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tihvaxy  of  Che  Cheolo^icd  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

the  Estate  of 
Rev.  David  Henderson  G-oodwillie 

PR  3330  .A9  08  1849 
Overton,  Charles,  1805-1889 
Cottage  lectures,  or.  The 
Pilgrim's  progress 


J 


COTTAGE  LECTURES; 


OE, 


THE  PILGRIM'S   PROGRESS 


PRACTICALLY  EXPLAINED. 


Segijjiutr  for  CTottase  anti  jFamilg  BeatJinf . 


•«  I  know  of  no  book— the  Bible  excepted,  as  above  all  comparison— which  I,  according 
tP  my  judgment  and  experience,  could  so  safely  recommend  as  teaching  and  enforcing  the 
whole  saving  truth,  according  to  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus,  as  '  The  Pilgrim's 
Progress.'  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  the  best  summary  of  evangelical  theology  ever  produced 
by  a  writer  not  miraculously  inspired," 


PHILADELPHIA:     M^glCALf> 
AMERICAN   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   UNION, 

No.  316  CHESTNUT   STREET. 

IfSWTORK:  No.  147  NASSAU  STREET BOSTON:  No.  9  C0RNHIIX....iOKKr?l£ZB; 

No.  103  FOURTH  gTS£XI. 


TESTIMONIES 

TO   THE    ENGLISH   EDITION   OF   THE    COTTAGE    LECTURES    ON 
THE    pilgrim's    PROGRESS. 


By  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  the  Author. 

"  I  have  found  time  to  read  enough  of  the  Lectures  to  be  satisfied  of 
their  great  merit,  and  I  congratulate  you  on  having  devised  the  idea, 
as  nothing  was  more  likely  to  interest  your  people,  or  more  suited  to 
instruct  them.  You  need  not  doubt  the  circulation  of  the  Lectures, 
as  soon  as  they  become  known." 

The  Rev.  Edw.  Bickersteth  to  the  Author. 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  Cottage  Lectures  on  the  Pilgrim's  Progress. 
t  have  been  able  to  read  but  fi'W  of  them,  but  I  like  what  I  have  read 
touch,  as  very  plain,  simple,  and  evangelical,  just  calculated  to  instruct 
and  interest  the  poor,  and  help  some  missionaries  and  lay  teachers  in 
their  very  important  work  of  conveying  saving  truth  to  the  minds  of 
the  uninstructed." 

The  Rev.  Robt.  Whitehead  to  the  Author. 

"Your  excellent  work  on  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  has  greatly  pleased 
me.  Its  very  plainness  delights  me ;  its  cheapliess,  also,  I  think  a  vast 
advantage.  I  hope  it  will  have  a  large  sale,  and  encourage  you  to 
make  fresh  adventures." 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18-49,  by  the 

AMERICAN    SUNDAY-SCHOOL    UNION, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


PREFACE. 


We  never  knew  an  instance  in  wliicli  a  familiar  and 
consistent  parable  failed  to  interest  persons  of  every 
description.  The  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  is  a  per- 
fect specimen  of  this  kind  of  teaching.  The  profoundest 
scholar  is  deeply  affected  by  its  inimitable  pathos; 
while  the  most  unlettered  rustic,  who  would  probably 
have  slept  over  a  learned  sermon  upon  the  nature  of 
repentance,  here  finds  his  attention  chained,  listens 
with  deepest  interest  to  every  part  of  the  simple  nar- 
rative, and  has  so  thoroughly  apprehended  the  impor- 
tant truths  which  are  here  prefigured,  that  he  cries 
out  at  the  end,  with  unfeigned  emotion,  "I  am  that 
prodigal!    I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  Father!" 

Now,  the  kind  of  teaching  that  most  resembles  in- 
struction by  a  parable,  is  to  teach  by  an  allegory.- 
Allegory  is  the  sister  of  parable,  and  the  great  allego- 
rist,  whose  work  is  popular  wherever  the  English  tongue 
is  spoken,  and  which  is  celebrated  and  relished  in 
almost  every  modern  language,*  is  John  Bunyan.  By 
the  rare  combination  of  original   poetic  genius  of  the 

*  For  interesting  particulars  respecting  its  circulation,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  a  twopenny  book  published  by  the  American  Sunday- 
school  Union,  under  the  title  of  "The  Pilgrim  of  Many  Lands." 


4  PKEFACE. 

highest  order,  and  the  deepest  experimental  acquaint- 
ance with  evangelical  truth,  he  has  thrown  a  bewitch- 
ing charm  over  every  part  of  the  Christian's  path, 
from  his  first  awakening  in  the  City  of  Destruction, 
until  he  has  crossed  the  river  that  divides  the  land  of 
his  pilgrimage  from  the  city  that  he  seeks,  and  the 
celestial  gates  have  closed  upon  him  in  the  regions  of 
eternal  day! 

Few  who  have  read  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress"  in 
early  life,  and  then  recurred  to  it  again  in  after-times, 
have  ever  done  so  without  the  most  exquisite  emotion 
being  awakened  in  the  heart.  It  touches  a  chord  of 
the  keenest  sensibility.  It  lights  up  the  checkered 
experience  of  real  life  with  the  romantic  imaginings  of 
fancy,  and  imparts  to  the  sombre  hues  of  maturest 
age  some  of  the  glowing  tints  that  were  painted  in  our 
earliest  youth.  The  effect  is  the  same  in  kind,  though 
not  in  degree,  as  that  produced  by  the  sacred  volume 
itself.  We  seem  again  to  have  met  with  an  early 
benefactor,  and  to  be  looking  into  the  secret  spring, 

"  Which  gave  our  earliest,  best  emotions  birth ;" 
and  we  enter  with  all  our  hearts  into   the   sentiments 
so  feelingly  expressed  by  Cowper: 

"0  thou,  whom,  borne  on  fancy's  eager  wing, 
Back  to  the  season  of  life's  happy  spring, 
I  pleased  remember,  and,  while  memory  yet 
Holds  fast  her  office  here,  can  ne'er  forget; 
Ingenious  dreamer,  in  whose  well-told  tale 
Sweet  fiction  and  sweet  truth  alike  prevail; 
Whose  humorous  vein,  strong  sense,  and  simple  style, 
May  teach  the  gayest,  make  the  gravest  smile; 
Witty,  and  well  employed,  and,  like  thy  Lord, 
Speaking  in  parables  his  slighted  word: 
I  name  thee  not,  lest  so  despised  a  name 
Should  move  a  sneer  at  thy  deserved  fame; 


PREFACE.  O 

Tet  e'en  in  transitory  life's  lat«  day, 
That  mingles  all  my  brown  with  sober  gray, 
Revere  the  man  whose  Pilgrim  marks  the  road, 
And  guides  the  progress  of  the  soul  to  God." 

The  striking  testimony  borne  by  tbe  late  Dr.  Arnold 
to  tbe  "Pilgrim's  Progress"  is  very  remarkable.  Hia 
admiration  of  it  was  very  great.  *'I  cannot  trust  my- 
self," he  used  to  say,  "to  read  the  accoimt  of  Chris- 
tian going  up  to  the  celestial  gate,  after  his  passage 
through  the  river  of  death."  And  when,  in  one  of  the 
foreign  tours  of  his  latter  years,  he  had  read  it  through 
again,  after  a  long  interval,  "I  have  always,"  he  said, 
"been  struck  with  its  piety;  I  am  now  equally,  or 
even  more,  by  its  profound  wisdom.  His  '  Pilgrim's 
Progress'  seems  to  be  a  complete  reflection  of  Scripture^ 
with  none  of  the  rubbish  of  the  theologians  mixed  up 
with  it." 

Now,  since  the  learned  and  unlearned  all  agree  in 
admiring  this  wonderful  book,  and  since  its  great 
design  is  to  illustrate  evangelical  truth,  and  to  present 
it  in  a  captivating  form,  how  extremely  desirable  is  a 
familiar  and  popular  course  of  Lectures  upon  this  un- 
rivalled allegory !  Few  books  would  be  so  well  adapted 
for  family  reading  on  Sabbath  evenings.  If  the  interest 
of  the  allegory  were  maintained  in  a  narrative  style, 
its  meaning  simply  explained,  and  then  a  pointed  ap- 
plication briefly  addressed  to  the  conscience,  such  a 
Lecture,  we  conceive,  upon  any  part  of  the  "Pilgrim's 
Progress,"  would  chain  the  attention  of  both  young 
and  old,  for  half  an  hour,  and,  by  God's  blessing, 
awaken  a  profitable  train  of  thought  in  the  breasts  of 
all.  A  book  like  this  might  be  used  with  profit  in  a 
Bchool-room   or  private  house,  wherever  two  or  tlw^<^e 


6  PREFACE. 

•were  gathered  together  for  edification  and  religious 
instruction.  In  neighbourhoods  of  the  new  and  remote 
sections  of  the  country,  where  public  worship  is  rarely 
held  and  where  other  means  of  religious  instruction 
are  few  and  far  between,  a  group  of  parents  and  chil- 
dren might  be  readily  assembled  in  a  private  house, 
and  find  in  this  volume  all  the  needful  help,  so  far  as 
outward  means  are  concerned,  to  secure  a  profitable  and 
edifying  interview.  Who  can  tell  how  many  might  be 
awakened  by  such  a  use  of  this  unpretending  volume, 
to  flee  from  the  "City  of  Destruction"  and  not  look 
behind  them  till  they  reach  the  home  of  the  blessed! 

Sometimes  a  Sunday-school  is  opened  for  an  hour 
or  two  on  God's  holy  day  in  places  where  no  oppor- 
tunity for  stated  public  worship  is  enjoyed.  In  such 
cases  parents  and  neighbours  might  conveniently  as- 
semble after  the  exercises  of  the  school,  and  draw 
from  this  volume  such  assistance  as  they  may  need  in 
conducting  all  the  exercises  of  religious  worship.  It 
will  be  observed  that  each  Lecture  is  accompanied  with 
a  hymn  at  the  beginning  and  close,  and  also  with  a 
form  of  prayer  chiefly  in  the  language  of  Scripture, 
for  those  that  may  feel  the  need  of  such  an  aid  to 
devotion. 

We  are  aware  that  many  valuable  contributions 
have  been  made  to  the  better  understanding  and  spiri- 
tual improvement  of  ''Pilgrim's  Progress,"  and  though 
many  simple-hearted  readers  may  have  said  of  some  of 
them  what  is  reported  to  have  been  said  to  the  vene- 
rable Mr.  Scott  by  a  poor  woman,  to  whom  he  had 
made  a  present  of  a  copy  of  the  work  with  notes  by 
himself,  that  "she  understood  it  all  but  the  notes;"  others 
have   pointed    out   new   and   striking   features    of  the 


PREFACE.  7 

work,  and  opened  fresh  sources  of  pleasure  and  profit 
in  its  perusal.  There  is  still  room,  however,  for  such 
a  volume  as  the  present,  and  its  adaptation  to  a  felt 
want  is  fully  evinced  by  the  rapid  and  wide  circulation 
of  the  original  work. 

The  simple,  unaffected,  earnest  and  evangelical  spirit 
that  is  diffused  throughout  the  present  volume,  and  the 
ingenuity  with  which  the  allegory  is  made  to  serve  the 
purposes  of  the  author  in  sustaining  and  giving  effect 
to  his  admonitions  and  exhortations,  are  among  its 
chief  recommendations. 

The  Lectures  were  delivered,  a  year  or  two  ago,  in 
a  school-room,  hy  the  Kev.  Charles  Overton,  Vicar 
of  Cottingham,  Eng.,  to  the  people  of  that  parish,  and 
in  adapting  them  to  the  purposes  of  the  present  publi- 
cation, due  pains  have  been  taken  to  impair  as  slightly 
as  possible  the  integrity  of  the  original  work. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  thirty  lectures  comprised 
in  the  volume  are  confined  to  the  pilgrimage  of  Chris- 
tian. The  story  of  Christiana,  his  wife,  and  their  chil- 
dren will  probably  be  the  subject  of  another  volume. 
'It  will  be  observed  also,  that  though  the  subjects  of 
the  Lectures  are  taken  up  in  the  order  of  the  events 
of  the  allegory,  each  Lecture  is  entirely  independent 
of  the  rest. 

