then certainly JesusChrist will have mercy on me. But before you can speak peace to yourheart you must be brought to see that God may damn you for the bestprayer you ever put up; you must be brought to see that all yourduties--all your righteousness--as the prophet elegantly expressesit--put them all together, are so far from recommending you to God, are so far from being any motive and inducement to God to havemercy on your poor soul, that He will see them to be filthy rags, amenstruous cloth--that God hates them, and can not away with them, ifyou bring them to Him in order to recommend you to His favor. 

My dear friends, what is there in our performance to recommend us untoGod? Our persons are in an unjustified state by nature; we deserve tobe damned ten thousand times over; and what must our performance be?We can do no good thing by nature: "They that are in the flesh can notplease God. "

You may do things materially good, but you can not do a thing formallyand rightly good; because nature can not act above itself. It isimpossible that a man who is unconverted can act for the glory of God;he can not do anything in faith, and "whatsoever is not of faith issin. "

After we are renewed, yet we are renewed but in part, indwelling sincontinues in us, there is a mixture of corruption in every one of ourduties, so that after we are converted, were Jesus Christ only toaccept us according to our works, our works would damn us, for we cannot put up a prayer but it is far from that perfection which the morallaw requireth. I do not know what you may think, but I can say that Ican not pray but I sin--I can not preach to you or any others butI sin--I can do nothing without sin; and, as one expresseth it, myrepentance wants to be repented of, and my tears to be washed in theprecious blood of my dear Redeemer. 

Our best duties are so many splendid sins. Before you can speak peaceto your heart you must not only be sick of your original and actualsin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, of all yourduties and performances. There must be a deep conviction before youcan be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idoltaken out of our heart. The pride of our heart will not let us submitto the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But if you never felt that youhad no righteousness of your own, if you never felt the deficiency ofyour own righteousness, you can not come to Jesus Christ. 

There are a great many now who may say, Well, we believe all this; butthere is a great difference betwixt talking and feeling. Did you everfeel the want of a dear Redeemer? Did you ever feel the want of JesusChrist, upon the account of the deficiency of your own righteousness?And can you now say from your heart Lord, thou mayest justly damnme for the best duties that ever I did perform? If you are not thusbrought out of self, you may speak peace to yourselves, but yet thereis no peace. 

But then, before you can speak peace to your souls, there is oneparticular sin you must be greatly troubled for, and yet I fear thereare few of you think what it is; it is the reigning, the damning sinof the Christian world, and yet the Christian world seldom or neverthink of it. And pray what is that?

It is what most of you think you are not guilty of--and that is, thesin of unbelief. Before you can speak peace to your heart, you must betroubled for the unbelief of your heart But can it be supposed thatany of you are unbelievers here in this churchyard, that are born inScotland, in a reformed country, that go to church every Sabbath? Canany of you that receive the sacrament once a year--oh, that it wereadministered oftener!--can it be supposed that you who had tokens forthe sacrament, that you who keep up family prayer, that any of you donot believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?

I appeal to your own hearts, if you would not think me uncharitable, if I doubted whether any of you believed in Christ: and yet, I fearupon examination, we should find that most of you have not so muchfaith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the devil himself. I am persuadedthat the devil believes more of the Bible than most of us do. Hebelieves the divinity of Jesus Christ; that is more than many who callthemselves Christians do; nay, he believes and trembles, and that ismore than thousands amongst us do. 

My friends, we mistake a historical faith for a true faith, wroughtin the heart by the Spirit of God. You fancy you believe because youbelieve there is such a book as we call the Bible--because you go tochurch; all this you may do and have no true faith in Christ. Merelyto believe there was such a person as Christ, merely to believe thereis a book called the Bible, will do you no good, more than to believethere was such a man as Caesar or Alexander the Great. The Bible is asacred depository. What thanks have we to give to God for these livelyoracles! But yet we may have these and not believe in the Lord JesusChrist. 

My dear friends, there must be a principle wrought in the heart bythe Spirit of the living God. Did I ask you how long it is since youbelieved in Jesus Christ, I suppose most of you would tell me youbelieved in Jesus Christ as long as ever you remember--you never didmisbelieve. Then, you could not give me a better proof that you neveryet believed in Jesus Christ, unless you were sanctified early, asfrom the womb; for they that otherwise believe in Christ know therewas a time when they did not believe in Jesus Christ. 

You say you love God with all your heart, soul, and strength. If Iwere to ask you how long it is since you loved God, you would say, Aslong as you can remember; you never hated God, you know no time whenthere was enmity in your heart against God. Then, unless you weresanctified very early, you never loved God in your life. 

My dear friends, I am more particular in this, because it is a mostdeceitful delusion, whereby so many people are carried away, that theybelieve already. Therefore it is remarked of Mr. Marshall, givingaccount of his experiences, that he had been working for life, and hehad ranged all his sins under the ten commandments, and then, comingto a minister, asked him the reason why he could not get peace. Theminister looked to his catalog. "Away, " says he, "I do not find oneword of the sin of unbelief in all your catalog. " It is the peculiarwork of the Spirit of God to convince us of our unbelief--that we havegot no faith. Says Jesus Christ, "I will send the comforter; and whenhe is come, he will reprove the world" of the sin of unbelief; "ofsin, " says Christ, "because they believe not on me. "

Now, my dear friends, did God ever show you that you had no faith?Were you ever made to bewail a hard heart of unbelief? Was it ever thelanguage of your heart, Lord, give me faith; Lord, enable me to layhold on Thee; Lord, enable me to call Thee my Lord and my God? DidJesus Christ ever convince you in this manner? Did he ever convinceyou of your inability to close with Christ, and make you to cry out toGod to give you faith? If not, do not speak peace to your heart. Maythe Lord awaken you and give you true, solid peace before you go henceand be no more!

Once more, then: before you can speak peace to your heart, you mustnot only be convinced of your actual and original sin, the sins ofyour own righteousness, the sin of unbelief, but you must be enabledto lay hold upon the perfect righteousness, the all-sufficientrighteousness, of the Lord Jesus Christ; you must lay hold by faithon the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and then you shall have peace. "Come, " says Jesus, "unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. "

This speaks encouragement to all that are weary and heavy laden;but the promise of rest is made to them only upon their coming andbelieving, and taking Him to be their God and their all. Before we canever have peace with God we must be justified by faith through ourLord Jesus Christ, we must be enabled to apply Christ to our hearts, we must have Christ brought home to our souls, so as His righteousnessmay be made our righteousness, so as His merits may be imputed to oursouls. My dear friends, were you ever married to Jesus Christ? DidJesus Christ ever give Himself to you? Did you ever close with Christby a lively faith, so as to feel Christ in your hearts, so as to hearHim speaking peace to your souls? Did peace ever flow in upon yourhearts like a river? Did you ever feel that peace that Christ spoke toHis disciples? I pray God he may come and speak peace to you. Thesethings you must experience. 

I am now talking of the invisible realities of another world, ofinward religion, of the work of God upon a poor sinner's heart. I amnow talking of a matter of great importance, my dear hearers; you areall concerned in it, your souls are concerned in it, your eternalsalvation is concerned in it. You may be all at peace, but perhaps thedevil has lulled you asleep into a carnal lethargy and security, andwill endeavor to keep you there till he gets you to hell, and thereyou will be awakened; but it will be dreadful to be awakened and findyourselves so fearfully mistaken when the great gulf is fixt, whenyou will be calling to all eternity for a drop of water to cool yourtongue and shall not obtain it. 

BLAIR

THE HOUR AND THE EVENT OF ALL TIME

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Hugh Blair, the preacher and divine, was born in Edinburgh, 1718. Heentered the university of his native town and graduated in 1739. Twoyears later he was licensed to preach; he was ordained minister ofColossie, Fife, in 1742, but returned to Edinburgh and in 1762was made regius professor of rhetoric and belles-lettres to theuniversity. He became a member of the great literary club, the Poker, where he associated with Hume, A. Carlyle, Adam Ferguson, Adam Smithand others, and enjoyed a high reputation as a preacher and critic. The lectures he published on style are elegantly written, but weak inthought, and his sermons share the same fault. They are composed withgreat care, and sometimes a single discourse cost him a week's labor, but they are formal and destitute of feeling and sometimes evenaffected in style. Blair was notable for fastidiousness in dress andmanners, and took very seriously the reputation he was given forrefinement and common-sense as one of the moderate divines. He died in1800. 

BLAIR

1718--1800

THE HOUR AND THE EVENT OF ALL TIME

_Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father! the hour iscome_. --John xvii. , 1. 

These were the words of our blest Lord on a memorable occasion. Thefeast of the Passover drew nigh, at which He knew that He was tosuffer. The night was arrived wherein He was to be delivered into thehands of His enemies. He had spent the evening in conference with Hisdisciples, like a dying father in the midst of his family, minglingconsolations with His last instructions. When He had ended Hisdiscourse to them, "he lifted up his eyes to heaven, " and with thewords which I have now read, began that solemn prayer of intercessionfor the Church, which closed His ministry. Immediately after, He wentforth with His disciples into the garden of Gethsemane and surrenderedHimself to those who came to apprehend Him. 

Such was the situation of our Lord at the time of His pronouncingthese words. He saw His mission on the point of being accomplished. He had the prospect full before Him of all that He was about tosuffer--"Father! the hour is come. " What hour? An hour the mostcritical, the most pregnant with great events, since hours had begunto be numbered, since time had begun to run. It was the hour at whichthe Son of God was to terminate the labors of His important life by adeath still more important and illustrious; the hour of atoning, byHis sufferings, for the guilt of mankind; the hour of accomplishingprophecies, types, and symbols, which had been carried on through aseries of ages; the hour of concluding the old and of introducing intothe world the new dispensation of religion; the hour of His triumphingover the world, and death, and hell; the hour of His creating thatspiritual kingdom which is to last forever. Such is the hour. Such arethe events which you are to commemorate in the sacrament of our Lord'sSupper. 

I. This was the hour in which Christ was glorified by His sufferings. The whole of His life had discovered much real greatness under a meanappearance. Through the cloud of His humiliation, His native lusteroften broke forth; but never did it shine so bright as in this last, this trying hour. It was indeed the hour of distress and of blood. Heknew it to be such; and when He uttered the words of the text, He hadbefore His eyes the executioner and the cross, the scourge, the nails, and the spear. But by prospects of this nature His soul was not to beovercome. It is distress which ennobles every great character; anddistress was to glorify the Son of God. He was now to teach allmankind by His example, how to suffer and to die. He was to standforth before His enemies as the faithful witness of the truth, justifying by His behavior the character which He assumed, and sealingby His blood the doctrines which He taught. 

What magnanimity in all His words and actions on this great occasion!The court of Herod, the judgment-hall of Pilate, the hill of Calvary, were so many theaters prepared for His displaying all the virtues of aconstant and patient mind. When led forth to suffer, the first voicewhich we hear from Him is a generous lamentation over the fate of Hisunfortunate tho guilty country; and to the last moment of His life webehold Him in possession of the same gentle and benevolent spirit. Noupbraiding, no complaining expression escaped from His lips during thelong and painful approaches of a cruel death. He betrayed no symptomof a weak or a vulgar, of a discomposed or impatient mind. With theutmost attention of filial tenderness He committed His aged mother tothe care of His beloved disciple. With all the dignity of a sovereignHe conferred pardon on a fellow-sufferer. With a greatness of mindbeyond example, He spent His last moments in apologies and prayers forthose who were shedding His blood. 

By wonders in heaven and wonders on earth, was this hourdistinguished. All nature seemed to feel it; and the dead and theliving bore witness of its importance. The veil of the temple was rentin twain. The earth shook. There was darkness over all the land. Thegraves were opened, and "many who slept arose, and went into the holycity. " Nor were these the only prodigies of this awful hour. The mosthardened hearts were subdued and changed. The judge who, in order togratify the multitude, passed sentence against Him, publicly attestedHis innocence. The Roman centurion who presided at the execution, "glorified God, " and acknowledged the Sufferer to be more than man. "After he saw the things which had passed, he said, Certainly thiswas a righteous person: truly this was the Son of God. " The Jewishmalefactor who was crucified with Him addrest Him as a king, andimplored His favor. Even the crowd of insensible spectators, who hadcome forth as to a common spectacle, and who began with clamors andinsults, "returned home smiting their breasts. " Look back on theheroes, the philosophers, the legislators of old. View them, in theirlast moments. Recall every circumstance which distinguished theirdeparture from the world. Where can you find such an assemblage ofhigh virtues, and of great events, as concurred at the death ofChrist? Where so many testimonials given to the dignity of the dyingperson by earth and by heaven?

II. This was the hour in which Christ atoned for the sins of mankind, and accomplished our eternal redemption. It was the hour when thatgreat sacrifice was offered up, the efficacy of which reaches backto the first transgression of man, and extends forward to the end oftime; the hour when, from the cross, as from a high altar, the bloodwas flowing which washed away the guilt of the nations. 

This awful dispensation of the Almighty contains mysteries which arebeyond the discovery of man. It is one of those things into which "theangels desire to look. " What has been revealed to us is, that thedeath of Christ was the interposition of heaven for preventing theruin of human kind. We know that under the government of God miseryis the natural consequence of guilt. After rational creatures had, bytheir criminal conduct, introduced disorder into the divine kingdom, there was no ground to believe that by their penitence and prayersalone they could prevent the destruction which threatened them. Theprevalence of propitiatory sacrifices throughout the earth proclaimsit to be the general sense of mankind that mere repentance was not ofsufficient avail to expiate sin or to stop its penal effects. By theconstant allusions which are carried on in the New Testament to thesacrifices under the law, as pre-signifying a great atonement made byChrist, and by the strong expressions which are used in describing theeffects of His death, the sacred writers show, as plainly as languageallows, that there was an efficacy in His sufferings far beyondthat of mere example and instruction. The nature and extent of thatefficacy we are unable as yet fully to trace. Part we are capable ofbeholding; and the wisdom of what we behold we have reason to adore. We discern, in this plan of redemption, the evil of sin stronglyexhibited and the justice of the divine government awfullyexemplified, in Christ suffering for sinners. But let us not imaginethat our present discoveries unfold the whole influence of thedeath of Christ. It is connected with causes into which we can notpenetrate. It produces consequences too extensive for us to explore. "God's thoughts are not as our thoughts. " In all things we "see onlyin part"; and here, if anywhere, we see also "as through a glass. Darkly. "

This, however, is fully manifest, that redemption is one of the mostglorious works of the Almighty. If the hour of the creation of theworld was great and illustrious, that hour when, from the dark andformless mass, this fair system of nature arose at the divine command, when "the morning-stars sang together, and all the sons of God shoutedfor joy, " no less illustrious is the hour of the restoration of theworld; the hour when, from condemnation and misery, it emerged intohappiness and peace. With less external majesty it was attended; butit is, on that account, the more wonderful that, under an appearanceso simple, such great events were covered. 

III. In this hour the long series of prophecies, visions, types, andfigures were accomplished. This was the center in which they all met:this the point toward which they had tended and verged, throughout thecourse of so many generations. You behold the law and the prophetsstanding, if we may speak so, at the foot of the cross, and doinghomage. You behold Moses and Aaron bearing the Ark of the Covenant;David and Elijah presenting the oracle of testimony. You behold allthe priests and sacrifices, all the rites and ordinances, all thetypes and symbols assembled together to receive their consummation. Without the death of Christ, the worship and ceremonies of the lawwould have remained a pompous, but unmeaning, institution. In the hourwhen He was crucified, "the book with the seven seals" was opened. Every rite assumed its significancy; every prediction met its event;every symbol displayed its correspondence. 

The dark and seemingly ambiguous method of conveying importantdiscoveries under figures and emblems was not peculiar to the sacredbooks. The spirit of God in presignifying the death of Christ, adoptedthat plan, according to which the whole knowledge of those earlyages was propagated through the world. Under the veil of mysteriousallusion, all wisdom was then concealed. From the sensible worldimages were everywhere borrowed to describe things unseen. More wasunderstood to be meant than was openly exprest. By enigmatical ritesthe priests communicated his doctrines; by parables and allegoriesthe philosopher instructed his disciples; even the legislator, byfigurative sayings, commanded the reverence of the people. Agreeablyto this prevailing mode of instruction, the whole dispensation of theOld Testament was so conducted as to be the shadow and figure ofa spiritual system. Every remarkable event, every distinguishedpersonage, under the law, is interpreted in the New Testament, asbearing reference to the hour of which we treat. If Isaac was laidupon the altar as an innocent victim; if David was driven from histhrone by the wicked, and restored by the hand of God; if the brazenserpent was lifted up to heal the people; if the rock was smitten byMoses, to furnish drink in the wilderness; all were types of Christand alluded to His death. 