We  can  heartily  unite  with  the  author  of  the  Lec- 
tures in  the  prayer  that  the  Eternal  Spirit,  who  mag- 
nifies his  own  glorious  power  by  the  weakness  of  the 
instruments  which  he  employs,  may  own  and  bless  the 
following  pages  to  the  present  and  everlasting  benefit 
of  many  souls.  Lord  of  all  power  and  might!  Speak 
through  these  pages  to  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 
many  who   shall  peruse   them.     Let   some  poor   slum- 


8  PREFACE. 

berer  in  the  City  of  Destruction  be  thoroughly  aroused 
by  them,  and  effectually  -warned  to  flee  from  the  •wrath 
to  come.  Let  some  true  pilgrims,  whose  faces  are  set 
to  the  heavenly  Zion,  who  are  sore  let  and  hindered  in 
running  the  race  that  is  set  before  them,  and  whose 
souls  are  discouraged  because  of  the  way,  receive  here 
a  word  of  comfort  to  deliver  them  from  their  grief, 
and  to  direct  and  encourage  them  in  the  way  everlast- 
ing. And  oh,  let  the  writer,  and  some  that  have 
profited  by  his  labours,  be  conducted  safe  through  the 
swellings  of  Jordan,  be  found  with  their  true  certificate 
at  the  celestial  gate,  and  be  admitted  through  the 
gates  of  the  city  to  the  glorious  company  that  have 
washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in  the  blood 
of  the  Lamb;  and  let  them  sing,  together  with  the 
general  assembly  and  church  of  the  first-born  whose 
names  are  written  in  heaven: 

Alleluia!     Salvation   to   our  God  which   sitteth 

UPON  THE  THRONE,  AND  TO  THE  LaMB,  FOE  EVER  AND 

EVER.  Amen. 


LECTURE  I. 

THE    AWAKENING. 


Hebrews  xi.  13,  14. 

iKD  CONFESSED  THAT  THEY  WERE  STRANGERS  AND  PILGRIMS  ON  THE  EiKTH  : 
FOR  THEY  THAT  SAY  SUCH  THINGS  DECL.iRE  PLAINLY  THAT  THEY  SEEK 
A  COUNTRY. 

HAT  a  view,  dear  brethren, 
we  have  here  of  all  real  Chris- 
tians, in  the  midst  of  this 
world  1}^  wilderness.  This  is 
not  their  rest.  They  are  tra- 
vellers and  wayfaring  men. 
They  are  not  now  at  home; 
but  they  are  on  their  way 
thither;  they  are  going  home. 
They  feel,  they  confess,  that 
they  are  strangers  and  pil- 
grims on  the  earth ;  and  by  their  life  and  conver- 
sation they  declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  better 
country,  that  is,  a  heavenly.  Now  the  joys  and 
sorrows,  the  difficulties  and  the  adversaries,  pecu- 
liar to  the  Christian,  from  his  first  setting  out  to  the 
end  of  his  journey,  are  very  beautifully  set  before 
us  in  the  Pilgrim's  Progress.     I  have  long  thought 

9 


10  LECTURE  I. 

that  a  course  of  simple  Lectures  on  this  most  inter- 
esting book  might  be  useful  and  instructive  to 
many ;  and  I  have  often  resolved,  if  sufficient 
strength  and  energy  were  given  me,  that  I  would 
make  an  attempt  of  this  kind.  You  must  not,  how- 
ever, suppose  for  a  moment,  that  it  is  lawful  for  us 
to  put  any  human  composition,  however  excellent, 
in  comparison  with  the  Divine  testimony  ;  or  that  a 
minister  would  be  justified  in  making  a  text-book 
of  any  book  except  the  book  of  God.  It  is  only  as 
the  Pilgrim's  Progress  illustrates,  explains,  and  en- 
forces the  vital  and  solemn  truths  of  the  Bible,  that 
we  can  make  use  of  it,  when  we  assemble  and  meet 
together,  as  now,  for  prayer  and  rehgious  instruc- 
tion. Regarded  in  this  point  of  view,  we  shall  find 
the  Pilgrim's  Progress  well  calculated  to  interest 
our  minds,  to  affect  our  hearts,  and  to  guide  our  feet 
in  the  way  everlasting. 

We  shall  now  confine  our  attention  to  three  im- 
portant particulars,  which  meet  us  at  the  first  open- 
ing of  the  book. 

I.  The  Pilgrim's  awakening  to  a  sense  of  sin : 
*II.  His  conversation  with  his  family  :  and, 
III.  His  first  interview  with  Evangehst. 

May  the  Holy  Spirit  abundantly  bless  our  under- 
taking. Oh  that  we  may  every  one  be  truly  con- 
vinced of  our  guilt  and  danger,  effectually  warned 
to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  declare  plainly 
by  our  life  and  conduct,  that  we  are  strangers  and 
pilgrims  on  the  earth,  looking  for  a  city  that  hath 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is  God ! 

I.  We  have  to  consider  the  Pilgrim's  sense  of  his 


THE  AWAKENING.  11 

sin  and  danger.  See  how  he  is  first  introduced  to 
our  notice.  "  I  saw  a  man  clothed  vAdth  rags,  stand- 
ing in  a  certain  place,  with  his  face  from  his  own 
house,  and  a  book  in  his  hand,  and  a  great  burden 
upon  his  back."  O  affecting  picture  of  every  soul 
of  man,  when,  under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy- 
Spirit,  he  comes  to  his  right  mind,  and  is  about  to 
return  from  the  far  country  to  his  heavenly  home. 
This  does  not  represent  the  awakened  penitent  as 
he  appears  to  others,  but  as  he  sees  himself  in  his 
own  heart,  and  as  he  really 'is  in  the  sight  of  God. 
"  He  is  clothed  with  rags."  He  knows  and  feels  that 
he  is  destitute  of  every  thing  to  recommend  him  to 
the  favour  of  God.  He  has  nothing  wherewith  to 
come  before  the  Lord ;  nothing  that  can  endure  his 
penetrating  eye;  nothing  that  can  abide  his  right- 
eous judgment.  He  has  nothing  to  be  proud  of; 
nothing  to  enable  him  boldly  to  hft  up  his  head. 
Instead  of  this,  his  language  is,  Behold,  I  am  vile. 
He  lies  down  in  his  shame,  and  confusion  covers 
him  as  a  garment.  He  feels  now  the  truth  of  the 
humiliating  confession  of  the  ancient  church :  We 
are  altogether  as  an  unclean  thing,  and  all  our 
righteousnesses  are  as  filthy  rags.  "  His  face  is 
turned  from  his  own  house."  The  awful  realities 
of  eternity  have  made  him  indifferent  to  temporal 
enjoyments.  How  little  now  do  all  his  present 
plans  and  pleasures,  and  interests  and  pursuits, 
appear  in  his  sight.  He  feels  that  one  thing  is 
needful ;  that  his  sweetest  earthly  comforts,  and  his 
choicest  temporal  blessings,  must  not  stand  in  the 
way  of  his  everlasting  salvation.  He  remembers 
that  it  is  ^aid,  how  solemnly  said,  Whosoever  he 
he  of  you  that  forsaketh  not  all  that  he  hath,  he 
cannot  be  my  disciple.    "  A  book  is  in  his  hand  " 


12  LECTURE  I. 

The  awakened  sinner  can  no  longer  persist  in  the 
fearful  neglect  and  sinful  disregard  of  God's  Holy 
Word  which  he  has  hitherto  practised.  He  seeks 
out  the  book  of  the  Lord,  and  reads.  He  is  anx- 
ious for  information  upon  a  matter  of  the  first  im- 
portance, and  in  which  his  everlasting  all  is  in- 
volved. He  sitteth  alone  and  keepeth  silence.  He 
ponders  continually  the  solemn  declarations  con- 
tained in  the  book  of  God.  In  that  law  doth  he 
meditate  day  and  night.  "  He  has  a  great  burden 
upon  his  back."  Oh  the  weight  of  unpardoned  sin! 
Every  one  who  is  really  awake  has  some  appre- 
hension of  the  meaning  of  this.  Mine  iniquities, 
he  says,  as  a  heavy  burden,  are  gone  over  my 
head.  Conscience  brings  up,  and  memory  records 
against  him,  innumerable  instances,  in  which  he 
has  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  God  who  made 
him.  He  has  obtained  some  true  sight  and  proper 
sense  of  his  manifold  sins  and  wickedness.  The 
remembrance  of  them  is  grievous  unto  him  ;  the 
burden  of  them  is  intolerable.  Not  yet,  however, 
has  he  been  sufficiently  humbled  nor  learned  pro- 
perly the  malignant  nature  of  sin,  as  contrary  to 
God,  and  as  an  offence  committed  against  him.  See 
how  this  deeper  conviction  is  produced. 

"  He  opened  the  book  and  read  therein,  and  as 
he  read  he  wept  and  trembled,  and  not  being  able 
longer  to  contain,  he  brake  out  with  a  lamentable 
cry,  saying,  What  shall  I  do?"  His  convictions 
deepened  with  his  increasing  knowledge  of  the 
book.  The  more  an  awakened  sinner  searches  into 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  before  he  is  established  in  the 
gospel  of  peace,  the  more  his  distress  inceases.  He 
dare  not,  however,  cease  to  read.  Painful  and  hu- 
mihating  are  the  discoveries  which  he  is  continually 


THE  AWAKENING.  13 

making ;  and  he  finds  that  by  increasing  knowledge, 
he  increaseth  sorrow,  but  still  does  he  follow  on  to 
know.  His  heart  is  softened.  He  reads  with  self-ap- 
plication. So  deeply  is  he  sensible  of  his  guilt,  that  all 
the  curses  that  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  law  ap- 
pear to  be  especially  addressed  to  him.  He  cannot 
as  yet  apprehend  the  promises.  If  he  thinks  of 
these  at  all,  he  considers  them  addressed  to  any  one 
rather  than  to  himself.  The  Holy  Spirit  gives  him, 
through  the  word,  still  clearer  views  of  the  glorious 
hohness  and  terrfble  justice  of  that  God  with  whom 
he  has  to  do,  and  against  whom  all  his  sins  have  been 
committed.  At  the  same  time  he  obtains  also,  by 
the  same  means,  a  deeper  sense  of  the  desperate 
wickedness  and  exceeding  sinfulness  of  his  own 
heart.  At  length,  hke  Peter's  hearers,  he  is  pricked 
in  his  heart,  he  can  refrain  no  longer,  and  like  them 
he  earnestly  inquires.  What  must  I  do  ? 

Here,  beloved  brethren,  let  us  pause  for  a  moment, 
to  make  a  most  important  inquiry.  Do  we  know 
any  thing  of  this  individual  conviction  of  sin  ?  The 
time  and  the  manner,  the  circumstances  and  the 
degree,  in  which  these  convictions  are  wrought  in 
the  heart  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  greatly  vary  in 
different  travellers  to  the  same  celestial  city.  But 
oh,  let  us  seriously  remember,  the  life  of  faith  and 
grace  invariably  begins  with  experience  of  this  kind. 
If  we  are  akogether  unacquainted  with  it,  we  can 
be  Christians  only  in  name  and  appearance,  but  not 
in  deed  and  in  truth. 

He  knows  no  hope  who  never  knew  a  fear. 
How  can  we  have  a  good  hope  through  grace  that 
our  sins  are  pardoned,  and  that  we  are  personally 
interested  in  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb  of 


14  LECTURE   I. 

God,  if  we  never  saw  the  plague  of  our  fallen  na- 
ture, never  bewailed  the  oifences  of  our  sinful  lives? 
Who  is  it  that  has  said,  "  They  that  be  whole  need 
not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  I  came 
not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance." 

II.  We  proceed  now  to  consider  the  Pilgrim's 
conversation  with  his  family.  For  some  time  he 
kept  his  distress  locked  up  a  secret  in  his  own 
breast.  Finding,  however,  that  ^this  concealment 
only  increased  his  anguish,  at  length  he  opened  his 
mind  to  those  with  whom  he  hved.  Addressing 
them  by  the  most  endearing  terms,  he  told  them 
how  the  troubles  of  his  heart  were  enlarged.  I  am 
undone,  he  said,  by  reason  of  the  burden  that  lieth 
hard  upon  me.  Then,  in  the  most  solemn  lan- 
guage, he  warned  them  that  they  too  were  in- 
volved in  the  same  condemnation,  and  exposed  to 
the  same  danger  of  which  he  was  so  greatly  afraid. 
I  am  certainly  informed,  he  proceeded  to  say,  that 
this  our  city  shall  be  burnt  with  fire  from  heaven, 
in  which  fearful  overthrow  we  shall  all  miserably 
come  to  ruin,  except  (which  I  do  not  yet  see)  some 
way  of  escape  may  be  found.  Little  consolation 
did  the  Pilgrim  derive  from  opening  his  mind  to  his 
carnal  relations.  They  had  no  experience  them- 
selves of  the  burden  of  which  he  complained,  and 
therefore  they  laughed  at  his  fears.  They  gave  no 
credence  to  that  word  of  warning  which  had  so 
deeply  affected  Christian,  (for  that  was  the  Pilgrim's 
name,)  and  therefore  they  treated  as  idle  tales  all 
the  awfu]  things  which  he  told  them  about  the  ap- 
proaching destruction  and  the  burning  fire.  First, 
they  tried  to  laugh  him  out  of  his  fears,  and  to  hush 
his  convictions  with  carnal  expedients.     But  this 


THE  AWAKENING.  15 

would  not  do ;  me  wound  was  too  deep  to  be  healed 
with  slight  remedies.  After  they  had  put  him  to 
bed,  and  all  the  attempts  they  made  to  soothe  and 
compose  him,  and  to  restore  him  to  his  former  state 
of  mind,  he  told  them  that  he  only  grew  worse  and 
worse.  They  then  proceeded  from  ridicule  to 
harshness.  But  Christian  gave  himself  more  en- 
tirely to  meditation,  and  reading,  and  prayer.  He 
would  walk  solitarily  in  the  fieJds,  sometimes  read- 
ing and  sometimes  praying,  and  thus  for  some  days 
he  spent  his  time. 

Dear  brethren,  how  much  there  is  in  all  this  for 
our  direction  and  instruction.  When  a  person  be- 
gins to  give  the  first  proof  of  coming  to  his  right 
mind,  often  do  his  carnal  friends  say  of  him,  that 
he  is  losing  his  senses.  Much  that  passes  within 
ihe  penitent's  breast  was  perhaps  never  intended 
to  be  divwlged  to  human  ears.  The  heart  knoweth 
its  own  bitterness,  and  a  stranger  doth  not  inter- 
meddle with  its  joy.  If  you  are  only  thoroughly 
awakened  yourself,  you  must  try  to  awaken  others. 
You  must  not  by  any  means  shrink  from  addressing 
to  those  who  more  especially  belong  to  you,  the  lan- 
guage of  affectionate  entreaty  and  solemn  warning. 
But  be  not  surprised  if  you  meet  with  reproach  and 
contempt  where  you,expected  to  find  sympathy  and 
help.  How  often  is  it  found  that  a  man's  foes 
shall  be  those  of  his  own  house.  Unless  God,  by 
his  Holy  Spirit,  open  the  eyes  and  teach  the  hearts 
of  those  among  whom  you  dwell,  they  will  ridicule 
your  spiritual  fears,  and  treat  those  solemn  passages 
of  Scripture,  which  make  you  tremble,  as  if  they 
meant  nothing  at  all.  Nay,  more  than  this,  you 
are  sure  to  meet  with  those  who  will  invent  a  thou- 
sand schemes,  and  use  a  thousand  artifices,  to  hush 


16  LECTURE  I. 

your  fears,  and  to  make  you  thoughtless  and  care- 
less, even  as  they.  Just  as  Christian's  friends  got 
him  to  bed,  and  tried  to  efface  his  serious  impres- 
sions, so  do  worldly  people  invariably  act  to  the 
awakened  sinner.  They  try  to  have  him  again 
locked  up  in  the  slumber  of  carnal  security.  If 
that  will  not  do,  they  endeavour  to  frighten  him  out 
of  his  religion,  and  labour  by  persecution  and  re- 
proach to  expel  what  they  consider  the  strange  and 
fanciful  notions  which  he  has  adopted.  But  mark, 
dear  brethren,  how  the  true  Pilgrim,  when  so  tried, 
is  distinguished  from  all  others.  He  is  neither  to 
be  soothed  nor  terrified  out  of  his  impressions.  He 
can  find  no  ease  or  abatement  of  his  spiritual  ais- 
tress  from  any  thing  that  is  ministered  for  his  relief 
by  carnal  friends.  Miserable  comforters  are  they 
all,  and  physicians  of  no  value.  And  so  he  tells 
them.  He  assures  them,  that  after  all  they  have 
done,  like  the  woman  in  the  gospel  before  she  came, 
to  the  true  Physician,  he  only  grows  worse  and 
worse.  He  fears  the  anger  of  God  more  than  the 
revilings  of  men,  and  therefore  he  is  not  daunted  by 
all  the  clamour  that  is  raised  against  him.  Per- 
ceiving, however,  that  so  little  good  is  to  be  done  at 
present,  by  intercourse  with  his  fellow-creatures,  he 
more  resolutely  cultivates  corflmunion  with  God. 
He  gives  himself  unto  prayer. 

This,  beloved,  is  the  true  way  to  seek  peace  and 
ensue  it.  How  little  can  man  do  for  the  relief  of 
him  whom  God  has  wounded,  and  in  whose  con- 
science the  arrows  of  the  Almighty  stick  fast ! 
The  same  hand  that  planted  the  wound  must  again 
be  stretched  out  for  its  healing.  Whenever  a  per- 
son is  deeply  convinced  of  his  sin  and  danger,  and 
continues  diligently  to  study  the  Scriptures,  and 


THE  AWAKENING.  IT 

earnestly  to  pray  for  Divine  teaching,  he  is  certain 
eventually  to  be  guided  into  the  way  of  peace. 
Every  one  that  asketh  receiveth,  and  he  that  seek- 
eth  findeth,  and  to  him  that  knocketh  it  shall  be 
opened.  All  needful  instruction  shall  surely  be 
given,  all  requisite  instructors  shall  certainly  be 
sent.     This  brings  us  to  consider 

III.  Christian's  first  meetingr  with  Evansfehst. 
While  he  was  in  this  awakened  state,  actually  ask 
ing,  What  must  I  do,  and  reading  and  praying,  a 
man  called  Evangehst,  (which  is  the  name  of  every 
true  minister  of  the  gospel,)  came  and  stood  before 
him.  The  conversation  that  took  place  between 
them  is  very  instructive.  Evangelist  asked  the 
weeping  man,  For  what  reason  he  was  crying? 
To  this  he  repHed,  I  perceive  by  the  book  in  my 
hand  that  I  am  condemned  to  die,  and  after  that  to 
come  to  judgment;  and  I  am  as  unwilling  to  die  as 
I  am  unable  to  stand  before  God  in  judgment.  Oh 
what  an  opening  out  is  here  of  the  inmost  heart  of 
a  convinced  sinner.  This  book  tells  me  I  must  die. 
It  tells  me  the  wages  of  sin  is  death  ;  and  the  soul 
that  sinneth  it  shall  die.  I  have  broken  God's  holy 
law ;  I  am  a  sinner,  and  therefore  this  fearful  sen- 
tence is  denounced  against  me  :  I  must  die.  But 
I  feel  an  inward  shrinking  from  the  execution  of 
this  sentence.  I  am  unwilling  to  die  ;  I  am  not 
prepared  to  die ;  I  am  afraid  to  die.  This  book 
tells  me  too,  that  God  will  bring  me  into  judgment 
for  all  that  I  have  done  during  the  time  of  my  hfe, 
and  that  I  m*st  be  judged  according  to  my  works. 
But  my  works  cannot  stand  the  severity  of  God's 
judgment.  My  own  heart  condemns  me.  And 
shall  not  he  who  is  greater  than  ray  heart,  and  who 

2* 


18  LECTUKE   I. 

knowetli  all  things,  condemn  me  also?  If  God 
deals  with  me  according  to  my  works,  my  ruin  is 
inevitable.  How  can  I  stand  before  this  holy  Lord 
God  ?  I  am  afraid  to  appear  before  his  dreadful 
bar.  Who  may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming,  and 
who  shall  stand  when  he  appeareth  ? 

The  manner  in  which  Evangelist  proceeded,  after 
this,  to  probe  the  wound  of  Christian,  is  very  strik- 
ing. Since,  (said  he  to  the  trembhng  penitent,)  since 
this  life  is  attended  with  so  many  evils,  why  are 
you  not  willing  to  die  ?  Now  observe  from  the  an- 
swer the  depth  of  Christian's  conviction.  I  fear, 
he  said,  that  this  burden,  which  is  upon  my  back, 
will  sink  me  lower  than  the  grave,  and  that  I  shall 
fall  into  Tophet,  that  is,  into  the  fearful  place,  pre- 
pared of  old  for  the  grand  adversary  and  all  his 
adherents.  When  death  approaches,  I  must  go  to 
prison,  and  then  to  judgment,  and  from  thence  to 
the  place  of  execution.  These  are  the  thoughts 
that  trouble  me.  This  is  the  reason  for  which  I 
cry.  Dear  brethren,  if  death  were  all,  if  there  was 
nothing  to  be  apprehended  after  death,  it  might  be 
well  to  rush  at  once  into  eternity,  and  there  to  seek 
refuge  from  the  many  evils  and  calamities  with 
which  we  are  encompassed.  But  where  can  a 
never-dying  soul  flee  from  the  presence  of  its 
offended  God?  Can  it  avoid  his  presence  by 
escaping  from  the  body?  Oh  no.  "If  I  make  my 
bed  in  hell  Thou  art  there."  It  is  not  from  the 
many  sorrows  of  this  present  life,  that  the  awakened 
sinner  is  mainly  anxious  to  fly.  It  is  to  be  dchvered 
from  his  burden  of  sin  ;  that  sin  which,  unless  re- 
moved, he  feels  must  sink  him  lower  than  the  grave 
Have  you,  my  brethren,  known  any  thing  of  this 
painful   apprehension?     Oh  remember   that   \i  is 


THE   AWAKENING.  19 

appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  and  after  death  the 
judgment.  If  you  are  not  fit  to  die,  you  are  not  fit 
to  appear  before  God  in  judgment.  "Agree  with 
thine  adversary  quickly,  while  thou  art  in  the  way 
with  him,  lest  he  hale  thee  to  the  judge,  and  the 
judge  deliver  thee  to  the  officer,  and  the  officer  cast 
thee  into  prison  :  for  thou  shalt  not  depart  thence, 
until  thou  hast  paid  the  very  last  mite." 

The  direction  given  by  Evangelist  is  immensely 
important.  He  pointed  with  his  finger  to  a  distant 
wicket-gate,  and  told  the  trembling  Pilgrim  that  he 
must  enter  therein.  Christian's  eyes  were  so  dim, 
and  his  mind  was  so  agitated,  that  he  could  not  see 
the  gate,  even  when  it  Avas  plainly  pointed  out.  He 
had  no  doubt,  however,  as  to  the  direction  in  which 
Evangehst  pointed,  and  he  was  able  to  discern  a 
shining  light  between  him  and  the  gate.  This  was 
all  that  he  needed  at  present,  and  quite  sufficient 
for  his  immediate  use.  Keep,  said  Evangelist,  that 
light  in  your  eye,  and  go  up  directly  thereto ;  so 
shalt  thou  see  the  gate,  at  which,  when  thou  knock- 
est,  it  shall  be  told  thee  what  thou  shalt  do. 

Here  observe,  how  true  it  is,  that  man's  extre- 
mity is  God's  opportunity.  How  seasonable  was 
the  meeting  of  the  despairing  Pilgrim  with  Evange- 
list !  The  Holy  Scriptures  are  of  themselves  able 
to  make  us  wise  unto  salvation ;  and  that  is  wise 
enough.  But  it  generally  pleases  God  to  employ 
the  instrumentality  of  some  Evangelist,  some  faith- 
ful minister  of  the  gospel,  in  imparting  peace  and 
consolation  to  the  wounded  conscience.  Since  the 
world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by 
the  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  them  that 
beheve.  Are  any  of  you,  dear  brethren,  going 
heavily  and  weighed  down  under  the  load  of  sin  ? 


20l  LECTUKE  I. 

Do  not  then  be  surprised  if  we  probe  your  wounds 
before  we  attempt  to  heal  them.  If  you  are  slightly 
wounded  you  will  be  content  with  a  slight  cure ; 
but  if  you  are  thoroughly  wounded,  nothing  will 
satisfy  you  but  a  thorough  cure.  When  the  minis- 
ter points  out  to  you  the  narrow  way  of  life,  by 
faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  it  may  not  at  first  be  plain 
and  visible  to  you.  But  only  be  looking  unto  Jesus, 
and  go  in  the  right  direction.  Obey  what  is  plain, 
and  what  you  see  not  now,  you  shall  see  presently. 
Keep  your  eye  fixed  upon  the  shining  light  of 
God's  most  holy  word.  The  entrance  of  thy  word 
giveth  light,  it  giveth  understanding  to  the  simple. 
Be  faithful  to  that  light,  and  follow  up  your  convic- 
tions. Dread  nothing  so  much  as  to  smother  your 
convictions,  and  to  rebel  against  your  light.  Keep 
that  light  in  your  eye,  and  go  up  directly  thereto, 
and  when  you  knock  at  the  gate,  it  shall  be  told 
you  what  you  have  to  do.  "To  the  upright  there 
ariseth  light  in  the  darkness."  "His  going  forth 
is  prepared  as  the  morning;"  and  "then  shall  we 
know,  if  we  follow  on  to  know."  "  Jesus  said.  If 
any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doc- 
trine, whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of 
myself." 