In predicting the same event the language of ancient prophecy wasmagnificent, but seemingly contradictory: for it foretold a Messiah, who was to be at once a sufferer and a conquerer. The Star was to comeout of Jacob, and the Branch to spring from the stem of Jesse. TheAngel of the Covenant, the desire of all nations, was to come suddenlyto His temple; and to Him was to be "the gathering of the people. "Yet, at the same time, He was to be "despised and rejected of men"; Hewas to be "taken from prison and from judgment, " and to be "led as alamb to the slaughter. " Tho He was "a man of sorrows, and acquaintedwith grief, " yet "the Gentiles were to come to his light, and kingsto the brightness of his rising. " In the hour when Christ died, thoseprophetical riddles were solved: those seeming contradictions werereconciled. The obscurity of oracles, and the ambiguity of typosvanished. The "sun of righteousness" rose; and, together with the dawnof religion those shadows passed away. 

IV. This was the hour of the abolition of the law, and theintroduction of the gospel; the hour of terminating the old and ofbeginning the new dispensation of religious knowledge and worshipthroughout the earth. Viewed in this light, it forms the most augustera which is to be found in the history of mankind. When Christ wassuffering on the cross, we are informed by one of the evangelists thatHe said, "I thirst"; and that they filled a sponge with vinegar, andput it to His mouth. "After he had tasted the vinegar, knowing thatall things were now accomplished, and the Scriptures fulfilled, hesaid, It is finished"; that is, this offered draft of vinegar was thelast circumstance predicted by an ancient prophet that remained tobe fulfilled. The vision and the prophecy are now sealed: the Mosaicdispensation is closed. "And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. "

"It is finished. " When He uttered these words He changed the state ofthe universe. At that moment the law ceased, and the gospel commenced. This was the ever memorable point of time which separated the old andthe new worlds from each other. On one side of the point of separationyou behold the law, with its priests, its sacrifices, and its rites, retiring from sight. On the other side you behold the gospel, withits simple and venerable institutions, coming forward into view. Significantly was the veil of the temple rent in this hour; for theglory then departed from between the cherubim. The legal high priestdelivered up his urim and thummim, his breast-plate, his robes, andhis incense: and Christ stood forth as the great high priest of allsucceeding generations. By that one sacrifice which He now offered, Heabolished sacrifices forever. Altars on which the fire had blazed forages, were now to smoke no more. Victims were no more to bleed. "Notwith the blood of bulls and goats, but with his own blood he nowentered into the holy place, there to appear in the presence of Godfor us. "

This was the hour of association and union to all the worshipers ofGod. When Christ said, "It is finished, " He threw down the wall ofpartition which had so long divided the Gentile from the Jew. Hegathered into one all the faithful out of every kindred and people. He proclaimed the hour to be come when the knowledge of the true Godshould be no longer confined to one nation, nor His worship to onetemple; but over all the earth, the worshipers of the Father shouldserve Him "in spirit and in truth. " From that hour they who dweltin the "uttermost ends of the earth, strangers to the covenant ofpromise, " began to be "brought nigh. " In that hour the light of thegospel dawned from afar on the British Islands. 

During a long course of ages, Providence seemed to be occupied inpreparing the world for this revolution. The whole Jewish economywas intended to usher it in. The knowledge of God was preservedunextinguished in one corner of the world, that thence, in due time, might issue forth the light which was to overspread the earth. Successive revelations gradually enlarged the views of men beyond thenarrow bounds of Judea, to a more extensive kingdom of God. Signs andmiracles awakened their expectation and directed their eyes towardthis great event. Whether God descended on the flaming mountain, orspoke by the prophet's voice; whether He scattered His chosen peopleinto captivity, or reassembled them in their own land, He was stillcarrying on a progressive plan, which was accomplished at the death ofChrist. 

Not only in the territories of Israel, but over all the earth, thegreat dispensations of Providence respected the approach of thisimportant hour. If empires rose or fell; if war divided, or peaceunited, the nations; if learning civilized their manners, orphilosophy enlarged their views; all was, by the secret decree ofHeaven, made to ripen the world for that "fulness of time, " whenChrist was to publish the whole counsel of God. The Persian, theMacedonian, the Roman conqueror, entered upon the stage each at hispredicted period. The revolutions of power, and the succession ofmonarchies, were so arranged by Providence, as to facilitate theprogress of the gospel through the habitable world, after the day hadarrived, "when the stone which was cut out of the mountain withouthands, should become a great mountain and fill the earth. " This wasthe day which Abraham saw afar off, and was glad. This was the daywhich "many prophets, and kings, and righteous men desired to see, but could not"; the day for which "the earnest expectation ofthe creature, " long opprest with ignorance, and bewildered insuperstition, might be justly said to wait. 

V. This was the hour of Christ's triumph over all the powers ofdarkness; the hour in which He overthrew dominions and thrones, "ledcaptivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. " The contest which thekingdom of darkness had long maintained against the kingdom of lightwas now brought to its crisis. The period was come when "the seed ofthe woman shall bruise the head of the serpent" For many ages themost gross superstition had filled the earth. "The glory of theincorruptible God" was everywhere, except in the land of Judea, "changed into images made like to corruptible man, and to birds, andbeasts, and creeping-things. " The world, which the Almighty createdfor Himself, seemed to have become a temple of idols. Even to vicesand passions altars were raised; and what was entitled religion, wasin effect a discipline of impurity. In the midst of this universaldarkness, Satan had erected his throne, and the learned and thepolished, as well as the savage nations, bowed down before him. But atthe hour when Christ appeared on the cross, the signal of His defeatwas given. His kingdom suddenly departed from Him; the reign ofidolatry passed away: He was beheld to fall "like lightning fromheaven. " In that hour the foundation of every pagan temple shook. Thestatue of every false god tottered on its base. The priest fled fromhis falling shrine; and the heathen oracles became dumb forever. 

As on the cross Christ triumphed over Satan, so He overcame Hisauxiliary, the world. Long had it assailed Him with its temptationsand discouragements; in this hour of severe trial He surmounted themall. Formerly He had despised the pleasures of the world. He nowbaffled its terrors. Hence He is justly said to have "crucified theworld. " By His sufferings He ennobled distress; and He darkenedthe luster of the pomp and vanities of life. He discovered to Hisfollowers the path which leads, through affliction, to glory and tovictory; and He imparted to them the same spirit which enabled Him toovercome. "My kingdom is not of this world. In this world ye shallhave tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. "

Death also, the last foe of man, was the victim of this hour. Theformidable appearance of the specter remained; but his dart was takenaway. For, in the hour when Christ expiated guilt, He disarmed death, by securing the resurrection of the just. When He said to His penitentfellow sufferer, "To-day thou shalt be with me in paradise, " Heannounced to all His followers the certainty of heavenly bliss. Hedeclared the cherubim to be dismissed and the flaming sword to besheathed, which had been appointed at the fall, to keep from man "theway of the tree of life. " Faint, before this period, had been thehope, indistinct the prospect, which even good men enjoyed of theheavenly kingdom. Life and immortality were now brought to light. Fromthe hill of Calvary the first clear and certain view was given to theworld of the everlasting mansions. Since that hour they have been theperpetual consolation of believers in Christ. Under trouble, theysoothe their minds; amid temptation, they support their virtue; and intheir dying moments enable them to say, "O death! where is thy sting?O grave! where is thy victory"?

VI. This was the hour when our Lord erected that spiritual kingdomwhich is never to end. How vain are the counsels and designs of men!How shallow is the policy of the wicked! How short their triumphing!The enemies of Christ imagined that in this hour they had successfullyaccomplished their plan for His destruction. They believed that theyhad entirely scattered the small party of His followers, and hadextinguished His name and His honor forever. In derision they addrestHim as a king. They clothed Him with purple robes; they crowned Himwith a crown of thorns; they put a reed into His hand; and, withinsulting mockery, bowed the knee before Him. Blind and impious men!How little did they know that the Almighty was at that moment settingHim as a king on the hill of Zion; giving Him "the heathen for hisinheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession"!How little did they know that their badges of mock royalty were atthat moment converted into the signals of absolute dominion, and theinstruments of irresistible power! The reed which they put into Hishands became "a rod of iron, " with which He was to "break in pieceshis enemies, " a scepter with which He was to rule the universe inrighteousness. The cross which they thought was to stigmatize Him withinfamy, became the ensign of His renown. Instead of being the reproachof His followers, it was to be their boast and their glory. The crosswas to shine on palaces and churches throughout the earth. It was tobe assumed as the distinction of the most powerful monarchs, and towave in the banner of victorious armies when the memory of Herod andPilate should be accurst, when Jerusalem should be reduced to ashes, and the Jews be vagabonds over all the world. 

These were the triumphs which commenced at this hour. Our Lord sawthem already in their birth; He saw of the travail of His soul, andwas satisfied. He beheld the Word of God going forth, conquering, andto conquer; subduing, to the obedience of His laws, the subduers ofthe world; carrying light into the regions of darkness, and mildnessinto the habitations of cruelty. He beheld the Gentiles waiting belowthe cross, to receive the gospel. He beheld Ethiopia and the Islesstretching out their hands to God; the desert beginning to rejoiceand to blossom as the rose; and the knowledge of the Lord filling theearth, as the waters cover the sea. Well pleased, He said, "It isfinished. " As a conqueror He retired from the field, reviewing Histriumphs: "He bowed his head and gave up the ghost. " From that hour, Christ was no longer a mortal man, but "Head over all things to theChurch, " the glorious King of men and angels, of whose dominion thereshall be no end. His triumphs shall perpetually increase. "His nameshall endure forever; it shall last as long as the sun; men shall beblest in him, and all nations shall call him blest"

Such were the transactions, such the effects, of this ever-memorablehour. With all those great events was the mind of our Lord filled, when He lifted His eyes to heaven, and said, "Father! the hour iscome. "

From this view which we have taken of this subject, permit me tosuggest what ground it affords to confide in the mercy of God for thepardon of sin; to trust to His faithfulness for the accomplishment ofall His promises; and to approach to Him, with gratitude and devotion, in acts of worship. 

In the first place, the death of Christ affords us ground to confidein the divine mercy for the pardon of sin. All the steps of that highdispensation of Providence, which we have considered, lead directly tothis conclusion, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him upfor us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"This is the final result of the discoveries of the gospel. On thisrests the great system of consolation which it hath reared up for men. We are not left to dubious and intricate reasonings concerning theconduct which God may be expected to hold toward His offendingcreatures: but we are led to the view of important and illustriousfacts which strike the mind with evidence irresistible. For it ispossible to believe that such great operations, as I have endeavoredto describe, were carried on by the Almighty in vain? Did He excitein the hearts of His creatures such encouraging hopes, without anyintention to fulfil them? After so long a preparation of goodness, could He mean to deny forgiveness to the penitent and the humble? Whenovercome by the sense of guilt, man looks up with an astonished eye tothe justice of his Creator, let him recollect that hour of which thetext speaks, and be comforted. The signals of divine mercy, erected inhis view, are too conspicuous to be either distrusted or mistaken. 

In the next place, the discoveries of this hour afford the highestreason to trust in the divine faithfulness for the accomplishment ofevery promise which remains yet unfulfilled. For this was the hour ofthe completion of God's ancient covenant. 

It was the "performance of the mercy promised to the fathers. " Webehold the consummation of a great plan, which, throughout a courseof ages, had been uniformly pursued; and which, against every humanappearance, was, at the appointed moment, exactly fulfilled. Nolength of time alters His purpose. No obstacles can retard it. Towardthe ends accomplished in this hour, the most repugnant instrumentswere made to operate. We discern God bending to His purpose thejarring passions, the opposite interests, and even the vices of men;uniting seeming contrarieties in His scheme; making "the wrath of manto praise him"; obliging the ambition of princes, the prejudices ofJews, the malice of Satan, all to concur, either in bringing forwardthis hour, or in completing its destined effects. With what entireconfidence ought we to wait for the fulfilment of all His otherpromises in their due time, even when events are most embroiled andthe prospect is most discouraging: "Altho thou sayst thou canst notsee him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him. " Beattentive only to perform thy duty; leave the event to God, and beassured that, under the direction of His Providence, "all things shallwork together" for a happy issue. 

Lastly, the consideration of this whole subject tends to excitegratitude and devotion, when we approach to God in acts of worship. The hour of which I have discust, presents Him to us in the amiablelight of the deliverer of mankind, the restorer of our forfeitedhopes. We behold the greatness of the Almighty, softened by the mildradiance of condescension and mercy. We behold Him diminishing theawful distance at which we stand from His presence, by appointing forus a mediator and intercessor, through whom the humble may, withoutdismay, approach to Him who made them. By such views of the divinenature, Christian faith lays the foundation for a worship which shallbe at once rational and affectionate; a worship in which the light ofthe understanding shall concur with the devotion of the heart, andthe most profound reverence be united with the most cordial love. Christian faith is not a system of speculative truths. It is not alesson of moral instruction only. By a train of high discoveries whichit reveals, by a succession of interesting objects which it placesin our view, it is calculated to elevate the mind, to purify theaffections, and by the assistance of devotion, to confirm andencourage virtue. Such, in particular, is the scope of that divineinstitution, the sacrament of our Lord's Supper. To this happy purposelet it conduce, by concentering in one striking point of light allthat the gospel has displayed of what is most important to man. Touched with such contrition for past offenses, and filled with agrateful sense of divine goodness, let us come to the altar of God, and, with a humble faith in His infinite mercies, devote ourselves toHis service forever. 

DWIGHT

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Timothy Dwight was born at Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1752. Hegraduated from Yale in 1769, served as chaplain in the army during theRevolutionary War and was chosen president of his university in 1795. He died, after holding that office for twelve years, in 1817. LymanBeecher, who attributed his conversion to him, says: "He was of nobleform, with a noble head and body, and had one of the sweetest smilesthat ever you saw. When I heard him preach on 'the harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and we are not saved, ' a whole avalanche rolleddown on my mind. I went home weeping every step. "

DWIGHT

1752--1817

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD

_O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not inman that walketh to direct his steps_. --Jeremiah x. , 23. 

Few of this audience will probably deny the truth of a directScriptural declaration. With as little reason can it be denied thatmost of them apparently live in the very manner in which they wouldlive if the doctrine were false: or that they rely, chiefly at least, on their own sagacity, contrivance and efforts for success in thislife and that which is to come. As little can it be questioned thatsuch self-confidence is a guide eminently dangerous and deceitful. Safe as we may feel under its direction, our safety is imaginary. Thefolly of others in trusting to themselves we discern irresistibly. Thesame folly they perceive, with equal evidence, in us. Our truewisdom lies in willingly feeling, and cheerfully acknowledging, ourdependence on God; and in committing ourselves with humble reliance toHis care and direction. 

With these observations I will now proceed to illustrate the truth ofthe doctrine. The mode which I shall pursue will, probably, be thoughtsingular. I hope it will be useful. Metaphysical arguments, which arecustomarily employed for the purpose of establishing this and severalother doctrines of theology, are, if I mistake not, less satisfactoryto the minds of men at large than the authors of them appear tobelieve. Facts, wherever they can be fairly adduced for this end, are attended with a superior power of conviction; and commonly leavelittle doubt behind them. On these, therefore, I shall at the presenttime rely for the accomplishment of my design. In the first place, thedoctrine of the text is evident from the great fact that the birth andeducation of all men depend not on themselves. 

The succeeding events of life are derived, in a great measure atleast, from our birth. By this event, it is in a prime degreedetermined whether men shall be princes or peasants, opulent or poor, learned or ignorant, honorable or despised; whether they shall becivilized or savage, freemen or slaves, Christians or heathens, Mohammedans or Jews. 