THE  HYMN. 

My  former  hopes  are  fled, 

My  terror  now  begins ; 
X  feel,  alas,  that  I  am  dead 

In  trespasses  and  sins. 

Ah,  whither  shall  I  fly  ? 

I  hear  the  thunder  roar; 
The  law  proclaims  destruction  nigh, 

And  vengeance  at  the  door. 


THE   AWAKENING.  2% 

When  I  review  my  ways, 

]  dread  impending  doom  ; 
But  hark,  a  friendly  whisper  says, — 

"Flee  from  the  wrath  to  come." 

I  see,  or  think  I  see, 

A  glimmering  from  afar  ; 
A  beam  of  day,  that  shines  for  me, 

To  save  me  from  despair. 

Forerunner  of  the  sun. 

It  marks  the  pilgrim's  way; 
I'll  gaze  upon  it  while  I  run, 

And  watch  the  rising  day. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  thou  great  and  glorious  Lord  God,  the  God  of  the  spi- 
rits of  all  flesh,  we  humbly  beg  thy  blessing  upon  the  solemn 
truths  which  have  now  been  brought  before  us.  For  thy 
dear  Son  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  send  thy  Holy  Spirit  into  our 
hearts,  and  eflfectually  convince  us  of  sin.  Show  us  that  we 
are  altogether  as  an  unclean  thing,  and  that  all  our  righteous- 
nesses are  as  filthy  rags.  May  we  burst  every  tie,  which 
prevents  the  salvation  of  our  souls.  May  thy  holy  word  be 
our  constant  study ;  and  may  it  discover  to  us  our  true  con- 
dition in  thy  sight.  If  we  have  never  yet  done  so,  Lord 
grant  that  we  may  now  individually  inquire,  "  What  must  I 
do  to  be  saved  ?"  Enable  us  by  thy  grace  to  act  with  wis- 
dom and  faithfulness  to  those  around  us,  especially  to  our 
kindred  according  to  the  flesh.  May  we  warn  them  of  their 
danger ;  and  if  they  refuse  to  hearken,  oh  let  them  not  pre- 
vail upon  us  to  sleep  as  do  others,  but  may  we  give  ourselves 
to  prayer.  And  when  we  feel  that  we  are  exposed  to  thine 
anger,  and  that  the  heavy  burden  of  our  sins  will  sink  u3 
lower  than  the  grave ;  oh  do  thou  in  mercy  send  us  a  faith- 
ful Ambassador  to  do  the  work  of  an  Evangelist.  Send  out 
thy  light  and  thy  truth,  and  guide  our  feet  into  the  way  of 
peace.  Make  us  perfectly  to  know  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ,  to 
be  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.  Give  us  grace  to  be 
faithful  to  the  light  we  have,  that  in  due  time  more  light  may 
be  given  to  us.  May  we  follow  on  to  know  thee,  and  con- 
stantly knock  at  the  gate  of  mercy,  until  it  is  opened  to  us 
and  vye  are  there  told  what  things  we  ought  to  do.  We  ask 
this  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  our  only 
Lord  and  Saviour.     Amen. 


LECTURE  II. 

TEMPTATIONS    TO   DRAW   BACK. 


In  all  my  Lord's  appointed  ways, 

My  journey  I'll  pursue  ; 
Hinder  me  not,  ye  much  loved  saints, 

For  I  must  go  with  you. 

Through  floods  and  flames,  if  Jesus  leads, 

I'll  follow  where  he  goes  ; 
Hinder  me  not,  shall  be  my  cry, 

Though  earth  and  hell  oppose. 

Through  duty  and  through  trials  too, 

I'll  go  at  his  command : 
Hinder  me  not,  for  I  am  bound 

To  my  Immanuel's  land. 


Hebrews  xi.  15. 

AND  TRUIT,  IF  THET  HAD  BEEN  MINDFUL  OP  THAT  COUNTRY  FROM  WHENCB 
THEY  CAME  OUT,  THEY  MIGHT  HATE  HAD  OPPORTUNITY  TO  HAVE  RE- 
TURNED. 

When  a  person  is  really  convinced  of  sin,  and 
begins  in  earnest  to  seek  after  the  salvation  of 
Christ,  he  becomes  a  pilgrim.  Then  he  perceives 
how  necessary  it  is  for  him  "  to  escape  for  his  life ;" 
and  he  turns  his  back  upon  the  City  of  Destruction, 
breaks  loose  from  the  various  ties,  the  sins  and  fol- 
lies, the  pleasures  and  pursuits,  that  have  hitherto  j 
bound  him  to  this  present  evil  world,  and  he  sets  < 
22                                                                                                         \ 


TEMPTATIONS   TO   DRAW  BACK.  23 

his  face  steadfastly  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  Sel- 
dom, however,  does  he  proceed  far,  before  he  en- 
counters various  temptations  and  inducements, 
which  strongly  urge  him  to  relapse  again  into  his 
former  state  of  insensibility  and  carnal  security. 
"  And  truly,  if  he  had  been  mindful  of  that  country 
from  whence  he  came  out,  he  might  have  had  op- 
portunity to  have  returned." 

We  left  our  pilgrim,  in  the  last  lecture,  just  after 
the  important  instructions  he  had  received  from 
Evangelist.  The  temptations  that  he  met  with  to 
return  to  the  City  of  Destruction,  at  his  very  outset 
from  it,  w411  form  the  subject  of  our  present  dis- 
course. These  temptations  arose  from  three  dif- 
ferent sources  : 

I.  The  clamour  of  his  family. 
II.  The  advice  of  worldly  neighbours. 
III.  The  sad  despair  into  which  he  fell. 

Let  us  try  to  view  these  important  particulars,  in 
the  light  of  God's  holy  word,  and  may  the  Holy 
Spirit  make  the  consideration  of  them  profitable  to 
our  souls. 

I.  The  first  temptation  which  Christian  met  with 
to  turn  him  back,  arose  from  the  clamour  of  his 
family.  No  sooner  had  he  received  the  important 
instructions  of  Evangelist,  than  he  followed  them 
immediately.  He  could  not  indeed  actually  see  the 
gate  through  which  he  must  enter,  although  Evan- 
gelist pointed  it  out  to  him.  But  he  had  sufficient 
light  for  his  present  direction.  He  knew  clearly 
which  way  he  was  to  take.  A  shining  hght  was 
before  him,  and  he  was  cheered  with  the  sweet  as- 


24  LECTURE   II. 

surance  that,  if  guided  by  that,  all  would  be  plain 
in  due  time.  With  this  promise,  therefore,  and 
this  information,  he  not  only  set  off,  but  he  began 
to  run.  He  had  not,  however,  run  far  from  his 
own  door,  when  his  wife  and  children  began  to  cry 
after  him,  and  begged  him  to  return.  You  remem- 
ber before  he  had  actually  set  out,  how  solemnly 
and  affectionately  he  had  spoken  to  them.  Oh  how 
glad  he  would  have  been,  if  only  they  would  have 
gone  with  him !  But  they  would  not  at  that  time 
listen  to  his  voice.  They  did  not  see  and  feel  as  he 
did,  and  he  could  not  change  their  hearis.  Now 
therefore,  that  they  are  crying  after  him,  and  beg- 
ging him  to  stay,  what  are  they  doing  ?  They  are 
asking  him  to  resist  the  clear  light  that  has  been 
imparted  to  his  conscience ;  to  disobey  the  plain 
and  positive  direction  which  he  has  received,  and 
thus  to  involve  him  in  that  impending  destruction, 
which  he  is  anxious  above  all  things  to  escape. 
The  manner  m  which  Christian  acted  under  this 
temptation,  is  touching  and  affectiilg  in  the  extreme. 
"He  put  his  fingers  in  his  ears,  and  ran  on  crying, 
Life  !  life  !  eternal  life  !  So  he  looked  not  behind 
him,  but  fled  towards  the  middle  of  the  plain."  "He 
put  his  fingers  in  his  ears."  He  durst  not  trust  him- 
self to  give  any  ear  to  the  seductive  voices  of  those 
whom  he  loved  so  well.  He  felt  it  unsafe  to  stop 
for  a  moment  to  parley  with  the  temptation.  "He 
ran  on."  He  was  certain  that  nothing  but  retaining 
in  his  soul  a  quick  and  lively  sense  of  the  all-ab- 
sorbing importance  of  eternal  things,  could  save 
him  from  this  snare,  and  therefore  he  cried  as  he 
ran,  "Life  !  life  !  eternal  life  !"  Nay,  so  jealous  was 
ne  of  his  own  heart,  and  so  deeply  did  he  feel  that  it 
might  be  enticed  back  again  to  the  place  from  which 


TEMPTATIONS  TO  DEAW  BACK.  25 

he  had  set  out,  that  he  ventures  not  to  stay  in  all 
the  plain, 

Or  cast  one  longing,  lingering  look  behind. 

He  remembers  Lot's  wife.     "He  looked  not  behind 
him,  but  fled  towards  the  middle  of  the  plain." 

Some  of  you,  my  brethren,  may  at  present  be  in 
circumstances  somewhat  similar  to  these.  Listen 
then  very  attentively  to  the  scriptural  admonitions 
that  are  here  addressed  to  you.  When  you  have 
the  plain  word  of  God  for  your  guide,  make  hast© 
and  delay  not  to  keep  the  commandments  of  God» 
You  are  engaged  in  a  matter  that  requires  haste,, 
when  you  are  fleeing  from  the  wrath  to  come.  B@ 
anxious  therefore,  not  only  to  walk  in  the  narrow 
Way  of  life,  but  to  run  the  race  which  is  set  before^ 
you.  And  oh  remember,  w^hatever  enticing  voices 
may  endeavour  to  stop  your  progress,  or  to  call  you 
back,  remember,  I  say,  that  you  are  escaping  for 
your  life.  It  is  still,  dear  friends,  almost  impossible 
for  any  one,  thoroughly  awakened  to  the  value  of 
his  souJ,  to  take  a  decided  part  and  to  follow  the 
dictates  of  an  enhghtened  conscience,  and  not  to  be 
tried  with  the  entreaties  of  carnal  relatives.  If  you 
are  thoroughly  awake,  and  they  are  not^  how  can  it 
be  otherwise  ?  If  you  are  confident,  from  God's 
word,  that  the  life  you  have  been  leading  can  only 
issue  in  eternal  death,  and  they  see  no  manner  of 
harm  in  such  a  life,  what  can  you  expect  ?  Be  sure 
that  you  first  use  all  prudent,  all  afl^ectionate,  and 
all  solemn  means  to  bring  them  to  a  better  mind, 
and  to  induce  them  to  set  out  with  you  on  a  new 
and  a  better  course.  But  if  they  altogether  refuse, 
to  do  this,  if  they  have  no  heart  for  the  narrow  way 
and  the  strait  gate  ;  if  they  will  neither  go  in  them- 


26  LECTtUB  m 

selves,  nor  suffer  others  that  were  entering ;  then 
consider,  very  seriously*  what  you  have  to  do.  If 
you  cannot  go  to  heaven  in  company,  go  alone  ! 
Resolutely  stop  your  ears  to  all  the  representations 
of  your  unconverted  friends  and  relations  ;  and  oh 
remember  that  death,  eternal  death,  is  behind  you, 
nrid  life,  eternal  life,  before  you  !  If  you  are  at  all 
disposed  to  compromise,  or  to  listen  to  the  entreaties 
of  the  worldly  and  the  unawakened,  this  will  cer- 
tainly be  the  result.  While  you  do  not  at  all  bene- 
fit them,  they  will  most  certainly  injure  or  ruin 
you.  You  will  soon  lose  the  quick  impression 
which  you  now  have  of  eternal  things.  You  will 
sink  into  indifference  and  worldliness,  and  uncon- 
cern; and  if  death  overtake  you  in  such  a  state, 
you  will  miserably  perish  under  the  aggravated  sin 
of  having  resisted  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  fought 
against  the  convictions  of  your  own  conscience. 
Oh  consider,  "  What  will  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul !"  You 
had  better  break  asunder  the  nearest  and  dearest  of 
all  earthly  ties;  you  had  better  suffer  the  loss  of  all 
things,  life,  health,  reputation  ;  better  far  to  lose 
them  all  than  lose  your  soul.  "  If  thy  right  hand 
offend  thee,  cut  it  off,  and  cast  it  from  thee."  Say, 
did  not  the  Pilgrim  do  well  when  "  he  stopped  his 
ears,  and  ran  on  crying:  Life,  life,  eternal  life; 
.  and  looked  not  behind  him,  but  fled  to  the  middle 
of  the  plain?"     Go  thou  and  do  hkewise. 

II.  Let  us  now  pass  on  to  consider  Christian's 
next  temptation  to  return.  This- arose  from  the  ad- 
vice of  his  carnal  neighbours.  Obstinate  and  Pli- 
able. These  two  men  were  more  zealous  in  their 
•endeavours  to  brine:  him  back  than  the  rest  of  his 


TEMPTATIONS  TO   DRAW  BACK.  27 

acquaintance,  and  they  set  out  after  him  for  this 
purpose.  As  soon  as  they  overtook  him,  they 
plainly  told  him  that  this  was  their  intention  ;  but 
Christian  ansAvered,  he  could  by  no  means  consent 
to  return  with  them  to  the  City  of  Destruction.  It 
was,  he  owned,  his  native  place;  but  now  he  was 
most  certainly  assured,  that  every  individual  Hving 
and  dying  there,  must  sooner  or  later  perish  with 
an  overthrow ;  and  therefore,  instead  of  turning 
back  with  them,  he  earnestly  invites  them  to  go 
along  with  him.  In  vain  does  he  represent  to  Ob- 
stinate the  superior  value  of  the  blessings  to  be 
gained  to  those  which  must  be  relinquished.  In 
vain  does  he  speak  of  the  goodly  inheritance,  and 
appeal  to  his  book,  the  book  of  the  King,  for  the 
certainty  of  what  he  says.  Obstinate  cares  nothing 
for  the  book  that  opposes  his  wishes  and  inclina- 
tions, and  contemptuously  says  :  "Away  with  your 
book,"  urging  him  again  to  return.  But  he  has 
laid  his  hands  to  the  plough  and  cannot  look  back. 
Seeing  then  that  no  impression  was  to  be  made 
upon  Christian,  Obstinate  proposes  to  his  comrade 
Pliable  that  they  leave  him,  as  a  weak  and  foolish 
person,  who  was  determined  to  follow  his  own  dis- 
ordered fancy.  But  lo  !  the  few  good  words  which 
Christian  had  uttered  are  now  found  to  have  made 
some  impression  upon  Pliable  ;  and  instead  of  join- 
ing in  the  reviling  of  his  comrade,  he  declares  that 
his  heart  inclines  to  go  on  pilgrimage.  The  joy  of 
Christian,  and  the  indignation  of  Obstinate,  are 
about  equal  at  this  unexpected  declaration.  Pliable 
proposes  his  resolution  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  Chris- 
tian ;  and  Obstinate  returns  alone  to  the  city  of 
Destruction.  Now  Pliable  had  hastily  caught  at 
the  good  things  mentioned  by  Christian,  and  desired 


28  LECTURE   IL 

to  possess  them ;  but  he  had  no  burden  upon  his 
back,  and  he  had  not  counted  the  cost  of  the  journey 
upon  which  he  was  entering.  His  conversation 
evidently  savours  of  one  who  fondly  aspires  to  the 
wearing  of  a  croivn,  without  any  intention  of  first 
bearing  a  cross.  He  inquires  first,  very  properly, 
if  Christian  knows  the  way  to  the  celestial  city  ; 
and  upon  what  ground  he  is  assured  of  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  things  of  which  lie  speaks.  And 
Avith  great  propriety  Christian  refers  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  Evangehst,  and  the  testimony  of  one  who 
cannot  lie.  But  his  principal  questions  refer  to  the 
good  things  to  be  enjoyed  in  the  better  land.  When 
he  hears  of  the  everlasting  kingdom,  and  the  glitter- 
ing crown,  the  wiping  away  of  every  tear,  and  com- 
munion with  saints  and  angels  in  the  blissful  pre- 
sence of  God  and  of  the  Lamb ;  when  he  listens  to 
this,  his  feelings  are  highly  wrought  upon,  and  he 
says  :  "the  hearing  of  this  is  enough  to  ravish  one's 
heart."  He  rejoices  at  the  terms  on  which  this 
goodly  inheritance  is  to  be  obtained.  When  Chris- 
tian tells  him,  it  is  recorded  in  the  book,  that  if  we 
be  truly  willing  to  have  it,  the  Lord  of  that  country 
is  truly  willing  to  bestow  it  upon  \\s  freely,  then  his 
joy  is  greatly  excited,  and  he  proposes  to  Christian 
that  "  they  mend  their  pace."  He  heard  the  word 
and  anon  with  joy  received  it,  but  he  had  no  root  in 
himself,  and,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  in  time  of 
temptation  he  fell  away.  Now,  though  Christian 
spoke  to  him  of  these  glorious  promises,  it  is  clearly 
evident,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  con- 
versation, that  the  main  difference  between  the  two 
consisted  in  this  :  "  Christian  was  deeply  convinced 
of  sin ;  Pliable  was  not."  When  Obstinate  went 
back,  Christian  said,  "Had  he  but  felt  what  I  have 


TEMFl^TIONS   TO   DRAW  BACK.  29 

felt,  of  the  powers  and  terrors  of  what  is  yet  unseen, 
he  would  not  thus  lightly  have  given  us  the  back." 
And  when  Pliable,  excited  by  the  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  the  glory  to  be  revealed,  proposed  to  mend 
their  pace,  Christian,  with  great  point  and  humility 
replied,  "I  cannot  go  so  fast  as  I  would,  by  reason 
of  this  burden  which  is  upon  my  back." 

(1.)  Learn,  dear  brethren,  from  all  this,  first  of  all, 
the  necessity  of  decision.  How  did  Christian  pre- 
vail over  the  arguments  of  Obstinate  and  Pliable 
when  they  came  upon  him,  resolved  to  bring  him 
back  to  the  City  of  Destruction  ?  By  what  means 
was  he  enabled  to  send  one  of  them  back  ashamed, 
and  to  induce  the  other  to  change  his  resolution, 
and  to  profess  the  faith  which  he  came  to  oppose  ? 
It  was  by  a  bold,  firm,  and  unyielding  maintenance 
of  the  great  truths  which  he  had  learned  from  his 
book,  and  which  he  had  felt  in  his  heart.  Let  us 
seek  to  have  a  deep,  reahzing  impression  of  eternal 
things  upon  our  hearts,  and  to  have  the  word  of 
truth  well  treasured  up  in  our  memory.  Then  we 
shall  not  be  of  the  number  of  those  who  draw  back  to 
perdition  ;  and  we  shall  know  how  to  answer  every 
man  that  asketh  us  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in 
us.  Let  us  show  clearly  that  we  are  influenced 
ourselves  by  the  truth  we  profess  ;  that,  at  what- 
ever cost  or  sacrifice,  we  have  renounced  the  world 
and  all  the  vain  things  of  which  it  can  boast,  for  the 
service  of  Christ ;  and  who  can  tell  what  shall  be 
the  result  ?  We  shall  at  any  rate  be  able  to  put 
to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men ;  and,  for 
aught  we  know,  they  who  were  most  opposed  to 
our  principles  may  be  induced  to  embrace  and 
profess  them.  It  is  the  decided,  uncompromising 
follower  of  Christ,  that  he  owns  and  honours  as  his 

3* 


80  LECTURE  II. 

instrument  in  gathering  others  to  him,  besides  those 
that  are  gathered.  If  you  are  a  real  Christian, 
your  principles  are  taken  from  the  word  of  eternal 
truth.  You  cannot  alter  them.  You  must  not 
flinch  from  them.  Oh  do  not  attempt  to  make  them 
more  palatable  to  the  taste  of  the  ungodly  !  If  you 
are  right,  they  must  adopt  your  principles,  while  i 
is  at  your  peril,  if  you  adopt  theirs.  "  Let  them 
return  unto  thee,  but  return  not  thou  unto  them." 

(2.)  Again,  let  us  all  learn  to  distinguish  an  easy 
pliable  disposition  from  the  broken  heart  of  a  genu- 
ine penitent.  You  may  be  very  opposite  to  an  ob- 
stinate man,  with  whom  you  have  been  associated. 
You  may  have  a  great  respect  for  real  Christians ; 
but  if  you  confine  your  view  only  to  the  bright  side 
of  religion ;  if  you  are  carried  away  by  its  lively 
representations  of  peace  and  rest,  and  joy  and  glory, 
without  any  thorough  awakening  to  the  power  and 
terror  of  the  unseen  world,  and  without  any  feeling 
of  the  burden  upon  your  back, — I  mean  a  sense  of 
your  depraved  and  sinful  state, — if  this,  I  say,  be 
your  experience,  "your  goodness  will  only  be  as 
the  morning  cloud  and  the  early  dew."  You  are  only 
a  stony-ground  hearer.  Notwithstanding  your  lively 
emotions,  your  ready  profession,  your  joyful  feel- 
ings, and  your  hasty  movements,  you  have  no  root 
in  yourself.  You  will  endure  but  for  a  season. 
When  tribulation  or  persecution  ariseth  because  of 
the  word,  you  will  be  offended.  Oh  the  unspeakable 
blessing  of  a  thoroughly  awakened,  a  deeply  humble 
heart !  Let  us  remember  that  this  is  the  special 
work  of  the  Ploly  Spirit ;  and  however  painlul  or 
distressing,  let  us  constantly  seek,  that  by  his 
gracious  operation  it  may  be  actually  wrought 
within  us. 


TEMPTATIONS   TO   DRAW   BACK.  31 

III.  We  come  now  to  consider  the  next  tempta- 
tion of  Christian  to  turn  back.  This,  as  we  shall 
find,  proved  the  unsoundness  of  Phable's  profession. 
As  they  two  journeyed  on,  they  drew  nigh  to  a 
very  miry  Slough,  called  the  Slough  of  Despond. 
They  both,  through  heedlessness,  were  plunged  in 
the  bog,  and,  to  their  utter  amazement,  were  left 
for  awhile  to  stick  fast  in  the  mire  and  the  clay, 
where  there  was  no  standing.  Christian,  however, 
fared  much  worse  than  his  new  companion  in  this 
unexpected  trouble.  By  reason  of  the  burden  upon 
his  back,  with  which  the  other  was  unencumbered, 
he  sunk  much  deeper  and  was  less  able  to  do  any- 
thing for  himself. 

This  calamity  was  too  much  for  Phable.  He 
began  to  be  offended,  and  angrily  spoke  to  Chris- 
tian, as  if  he  had  deceived  and  betrayed  him.  Is 
this,  he  said,  the  happiness  of  which  j^ou  have  been 
telling  me  ?  Let  me  onjy  get  out  of  this  place  with 
my  hfe,  and  you  shall  possess  the  brave  country 
alone  for  me.  Then,  with  a  desperate  effort,  he 
contrived  to  reach  the  side  of  the  bog  nearest  to  his 
own  house,  in  the  City  of  Destruction ;  managed  to 
extricate  himself  from  the  mire,  and  instantly,  with 
all  speed,  returned  to  his  home.  Not  so  the  poor 
burdened  Pilgrim.  Though  left  alone  to  sink  and 
stick  in  that  fearful  place,  and  weighed  down  by  his 
burden  into  its  lowest  depths,  he  has  still  a  greater 
dread  of  the  place  from  which  he  set  out,  than  he 
has  of  his  present  uncomfortable  position.  And 
therefore  all  his  efforts  are  directed  to  reach  the 
side  which  was  farthest  from  his  house  ;  the  side 
which  lay  in  the  direction  of  the  wicket-gate.  This 
showed  the  uprightness  of  his  heart ;  for  though 
in  his  haste,  and  for  want  of  more  diligent  heed,  he 


82  LECTURE   II. 

had  missed  altogether  the  steps,  by  which  be  miglit 
have  safely  passed  this  dangerous  wa}',  he  still 
struggled  in  the  right  direction,  and  entertained  not 
a  moment  the  thought  of  returning  back,  to  be  free 
from  his  trouble.  He  had  no  power,  however,  to 
help  himself.  "  He  could  not  get  out,  because  of 
the  burden  that  was  upon  his  back."  But  he  found 
the  aid  that  he  required  in  the  midst  of  his  per- 
plexity. A  man  whose  name  was  Help,  came  to 
him,  and  having  asked  him  a  few  questions,  to  as- 
certain his  views  and  wishes,  immediately  took  his 
hand  and  drew  him  out,  and  set  him  on  good  ground, 
and  bade  him  go  on  his  way. 