A child is born of Indian parents in the western wilderness. By hisbirth he is, of course, a savage. His friends, his mode of life, hishabits, his knowledge, his opinions, his conduct, all grow out of thissingle event. His first thoughts, his first instructions, and all thefirst objects with which he is conversant, the persons whom he loves, the life to which he assumes are all savage. He is an Indian from thecradle; he is an Indian to the grave. To say that he could not beotherwise, we are not warranted; but that he is not is certain. 

Another child is born of a Bedouin Arab. From this moment he begins tobe an Arabian. His hand is against every man; and every man's handis against him. Before he can walk, or speak, he is carried throughpathless wastes in search of food; and roams in the arms of hismother, and on the back of a camel, from spring to spring, and frompasture to pasture. Even then he begins his conflict with hunger andthirst; is scorched by a vertical sun; shriveled by the burning sandbeneath; and poisoned by the breath of the simoom. Hardened thusthrough his infancy and childhood, both in body and mind, he becomes, under the exhortations and example of his father, a robber fromhis youth; attacks every stranger whom he is able to overcome; andplunders every valuable thing on which he can lay his hand. 

A third receives his birth in the palace of a British nobleman; and iswelcomed to the world as the heir apparent of an ancient, honorableand splendid family. As soon as he opens his eyes on the light, he issurrounded by all the enjoyments which opulence can furnish, ingenuitycontrive, or fondness bestow. He is dandled on the knee of indulgence;encircled by attendants, who watch and prevent alike his necessitiesand wishes; cradled on down; and charmed to sleep by the voice oftenderness and care. From the dangers and evils of life he is guardedwith anxious solicitude. To its pleasures he is conducted by theever-ready hand of maternal affection. His person is shaped andimproved by a succession of masters; his mind is opened, invigoratedand refined by the assiduous superintendence of learning and wisdom. While a child he is served by a host of menials and flattered bysuccessive trains of visitors. When a youth he is regarded by a bandof tenants with reverence and awe. His equals in age bow to his rank;and multitudes, of superior years acknowledge his distinction bycontinual testimonies of marked respect. When a man, he engages theregard of his sovereign; commands the esteem of the senate; and earnsthe love and applause of his country. 

A fourth child, in the same kingdom, is begotten by a beggar, andborn under a hedge. From his birth he is trained to suffering andhardihood. He is nursed, if he can be said to be nursed at all, on acoarse, scanty and precarious pittance; holds life only as a tenantat will; combats from the first dawnings of intellect with insolence, cold and nakedness; is originally taught to beg and to steal; isdriven from the doors of men by the porter or the house dog; and isregarded as an alien from the family of Adam. Like his kindred worms, he creeps through life in the dust; dies under the hedge, where he isborn; and is then, perhaps, cast into a ditch, and covered with earthby some stranger, who remembers that, altho a beggar, he still was aman. 

A child enters the world in China; and unites, as a thing of course, with his sottish countrymen in the stupid worship of the idol Fo. Another prostrates himself before the Lama, in consequence of havingreceived his being in Tibet, and of seeing the Lama worshiped by allaround him. 

A third, who begins his existence in Turkey, is carried early to themosque; taught to lisp with profound reverence the name of Mohammed;habituated to repeat the prayers and sentences of the Koran as themeans of eternal life; and induced, in a manner irresistible, tocomplete his title to Paradise by a pilgrimage to Mecca. 

The Hindu infant grows into a religious veneration for the cow; andperhaps never doubts that, if he adds to this solemn devotion toJuggernaut, the Gooroos, and the Dewtahs, and performs carefully hisablutions in the Ganges, he shall wash away all his sins, and obtain, by the favor of Brahma, a seat among the blest. 

In our own favored country, one child is born of parents devotedsolely to this world. From his earliest moments of understanding, hehears and sees nothing commended but hunting, horse-racing, visiting, dancing, dressing, riding, parties, gaming, acquiring money witheagerness and skill, and spending it in gaiety, pleasure and luxury. These things, he is taught by conversation and example, constitute allthe good of man. His taste is formed, his habits are riveted, and thewhole character of his soul is turned to them before he is fairlysensible that there is any other good. The question whether virtue andpiety are either duties or blessings he probably never asks. In thedawn of life he sees them neglected and despised by those whom hemost reverences; and learns only to neglect and despise them also. OfJehovah he thinks as little, and for the same reason as a Chinese ora Hindu. They pay their devotions to Fo and to Juggernaut: he his tomoney and pleasure. Thus he lives, and dies, a mere animal; a strangerto intelligence and morality, to his duty and his God. 

Another child comes into existence in the mansion of knowledge andvirtue. From his infancy, his mind is fashioned to wisdom and piety. In his infancy he is taught and allured to remember his Creator;and to unite, first in form and then in affection, in the householddevotions of the morning and evening. God he knows almost as soon ashe can know anything. The presence of that glorious being he is taughtto realize almost from the cradle; and from the dawn of intelligenceto understand the perfections and government of his Creator. His ownaccountableness, as soon as he can comprehend it, he begins to feelhabitually, and always. The way of life through the Redeemer is early, and regularly explained to him by the voice of parental love; andenforced and endeared in the house of God. As soon as possible, heis enabled to read, and persuaded to "search the Scriptures. " Of theapproach, the danger and the mischiefs of temptations, he is tenderlywarned. At the commencement of sin, he is kindly checked in hisdangerous career. To God he was solemnly given in baptism. To God hewas daily commended in fervent prayer. Under this happy cultivation hegrows up "like an olive-tree in the courts of the Lord"; and, green, beautiful and flourishing, he blossoms; bears fruit; and is preparedto be transplanted by the divine hand to a kinder soil in the regionsabove. 

How many, and how great, are the differences in these severalchildren! How plainly do they all, in ordinary circumstances, ariseout of their birth! From their birth is derived, of course, theeducation which I have ascribed to them; and from this educationspring in a great measure both character and their destiny. The place, the persons, the circumstances, are here evidently the great thingswhich, in the ordinary course of Providence, appear chiefly todetermine what the respective men shall be; and what shall be thoseallotments which regularly follow their respective characters. As, then, they are not at all concerned in contriving or accomplishingeither their birth or their education; it is certain that, in thesemost important particulars, the way of man is not in himself. God onlycan determine what child shall spring from parents, wise or foolish, virtuous or sinful, rich or poor, honorable or infamous, civilized orsavage, Christian or heathen. 

I wish it to be distinctly understood, and carefully remembered, that"in the moral conduct of all these individuals no physical necessityoperates. " Every one of them is absolutely a free agent; as free asany created agent can be. Whatever he does is the result of choice, absolutely unconstrained. 

Let me add, that not one of them is placed in a situation in which, ifhe learns and performs his duty to the utmost of his power, he willfail of being finally accepted. 

Secondly. The doctrine is strikingly evident from this great fact, also, that the course of life, which men usually pursue, is verydifferent from that which they have intended. 

Human life is ordinarily little else than a collection ofdisappointments. Rarely is the life of man such as he designs it shallbe. Often do we fail of pursuing, at all, the business originallyin our view. The intentional farmer becomes a mechanic, a seaman, a merchant, a lawyer, a physician, or a divine. The very place ofsettlement, and of residence through life, is often different, anddistant, from that which was originally contemplated. Still moredifferent is the success which follows our efforts. 

All men intend to be rich and honorable; to enjoy ease; and to pursuepleasure. But how small is the number of those who compass theseobjects! In this country, the great body of mankind are, indeed, possest of competence; a safer and happier lot than that to which theyaspire; yet few, very few are rich. Here, also, the great body ofmankind possess a character, generally reputable; but very limited isthe number of those who arrive at the honor which they so ardentlydesire, and of which they feel assured. Almost all stop at themoderate level, where human efforts appear to have their boundaryestablished in the determination of God. Nay, far below this levelcreep multitudes of such as began life with full confidence in theattainment of distinction and splendor. 

The lawyer, emulating the eloquence, business, and fame of Murray orDunning, and secretly resolved not to slacken his efforts, until allhis rivals in the race for glory are outstript is often astonished, aswell as broken-hearted, to find business and fame pass by his door, and stop at the more favored mansion of some competitor, in his viewless able, and less discerning, than himself. 

The physician, devoted to medical science, and possest ofdistinguished powers of discerning and removing diseases, is obligedto walk; while a more fortunate empiric, ignorant and worthless, rollsthrough the streets in his coach. 

The legislator beholds with anguish and amazement the suffrages of hiscountrymen given eagerly to a rival candidate devoid of knowledge andintegrity; but skilled in flattering the base passions of men, anddeterred by no hesitations of conscience, and no fears of infamy, fromsaying and doing anything which may secure his election. 

The merchant often beholds with a despairing eye his own ships sunk inthe ocean; his debtors fail; his goods unsold, his business cramped;and himself, his family and his hopes ruined; while a less skilful butmore successful neighbor sees wealth blown to him by every wind, andfloated on every wave. 

The crops of the farmer are stinted; his cattle die; his markets arebad; and the purchaser of his commodities proves to be a cheat, whodeceives his confidence and runs away with his property. 

Thus the darling schemes and fondest hopes of man are daily frustratedby time. While sagacity contrives, patience matures, and laborindustriously executes, disappointment laughs at the curious fabric, formed by so many efforts and gay with so many brilliant colors, and while the artists imagine the work arrived at the moment ofcompletion, brushes away the beautiful web, and leaves nothing behind. 

The designs of men, however, are in many respects not infrequentlysuccessful. The lawyer and physician acquire business and fame; thestatesman, votes; and the farmer, wealth. But their real success, even in this case, is often substantially the same with that alreadyrecited. In all plans, and all labors, the supreme object is to becomehappy. Yet, when men have actually acquired riches and honor, orsecured to themselves popular favor, they still find the happiness, which they expected, eluding their grasp. Neither wealth, fame, office, nor sensual pleasure can yield such good as we need. As thesecoveted objects are accumulated, the wishes of man always grow fasterthan his gratifications. Hence, whatever he acquires, he is usually aslittle satisfied as before, and often less. 

A principal design of the mind in laboring for these things is tobecome superior to others. But almost all rich men are obliged to see, and usually with no small anguish, others richer than themselves;honorable men, others more honorable; voluptuous men, others who enjoymore pleasure. The great end of the strife is therefore unobtained;and the happiness expected never found. Even the successful competitorin the race utterly misses his aim. The real enjoyment existed, althoit was unperceived by him, in the mere strife for superiority. Whenhe has outstript all his rivals the contest is at an end: and hisspirits, which were invigorated only by contending, languish for wantof a competitor. 

Besides, the happiness in view was only the indulgence of pride, or mere animal pleasure. Neither of these can satisfy or endure. Arational mind may be, and often is, so narrow and groveling as not toaim at any higher good, to understand its nature or to believe itsexistence. Still, in its original constitution, it was formed with acapacity for intellectual and moral good, and was destined to find inthis good its only satisfaction. Hence, no inferior good will fillits capacity or its desires. Nor can this bent of its nature ever bealtered. Whatever other enjoyment, therefore, it may attain, it will, without this, still crave and still be unhappy. 

No view of the ever-varying character and success of mankind intheir expectations of happiness, and their efforts to obtain it, canillustrate this doctrine more satisfactorily than that of the progressand end of a class of students in this seminary. At their firstappearance here they are all exactly on the same level. Theircharacter, their hopes and their destination are the same. They areenrolled on one list; and enter upon a collegiate life with the samepromise of success. At this moment they are plants, appearing justabove the ground; all equally fair and flourishing. Within a shorttime, however, some begin to rise above others; indicating by a morerapid growth a structure of superior vigor, and promising both moreearly and more abundant fruit. .. . 

Were I to ask the youths who are before me what are their designsand expectations concerning their future life, and write down theirseveral answers, what a vast difference would ultimately be foundbetween those answers and the events which would actually befall them!To how great a part of that difference would facts, over which theycould have no control, give birth! How many of them will in allprobability be less prosperous, rich, and honorable than they nowintend: how many devoted to employments of which at present they donot even dream; in circumstances, of which they never entertained evena thought, behind those whom they expected to outrun, poor, sick, insorrow or in the grave. 

First. You see here, my young friends, the most solid reasons forgratitude to your Creator. 

God, only, directed that you should be born in this land, and in themidst of peace, plenty, civilization, freedom, learning and religion;and that your existence should not commence in a Tartarian forestor an African waste. God, alone, ordered that you should be born ofparents who knew and worshiped Him, the glorious and eternal Jehovah;and not of parents who bowed before the Lama or the ox, an image ofbrass or the stock of a tree. In the book of His counsels, your names, so far as we are able to judge, were written in the fair lines ofmercy. It is of His overflowing goodness that you are now here;surrounded with privileges, and beset with blessings, educated toknowledge, usefulness and piety, and prepared to begin an endlesscourse of happiness and glory. All these delightful things havebeen poured into your lap, and have come, unbidden, to solicit youracceptance. If these blessings awaken not gratitude, it can not beawakened by the blessings in the present world. If they are notthankfully felt by you, it is because you know not how to be thankful. Think what you are, and where you are; and what and where you just aseasily might have been. Remember that, instead of cherishing tenderaffections, imbibing refined sentiments, exploring the field ofscience, and assuming the name and character of the sons of God, youmight as easily have been dozing in the smoke of a wigwam, brandishinga tomahawk, or dancing round an emboweled captive; or that you mightyourself have been emboweled by the hand of superstition, and burnt onthe altars of Moloch. If you remember these things, you can not butcall to mind, also, who made you to differ from the miserable beingswho have thus lived and died. 

Secondly. This doctrine forcibly demands of you to moderate desiresand expectations. 

There are two modes in which men seek happiness in the enjoyments ofthe present world. "Most persons freely indulge their wishes, andintend to find objects sufficient in number and value to satisfythem. " A few "aim at satisfaction by proportioning their desires tothe number and measure of their probable gratifications. " By thedoctrine of the text, the latter method is stamped with the name ofwisdom, and on the former is inscribed the name of folly. Desiresindulged grow faster and farther than gratifications extend. Ungratified desire is misery. Expectations eagerly indulged andterminated by disappointment are often exquisite misery. But howfrequently are expectations raised only to be disappointed, anddesires let loose only to terminate in distress! The child pines fora toy: the moment he possesses it, he throws it by and cries foranother. When they are piled up in heaps around him, he looks at themwithout pleasure, and leaves them without regret. He knew not thatall the good which they could yield lay in expectation; nor that hiswishes for more would increase faster than toys could be multiplied, and is unhappy at last for the same reason as at first: his wishesare ungratified. Still indulging them, and still believing that thegratification of them will furnish the enjoyment for which he pines, he goes on, only to be unhappy. 

Men are merely taller children. Honor, wealth and splendor are thetoys for which grown children pine; but which, however accumulated, leave them still disappointed and unhappy. God never designed thatintelligent beings should be satisfied with these enjoyments. By hiswisdom and goodness they were formed to derive their happiness andvirtue. 

Moderated desires constitute a character fitted to acquire all thegood which this world can yield. He who is prepared, in whateversituation he is, therewith to be content, has learned effectually thescience of being happy, and possesses the alchemic stone which willchange every metal into gold. Such a man will smile upon a stool, while Alexander at his side sits weeping on the throne of the world. 

The doctrine of the text teaches you irresistibly that, since you cannot command gratifications, you should command your desires; and that, as the events of life do not accord with your wishes, your wishesshould accord with them. Multiplied enjoyments fall to but few men, and are no more rationally expected than the highest prize in alottery. But a well-regulated mind, a dignified independence of theworld, and a wise preparation to possess one's soul in patience, whatever circumstances may exist, is in the power of every man, and isgreater wealth than that of both Indies, and greater honor than Caesarever required. 

Thirdly. As your course and your success through life are not underyour control, you are strongly urged to commit yourselves to God, whocan control both. 

That you can not direct your course through the world, that your bestconcerted plans will often fail, that your sanguine expectations willbe disappointed, and that your fondest worldly wishes will terminatein mortification can not admit of a momentary doubt. That God candirect you, that He actually controls all your concerns, and that, if you commit yourselves to His care, He will direct you kindly andsafely, can be doubted only of choice. Why, then, do you hesitate toyield yourselves and your interests to the guidance of your Maker?There are two reasons which appear especially to govern mankind inthis important concern; they do not and will not realize the agency ofGod in their affairs; and they do not choose to have them directedas they imagine He will direct them. The former is the result ofstupidity; the latter, of impiety. Both are foolish in the extreme, and not less sinful than foolish. 