When  this  man,  Help,  was  questioned  why  the 
Lord  of  the  country  suffered  this  place  to  remain 
unrepaired,  to  the  great  annoyance  of  Pilgrims,  he 
answered  the  inquiry  most  wisely.  In  the  first 
place,  the  nature  of  the  soil  was  such,  that  it  could 
not  be  thoroughly  mended.  All  the  doubts  and 
fears,  and  terrors  and  discouragements,  of  those  who 
were  either  partially  or  entirely  convinced  of  sin, 
descended  into  this  place.  And  by  meeting  to- 
gether, and  settling  here,  they  caused  the  ground 
to  be  as  it  was.  The  Lord  of  the  country  has  no 
pleasure  in  this  bog  remaining  as  a  snare  and  a  trap 
to  his  Pilgrims.  He  has  charged  his  servants  in 
all  ages  dih'gently  to  labour  for  the  benefit  of  tra- 
vellers, when  they  approach  this  region.  Fie  has 
commanded  them  to  show  how  unfounded  are  their 
fears,  and  how  unnecessary  it  is  for  genuine  peni- 
tents to  fall  into  these  pits.  But  after  all  their 
labour,  the  Slough  of  Despond  still  remains,  and 
every  soul  of  man,  fleeing  from  the  City  of  Destruc- 
tion, and  striving  to  enter  in  at  the  Strait  Gate,  is 
liable  for  awhile  (and  especially  upon  his  first  setting 


TEMPTATIONS   TO   DRAW  BACK.  33 

cnt)  to  slip  into  this  fearfuJ  place,  and  to  be  plunged 
in  darkness,  and  doubt,  and  despondenc}^  respect- 
ing his  escape.  But  the  good  will  of  the  Lord  of 
the  country  is  most  especially  seen  in  this.  He  has 
caused  his  gracious  promises,  like  so  many  steps, 
to  be  placed  from  one  side  of  the  Slough  to  the  other. 
By  taking  heed  to  these,  and  making  a  proper  use 
of  them,  all  Pilgrims,  under  their  heaviest  burdens, 
might  pass  over  safely  without  ever  being  defiled 
with  the  mire  of  despond.  Few,  however,  very 
few,  are  so  happy  as  to  find  these  steps,  and  to  use 
them  directly  ;  indeed,  there  are  seasons  when  they 
are  hardly  seen ;  or  if  they  are,  men,  through  the 
dizziness  of  their  heads,  step  beside,  and  then  they 
sink  into  despondency,  although  the  steps  of  pro- 
mise are  hard  by. 

The  application  of  this  part  of  the  allegory  must 
be  evident  to  us  all. 

If  we  have  set  out  on  the  heavenly  road,  and 
would  not,  like  Phable,  turn  again  to  folly,  let  us 
expect  tribulation  as  we  journey  on,  and  be  pre- 
pared to  meet  it  with  unflinching  face.  What  is 
the  meaning  of  denying  ourselves  daily,  taking  up 
the  cross  and  following  Christ  ?  Why  has  he  told 
us,  "  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation  ?"  yea, 
and  that  "  through  much  tribulation  we  must  enter 
into  the  kingdom."  Why  is  all  this  ?  and  what  does 
it  mean,  if  the  hfe  of  a  Christian  consisted  in  that 
constant  round  of  business  and  amusement,  in  which 
many  consume  their  days ;  or  if  it  were  consistent 
w4th  that  self-indulgent,  self-pleasing  life,  which  all 
men  naturally  choose  for  themselves  ?  Alas,  how 
many  Pliables  there  are  in  every  congregation! 
As  it  is  expressed  in  another  part  of  this  wonderful 
allegory,  they  will  be  religious  us  long  as  rehgion 


34  LECTURE   II. 

goes  in  silver  slippers.  As  long  as  they  can  go 
safely, — as  long  as  it  is  sunshine, — as  long  as  they 
can  be  flattered  and  admired  by  others,  and  be  sure 
of  heaven  without  a  struggle,  then  they  are  pil- 
grims, and  none  are  more  alert  than  they.  But 
when  the  sun  goes  down,  when  tribulation  or  per- 
secution arises,  when  self-wiJl  and  self-importance 
have  to  be  crossed,  when  reproach  and  contempt 
have  to  be  encountered,  when  their  bright  hopes  of 
heaven  are  overcast,  when  all  their  imagined  good- 
ness is  plunged  as  it  were  in  the  ditch,  and  all  their 
fine  performances  covered  over  with  mire  and  clay; 
what  do  they  think  then  ?  Oh,  then  they  will  not 
believe  that  this  is  the  way  to  heaven,  or  if  it  be,  they 
will  have  none  of  it.  They  make  a  desperate  efTort  to 
raise  themselves  out  of  the  mire,  and  to  exalt  them- 
selves to  their  former  elevation.  Their  hearts  go  back 
after  the  follies  and  vanities  they  professed  to  have 
renounced  ;  they  withdraw  from  the  afflicted  mem- 
bers of  Christ,  and  are  again  seen  to  swell  the  ranks 
of  the  ungodly.  Seek,  my  brethren,  a  broken  and 
a  contrite  heart,  and  a  resolute  determination  to  fol- 
low Christ,  from  a  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  his 
salvation,  and  your  perishing  condition  without  it. 
Then  you  will  be  turned  aside  by  no  difficulties ; 
and  though  you  sink  and  fall  into  divers  tempta- 
tions and  tribulations,  you  shall  rise  at  length  supe- 
rior to  them  all. 

(2.)  Finally,  the  experience  of  Christian  in  this 
place  is  very  instructive  to  the  upright  soul.  Would 
you  avoid  the  deep  waters  and  the  painfully  dis- 
tressing experience  through  which  many  have 
passed  in  their  progress  through  this  sinful  world  ? 
Be  sure  that  you  look  diligently  for  the  steps  of 
promise,  which  alone  can  bear  you  up,  and  keep 


TEMPTATIONS   TO   DRAW  BACK.  35 

you  from  harm,  when  painful  thoughts  and  sharp 
convictions  are  well  nigh  ready  to  plunge  you  into 
despair.  Search  diligently  for  the  exceeding  great 
and  precious  promises  that  are  made  in  the  Bible, 
to  all  that  are  weary  and  heavy-laden.  And  when 
you  have  found  them,  use  them.  Step,  as  it  were, 
from  one  to  another,  as  your  circumstances  require. 
Firmly  depend  on  these  promises,  as  made  to  you, 
so  shall  you  be  established  and  upheld  when  you 
were  almost  gone,  and  your  feet  had  well  nigh 
shpped.  But  if  through  unwatchfulness,  or  the 
pressure  of  temptation,  the  power  of  unbehef,  the 
weight  of  your  burden,  or  the  greatness  of  your 
fear,  you  have  already  sunk  into  a  dark  and  des- 
ponding frame  of  mind  ;  be  not  swallowed  up  with 
over-much  sorrow,  and  give  no  indulgence  to  hard 
and  bitter  thoughts  of  God.  Do  not  think  that  a 
strange  thing  has  befallen  you,  and  that  your  case 
is  singular,  and  more  desperate  and  sad  than  that 
of  any  beside.  Oh  remember  the  sorrowful  com- 
plaints that  have  been  uttered  so  often  by  the  pre- 
cious saints  of  God.  "  Save  me,  O  God,"  they  have 
cried,  "  for  the  waters  are  come  in  unto  my  soul.  I 
sink  in  deep  mire,  where  there  is  no  standing.  I 
am  come  into  deep  waters,  where  the  floods  over- 
flow me.  Deliver  me  out  of  the  mire,  and  let  me 
not  sink."  And  when  they  thus  cried  unto  him  out 
of  the  depths,  in  due  time  he  sent  to  help  them,  and 
saved  them  out  of  all  their  distresses.  Thus  he 
will  do  to  you,  and  to  every  one  cast  down  under 
ihe  burden  of  sin,  and  ready  to  sink  in  the  deep 
waters  of  despair.  Only  cast  your  eye  and  fix 
your  hope  on  the  way  which  has  been  pointed  out 
to  you.  Look  again,  and  again,  to  Him  who  is  the 
W  y,  and  the  Truths  and  the  Life.     Never  think 


36  LECTURE  ir. 

of  deliverance  by  turning  again  to  the  place  froir. 
which  you  have  set  out.  Cry,  as  you  sink,  to  Him 
who  is  able  to  save  you  from  perishing.  And  the 
man,  whose  name  is  Help — Jesus,  both  God  and 
man,  upon  whom  help  is  laid,  and  who  is  mighty 
to  save— will  stretch  forth  the  right  hand  of  his 
mercy  on  your  behalf.  Then  your  cheerful  song 
shall  be  :  "I  waited  patiently  for  the  Lord,  and  he 
inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry.  He  brought 
me  up  also  out  of  an  horrible  pit,  out  of  the  miry 
clay,  and  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock,  and  estabhshed 
my  goings.  And  he  has  put  a  new  song  in  my 
mouth,  even  praise  unto  our  God.  Many  shall 
see  it,  and  fear,  and  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord*" 

HYMN. 

O  God,  my  refuge  and  my  all, 
To  ihce  for  help  I  humbly  call ; 
Where  else  can  wretched  sinners  fly, 
When  danger  and  distress  are  nigh  ? 

My  soul,  with  conscious  guilt  opprest, 
Can  find  no  comfort,  ease,  or  rest ; 
O  bring  thy  pard'ning  mercy  near! 
Remove  my  sin,  subdue  my  fear. 

A  tempest  from  the  frowning  skiea 
Fills  me  with  terror  and  surprise  ; 
The  waves  of  grief  like  mountains  roll, 
To  overwhelm  my  fainting  soul. 

O  let  my  poor  distracted  mind 
In  Thee  relief  and  comfort  find  ; 
Be  thou  my  rock  and  refuge  nigh, 
And  save  me  ere  I  sink  and  die. 


f^MI^TAflONS  "Jo   DRAW  feACK»  ST 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  merciful  God,  who  hast  made  all  men,  and  wouMst  nol 
she  death  of  a  sinner,  bul  rather  that  he  should  be  converted 
and  Iive>  look  down  in  mercy  upon  us,  who  desire  now 
humbly  to  approach  the  throne  cf  thy  grace.  Lord,  hear  us 
in  the  day  of  trouble,  send  us  help  from  the  sanctuary,  and 
strengthen  us  Out  of  Zion-.  Give  us-,  we  beseech  thee,  that 
deep  conviction  of  sin,  and  that  reaUzing  sense  of  eternal 
things,  that  we  may  be  effectually  warned  to  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come.  And  sin'ce  we  are  set  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  and  such  great  dangers,  grant  to  us  such  strength  and 
protection  as  may  support  us  in  all  dangers,  and  carry  us 
through  all  temptations.  May  we  never  be  turned  aside  by 
any  of  the  trials,  or  snares,  or  discouragements,  that  we  meet 
in  the  way.  Teach  us  to  feel  that  we  are  escaping  for  our 
lives ;  and  suffer  us  not  to  linger  in  all  the  plain,  neither  to 
look  behind  us.  Lord  !  grant  that  we  may  be  deaf  to  every 
voice  that  would  call  us  back,  and  unmoved  by  all  the  coun- 
sel that  would  turn  us  from  the  narrow  way  of  life  to  the 
broad  road  of  destruction.  May  we  look  well  to  our  goings, 
that  we  may  embrace  and  ever  hold  fast  the  blessed  hope  of 
everlasting  life  set  before  us  in  the  gospel.  And  if  for  a  sea- 
son the  sorrows  of  our  hearts  are  enlarged,— if  our  hope  have 
perished  and  our  way  be  hid, — if  we  sink  in  the  mire,  where 
there  is  no  standing,  oh  be  thou  our  help  in  trouble,  when 
the  help  of  man  is  vain  !  Stretch  forth  the  right  hand  of  thy 
mercy  to  save  and  deliver  us.  Bring  us  out  of  the  horrible 
pit,  and  out  of  the  miry  clay  ;  set  our  feet  upon  the  rock,  and 
establish  our  goings ;  and  put  a  new  song  into  our  mouth  ; 
60  will  we  sing  and  praise  thy  power.  These  mercies  we 
ask  in  the  name,  and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  .only 
Mediator  and  Redeemer. 


LECTURE  IIL 

THE    MOUNT    SINAI. 


God's  holy  law,  transgressed, 

Speaks  nothing  but  despair; 
Burdened  with  guilt — with  grief  oppressed, 

We  find  no  comfort  there. 

Not  all  our  groans  and  tears, 
Nor  works,  which  we  have  done ; 

Nor  vows,  nor  promises,  nor  prayers, 
Can  e'er  for  sin  atone. 

Relief  alone  is  found 

In  Jesus'  precious  blood  : 
'Tis  this  that  heals  the  mortal  wound, 

And  reconciles  to  God. 


Hebrews  xii.  21. 

(UTD  SO  TERRIBLE  WAS  THE  SIGHT,   THAT   MOSES  SAD),  I  EICEEDmOLr  FEAR 
AND    QUAKE. 