The infinitely wise, great and glorious benefactor of the universehas offered to take men by the hand, lead them through the journey oflife, and conduct them to His own house in the heavens. The proof ofHis sincerity in making this offer has been already produced. He hasgiven His own Son to live, and die, and rise, and reign, and intercedefor our race. "Herein is love, " if there ever was love; "not that wehave loved him, but that he has loved us. " That He, who has done this, should not be sincere is impossible. St. Paul, therefore, triumphantlyasks what none can answer: "He, that spared not his own Son, butdelivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freelygive us all things?" Trust, then, His word with undoubting confidence;take His hand with humble gratitude, and with all thy heart obey Hisvoice, which you will everywhere hear, saying, "this is the way, walkye therein. " In sickness and in health, by night and by day, at homeand in crowds, He will watch over you with tenderness inexpressible. He will make you lie down in green pastures, lead you beside the stillwaters and guide you in paths of righteousness, for His name's sake. He will prepare a table before you in the presence of your enemies, and cause your cup to run over with blessings. When you pass throughthe waters of affliction He will be with you, and through the riversthey shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shallnot be burned; neither shall the flame kindle on you. From theirnative heavens He will commission those charming twin sisters, goodness and mercy, to descend and "follow you all your days. "

But if you wish God to be your guide and your friend, you must conformto his pleasure. Certainly you can not wonder that the infinitely Wiseshould prefer His own wisdom to yours, and that he should choose forHis children their allotments, rather than leave them to choose forthemselves. That part of His pleasure, which you are to obey, is allsummed up in the single word duty, and it is perfectly disclosed inthe Scriptures. The whole scheme is so formed as to be plain, easy, profitable, and delightful; profitable in hand, delightful in thepossession. Every part and precept of the whole is calculated for thisend, and will make you only wise, good, and happy. 

Life has been often styled an ocean, and our progress through it avoyage. The ocean is tempestuous and billowy, overspread by a cloudysky, and fraught beneath with shelves and quicksands. The voyageis eventful beyond comprehension, and at the same time full ofuncertainty, and replete with danger. Every adventurer needs to bewell prepared for whatever may befall him, and well secured againstthe manifold hazards of losing his course, sinking in the abyss, or ofbeing wrecked against the shore. 

These evils have all existed at all times. The present, and thatpart of the past which is known to you by experience, has seen themmultiplied beyond example. It has seen the ancient and acknowledgedstandards of thinking violently thrown down. Religion, morals, government, and the estimate formed by man of crimes and virtues, andof all the means of usefulness and enjoyment, have been questioned, attacked, and in various places, and with respect to millions ofthe human race, finally overthrown. A licentiousness of opinion andconduct, daring, outrageous, and rending asunder every bond formed byGod or man, has taken place of former good sense and sound morals, andhas long threatened the destruction of human good. Industry, cunning, and fraud have toiled with unrivaled exertions to convert man intoa savage and the world into a desert. A wretched and hypocriticalphilanthropy, also, not less mischievous, has stalked forth as thecompanion of these ravages: a philanthropy born in a dream, bred in ahovel, and living only in professions. This guardian genius of humaninterests, this friend of human rights, this redresser of humanwrongs, is yet without a heart to feel, and without a hand to bless. But she is well furnished with lungs, with eyes, and a tongue. She cantalk, and sigh, and weep at pleasure, but can neither pity nor give. The objects of her attachment are either knaves and villains at home, or unknown sufferers beyond her reach abroad. To the former, sheministers the sword and the dagger, that they may fight their way intoplace, and power, and profit. At the latter she only looks through atelescope of fancy, as an astronomer searches for stars invisibleto the eye. To every real object of charity within her reach shecomplacently says, "Be thou warmed, and be thou filled; depart inpeace. "

By the daring spirit, the vigorous efforts, and the ingenious cunningso industriously exerted on the one hand, and the smooth and gentlebenevolence so softly profest on the other, multitudes have been, and you easily may be, destroyed. The mischief has indeed been met, resisted, and overcome; but it has the heads and the lives of thehydra, and its wounds, which at times have seemed deadly, are muchmore readily healed than any good man could wish, than any sober mancould expect. Hope not to escape the assaults of this enemy: To feelthat you are in danger will ever be a preparation for your safety. Butit will be only such a preparation; your deliverance must ultimatelyand only flow from your Maker. Resolve, then, to commit yourselvesto Him with a cordial reliance on His wisdom, power, and protection. Consider how much you have at stake, that you are bound to eternity, that your existence will be immortal, and that you will either rise toendless glory or be lost in absolute perdition. Heaven is your properhome. The path, which I have recommended to you, will conduct yousafely and certainly to that happy world. Fill up life, therefore, with obedience to God, with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, andrepentance unto life, the obedience to the two great commands of thegospel, with supreme love to God and universal good-will to men, theobedience to the two great commands of the law. On all your sincereendeavors to honor Him, and befriend your fellow men, He will smile;every virtuous attempt He will bless; every act of obedience He willreward. Life in this manner will be pleasant amid all its sorrows; andbeams of hope will continually shine through the gloom, by which itis so often overcast. Virtue, the seed that can not die, planted fromheaven, and cultivated by the divine hand, will grow up in your heartswith increasing vigor, and blossom in your lives with supernal beauty. Your path will be that of the just, and will gloriously resemble thedawning light, "which shines brighter and brighter, to the perfectday. " Peace will take you by the hand, and offer herself as theconstant and delightful companion of your progress. Hope will walkbefore you, and with an unerring finger point out your course; andjoy, at the end of the journey, will open her arms to receive you. Youwill wait on the Lord, and renew your strength; will mount up withwings as eagles; will run, and not be weary; will walk, and not faint. 

ROBERT HALL

MARKS OF LOVE TO GOD

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Robert Hall, Baptist divine, was born at Arnesby, near Leicester, England, in 1764. Destined for the ministry, he was educated at theBaptist Academy at Bristol, and preached for the first time in1779. In 1783 he began his ministry in Bristol and drew crowdedcongregations of all classes. The tradition of Hall's pupit oratoryhas secured his lasting fame. Many minds of a high order werefascinated by his eloquence, and his conversation was brilliant. His treatment of religious topics had the rare merit of commendingevangelical doctrine to people of taste. Dugald Stewart declares thathis writings and public utterances exhibited the English language inits perfection. He died in 1831. 

ROBERT HALL

1764--1831

MARKS OF LOVE TO GOD

_But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. _--John v. , 42. 

The persons whom our Lord addrest in these words made a highprofession of religion, valued themselves upon their peculiaropportunities of knowing the true God and His will, and proclaimedthemselves as the Israel and the temple of the Lord, while theydespised the surrounding pagans as those who were strangers to thedivine law. Yet the self-complacent Pharisees of our Savior's age wereas far from the love of God, he assures them in the text, as any ofthose who had never heard of His name. In this respect, many of "thefirst were last, and the last first. " The rejection of the gospelevinces a hardness of heart which is decisive against the character;and, in the case of the Pharisees, it gave ample evidence that theypossest no love of God. Had they really known God, as our Lord argues, they would have known Himself to be sent by God: whereas, in provingthe bitter enemies of Christ, they proved that they were in a state ofenmity against God. By parity of reason, we, my brethren, who know Godand His Word in the way of Christian profession, ought not to take itfor granted that we possess the love of God, and are in the way ofeternal life: the same self-delusion may overtake us also; and similaradmonitions may be no less necessary to many present, than to thePharisees of old. Suffer then, my brethren, the word of exhortation, while I invite each individual seriously to consider this subject, with a view to the discovery of his real character. 

In proceeding to lay down certain marks of grace, let it be premised, that either these marks partake of the nature of true religion, orthey do not. If they do, they must be identified with it, and here themark is the thing: if they do not partake of its nature, some ofthem may exist as indications where genuine religion is not. It isnecessary, then, that we combine a variety of particular signs ofgrace: any one taken by itself, may, or may not, exist, without truereligion; but where many are combined, no just doubt can remain. 

Whether you have the love of God in your soul presents a mostcritical subject of inquiry; since the love of God will beacknowledged by all to be the great, the essential, principle oftrue religion. The simple question, then, to which I would call yourattention, is this: "Am I, or am I not, a sincere lover of the Authorof my being?"

In endeavoring to assist you in the decision of this momentousquestion, as it respects yourselves. I shall entreat your attentionwhile I suggest a variety of marks which indicate love to God; andsupposing the conviction produced by the statement to be, that youhave not the love of God, I shall point out the proper improvement ofsuch a conviction. 

In suggesting various marks by which you may ascertain whether youlove God or not, I would mention the general bent and turn of yourthoughts, when not under the immediate control of circumstances; forthese, you are aware, give a new and peculiar bias to our thoughts, and stamp them with an impress of their own. There is an infinitevariety of thoughts continually passing through the mind of everyindividual: of these, some are thrown up by occasions; but others, andoften the greater part, follow the habitual train of our associations. It is not to thoughts of the former kind that I refer; it is to thoseof the latter class--those involuntary thoughts which spring up ofthemselves in the mind of every person: it is these, not the former, that afford clear indication of the general temper and disposition. The question I would propose to you is, What is the bent of yourthoughts when, disengaged from the influence of any particularoccurrence, you are left to yourselves, in the intervals of retirementand tranquillity, in the silence of the midnight watches, and, inshort, whenever your mind is left free to its own spontaneous musings?Are the thoughts most familiar to your mind, at such times, thoughtsof God and the things of God--or are they thoughts that turn upon thepresent world and its transient concerns? Are they confined, for themost part, within the narrow circle of time and sense; or do they makefrequent and large excursions into the spiritual and eternal world?The answer to this question will go far to decide whether you have, orhave not, the love of God. It is impossible that such an object as thedivine Being should be absent long from your thoughts; impossiblethat His remembrance should long remain merged in the stream of otherimaginations; unless you are supposed chargeable with a decidedindifference to divine things! Unless you are destitute of love to Godyou can never be so utterly uncongenial in sentiment and feeling withthe psalmist, when he says, "My mouth shall praise thee with joyfullips, while I meditate upon thee in the night watches. " "How preciousare thy thoughts unto me, O God!" When that man of God gazed upon thestarry heavens, his mind was not merely wrought into astonishment atthe physical energy there displayed; he was still more deeply lost ingrateful admiration of the mercy of Providence as manifested to man--asinful child of dust, and yet visited by God in the midst of somagnificent a universe! But when day passes after day, and night afternight, without any serious thoughts of God, it is plain that He is notthe home of your mind, not your portion, center, and resting-place:and if this is the case, it is equally plain that you are not in astate of acceptance with Him; since nothing can be more certain thanthat, as our thoughts are, such must be our character. I do not askwhat are your thoughts at particular times, or under the influenceof some particular event: there may be little difference, on someoccasions, between those who remember, and those who neglect, Godhabitually. The charge against the ungodly is, that "God is not in alltheir thoughts. " If there are any here who feel this charge as bearingagainst themselves, let them take that solemn warning given by Godhimself at the close of the fiftieth psalm, "Oh, consider this, yethat forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none todeliver you!"

Let me request you to consider seriously how you stand disposed to theexercises of religion. If God is the object of your love, you willgladly avail yourselves of the most favorable opportunities ofcultivating a closer friendship with the Father of your spirits: onthe contrary, he who feels no regard for these opportunities, provesthat he has no love to God, and will never be able to establish theconviction that God is his friend. Wherever there exists a sincerefriendship, opportunities of cultivating it are gladly embraced, andthe opposite privations are regretted. Where a habitual neglect ofsacred exercises prevails it must be interpreted as if it said, likethose whom the prophet describes, "Cause the Holy One of Israel tocease from amongst us. Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledgeof thy way!" If your closets seldom witness your private devotions, if your moments in retirement are languid and uninteresting--yourreligion can have no hold on your heart; and the reason why yourreligion has no hold on your heart is because you have no love of God. There are some whose religion sits easy and delightful upon them; itsacts and functions are free and lively: there are others who seem tobear their religion as a burden, to drag their duties as a chain--asno vital part of themselves, but rather a cumbrous appendage: this isa decisive and melancholy symptom of a heart alienated from God. Thereis no genuine religion, no real contact of the heart with the best ofbeings, unless it makes us continually resort to Him as our chief joy. The psalmist is always expressing his fervent desires after God: afterthe light of the divine countenance, and the sense of the divinefavor: but do you suppose such desires peculiar to the state ofbelievers under the Old Testament? No, my brethren; there exist moreabundant reasons than ever, since the gospel of Christ has beendisplayed in all the glorious fulness of its blessings, why our soulsshould be inflamed with such feelings as those which inspiredthe psalmist, when he exclaimed, "As the hart panteth for thewater-brooks, so longeth my soul after thee, O God!"

If you would ascertain whether you love God, consider how you standaffected toward the Word of God. We can entertain no just thoughts ofGod, but such as we derive from His own Word: we can acquire no trueknowledge of God, nor cherish any suitable affections toward Him, unless they are such as His own revelation authorizes. Otherwise wemust suppose that revelation insufficient for its specific purposes, and set the means against the end. All, therefore, who sincerely loveGod, are students of His Word; they here, also accord in soul with thepsalmist, and like him, can say, "O how I love thy word! in it is mymeditation all the day:" they eat it as food for their souls, and findit sweeter than honey. They go to it as to an inexhaustible fountain, and drink from it streams of sacred light and joy. A neglected Bibleis too unambiguous a sign of an unsanctified heart; since that blestbook can not fail to attract every one that loves its divine Author. How is it possible to delight in God, and yet neglect that Word whichalone reveals Him in His true and glorious character--alone discoversthe way by which He comes into unison with us, and condescends topardon us, to love us, and to guide us through all this mysteriousstate of being? It is observable that the only persons who areinattentive to their own sacred books are to be found amongChristians. Mohammedans commit large portions of the Koran to memory;the Jews regard the Old Testament with reverence; the Hindu Brahmansare enthusiastically attached to their Shastra; while Christians aloneneglect their Bible. And the reason is, that the Scriptures are somuch more spiritual than the religious books received by others; theyafford so little scope for mere amusement or self-complacency; theyplace the reader alone with God; they withdraw him from the thingsthat are seen and temporal, and fix him among the things that areunseen and eternal; they disclose to his view at once the secret evilsof his own condition, and the awful purity of that Being with whom hehas to do. No wonder the ungodly man hates their light, neither comesto their light, but retires from it farther and farther into theshades of guilty ignorance. How melancholy the infatuation of such acharacter!

Estimate your character in respect to your love of God, by reflecting, with what sentiments you regard the people of God. God has a peoplepeculiarly His own: they are not of that world to which they outwardlybelong--not conformed to it in the spirit of their mind; they standapart, many of them at least, in conspicuous conformity to JesusChrist, and in earnest expectation of the glory which He had promised. How, then, do you regard these decided followers of God? Do you shuntheir society with aversion and secret shame; or do you enjoytheir communion as one of the most delightful among your Christianprivileges? Are you content merely to be the companion of those who"have a name to live, but are dead": or can you say with the psalmist, "My delight is in the excellent of the earth"? or, with the beloveddisciple, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, becausewe love the brethren"? for, as he adds, "He that loveth him thatbegot, loveth him that is begotten"; if you do not love the imagewhich you have seen, how can you love the unseen original? If thefeatures of holiness and grace in the creature are not attractive toyour view, how can your affections rise to the perfect essence? Howcan you ascend to the very sun itself, when you can not enjoy even thefaint reflection of its glory? He who knew the heart, could alone sayto those around Him, "I know you, that ye have not the love of Godin you": but tho none can address you now in the same tone of divineauthority, yet we may hear it uttered by a voice--the voice of yourown conscience: you may know, without any perturbations of hope orfear, by the spiritual insensibility and inaction of your soul--bythis you may know, with equal certainty as by a voice from heaven, that you have not the love of God in you. 

Consider the disposition you entertain toward the person and office ofthe Son of God. "If ye had loved the Father, ye would have loved mealso, " was the constant argument of Jesus Christ to those Phariseeswhom He addresses in the text For Jesus Christ is the express image ofGod: the effulgence of the divine character is attempered in Him, tosuit the views of sinful humanity. In the life of Jesus Christ we seehow the divine Being conducts Himself in human form and in our owncircumstances: we behold how He bears all the sorrows, and passesthrough all the temptations, of flesh and blood. Such, indeed, is theidentity, so perfect the oneness of character, between the man ChristJesus and the divine Being--that our Savior expressly assures us, "Hethat hath seen me, hath seen the Father; I and my Father are one. " Thepurpose for which God was manifested in the flesh was not to revealhigh speculations concerning the nature of the Deity: it was to bearour sorrows, and to die for our sins. But can you contemplate Him, thus stooping to your condition, thus mingling with every interest ofyour own, and not be moved by such a spectacle?--not be attracted, fixt, filled with grateful astonishment and devotion--crucified, asit were, on the cross of Christ, to the flesh, and to the world? Whatmark, then, of our possessing no love of God can equal this, that weare without love to Jesus Christ?--that neither the visibility of Hisdivine excellence, nor His participation of all our human sufferings, can reach our hearts and command our affections?

In examining whether you love God, examine how you are affected by Hisbenefits. These are so numerous and so distinguished that theyought to excite our most ardent gratitude: night and day they areexperienced by us; they pervade every moment of our being. We knowthat favors from an enemy derive a taint from the hands through whichthey are received, and excite alienation rather than attachment: butthe kindness of a friend, by constantly reminding us of himself, endears that friend more and more to our hearts; and thus, he that hasno love to God receives all His favors without the least attractiontoward their Author, whom he regards rather as an enemy than as afriend. But the Christian feels his love of God excited by every freshgoodness. The mercies of God have accompanied you through everystage of your journey; and they are exhibited to you in His word asstretching through a vast eternity. Are these the only benefits youcan receive without gratitude, and suffer to pass unregarded How, then, can any love of God dwell in your bosom?

Consider, in the next place, in what manner you are imprest bythe sense of your sins. The question is not whether you have anysins, --none can admit a doubt on this point; the only inquiry is, howyou are affected by those sins? Are they remembered by you with asentiment of tender regret, of deep confusion and humiliation, thatyou should ever have so requited such infinite goodness? And is thissentiment combined with a sacred resolution to go and sin no more, --todevote yourself to the service of your divine Benefactor? If youcan live without an habitual sense of penitential tenderness andreverential fear, be assured you can not love God; you have noexperience of those Scripture declarations: "They shall fear the Lordand his goodness in the latter days;" "There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayst be feared;" you know not that "the goodness of Godleadeth to repentence. " If the mind is softened by the love of God, all His favors serve to inflame its gratitude, and confirm itsdevotion to His will: but he who has no love of God in his soul, thinks of nothing but how he may escape from God's hand, and selfishlydevours all His favors, without an emotion of gratitude to the Giver. 

Finally, let me remind you to consider how you are affected to thepresent world. If you could only be exempt from its afflictions, wouldyou wish it to be your lasting home? If you could surround yourselfwith all its advantages and enjoyments, would you be content to dwellin it forever? Yet you know that it is a place of separation and exilefrom the divine majesty; that it is a scene of darkness, in comparisonwith heaven, very faintly illuminated with the beams of His distantglory; that its inhabitant is constrained to say, "I have heardof thee by the hearing of the ear, but mine eye hath not yet seenthee";--while heaven is the proper dwelling-place of God and Hispeople! Could you then consent to remain here always, without everseeing as you are seen--seeing light in His light--without everbeholding His glory; without ever drinking at the fountain, and basking in that presence which is fulness of joy, andlife forevermore? always to remain immersed in the shadows oftime--entombed in its corruptible possessions? never to ascend up onhigh to God and Christ and the glories of the eternal world? If suchis the state of your spirit, you want the essential principle of aChristian--you want the love of God. The genuine Christian, the loverof God, is certain to feel himself a "stranger on the earth. " Nosplendor, no emolument of this world, --not all the fascinations ofsensual pleasure, --can detain his heart below the skies, or keep himfrom sympathizing with the sentiment of the psalmist: "As for me, Ishall behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when Iwake in thy likeness. " I do not ask whether you have, at present, "adesire to depart": perhaps you may not be as yet sufficiently preparedand established to entertain so exalted a desire; but still, if youhave received a new heart, you will deprecate nothing so much ashaving your portion in this life, --as having your eternal abode onearth. It is the character of faith to dwell much in eternity: theapostle says, in the name of all real believers, "We look not at thethings that are seen, but the things that are not seen; for the thingsthat are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen areeternal. "

And now, my brethren, supposing the preceding remarks to have producedin any of you the conviction that you have not the love of God in you, permit me very briefly to point out the proper improvement of such aconviction. 

First, it should be accompanied with deep humiliation. If you laboredunder the privation of some bodily organ, requisite to the dischargeof an animal function, you would feel it as in some degree ahumiliating circumstance; but what would be any defect of this kind, however serious, in comparison with that great want under which youlabor--the want of piety, the calamity of a soul estranged from thelove of God! What are the other subjects of humiliation compared withthis--a moral fall, a spiritual death in sin: and this, unless it beremoved, the sure precursor of the second death--eternal ruin! "Thisis a lamentation indeed, and it shall be for a lamentation. "

Suppose the children of a family, reared and provided for by the mostaffectionate of parents, to rise up in rebellion against their father, and cast off all the feelings of filial tenderness and respect; wouldany qualities those children might possess, any appearance ofvirtue they might exhibit in other respects, compensate for suchan unnatural, such an awful deformity of character? Transfer thisrepresentation to your conduct in relation to God: "If I, " says He, "am a father, where is my fear? if I am a master, where is my honor?""Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! I have nourished and broughtup children, and they have rebelled against me: the ox knoweth hisowner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, mypeople doth not consider. "

And let your humiliation be accompanied with concern and alarm. To bealienated from the great Origin of being; to be severed, or to severyourself from the essential Author and element of all felicity, mustbe a calmity which none can understand, an infinite wo which none canmeasure or conceive. If the stream is cut off from the fountain, itsoon ceases to flow, and its waters are dissipated in the air: andif the soul is cut off from God, it dies! Its vital contact withGod, --its spiritual union with the Father of spirits through the blestMediator, is the only life and beauty of the immortal soul. All, without this, are dead--"dead in trespasses and sins"! A livingdeath--a state of restless wanderings, and unsatisfied desires! Whata condition theirs! And, oh! what a prospect for such, when they lookbeyond this world! who will give them a welcome when they enter aneternal state? What reception will they meet with, and where? Whatconsolation amid their losses and their sufferings, but that of thefellow-sufferers plunged in the same abyss of ruin? Impenitent sinnersare allied to evil spirits, they have an affinity with the kingdomof darkness; and when they die, they are emphatically said to "go totheir own place"!

This is an awful state for any to be in at present; but, blest be God, it is not yet a hopeless situation. Let no person say, "I find by whatI have heard, that I do not love God, and therefore I can entertainno hope. " There is a way of return and recovery open to all. JesusChrist, my dear brethren, proclaims to you all, "I am the way. No mancan come to the Father but by me":--but every one that will may comeby this new and living way; and, if you lose life eternal, you loseit because--according to his words just before the text--because "youwill not come to Christ that you may have life. " If you feel themisery, deformity, and danger of your state, then listen to Hisinvitation, and embrace His promise. See the whole weight of yourguilt transferred to His cross! See how God can be at once the justand the justifier! Take of the blood of sprinkling, and be at peace!His blood cleanseth from all sin: He will send that Spirit into yourheart which will manifest Him to you; and where that Spirit is, thereis liberty and holy love. He is the mystical ladder, let down fromheaven to earth, on which angels are continually ascending anddescending, in token of an alliance established between God and man. United by faith to Jesus Christ, you shall become a habitation of Godthrough the Spirit; the Father will make you a partaker of His love, the Son of His grace, angels of their friendship; and you shall bepreserved, and progressively sanctified, until, by the last change, all remains of the great epidemic source of evils shall be foreverremoved from your soul; and the love of God shall constitute youreternal felicity. 

EVANS

THE FALL AND RECOVERY OF MAN

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Christmas Evans, a Welsh Baptist preacher, was born at Isgaerwen, Cardiganshire, South Wales, in 1766. Brought up as a Presbyterian, he turned Baptist in 1788, and was ordained the following year andministered among the Baptists in Carmaerthenshire. In 1792 he became asort of bishop to those of his denomination in Anglesey, where he tookup his residence. After a somewhat stormy experience with those heundertook to rule, he removed to Carmaerthen in 1832. He distinguishedhimself by his debt-raising tours, in which his eloquence broughthim much success. It is said that once when he was preaching on thesubject of the prodigal son, he pointed to a distant mountain as hedescribed the father seeing him while yet a great way off, whereuponthousands in his congregation turned their heads in evidentexpectation of seeing the son actually coming down the hills. He diedin 1838. 

EVANS

1766--1838

THE FALL AND RECOVERY OF MAN

_For if, through the offense of one, many be dead, much more the graceof God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hathabounded unto many. _--Romans v. , 15. 

Man was created in the image of God. Knowledge and perfect holinesswere imprest upon the very nature and faculties of his soul. He hadconstant access to his Maker, and enjoyed free communion with Him, onthe ground of his spotless moral rectitude. But, alas! the gloriousdiadem is broken; the crown of righteousness is fallen. Man's purityis gone, and his happiness is forfeited. "There is none righteous; no, not one. " "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. " Butthe ruin is not hopeless. What was lost in Adam is restored in Christ. His blood redeems us from the bondage, and His gospel gives us backthe forfeited inheritance. "For if, through the offense of one, manybe dead; much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which isby one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. " Let us consider, first, the corruption and condemnation of man; and secondly, hisgracious restoration to the favor of his offended God. 

I. To find the cause of man's corruption and condemnation, we must goback to Eden. The eating of the "forbidden tree" was "the offense ofone, " in consequence of which "many are dead. " This was the "sin, " theact of "disobedience, " which "brought death into the world, and allour wo. " It was the greatest ingratitude to the divine bounty, and theboldest rebellion against the divine sovereignty. The royalty of Godwas contemned; the riches of His goodness slighted; and His mostdesperate enemy preferred before Him, as if he were a wiser counsellorthan infinite wisdom. Thus man joined in league with hell againstheaven; with demons of the bottomless pit against the almighty makerand benefactor; robbing God of the obedience due to His command andthe glory due to His name; worshiping the creature instead of thecreator; and opening the door to pride, unbelief, enmity, and all thewicked and abominable passions. How is the "noble vine, " which wasplanted "wholly a right seed, " "turned into the degenerate plant of astrange vine"!

Who can look for pure water from such a fountain? "That which is bornof the flesh is flesh. " All the faculties of the soul are corrupted bysin; the understanding dark; the will perverse; the affections carnal;the conscience full of shame, remorse, confusion, and mortal fear. Manis a hard-hearted and stiff-necked sinner; loving darkness rather thanlight, because his deeds are evil; eating sin like bread, and drinkinginiquity like water; holding fast deceit, and refusing to let it go. His heart is desperately wicked; full of pride, vanity, hypocrisy, covetousness, hatred of truth, and hostility to all that is good. 

This depravity is universal. Among the natural children of Adam, thereis no exemption from the original taint. "The whole world liethin wickedness. " "We are all as an unclean thing, and all ourrighteousness is as filthy rags. " The corruption may vary in thedegrees of development, in different persons; but the elements are inall, and their nature is everywhere the same; the same in the bloomingyouth, and the withered sire; in the haughty prince, and the humblepeasant; in the strongest giant, and the feeblest invalid. The enemyhas "come in like a flood. " The deluge of sin has swept the world. From the highest to the lowest, there is no health or moral soundness. From the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, there is nothingbut wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores. The laws, and theirviolation, and the punishments everywhere invented for the suppressionof vice, prove the universality of the evil. The bloody sacrifices, and various purifications, of the pagans, show the handwriting ofremorse upon their consciences; proclaim their sense of guilt, andtheir dread of punishment. None of them are free from the fear whichhath torment, whatever their efforts to overcome it, and however greattheir boldness in the service of sin and Satan. "Menel Tekel!" iswritten on every human heart. "Wanting! wanting!" is inscribed onheathen fanes and altars; on the laws, customs, and institutions ofevery nation; and on the universal consciousness of mankind. 

This inward corruption manifests itself in outward actions. "The treeis known by its fruit. " As the smoke and sparks of the chimney showthat there is fire within; so all the "filthy conversation" of men, and all "the unfruitful works of darkness" in which they delight, evidently indicate the pollution of the source whence they proceed. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. " The sinner'sspeech betrayeth him. "Evil speaking" proceeds from malice and envy. "Foolish talking and jesting" are evidence of impure and triflingthoughts. The mouth full of cursing and bitterness, the throat an opensepulcher, the poison of asps under the tongue, the feet swift to shedblood, destruction and misery in their paths, and the way of peaceunknown to them, are the clearest and amplest demonstration that men"have gone out of the way, " "have together become unprofitable. " Wesee the bitter fruit of the same corruption in robbery, adultery, gluttony, drunkenness, extortion, intolerance, persecution, apostasy, and every evil work--in all false religions; the Jew, obstinatelyadhering to the carnal ceremonies of an abrogated law; the Mohammedan, honoring an impostor, and receiving a lie for a revelation from God;the papist, worshiping images and relics, praying to departed saints, seeking absolution from sinful men, and trusting in the most absurdmummeries for salvation; the pagan, attributing divinity to the worksof his own hands, adoring idols of wood and stone, sacrificing tomalignant demons, casting his children into the fire or the floodas an offering to imaginary deities, and changing the glory of theincorruptible God into the likeness of the beast and the worm. 

"For these things' sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children ofdisobedience. " They are under the sentence of the broken law; themalediction of eternal justice. "By the offense of one, judgment cameupon all men unto condemnation. " "He that believeth not is condemnedalready. " "The wrath of God abideth on him. " "Curst is every one thatcontinueth not in all things written in the book of the law, to dothem. " "Wo unto the wicked; it shall be ill with him, for the rewardof his hands shall be given him. " "They that plow iniquity, and sowwickedness, shall reap the same. " "Upon the wicked the Lord shall rainfire, and snares, and a horrible tempest; this shall be the portion oftheir cup. " "God is angry with the wicked every day; if he turn not hewill whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. "

Who shall describe the misery of fallen man! His days, tho few, arefull of evil. Trouble and sorrow press him forward to the tomb. Allthe world, except Noah and his family, are drowning in the deluge. A storm of fire and brimstone is fallen from heaven upon Sodom andGomorrah. The earth is opening her mouth to swallow up alive Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Wrath is coming upon "the beloved city, " even"wrath unto the uttermost. " The tender and delicate mother isdevouring her darling infant. The sword of men is executing thevengeance of God. The earth is emptying its inhabitants into thebottomless pit. On every hand are "confused noises, and garmentsrolled in blood. " Fire and sword fill the land with consternation anddismay. Amid the universal devastation wild shrieks and despairinggroans fill the air. God of mercy! is Thy ear heavy, that Thou canstnot hear? or Thy arm shortened, that Thou canst not save? The heavensabove are brass, and the earth beneath is iron; for Jehovah is pouringHis indignation upon His adversaries, and He will not pity or spare. 

Verily, "the misery of man is great upon him"! Behold the wretchedfallen creature! The pestilence pursues him. The leprosy cleaves tohim. Consumption is wasting him. Inflammation is devouring his vitals. Burning fever has seized upon the very springs of life. The destroyingangel has overtaken the sinner in his sins. The hand of God is uponhim. The fires of wrath are kindling about him, drying up every wellof comfort, and scorching all his hopes to ashes. Conscience ischastizing him with scorpions. See how he writhes! Hear how he shrieksfor help! Mark what agony and terror are in his soul, and on his brow!Death stares him in the face, and shakes at him his iron spear. Hetrembles, he turns pale, as a culprit at the bar, as a convict onthe scaffold. He is condemned already. Conscience has pronounced thesentence. Anguish has taken hold upon him. Terrors gather in battlearray about him. He looks back, and the storms of Sinai pursue him;forward, and hell is moved to meet him; above, and the heavens are onfire; beneath, and the world is burning. He listens, and the judgmenttrump is calling; again, and the brazen chariots of vengeance arethundering from afar; yet again, the sentence penetrates his soulwith anguish unspeakable--"Depart! ye accurst! into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!"