We  shall  find  this  verse  most  happily  illustrated 
by  considering  our  Pilgrim's  distress  at  Mount  Sinai. 
It  was  by  the  advice  of  Worldly- Wisdom  that  he 
turned  out  of  the  narrow  way,  and  was  induced 
vainly  to  seek  relief  in  this  fearful  place.  When 
Pliable  had  recovered  from  the  desperation  in  w^hich 
he  had  fallen,  and  had  returned  home,  he  was  ap- 
plauded by  some  and  laughed  at  by  others.  But 
at  length  all  his  ungodly  associates  joined  him  in 
contemning  the  folly  and  madness  of  Christian. 
Apostates  often  become  the  most  bitter  persecutors 
of  the  people  of  God.     The  reproach  tney  have  got 


THE   MOUNT   SINAI.  39 

among  the  ungodly  for  having  once  made  a  profes- 
sion of  rehgion,  they  endeavour  to  wipe  away  by 
speaking  more  contemptuously  of  the  godly  than 
ever.  If  we  have  been  once  enlightened,  and  tasted 
the  good  word  of  God,  let  us  constantly  cherish  a 
wholesome  dread  of  turning  again  to  folly.  Who 
is  it  that  has  said,  "Now  the  just  shall  live  by  faith: 
but  if  any  man  draw  back,  my  soul  shall  have  na 
pleasure  in  him  ?" 

There  are  three  particulars  for  our  present  con 
sideration. 

I.  The  interview  between  Christian  and  Worldly 
Wisdom. 

II.  The  counsel  given  by  Worldly- Wisdom  to 
Christian:  and 

III.  The  sad  consequences  to  Christian  from  fol- 
lowing this  counsel. 

I.  We  have  to  consider  the  Pilgrim's  conference 
with  Worldly- Wisdom,  through  whose  advice  he 
was  turned  aside  from  the  right  way.  As  the  Pil- 
grim was  journeying  on,  a  person  met  him,  whose 
name  was  Worldly- Wisdom.  He  dwelt  in  the  town 
of  Carnal  Policy,  very  near  the  City  of  Destruction, 
which  Christian  had  left.  The  rumour  of  Chris- 
tian's setting  out  had  reached  his  ears,  and  now  that 
he  had  actually  met  with  him,  he  determined  to 
exercise  all  his  artifice  to  turn  him  aside,  if  he  can- 
not prevail  upon  him  to  return  back. 

Noticing  the  distressed  appearance  of  Christian, 
the  wily  deceiver  inquires,  "  Where  he  is  going  after 
that  burdened  manner  ?"  Christian  makes  no  secret 
either  of  his  condition  or  his  intention.  He  con- 
fesses that  he  is  indeed  a  burdened  creature  ;  and 


40  LECTUUB  in. 

that  he  is  making  for  the  strait  gate  before  him,  in 
the  hope  of  deliverance.  Worldly-Wisdom  betrays 
himself,  by  asking  immediately,  not  after  Christian's 
distress  or  prospects,  but  after  those  he  had  left  be- 
hind him.  He  inquires  if  he  has  a  wife  or  children  ? 
The  reply  of  Christian  is  deeply  affecting.  "  Yes," 
he  said,  "but  I  am  so  laden  with  this  burden  that 
I  cannot  take  that  pleasure  in  them  as  formerly. 
Methinks,"  he  said,  "I  am  as  if  I  had  none." 
When  a  person  is  thoroughly  awake  to  the  short- 
ness of  time,  and  the  nearne?s  of  eternity ;  and 
when  his  conscience  is  burdened  with  a  painful 
sense  both  of  the  evil  and  desert  of  sin,  he  loses  the 
keen  relish  Avhich  he  once  had  for  even  the  lawful 
and  innocent  endearments  of  life.  He  is  in  search 
of  something  of  a  different  nature  to  satisfy  his  soul, 
and  to  make  him  completely  happy.  And  now 
Worldly- Wisdom  understands  clearly  the  kind  of 
man  he  has  to  deal  with,  and  he  adapts  his  counsel 
in  the  most  artful  manner.  He  advises  Christian, 
with  all  speed,  to  get  rid  of  his  burden,  assuring  him, 
that  so  long  as  it  hangs  upon  him,  he  cannot  enjoy  any 
of  the  blessings  of  Providence.  Who  can  be  more 
anxious  than  the  Pilgrim  himself,  to  be  rid  of  his  bur- 
den ?  But  he  is  deeply  convinced  that  he  cannot  get 
it  off  himself;  neither  can  any  man  in  all  the  coun- 
try do  it  for  him.  Is  not  this  one  main  object  of  his 
journey  to  the  strait  gate,  that  he  may  get  rid  of  his 
burden  ?  As  soon  as  Worldly-Wisdom  heard  that  it 
was  Evangelist  who  had  given  these  directions  to  the 
Pilgrim,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  speak  in  the  most 
contemptuous  manner  both  of  the  adviser  and  his  ad- 
vice. Evangelist  and  Worldly-Wisdom  are  sworn 
foes.  Worldly- Wisdom  accounts  the  preaching  of 
Evangelist  foolishness ;   and  Evangelist  considers 


THE   MOUNT   SINAI.  41 

all  the  boasted  wisdom  of  the  other  to  be  foohsh- 
ness  too.  The  carnal  policy  and  time-serving  ways 
of  the  one  can  never  be  reconciled  to  the  humiliat- 
ing doctrine  and  self-denying  precepts  of  the  other. 
This  determined  enemy  to  the  gospel  represents  to 
Christian,  in  the  most  discouraging  manner  possible, 
all  the  evils,  and  pains,  and  sorrows,  and  distresses, 
that  will  certainly  come  upon  him,  in  addition  to 
those  he  has  already  experienced,  if  he  determines 
to  be  guided  by  the  advice  of  Evangelist,  and  to 
persist  in  striving  for  the  strait  gate.  But  now 
mark  the  sincerity  of  a  deeply-convinced  sinner, 
that  so  evidently  appears  in  Christian's  reply, 
"Why, sir,  this  burden  on  my  back  is  more  terrible 
to  me  than  all  the  things  which  you  have  men- 
tioned." Yes,  dear  brethren,  the  sense  of  God's 
wrath,  which  his  sins  have  kindled,  hanging  like  a 
millstone  upon  his  burdened  heart,  is  far  more  ter- 
rible to  the  truly  awakened  penitent  than  all  the 
terrible  things  put  together,  that  he  can  possibly 
encounter  in  the  world.  Thus  he,  too,  is  ready  to 
add,  with  our  Pilgrim,  "  Methinks  I  care  not  what 
things  I  meet  with  in  the  way,  if  I  can  also  meet 
with  deliverance  from  my  burden." 

Upon  being  further  questioned.  Christian  con- 
fessed that  it  was  by  reading  his  book  that  he  first 
obtained  the  sense  of  his  burden.  There  is  no  real 
qonviction  of  sin,  until  the  solemn  truths  of  the 
Bible  are  applied  to  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Worldly-Wisdom  speaks  as  slightingly  of  the  Bible 
as  he  did  of  Evangehst,  and  addresses  Christian  as 
a  weak  man,  who  had  been  meddling  with  things 
too  high  for  him,  and  whose  understanding  was 
clearly  injured,  because  he  was  wilhng  to  run  the 
most  desperate   ventures   to   obtain  he   knew  not 

4* 


42  LECTURE  III. 

what.  But  Christian  well  knew  what  he  wanted. 
It  was  ease  from  his  heavy  burden  that  he  sought. 
Nothing  could  satisfy  him  or  make  him  happy  as 
long  as  this  remained.  This  was  the  cry  of  his 
awakened  heart, 

Mercy,  good  Lord,  thy  mercy  grant, 

This  is  the  total  sum 
Of  all  I  seek,  of  all  I  want; — 

Lord,  let  thy  mercy  come. 

II.  Observe  now  the  counsel  given  by  Worldly- 
Wisdom  to  Christian,  under  these  circumstances. 
Perceiving  that  our  Pilgrim  is  really  in  earnest  for 
deliverance,  and  that  he  cannot  be  laughed  out  of 
the  distress  which  he  feels,  this  subtle  adversary 
changes  his  mode  of  attack.  He  pretends  that  he 
can  point  out  to  Christian  a  far  shorter  and  a  far 
better  way  for  obtaining  deliverance  from  his  bur- 
den, than  by  following  the  directions  of  Evangelist. 
And  here,  first,  in  this  interview,  Christian  betrays 
infirmity  and  begins  to  offend.  The  man  with 
whom  he  was  talking  had  ridiculed  the  notion  of 
his  burden.  How  then  should  he  be  able  to  give 
any  good  advice,  as  to  the  means  of  deliverance 
from  it?  But  in  an  unguarded  moment.  Christian 
requested  him  to  open  this  secret  to  him.  Instead 
of  striving  and  toiling  any  longer  after  the  Wicket- 
Gate,  this  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  Worldly- 
Wisdom's  advice  to  Christian.  He  directs  him  to 
the  village  of  Morality,  where  a  person  named  Le- 
gality would  be  of  the  greatest  assistance  possible, 
in  delivering  him  from  his  burden.  This  Avould 
be,  he  pretended,  much  better  every  way  than  to 
go  to  the  Gate.  Should  Legahty  himself  not  be 
found,   his   son   Civihty   would  do   just   as   well. 


THE  MOUNT   SINAI.  43 

When  his  business  was  done,  there  would  be  no- 
thing to  prevent  Christian  setthng  down  there,  in 
the  village  of  Morahty,  with  his  family,  and  living, 
not  only  in  peace  and  quietness,  but  in  high  respect 
and  esteem  with  his  neighbours.  O  fatal  and  trea- 
cherous advice  !  And  yet  such  is  the  advice  that  is 
continuallygivenby  the  wiseof  this  world,  when  they 
speak  to  those  whose  conscience  by  sin  is  accused. 
If  they  cannot  laugh  them  out  of  their  convictions, 
they  endeavour  to  persuade  them  that  their  gloomy 
fears  arise  from  their  too  much  reading,  and  think- 
ing of  eternal  things.  Then  they  confidently  pro- 
nounce that  the  best  and  shortest  way  to  regain 
their  peace  and  serenity  is,  to  pay  more  exact  atten- 
tion to  the  duties  of  morahty,  to  practise  more  dih- 
gently  the  forms  of  religion,  doing  what  they  can 
to  make  themselves  better ;  and  quietly  to  settle 
down  in  the  ranks  of  virtuous,  moral,  and  civil 
society.  Our  Pilgrim  could  not  listen  to  this  per- 
nicious counsel  without  a  secret  misgiving.  When 
W^orldly- Wisdom  had  ceased  to  speak,  he  was 
somewhat  at  a  stand.  But  presently  he  concluded, 
if  all  be  true  which  I  have  just  heard,  nothing  can 
be  better  for  me  than  to  follow  this  advice.  His 
mind  is  r  ow  made  up.  Through  a  secret  shrinking 
from  the  cross,  he  is  drawn  aside  and  enticed,  and 
falls  into  the  net  of  this  practised  deceiver.  Being 
informed  that  his  way  lies  directly  by  the  lofty  Hill, 
(it  was  Mount  Sinai,)  which  was  full  in  his  view,  in 
an  evil  hour  he  leaves  the  path  in  which  Evangelist 
liad  placed  him,  and  turns  out  of  the  way  to  seek 
relief  at  Legality's  house.  O,  my  brethren,  how 
immensely  important  it  is  for  us  all,  and  especially 
for  those  who  are  awakened  to  a  sense  of  their  sin 
and  danger,  to  be  kept  from  false  teachers  and  bhnd 


44  LECTURE   III. 

guides,  who  can  only  pervert  the  right  ways  of  the 
Lord !  If  we  have  received  the  truth  and  simpH- 
city  of  the  gospel,  let  no  man  with  flattering  A^ords, 
or  with  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  prevail  upon  us 
to  part  with  it.  Why  should  we  so  soon  be  re- 
moved from  him  that  called  us  to  the  grace  of  Christ 
to  another  gospel  ?  With  what  fearful  vehemence 
does  the  inspired  apostle  speak  of  those  who  would 
act  to  us  in  the  same  way  that  Wordly-Wisdom 
acted  to  Christian  ?  "  There  be  some  that  trouble 
you,  and  would  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ.  But 
though  we,  or  an  angel  from  heaven,  preach  any 
other  gospel  unto  you  than  that  which  we  have 
preached,  let  him  be  accursed."  Be  jealous,  my 
brethren,  of  all  advice  given  you  in  spiritual  mat- 
ters by  those  who  have  no  sense  of  the  burden  of 
their  sins ;  no  experimental  acquaintance  with  the 
preciousness  of  Christ ;  no  clear  perception  of  the 
vital  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  only,  without 
the  works  of  the  law.  Be  more  anxious  to  have 
your  wounds  thoroughly  healed,  than  to  have  them 
immediately  healed.  And  whatever  advice  has  a 
tendency  to  shake  your  confidence  in  the  word  of 
God,  to  make  you  shrink  from  your  allotted  cross, 
to  flatter  you  with  an  idea  of  your  own  ability  or 
goodness,  or  to  make  you  a  favourite  in  the  eyes  of 
the  unconverted,  be  sure  that  this  persuasion  cometh 
not  from  Him  that  calleth  you,  but  is  the  treache- 
rous counsel  of  a  spiritual  enemy. 