Thus, "by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; andso death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. " They are"dead in trespasses and sins, " spiritually dead, and legally dead;dead by the mortal power of sin, and dead by the condemnatory sentenceof the law; and helpless as sheep to the slaughter, they are drivenfiercely on by the ministers of wrath to the all-devouring grave andthe lake of fire!

But is there no mercy? Is there no means of salvation? Hark! amid allthis prelude of wrath and ruin, comes a still small voice, saying:"Much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by oneman, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. "

II. This brings us to our second topic, man's gracious recovery to thefavor of his offended God. 

I know not how to present to you this glorious work, better than bythe following figure. Suppose a vast graveyard, surrounded by a loftywall, with only one entrance, which is by a massive iron gate, andthat is fast bolted. Within are thousands and millions of humanbeings, of all ages and classes, by one epidemic disease bending tothe grave. The graves yawn to swallow them, and they must all perish. There is no balm to relieve, no physician there. Such is the conditionof man as a sinner. All have sinned; and it is written, "The soul thatsinneth shall die. " But while the unhappy race lay in that dismalprison, Mercy came and stood at the gate, and wept over the melancholyscene, exclaiming--"Oh, that I might enter! I would bind up theirwounds; I would relieve their sorrows; I would save their souls!" Anembassy of angels, commissioned from the court of heaven to some otherworld, paused at the sight, and heaven forgave that pause. SeeingMercy standing there, they cried:--"Mercy! canst thou not enter? Canstthou look upon that scene and not pity? Canst thou pity, and notrelieve?" Mercy replied: "I can see!" and in her tears she added, "Ican pity, but I can not relieve!" "Why canst thou not enter?" inquiredthe heavenly host. "Oh!" said Mercy, "Justice has barred the gateagainst me, and I must not--can not unbar it!" At this moment, Justiceappeared, as if to watch the gate. The angels asked, "Why wilt thounot suffer Mercy to enter?" He sternly replied: "The law is broken, and it must be honored! Die they, or Justice must!" Then appeareda form among the angelic band like unto the Son of God. AddressingHimself to Justice, He said: "What are thy demands?" Justice replied:"My demands are rigid; I must have ignominy for their honor, sicknessfor their health, death for their life. Without the shedding of bloodthere is no remission!" "Justice, " said the Son of God, "I accept thyterms! On me be this wrong! Let Mercy enter, and stay the carnivalof death!" "What pledge dost thou give for the performance of theseconditions?" "My word; my oath!" "When wilt thou perform them?" "Fourthousand years hence, on the hill of Calvary, without the walls ofJerusalem. " The bond was prepared, and signed and sealed in thepresence of attendant angels. Justice was satisfied, the gate wasopened, and Mercy entered, preaching salvation in the name of Jesus. The bond was committed to patriarchs and prophets. A long series ofrites and ceremonies, sacrifices and obligations, was instituted toperpetuate the memory of that solemn deed. At the close of the fourthousandth year, when Daniel's "seventy weeks" were accomplished, Justice and Mercy appeared on the hill of Calvary. "Where, " andJustice, "is the Son of God?" "Behold him, " answered Mercy, "at thefoot of the hill!" And there He came, bearing His own cross, andfollowed by His weeping church. Mercy retired, and stood aloof fromthe scene. Jesus ascended the hill like a lamb for the sacrifice. Justice presented the dreadful bond, saying, "This is the day on whichthis article must be canceled. " The Redeemer took it. What did He dowith it? Tear it to pieces, and scatter it to the winds? No! He nailedit to His cross, crying, "It is finished!" The victim ascended thealtar. Justice called on Holy Fire to come down and consume thesacrifice. Holy Fire replied: "I come! I will consume the sacrifice, and then I will burn up the world!" It fell upon the Son of God, andrapidly consumed His humanity; but when it touched His deity, it expired. Then was there darkness over the whole land, and anearthquake shook the mountain; but the heavenly host broke forth inrapturous song--"Glory to God in the highest! on earth peace! goodwill to man!"

Thus grace has abounded, and the free gift has come upon all, and thegospel has gone forth proclaiming redemption to every creature. "Bygrace ye are saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it isthe gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. " By grace yeare loved, redeemed, and justified. By grace ye are called, converted, reconciled and sanctified. Salvation is wholly of grace. The plan, theprocess, the consummation are all of grace. 

"Where sin abounded, grace hath much more abounded. " "Through theoffense of one, many were dead. " And as men multiplied, the offenseabounded. The waters deluged the world, but could not wash away thedreadful stain. The fire fell from heaven, but could not burn out theaccurst plague. The earth opened her mouth, but could not swallow upthe monster sin. The law thundered forth its threat from the thickdarkness on Sinai, but could not restrain, by all its, terrors, thechildren of disobedience. Still the offense abounded, and multipliedas the sands on the seashore. It waxed bold, and pitched its tents onCalvary, and nailed the Lawgiver to a tree. But in that conflict sinreceived its mortal wound. The victim was the victor. He fell, but inHis fall He crusht the foe. He died unto sin, but sin and death werecrucified upon His cross. Where sin abounded to condemn, grace hathmuch more abounded to justify. Where sin abounded to corrupt, gracehath much more abounded to purify. Where sin abounded to harden, gracehath much more abounded to soften and subdue. Where sin abounded toimprison men, grace hath much more abounded to proclaim liberty tothe captives. Where sin abounded to break the law and dishonor theLawgiver, grace hath much more abounded to repair the breach andefface the stain. Where sin abounded to consume the soul as withunquenchable fire and a gnawing worm, grace hath much more abounded toextinguish the flame and heal the wound. Grace hath abounded! It hathestablished its throne on the merit of the Redeemer's sufferings. It hath put on the crown, and laid hold of the golden scepter, andspoiled the dominion of the prince of darkness, and the gates of thegreat cemetery are thrown open, and there is the beating of a newlife-pulse throughout its wretched population and immortality iswalking among the tombs!

This abounding grace is manifested in the gift of Jesus Christ, bywhose mediation our reconciliation and salvation are effected. WithHim, believers are dead unto sin, and alive unto God. Our sins wereslain at His cross, and buried in His tomb. His resurrection hathopened our graves, and given us an assurance of immortality. "Godcommendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; much more, then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through him; for if, when we wereenemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. "

"The carnal mind is enmity against God; it is not subject to the lawof God, neither indeed can be. " Glory to God, for the death of HisSon, by which this enmity is slain, and reconciliation is effectedbetween the rebel and the law! This was the unspeakable gift thatsaved us from ruin; that wrestled with the storm, and turned itaway from the devoted head of the sinner. Had all the angels of Godattempted to stand between these two conflicting seas, they would havebeen swept to the gulf of destruction. "The blood of bulls and goats, on Jewish altars slain, " could not take away sin, could not pacify theconscience. But Christ, the gift of divine grace, "Paschal Lamb by Godappointed, " a "sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood than they, "bore our sins and carried our sorrows, and obtained for us the boonof eternal redemption. He met the fury of the tempest, and the floodswent over His head; but His offering was an offering of peace, calmingthe storms and the waves, magnifying the law, glorifying its Author, and rescuing its violator from the wrath and ruin. Justice hath laiddown his sword at the foot of the cross, and amity is restored betweenheaven and earth. 

Hither, O ye guilty! come and cast away your weapons of rebellion!Come with your bad principles and wicked actions; your unbelief, andenmity, and pride; and throw them off at the Redeemer's feet! God ishere waiting to be gracious. He will receive you; He will east allyour sins behind His back, into the depths of the sea; and they shallbe remembered against you no more forever. By Heaven's "unspeakablegift, " by Christ's invaluable atonement, by the free, infinite graceof the Father and Son, we persuade you, we beseech you, we entreatyou, "be ye reconciled to God"!

It is by the work of the Holy Spirit with us that we obtain a personalinterest in the work wrought on Calvary for us. If our sins arecanceled, they are also crucified. If we are reconciled in Christ, wefight against our God no more. This is the fruit of faith. "With theheart man believeth unto righteousness. " May the Lord inspire in everyone of us that saving principle!

But those who have been restored to the divine favor may sometimes becast down and dejected. They have passed through the sea, and sungpraises on the shore of deliverance; but there is yet between themand Canaan "a waste howling wilderness, " a long and weary pilgrimage, hostile nations, fiery serpents, scarcity of food, and the river ofJordan. Fears within and fightings without, they may grow discouraged, and yield to temptation and murmur against God, and desire to returnto Egypt. But fear not, thou worm Jacob! Reconciled by the death ofChrist; much more, being reconciled, thou shalt be saved by His life. His death was the price of our redemption; His life insures liberty tothe believer. If by His death He brought you through the Red Sea inthe night, by His life He can lead you through the river Jordan in theday. If by His death He delivered you from the iron furnace in Egypt, by His life He can save you from all perils of the wilderness. If byHis death He conquered Pharaoh, the chief foe, by His life He cansubdue Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan. "Weshall be saved by his life. " Because He liveth, we shall live also. "Be of good cheer!" The work is finished; the ransom is effected; thekingdom of heaven is open to all believers. "Lift up your heads andrejoice, " "ye prisoners of hope!" There is no debt unpaid, no devilunconquered, no enemy within your hearts that has not received amortal wound! "Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory, throughour Lord Jesus Christ!"

SCHLEIERMACHER

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION AN IMAGE OF OUR NEW LIFE

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Friedrich Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher, German theologian andphilosopher, was born at Breslau in 1768. He was brought up in areligious home and in 1787 went to the University of Halle, and in1789 became a Privat-Docent. In 1794 he was ordained and preachedsuccessively at Landsberg and Berlin. The literary and philosophicalside of his intellect developed itself in sympathy with theRomanticists, but he never lost his passion for religion, a subject onwhich he published five discurses in 1799. We find in them a traceof the pantheism of Spinoza. His translation of Plato, accomplishedbetween 1804 and 1806, gave him high rank as a classical scholar. In 1817 he joined the movement toward the union of the Lutheran andReformed churches. As a preacher he was unprepossessing in appearance, being sickly and hunchbacked, but his simplicity of manner, and hisclear, earnest style endeared him to many thousands. He died in Berlinin 1834. 

SCHLEIERMACHER

1768--1834

CHRIST'S RESURRECTION AN IMAGE OF OUR NEW LIFE

_As Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life. _--Romans vi. , 4. 

It is natural, my friends, that the glorious festival of our Savior'sresurrection should attract the thoughts of believers to a far remotetime, and that it should make them rejoice to think of the time whenthey shall be with Him who, after He had risen from the dead, returnedto His and our Father. But the apostle, in the words of our text, recalls us from what is far off to what is close to us--to theimmediate present of our life here. He takes hold of what is the mostimmediate concern, of what we are at once to share in and which is toform us, even here, into the likeness of Christ's resurrection. We areburied with Him, He says, unto death, that as He was raised from thedead through the glory of the Father, we also might walk in newness oflife. And this new life is that which, as the Lord Himself says, allwho believe in Him possess even now as having passed through death tolife. The apostle compares this with those glorious days of our Lord'sresurrection; and how could we more appropriately keep this feast--afeast in which, above all others, many Christians draw renewedstrength for this new life from the most intimate union with ourheavenly Head--how could we better celebrate it than by endeavoring toreceive this directly for ourselves from the words of the apostle?Let us then, according to the teaching of these words, consider theresurrection life of our Lord, as the apostle presents it to us, as aglorious, tho it may be unattainable, model of the new life in whichwe are all to walk through Him. 

1. This new life is like that of our risen Savior, first, in themanner of His resurrection. In order to appear to His disciples inthat glorified form, which already bore in it the indications of theeternal and immortal glory, it was necessary that the Savior shouldpass through the pains of death. It was not an easy transformation;it was necessary for Him, tho not to see corruption, yet to have theshadow of death pass over Him; and friends and enemies vied with eachother in trying to retain Him in the power of the grave; the friendsrolling a stone before it, to keep the beloved corpse in safety, theenemies setting a watch lest it should be taken away. But when thehour came which the Father had reserved in His own power, the angelof the Lord appeared and rolled away the stone from the tomb, and thewatch fled, and at the summons of omnipotence life came back into thedead form. 

Thus, my friends, we know what is the new life that is to be like theresurrection life of the Lord. A previous life must die; the apostlecalls it the body of sin, the law of sin in our members, and thisneeds no lengthened discussion. We all know and feel that this life, which Scripture calls a being dead in sins, pleasant and splendid asmay be the form it often assumes, is yet nothing but what the mortalbody of the Savior also was, an expression and evidence of the powerof death, because even the fairest and strongest presentation of thiskind lacks the element of being imperishable. Thus with the mortalbody of the Savior, and thus also with the natural life of man, whichis as yet not a life from God. 

And this our old man must die a violent death in the name of the law, such as the Savior died, not without severe suffering and painfulwounds. For if the body of sin dies out in a man of itself, throughsatiety of earthly things, and because no excitement can any longeraffect his exhausted powers, that is a death from which we see no newlife proceed. The power of sin must be slain in a man by violence; aman must go through the torture of self-knowledge, showing him thecontrast between his wretched condition and the higher life to whichhe is called; he must hear the cry, and accept it as an irrevocablesentence; that an end is to be put to this life; he must groan andalmost sink under the preparations for the execution of that sentence;all his accustomed habits of life must cease; he must be conscious ofthe wish that he were safely through it all, and it were at an end. 

And when he has yielded up the old life to a welcome death, and theold man is crucified with Christ, then the world, which knows nothingbetter than that previous life, if it only goes on well and easily, uses all kinds of efforts to hinder the rising up of the new life, some of them well-meaning, others self-interested and thereforehostile. Some, with good intentions, like those friends of the Savior, consult together, and try all in their power, keeping away allextraneous influences, to preserve at least the appearance of theirfriend from being defaced, and tho no joyful movement can ever againbe awakened, to preserve the form of the old life. Others, seekingtheir own interest and pleasure in a way by which they almostcertainly accuse themselves, try to prevent an abuse being practisedin this state of things, and also to guard against the gay, merry lifewhich they lead, and into which they like so much to lead others, being brought into contempt by a question of a new life arising afterthis dying off of the old man, when, as they think, there is reallynothing else and nothing better here on earth and when it is a vainpretense for some to assert that they know this new life, and amischievous delusion for others to attempt attaining it. Thereforewherever they perceive such a state of things, they have their spiesto watch against every deception that might be practised about sucha new life, or at least at once to discover and publish what kind ofdelusions prevail in connection with it. 

But when the hour has come which the Father has kept in His own power, then in one form or another His life-bringing angel appears to such asoul. Yet how little do we know about what part the angel had in theSavior's resurrection! We do not know if the Savior saw him or not; wecan not determine the moment at which he rolled away the stone fromthe tomb and the reanimated Savior came forth; no one witnessed it, and the only persons of whom we are told that they might have beenable to see it with their bodily eyes were smitten with blindness. Andin like manner, neither do we know how the soul, lying, so to speak, in the tomb of self-destruction, is wrought upon by the angel of theLord in order to call forth the life of God in it. It arises unseen inthat grave-like silence, and can not be perceived until it is actuallypresent; what is properly the beginning of it is hidden, as everybeginning usually is, even from him to whom the life is imparted. Butthis is certain, as the apostle says, that the Lord was raised fromthe dead by the glory of the Father, and thus also, according to thewords of the Savior, no man comes to the Son except the Father drawhim; that same glory of the Father, which then called forth the Saviorfrom the tomb, still awakens in the soul that has died to sin the newlife, like the resurrection life of the Lord. Indeed, among all theproofs of the Father's glory in heaven and earth, there is nonegreater than this, that he has no pleasure in the death-like conditionof the sinner, but that at some time or another the almighty, mysterious, life-giving call sounds in his ears--Arise and live. 

2. And, secondly, this new life resembles its type and ideal, theresurrection life of Christ, not only in being risen from death, butalso in its whole nature, way and manner. First, in this respect, thattho a new life, it is, nevertheless, the life of the same man, and inthe closest connection with his former life. Thus, with our Savior;He was the same, and was recognized by His disciples as the same, totheir great joy; His whole appearance was the very same; even inthe glory of His resurrection He bore the marks of His wounds as aremembrance of His sufferings and as the tokens of His death; andthe remembrance of His former state was most closely and constantlypresent with Him. And just so it is with the new life of the Spirit. If the old man has died in sin, and we now live in Christ, and withHim in God, yet we are the same persons that we were before. As theresurrection of the Lord was no new creation, but the same man, Jesus, who had gone down into the grave, come forth again from it; so in thesoul before it died the death which leads to life in God, there musthave lain the capability of receiving that life when the body of sinshould die and perish; and that life is developed in the same humansoul amid the same outward circumstances as before, and with its otherpowers and faculties remaining unchanged. We are entirely the samepersons, only that the fire of the higher life is kindled in us, andalso that we all bear the signs of death, and that the remembranceof our former state is present with us. Yes, in manifold ways we areoften reminded of what we were and what we did before the call to newlife sounded in our hearts; and it is not so easy to efface the scarsof the wounds, and the numberless traces of the pains under which theold man had to die that the new man might live. And as the glad faithof the disciples rested on the very fact that they recognized the Lordas being, in the glory of His resurrection, the same person that Hewas before; so also in us, the confidence in this new life, as apermanent and now natural state with us, rests only on this--that werecognize ourselves in it as the same persons that we were before;that there are the same faculties, lower and higher, of the humansoul, which formerly served sin, but are now created anew asinstruments of righteousness. Indeed, all the traces of that death, as well as of the former life, make us more vividly conscious of thegreat change that the life-giving call of God has produced in us, andcall for the most heartfelt gratitude. 

And as the Savior was the same person in the days of His resurrection, so His life was also again of course a vigorous and active life;indeed, we might almost say it bore the traces of humanity, withoutwhich it could be no image of our new life, even in this, that itgradually grew stronger and acquired new powers. When the Savior firstappeared to Mary, He said, as if His new life had been, as it were, timid and sensitive, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to myGod and your God. " But after a few days He showed Himself to Thomas, and bade him boldly touch Him, put his hand in the Master's side, andhis fingers into the marks left by the nails of the cross, so that Hedid not shrink from being touched even on the most sensitive spots. And also even in the earliest days, and as if the new life were to befully strengthened by doing so, we find Him walking from Jerusalem toEmmaus, and from Emmaus back to Jerusalem, as well as going before Hisdisciples into Galilee, and leading them back to Jerusalem, where Hethen ascended to heaven in their sight. And as He thus walked amongthem, living a life with them, human in every part, and exercising ahuman influence on them; so also His most important business was totalk with them of the kingdom of God, to reprove and rouse them upfrom their slowness of heart, and to open the eyes of their minds. Nowso it is, my friends, with our new life--that is like the resurrectionlife of the Lord. Oh, how very gradually it gains its faculties in us, grows and becomes strong, only bearing still more than the new lifeof the Lord the traces of earthly imperfection. I can appeal on thispoint to the feeling of us all, for assuredly it is the same in all. How intermittent at first are the manifestations of this new life, and how limited the sphere of its action! How long does it retainits sensitive spots, which can not be touched without pain, or evenwithout injurious consequences, and those are always the places inwhich the old man has been most deeply wounded in his dying hours! Butin proportion as it becomes stronger, this new life ought the less togive the impression of being a mere fantom life, --the impression theLord's disciples had when in the first moments they thought in theirfear that they saw a spirit, so that He was obliged to appeal to thetestimony of all their senses, that they might perceive He was nospirit, but had flesh and bones. And thus if our new life in Godconsisted in mere states of feeling and emotions, which were not inthe least capable of passing into action, or perhaps did not even aimat doing so; which were too peculiar and special to ourselves to beactually communicated to others or to move them with good effect, butrather might touch them with a chill sense of awe; what would sucha life be but a ghost-like apparition that would no doubt exciteattention, but would find no credence, and would make men uneasy intheir accustomed course, but without producing any improvement in it?No, it is a life of action, and ought to be ever becoming more so; notonly being nourished and growing stronger and stronger through theword of the Lord and through heart-communion with Him, to which Hecalls us, giving Himself to us as the meat and drink of eternal life, but every one striving to make his new life intelligible to othersabout him, and to influence them by it. Oh, that we had our eyes moreand more steadily fixt on the risen Savior! Oh, that we could ever belearning more and more from Him to breathe out blessing, as He didwhen He imparted His Spirit to the disciples! Oh, that we were moreand more learning like Him to encourage the foolish and slow of heartto joyful faith in the divine promises, to active obedience to thedivine will of their Lord and Master, to the glad enjoyment and use ofall the heavenly treasures that He has thrown open to us! Oh, that wewere ever speaking more effectively to all connected with us, of thekingdom of God and of our inheritance in it, so that they might seewhy it was necessary for Christ to suffer, but also into what glory Hehas gone! These are our desires, and they are not vain desires. Thelife-giving Spirit, whom He has obtained for us, effects all this ineach in the measure that pleases Him; and if once the life of God iskindled in the human soul if we have once, as the apostle says, becomelike Him in His resurrection, then His powers are also more and moreabundantly and gloriously manifested in us through the efficacy of HisSpirit for the common good. 

But along with all this activity and strength, the life of the risenSavior was yet, in another sense, a secluded and hidden life. It isprobable that when, in order to show Himself to His disciples, He wenthere and there from one part of the land to another, he was seen bymany besides them, who had known Him in His previous life. How couldit be otherwise? But the eyes of men were holden, that they did notrecognize Him; and He made Himself known only to those who belongedto Him in faithful love. At the same time, however, He said to them, Blest are they who do not see, yet believe! And what was the littlenumber of those who were counted worthy of seeing Him, even if we addto them the five hundred whom Paul mentions, compared with the numberof those who afterward believed in their testimony to the Lord'sresurrection? And thus it is also, my friends, with the new life inwhich we walk, even if it is, as it ought to be, strong and vigorous, and ever at work for the kingdom of God; yet it is at the same time anunknown and hidden life, unrecognized by and hidden from the world, whose eyes are holden; and he who should set himself to forcethe knowledge of it upon them, who should hit upon extraordinaryproceedings in order to attract their attention to the differencebetween the life of sin and the resurrection life, would not bewalking in the likeness of the Lord's resurrection. As the peoplein the time of Christ had opportunity enough to inquire about Hisresurrection, in seeing how His disciples continued to hold together, so our neighbors also see our close alliance, which has nothing to dowith the affairs of this world; and if they, because of this, inquireabout what unites us, the answer will not be lacking to them. But ourinner history we will as little thrust upon them as the risen Christthrust His presence on those who had slain Him, and who had thereforeno desire to see Him. Instead of this, as He showed Himself only toHis own, we also will make known our inner life only to those who arejust in the same way our own; who, glowing with the same love, andcheered by the same faith, can tell us in return how the Lord hasrevealed Himself to them. Not by any means as if we followed somemysterious course, and that those only whose experiences had beenentirely alike should separate themselves into little exclusivegroups; for even the days of the Lord's resurrection present examplesof various kinds of experience, and of one common inner fellowshipconnected with them all. And not only so, but even those who as yethave experienced nothing at all are not sent empty away. Only theymust first become aware, by what they see without our thrustingit upon them, that here a spirit is breathing to which they arestrangers, that here is manifested a life as yet unknown to them. Thenwill we, as was done then, lead them by the word of our testimony tothe foundation of this new life; and as, when the word of preachingpierced men's hearts, when to some of them the old man began to appearas he really is, and they felt the first pangs that precede the deathof the sinful man, there also sprang up faith in the resurrection ofHim whom they had themselves crucified; so will it always be with theknowledge of the new life proceeding from Him who has risen. Thereforelet us have no anxiety; the circle of those who recognize this lifewill always be widening, just because they are beginning to share init. And as soon as even the slightest premonition of it arises in aman's soul, as soon as he has come only so far as to be no longerpleased and satisfied with the perishing and evil things of the world, as soon as his soul absorbs even the first ray of heavenly light, thenhis eyes are opened, so that he recognizes this life, and becomesaware what a different life it is to serve righteousness, from livingin the service of sin. 

3. And lastly, my friends, we can not feel all these comforting andglorious things in which our new life resembles the resurrection lifeof our Lord, without being at the same time, on another side, movedto sorrow by this resemblance. For if we put together all that theevangelists and apostles of the Lord have preserved for us about Hisresurrection life, we still can not out of it all form an entirelyconsecutive history. There are separate moments and hours, separateconversations and actions, and then the Risen One vanishes again fromthe eyes that look for Him; in vain we ask where He can have tarried, we must wait till He appears again. Not that in Himself there wasanything of this broken or uncertain life, but as to our view of it, it is and can not be but so; and we try in vain to penetrate into theintervals between those detached moments and hours. Well, and isit not, to our sorrow, with the new life that is like Christ'sresurrection life? I do not mean that this life is limited to the fewhours of social worship and prayer, glorious and profitable as theyare; for in that case there would be cause to fear that it was a merepretense; nor to the services, always but small and desultory, that each of us, actively working through the gifts of the Spirit, accomplishes, as it were, visibly and tangibly according to hismeasure, for the kingdom of God. In manifold ways besides these webecome conscious of this new life; there are many quieter and secretmoments in which it is strongly felt, tho only deep in our inmostheart. But notwithstanding this, I think all, without exception, mustconfess that we are by no means conscious of this new life as anentirely continuous state; on the contrary, each of us loses sightof it only too often, not only among friends, among disturbances andcares, but amid the commendable occupations of this world. But thisexperience, my dear friends, humbling as it is, ought not to make usunbelieving, as if perhaps our consciousness of being a new creaturein Christ were a delusion, and what we had regarded as indicationsof this life were only morbid and overstrained emotions. As the Lordconvinced His disciples that He had flesh and bones, so we may allconvince ourselves and each other that this is an actual life; but inthat case we must believe that, tho in a hidden way and not alwayspresent to our consciousness, yet it is always in existence, just asthe Lord was still in existence even at the times when He did notappear to His disciples; and had neither returned to the grave, nor asyet ascended to heaven. Only let us not overlook this difference. Inthe case of Christ we do not apprehend it as a natural and necessarything that during those forty days He led a life apparently sointerrupted; but each of us must easily understand how, as theinfluence of this new life on our outward ways can only graduallybecome perceptible, it should often and for a long time be quitehidden from us, especially when we are very busy with outward work, and our attention is taken up with it. But this is an imperfectionfrom which as time goes on we should be always becoming more free. Therefore always go back, my friends, to Him who is the only fountainof this spiritual life! If, ever and anon, we can not find it inourselves, we always find it in Him, and it is always pouring forthafresh from Him the Head to us His members. If every moment in whichwe do not perceive it is a moment of longing, as soon as we becomeconscious of the void, then it is also a moment in which the Risen Oneappears to our spirit, and breathes on us anew with His life-givingpower. And thus drawing only from Him, we shall attain to havingHis heavenly gifts becoming in us more and more an inexhaustible, continually flowing fountain of spiritual and eternal life. For thisHe rose from the dead by the glory of the Father, that we should bemade into the likeness of His resurrection. That was finished in Hisreturn to the Father; our new life is to become more and more His andthe Fathers return into the depths of our souls; there they desire tomake their abode; and the life of God is to be ever assuming a morecontinuous, active and powerful form in us, that our life in theservice of righteousness may become, and continue even here, accordingto the Lord's promise, an eternal life. 

MASON

MESSIAH'S THRONE

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

John Mitchell Mason, the eminent divine of the Reformed PresbyterianChurch, was born in New York City in 1770. He completed his studiesand took his degree at Columbia College and thence proceeded to take atheological course at Edinburgh. Ordained in 1793, he took charge ofthe Cedar Street Church, New York City, of which his father had beenpastor. In 1807 he became editor of the _Christian Herald_, and in1821 was made president of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He died in 1829. 

MASON

1770--1829

MESSIAH'S THRONE

_Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever_. --Heb. I. , 18. 

In the all-important argument which occupies this epistle, Paulassumes, what the believing Hebrews had already profest, that Jesus ofNazareth is the true Messiah. To prepare them for the consequencesof their own principle--a principle involving nothing less than theabolition of their law, the subversion of their state, the ruin oftheir city, the final extinction of their carnal hopes--he leads themto the doctrine of their Redeemer's person, in order to explain thenature of his offices, to evince the value of his spiritual salvation, and to show, in both, the accomplishment of their economy which wasnow "ready to vanish away. " Under no apprehension of betraying theunwary into idolatrous homage by giving to the Lord Jesus greaterglory than is due unto His name, the apostle sets out with ascribingto Him excellence and attributes which belong to no creature. Creatures of most elevated rank are introduced; but it is to display, by contrast, the preeminence of Him who is "the brightness of theFather's glory and the express image of his person. " Angels are greatin might and in dignity; but "unto them hath he not put in subjectionthe world to come. Unto which of them said he, at any time, Thou artmy son?" To which of them, "Sit thou at my right hand. " He saith theyare spirits, "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for themwho shall be heirs of salvation. But unto the Son, " in a style whichannihilates competition and comparison--"unto the Son, he saith, Thythrone, O God, is for ever and ever. "

Brethren, if the majesty of Jesus is the subject which the Holy Ghostselected for the encouragement and consolation of His people, when Hewas shaking the earth and the heavens, and diffusing His gospel amongthe nations, can it be otherwise than suitable and precious to us onthis occasion? Shall it not expand our views, and warm our hearts, andnerve our arm in our efforts to exalt His fame? Let me implore, then, the aid of your prayers, but far more importunately the aids of Hisown Spirit, while I speak of the things which concern the King: thosegreat things contained in the text--His personal glory--His sovereignrule. 

His personal glory shines forth in the name by which He is revealed; aname above every name: "Thy throne, O God. " . .. 

Messiah's throne is not one of those airy fabrics which are reared byvanity and overthrown by time: it is fixt of old; it is staple, andcan not be shaken, for it is the throne of God. He who sitteth on itis the Omnipotent. Universal being is in His hand. Revolution, force, fear, as applied to His kingdom, are words without meaning. Rise up inrebellion, if thou hast courage. Associate with thee the whole mass ofinfernal power. Begin with the ruin of whatever is fair and good inthis little globe. Pass hence to pluck the sun out of his place, androll the volume of desolation through the starry world. What hast thoudone unto Him? It is the puny menace of a worm against Him whose frownis perdition. "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. "

With the stability which Messiah's Godhead communicates to Histhrone, let us connect the stability resulting from His Father'scovenant. 

His throne is founded not merely in strength, but in right. God hathlaid the government upon the shoulder of His holy child Jesus, and setHim upon Mount Zion as His King forever. He has promised and sworn tobuild up His throne to all generations; to make it endure as the daysof heaven; to beat down His foes before His face, and plague them thathate Him. "But my faithfulness, " adds He, "and my mercy shall be withhim, and in my name shall his horn be exalted. Hath he said it, andwill he not do it? Hath he spoken it, and shall it not come to pass?"Whatever disappointments rebuke the visionary projects of men, or themore crafty schemes of Satan, "the counsel of the Lord, that shallstand. " The blood of sprinkling, which sealed all the promises madeto Messiah, and binds down His Father's faithfulness to theiraccomplishment, witnesses continually in the heavenly sanctuary. "Hemust, " therefore, "reign till he have put all his enemies under hisfeet. " And altho the dispensation of His authority shall, upon thisevent, be changed, and He shall deliver it up, in its present form, tothe Father, He shall still remain, in His substantial glory, a priestupon His throne, to be the eternal bond of our union, and the eternalmedium of our fellowship with the living God. 

Seeing that the throne of our King is as immovable as it is exalted, let us with joy draw water out of that well of salvation which isopened to us in the administration of His kingdom. Here we mustconsider its general characters, and the means by which it operates. 

The general characters which I shall illustrate are the following:

1. Mystery. He is the unsearchable God, and His government must belike Himself. Facts concerning both He has graciously revealed. Thesewe must admit upon the credit of His own testimony; with these we mustsatisfy our wishes and limit our inquiry. To intrude into those thingswhich he hath not seen because God has not disclosed them, whetherthey relate to His arrangements for this world or the next, is thearrogance of one vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind. There aresecrets in our Lord's procedure which He will not explain to us inthis life, and which may not perhaps be explained in the life tocome. We can not tell how He makes evil the minister of good; how Hecombines physical and moral agencies of different kind and order, inthe production of blessings. We can not so much as conjecture whatbearings the system of redemption, in every part of its process, mayhave upon the relations of providence in the occurrences of thismoment, or of the last. Such knowledge is too wonderful for us: it ishigh, we can not attain it. Our Sovereign's way is in the sea, andHis path in the deep waters; and His footsteps are not known. When, therefore, we are surrounded with difficulty, when we can not unriddleHis conduct in particular dispensations, we must remember that He isGod--that we are to "walk by faith"; and to trust Him as implicitlywhen we are in the valley of the shadow of death, as when His candleshines upon our heads. We must remember that it is not for us tobe admitted into the cabinet of the King of kings; that creaturesconstituted as we are could not sustain the view of His unveiledagency; that it would confound, and scatter, and annihilate our littleintellects. As often, then, as He retires from our observation, blending goodness with majesty, let us lay our hands upon our mouthsand worship. This stateliness of our King can afford us no just groundof uneasiness. On the contrary, it contributes to our tranquillity. 

2. For we know that if His administration is mysterious, it is alsowise. "Great is our Lord, and of great power; his understanding isinfinite. " That infinite understanding watches over, and arranges, and directs all the affairs of His Church and of the world. We areperplexed at every step, embarrassed by opposition, lost in confusion, fretted by disappointment, and ready to conclude, in our haste, thatall things are against our own good and our Master's honor. But "thisis our infirmity"; it is the dictate of impatience and indiscretion. We forget the "years of the right hand of the Most High. " We are slowof heart in learning a lesson which shall soothe our spirits at theexpense of our pride. We turn away from the consolation to be derivedfrom believing that tho we know not the connections and results ofholy providence, our Lord Jesus knows them perfectly. With Him thereis no irregularity, no chance, no conjecture. Disposed before His eyein the most luminous and exquisite order, the whole series of eventsoccupy the very place and crisis where they are most effectually tosubserve the purposes of His love. Not a moment of time is wasted, nora fragment of action misapplied. What He does, we do not indeed knowat present, but, as far as we shall be permitted to know hereafter, weshall see that his most inscrutable procedure was guided by consummatewisdom; that our choice was often as foolish as our petulance wasprovoking; that the success of our own wishes would have been ourmost painful chastisement, would have diminished our happiness, anddetracted from His praise. Let us study, therefore, brethren, tosubject our ignorance to His knowledge; instead of prescribing, toobey; instead of questioning, to believe: to perform our part withoutthat despondency which betrays a fear that our Lord may neglect His, and tacitly accuses Him of a less concern than we feel for the gloryof His own name. Let us not shrink from this duty as imposing toorigorous a condition upon our obedience. 

3. A third character of Messiah's administration is righteousness. "The scepter of his kingdom is a right scepter. " If "clouds anddarkness are around about him, righteousness and judgment are thehabitation of his throne. " In the times of old, His redeemed "wanderedin the wilderness in a solitary way; but, nevertheless, he led themforth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. "He loves His Church and the members of it too tenderly to lay uponthem any burdens, or expose them to any trials, which are notindispensable to their good. It is right for them to go throughfire and through water, that He may bring them out into a healthyplace--right to endure chastening, that they may be partakers of Hisholiness--right to have the sentence of death in themselves, that theymay trust in the living God, and that His strength may be perfectin their weakness. It is right that He should endure with muchlong-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction; that Heshould permit iniquity to abound, the love of many to wax cold, andthe dangers of His Church to accumulate, till the interposition of Hisarm be necessary and decisive. In the day of final retribution, notone mouth shall be opened to complain of injustice. It will be seenthat the Judge of all the earth has done right; that the works of Hishands have been verity and judgment, and done, every one of them, intruth and uprightness. Let us then think not only respectfully butreverently of His dispensations, repress the voice of murmur, andrebuke the spirit of discontent; wait, in faith and patience, tillHe become His own interpreter, when "the heavens shall declare hisrighteousness, and all the people see his glory. "

You will anticipate me in enumerating the means which Messiah employsin the administration of His kingdom:

1. The gospel, of which Himself, as an all-sufficient andcondescending Savior, is the great and affecting theme. Derided by theworld, it is, nevertheless, effectual to the salvation of them whobelieve. "We preach Christ crucified: to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness; but to them who are called, both Jewsand Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. " Thedoctrine of the cross connected with evangelical ordinances--theministry of reconciliation; the holy Sabbath; the sacraments of Hiscovenant: briefly, the whole system of instituted worship--is the rodof the Redeemer's strength, by which He subdues sinners to Himself, rules even in the midst of His enemies, exercises His gloriousauthority in His Church, and exhibits a visible proof to men andangels that He is King in Zion. 

2. The efficient means to which the gospel owes its success, and thename of Jesus its praise, is the agency of the Holy Ghost. 

Christianity is the ministration of the spirit. All real andsanctifying knowledge of the truth and love of God is from Hisinspiration. It was the last and best promise which the Savior madeto His afflicted disciples at the moment of parting, "I will send theComforter, the Spirit of Truth; he shall glorify me, for he shall takeof mine and shall show it unto you. " It is He who convinces the worldof sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: who infuses resistlessvigor into means otherwise weak and useless. For the weapons of ourwarfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, God the Spirit, to thepulling down of strongholds. Without His benediction, the ministry ofan archangel would never convert one sinner from the error of his way. But when He descends with His life-giving influence from God out ofheaven, then "foolish things of the world confound the wise; and weakthings of the world confound the things which are mighty; and basethings of the world, and things which are despised, yea, and thingswhich are not, bring to naught things which are. " It is thisministration of the Spirit which renders the preaching of the gospelto men dead in trespasses and sins a reasonable service. When I am setdown in the valley of vision, and view the bones, very many and verydry, and am desired to try the effects of my own ability in recallingthem to life, I will fold my hands and stand mute in astonishment anddespair. But when the Lord God commands me to speak in His name, myclosed lips shall be opened; when He calls upon the breath from thefour winds to breathe upon the slain that they may live, I willprophesy without fear, "Oh, ye dry bones, hear the words of the Lord";and, obedient to His voice, they shall come together, bone to Hisbone--shall be covered with sinews and flesh--shall receive new life, and stand up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. In this manner, from the graves of nature, and the dry bones of natural men, does theHoly Spirit recruit the "armies of the living God, " and make them, collectively and individually, a name, and a praise, and a glory tothe Captain of their salvation. 

3. Among the instruments which the Lord Jesus employs in theadministration of His government, are the resources of the physicaland moral world. 

Supreme in heaven and in earth, "upholding all things by the word ofhis power, " the universe is His magazine of means. Nothing which actsor exists, is exempted from promoting in its own place the purposes ofHis kingdom. Beings rational and irrational, animate and inanimate;the heavens above, and the earth below; the obedience of sanctified, and the disobedience of unsanctified men; all holy spirits; all damnedspirits; in one word, every agency, every element, every atom, are butthe ministers of His will, and concur in the execution of His designs. And this He will demonstrate to the confusion of His enemies, and thejoy of His people, in that great and terrible day when He shall situpon the throne of His glory, and dispense ultimate judgment to thequick and the dead. 

Upon these hills of holiness the stability of Messiah's throne, andthe perfect administration of His kingdom, let us take our station, and survey the prospects which rise up before the Church of God. 

When I look upon the magnificent scene, I can not repress thesalutation, "Hail, thou that art highly favored!" She has the prospectof preservation, of increase and of triumph. 

The long existence of the Christian Church would be pronounced, uponcommon principles of reasoning, impossible. She finds in every man anatural and inveterate enemy. To encounter and overcome the unanimoushostility of the world, she boasts no political stratagem, nodisciplined legions, no outward coercion of any kind. Yet herexpectation is, that she shall live forever. To mock this hope andblot out her memorial from under heaven, the most furious efforts offanaticism, the most ingenious arts of statesmen, the concentratedstrength of empires, have been frequently and perseveringly applied. The blood of her sons and her daughters has streamed like water; thesmoke of the scaffold and the stake, where they won the crown ofmartyrdom in the cause of Jesus, has ascended in thick volumes tothe skies. The tribes of persecutors have sported over her woes anderected monuments, as they imagined, of her perpetual ruin. But whereare her tyrants, and where their empires? The tyrants have long sincegone to their own place; their names have descended upon the roll ofinfamy; their empires have passed, like shadows over the rock--theyhave successively disappeared, and left not a trace behind. 

But what became of the Church? She rose from her ashes fresh in beautyand in might. Celestial glory beamed around her; she dashed down themonumental marble of her foes, and they who hated her fled before her. She has celebrated the funeral of kings and kingdoms that plottedher destruction; and, with the inscriptions of their pride, hastransmitted to posterity the record of their shame. How shall thisphenomenon be explained? We are, at the present moment, witnesses ofthe fact; but who can unfold the mystery? This blest book, the book oftruth and life, has made our wonder to cease. The Lord her God in themidst of her is mighty. His presence is a fountain of health, and hisprotection a wall of fire. He has betrothed her, in eternal covenant, to Himself. Her living head, in whom she lives, is above, and Hisquickening Spirit shall never depart from her. Armed with divinevirtue, His gospel, secret, silent, unobserved, enters the hearts ofmen and sets up an everlasting kingdom. It eludes all the vigilance, and baffles all the power of the adversary. Bars and bolts, anddungeons are no obstacle to its approach. Bonds, and tortures, anddeath can not extinguish its influence. Let no man's heart tremble, then, because of fear. Let no man despair, in these days of rebuke andblasphemy, of the Christian cause. The ark is launched, indeed, uponthe floods; the tempest sweeps along the deep; the billows break overher on every side. But Jehovah-Jesus has promised to conduct her insafety to the haven of peace. She can not be lost unless the Pilotperish. Why, then, do the heathen rage, and the people imagine avain thing? Hear, O Zion, the word of thy God, and rejoice for theconsolation. "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shaltcondemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and theirrighteousness is of me, saith the Lord. "

Mere preservation, however, tho a most comfortable, is not the onlyhope of the Church; she has the prospect of increase. 

Increase--from an effectual blessing upon the means of grace in placeswhere they are already enjoyed; the Lord saith, "I will pour waterupon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pourmy Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offering; and theyshall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the watercourses. "

Increase--from the diffusion of evangelical truth through pagan lands. "For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darknessthe people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall beseen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings tothe brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see:all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shallcome from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Thenthou shalt see and flow together, and thy heart shall fear, and beenlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted untothee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. "

Increase--from the recovery of the rejected Jews to the faith andprivileges of God's dear children. Blindness in part has happenedunto Israel; they have been cut off, for their unbelief, from theolive-tree. Age has followed age, and they remain to this hour spreadover the face of the earth, a fearful and affecting testimony to thetruth of God's word. They are without their sanctuary, without theirMessiah, without the hope of their believing ancestors. But it shallnot be always thus. They are still "beloved for the father's sake. "When the "fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, " they too shall begathered. They shall discover, in our Jesus, the marks of the promisedMessiah; and with from darkness to light, from the power of Satan untoGod; it must make you meet for the inheritance of the saints, or itshall fearfully aggravate your condemnation at last. You pray, "Thykingdom come. " But is the "kingdom of God within you?" Is the LordJesus "in you the hope of glory?" Be not deceived. The name ofChristian will not save you. Better had it been for you not tohave known the way of righteousness; better to have been the mostidolatrous pagan; better, infinitely better, not to have been born, than to die strangers to the pardon of the Redeemer's blood andthe sanctifying virtue of His Spirit. From His throne on high Hecalls--calls to you, "Look unto me, and be ye saved; for I am God, andthere is none else. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call yeupon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and theunrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, andhe will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantlypardon. "

On the other hand, such as have fled for refuge to lay hold on thehope set before them, are commanded to be joyful in their King. Hereigns, O believer, for thee. The stability of His throne is thysafety. The administration of His government is for thy good; and theprecious pledge is, that He "will perfect that which concerneth thee. "In all thy troubles, and in all thy joy, commit thy way unto Him. Hewill guard the sacred deposit. Fear not that thou shalt lack any goodthing. Fear not that thou shalt be forsaken. Fear not that thou shaltfall beneath the arm of the oppressor. "He went through the fires ofthe pit to save thee. " Sing, then, thou beloved, "Behold, God is mysalvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is mystrength and my song; he also is become my salvation. "

And if we have "tasted that he is gracious"; if we look back withhorror and transport upon the wretchedness and the wrath which wehave escaped, with what anxiety shall we not hasten to the aid of ourfellow men, who are sitting in "the region and shadow of death. " Whatzeal will be too ardent, what labor too persevering, what sacrificetoo costly, if, by any means, we may tell them of Jesus, andthe resurrection, and the life eternal? Who shall be daunted bydifficulties, or deterred by discouragement? If but one pagan shall bebrought, savingly, by your instrumentality, to the knowledge of Godand the kingdom of heaven, will you not have an ample recompense? Isthere here a man who would give up all for lost because some favoritehope has been disappointed, or who regrets the wordly substance whichhe has expended on so divine an enterprise? Shame on thy cowardspirit and thine avaricious heart! Do the holy Scriptures, does theexperience of ages, does the nature of things justify the expectationthat we shall carry war into the central regions of delusion andcrime, without opposition, without trial? Show me a plan whichencounters not fierce resistance from the prince of darkness and hisallies in the human heart, and I will show you a plan which never camefrom the inspiration of God. If missionary effort suffer occasionalembarrassment; if impressions on the heathen be less speedy, andpowerful, and extensive than fond wishes have anticipated; ifparticular parts of the great system of operation be, at times, disconcerted; if any of the ministers of grace fall a sacrifice to theviolence of those whom they go to bless in the name of the Lord--theseare events which ought to exercise our faith and patience, to wean usfrom self-sufficiency, to teach where our strength lies, and where ourdependence must be fixt; but not to enfeeble hope nor relax diligence. Let us not "despise the day of small things. " Let us not overlook, as an important matter, the very existence of that missionary spiritwhich has already awakened Christians in different countries fromtheir long and dishonorable slumbers, and bids fair to produce, in dueseason, a general movement of the Church upon earth. Let us not, forone instant, harbor the ungracious thought that the prayers, andtears, and wrestlings of those who make mention of the Lord, form nolink in that vast chain of events by which He "will establish, andwill make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. " That dispensation whichis most repulsive to flesh and blood, the violent death of faithfulmissionaries, should animate Christians with new resolution. "Preciousin the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. " The cry ofmartyred blood ascends the heavens: it enters into the ears ofthe Lord of Sabaoth. It will give Him no rest till He rain downrighteousness upon the land where it has been shed, and which ithas sealed as a future conquest for Him who "in his majesty ridesprosperously because of truth, and meekness and righteousness. "

For the world, indeed, and perhaps for the Church, many calamities andtrials are in store, before the glory of the Lord shall be so revealedthat all flesh shall see it together. "I will shake all nations, " isthe divine declaration--"I will shake all nations, and the desire ofall nations shall come. " The vials of wrath which are now running, andothers which remain to be poured out, must be exhausted. The "supperof the great God" must be prepared, and his "strange work" have itscourse. Yet the missionary cause must ultimately succeed. It is thecause of God and shall prevail. The days, O brethren, roll rapidly on, when the shout of the isles shall swell the thunder of the continent;when the Thames and the Danube, when the Tiber and the Rhine, shallcall upon Euphrates, the Ganges, and the Nile; and the loud concertshall be joined by the Hudson, the Mississippi, and the Amazon, singing with one heart and one voice, "Alleluia, salvation! The LordGod omnipotent reigneth. "

Comfort one another with this faith and with these words. 

Now, "Blest be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doth wondrousthings. And blest be his glorious name forever: Let the whole earth befilled with his glory. Amen and amen. "

END OF VOL. III.