III.  See  now  the  sad  consequences  that  resulted 
to  Christian,  from  following  this  advice.  When  he 
was  got  now  hard  by  the  hill,  it  seemed  so  high, 
and  also  that  side  of  it  that  was  next  the  way-side 
did  hang  so  much  over,  that  Christian  was  afraid  to 


THE  MOUNT  SINAI.  45 

venture  further,  lest  the  hill  should  fall  on  his  head. 
When  persons  who  have  been  only  a  httle  alarmed, 
but  who  have  no  thorough  sense  of  their  guilt  and 
danger  as  sinners,  determine  to  make  themselves 
better,  to  be  more  strict  and  moral  in  their  conduct, 
and  to  quiet  their  conscience  by  doing  more  than 
they  ever  yet  attempted,  they  often  pass  on  from  a 
state  of  open  sin  or  ungodliness,  to  one  of  morality 
and  formal  attention  to  religion,  with  very  little 
trouble.  They  hope  to  be  saved  by  their  own  do- 
ings. They  are  going  about  to  establish  their  own 
righteousness.  But  having  no  perception  of  the 
exceeding  breadth  and  spiritual  extent  of  the  law 
of  God,  they  think  that  the  poor,  partial,  outward 
obedience  which  they  pay  to  it,  is  all  that  is  requi- 
site. They  are  "  ahve  without  the  law."  To  them 
Mount  Sinai  is  not  a  fearful  place.  Salvation  by 
works,  in  their  eyes,  appears  to  be,  not  only  pos- 
sibJe,  but  plain  and  easy.  The  ascent  of  the  hill  is 
not  steep.  They  see  no  impending  rocks  ready  to 
overwhelm  them.  They  have  nothing  to  retard 
their  progress.  They  neither  see  a  hghtning's 
flash  to  make  them  pause,  nor  hear  the  voice  of  dis- 
tant thunder,  to  fill  them  with  dismay.  But  oh,  how 
different  a  process  is  this  from  the  truly  awakened 
penitent,  whom  our  pilgrim  here  represents  !  The 
more  he  attempts  to  make  himself  better,  the  clearer 
conviction  he  obtains  of  his  own  exceeding  sinful- 
ness and  the  deep  depravity  of  his  heart.  The 
more  he  labours  and  toils  to  do  any  thing  to  recom- 
mend himself  to  the  favour  of  God,  the  more  painful 
sense  he  obtains  that  he  can  do  nothing.  Nay,  that 
very  law,  to  which  he  once  looked  with  hope  and 
confidence,  becomes  to  him  now  the  bitter  source 
of  terror  and  despair.  There  is  one  that  condemneth 


46  LECTURE   III. 

him,  even  Moses  in  whom  he  trusted.  The  com- 
mandment comes  in  all  its  length  and  breadth,  and 
spiritual  meaning  ; — sin  revives,  and  he  dies.  The 
obedience  which  it  requires  is  so  vastly  different  a 
thing  from  what  he  once  imagined,  that  he  despairs 
of  ever  fulfiUing  it.  And  not  that  only,  the  fearful 
threatenings  which  it  denounces  against  transgres- 
sors, are  now  seen,  like  impending  rocks,  ready  to 
fall  on  his  guilty  head,  and  to  crush  him  to  atoms 
if  he  proceeds  further.  He  is  afraid  to  proceed. 
He  knows  not  which  way  to  turn.  "  Wherefore 
he  stands  still,  and  wots  not  what  to  do !" 

But  not  yet  has  the  Pilgrim  reached  the  extre- 
mity of  his  distress.  His  burden  now  seemed 
heavier  to  him  than  while  he  was  in  the  way. 
There  came  also  flashes  of  lightning  out  of  the  hilJ, 
that  made  Christian  afraid  he  should  be  burned. 
Here,  therefore,  did  he  sweat  and  quake  for  fear. 
And  now  he  began  bitterly  to  repent  that  ever  he 
had  followed  the  advice  of  Worldly-Wisdom.  Dear 
brethren,  while  a  poor  burdened  sinner  is  seeking 
the  salvation  of  Christ,  though  his  burden  may  press 
heavily  before  he  finds  rest  to  his  soul,  still  he  is 
able  to  bear  it,  because  he  is  cheered  and  sustained, 
at  any  rate,  with  the  hope  and  the  prospect,  how- 
ever faint  or  however  distant,  of  one  day  finding 
relief  and  dehverance.  But  when  he  turns  from 
Christ  to  seek  for  peace  by  the  works  of  the  law, 
then  there  is  nothing  to  exclude  the  gloom  of  despair 
from  his  sorrowful  soul.  Then  he  finds  to  his  dis- 
may that  his  burden  seems  heavier  to  him  than 
when  he  was  in  the  right  way.  As  long  as  the 
convinced  sinner  persists  in  going  about  to  establish 
his  own  righteousness,  what  fearful  and  repeated 
intimations  does  he  meet  of  the  avenging  wrath  of 


THE  MOUNT  SINAI.  47 

God !  These  are  the  flashes  of  fire  that  shoot  up 
out  of  the  mountain.  This  holy  law  puts  in  the 
clearest  and  most  affecting  light  possible,  his  multi- 
plied and  aggravated  offences.  "By  the  law  is  the 
knowledge  of  sin."  He  may  have  known  some- 
thing of  it  before,  but  how  inadequate  com.pared  with 
that  which  he  now  obtains  !  By  what  other  means 
could  he  have  detected  all  his  crooked  and  perverse 
ways,  without  trying  them  by  this  straight  and  per- 
fect rule  ?  "I  had  not  known  sin  but  by  the  law." 
Nay,  not  only  does  this  holy  law  discover  the  de- 
pravity of  our  nature,  and  the  sinfulness  of  our 
lives,  but  it  foments  and  stirs  up  that  depravity. 
"  Sin,  taking  occasion  by  the  commandment,  wTought 
in  me  all  manner  of  concupiscence."  Just  as  fro- 
ward  children  cry  and  long  more  earnestly  than 
ever  for  any  thing  that  is  positively  forbidden  them, 
so  the  lusting  spirit  that  is  in  the  children  of  men 
is  stirred  up  and  excited  by  the  very  holiness  and 
strictness  of  the  commandments  of  God.  Thus, 
when  sin  works  death  in  us  by  that  which  is  good, 
"sin  by  the- commandment  is  shown  to  be  exceed- 
ing sinful."  No  situation  can  be  more  dreadful 
than  that  of  a  convinced  sinner  unacquainted  v/ith 
the  gospel,  labouring  and  toihng  to  work  out  a 
righteousness  for  himself,  by  his  own  obedience  to 
the  Divine  law.  The  fearful  circumstances  that 
marked  its  first  promulgation,  again  appear  to  be 
realized  in  his  experience.  He  has  come  to  the 
mount  that  burns  with  fire,  and  unto  blackness,  and 
darkness,  and  tempest,  and  the  sound  of  a  trumpet, 
and  the  voice  of  words,  which  voice  he  is  utterly 
unable  to  endure,  and  he  entreats  that  it  may  not 
De  spoken  to  him  any  more  lest  he  die.  And  so 
terrible  is  the  sight  that  he  is  compelled  to  say,  "  I 


48  lectuhe  m. 

exceedingly  fear  and  quake."  Are  any  of  you, 
dear  friends,  at  all  acquainted  with  such  experience 
as  this  ?  Are  you  seeking  relief  from  your  burden 
by  the  works  of  the  law  ?  Oh  cease  at  once  from 
the  vain,  the  perilous,  the  ruinous  attempt !  Turn 
your  eyes  from  this  burning  mountain,  to  another 
mountain,  even  that  mountain  upon  which  was 
offered  a  full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  the  whole  world.  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  Christ  has 
borne  the  fearful  curse  which  this  broken  law  de* 
nounces  against  your  transgressions  of  it.  Christ 
has  fulfilled  every  part  of  the  perfect  obedience 
which  this  holy,  unchangeable  law  demands  from 
you.  Beheve  on  him,  and  all  that  he  has  suffered, 
and  all  that  he  has  done,  is  yours  His  atoning 
blood  is  yours,  to  take  away  the  guilt,  and  the  stain, 
and  the  curse  of  your  sin:  "Christ  has  redeemed 
us  from  the  curse  of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse 
for  us."  And  the  obedience  which  he  paid,  in 
your  nature  and  as  your  Surety,  is  yours,  for  your 
complete  justification  before  God:  "Christ  is  the 
end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that 
belie  veth." 

THE  HYMN. 

'Tis  not  when  o'er  the  trembling  soul 

The  thunder-peals  of  Sinai  roll ; 

Not  when  we  look  with  shrinking  awe 

Upon  that  unforgiving  law  : 

Not  then,  though  thoughts  of  anguish  dart 
Their  arrows  through  the  stricken  heart; 
O  'tis  not  then  we  feel  within 
The  full  malignity  of  sin. 

'Tis  when  by  faith  we  turn  our  eyes 
On  him,  our  Priest  and  Sacrifice  ; 
Mark  his  mysterious  panes,  and  know 
Our  peace  was  purchased  by  his  wo  ; 


THE  MOUNT   SINAI.  49 

'Tis  when,  in  faith's  serenest  hours, 
We  dare  to  call  that  Saviour  ours, 
'Tis  then  our  hearts  within  us  burn; 
We  look  on  him  we  pierced,  and  mourn ; 

Tis  then  a  voice  is  heard  within, 
That  breaks  the  tyrant  yoke  of  sin; 
For  he  our  load  of  guilt  who  bore. 
He  bids  us  go  and  sin  no  more. 

THE  PRAYER. 

O  Jhou  great  and  glorious  Lord  God,  who  art  of  purer 
eyes  than  to  behold  iniquity,  and  canst  not  look  upon  sin, 
send  thy  Holy  Spirit  into  our  hearts,  and  enable  us  to  draw 
near  unto  thee,  looking  unto  Jesus  the  Mediator  of  the  New 
Covenant.  We  praise  and  thank  thee,  that  we  are  not  come 
to  the  mount  that  burned  with  fire,  and  that  we  are  not  re- 
quired to  approach  thee  in  our  own  name,  or  with  our  own 
righteousness.  In  this  way  we  could  never  come  before  thee 
with  acceptance.  We  have  offended  against  thy  holy  laws. 
O  Lord  our  God^  when  we  think  of  thy  glorious  holiness, 
and  thy  terrible  justice,  and  when  all  our  multiplied  offences 
pass  before  us,  we  have  every  one  of  us  reason  to  say,  "I 
exceedingly  fear  and  quake."  But  we  look  to  the  atoning 
sacrifice  of  the  cross,  to  Him  who  suffered  the  just  for  the 
unjust,  to  bring  us  to  God,  and  therefore  we  have  hope. 
Keep  us,  we  beseech  thee,  by  thy  help  and  goodness,  that 
we  may  never  be  turned  aside  from  the  hope  of  the  gospel. 
May  we  give  no  heed  to  flattering  words,  which  can  only 
subvert  our  souls !  May  our  faith  stand,  not  in  the  wisdom 
of  man,  but  in  the  power  of  God !  Reveal  in  us  thy  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  and  grant  that  we  may  not  confer  with  flesh 
and  blood.  May  we  seek  for  pardon  and  deliverance,  only 
as  thou  hast  appointed  in  thy  holy  word,  lest  thy  wrath  be 
kindled,  and  so  we  perish  from  the  way.  And  O  grant,  that 
in  all  our  fears  and  distresses,  and  whenever  our  conscience 
by  sin  is  accused,  we  may  look  unto  him  who  is  the  propitia-  : 
tion  for  our  sins,  who  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the 
tree,  and  who  was  made  a  curse  himself,  to  redeem  us  from 
the  curse  of  the  law.  To  Him,  with  Thee,  O  Father,  in  the 
unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  praise  and  dominion  for  ever  and 
ever.    Amen. 


lb 


LECTURE   IV. 

THE    BACKSLIDER   RESTORED. 


Through  all  my  fainting  heart 

His  secret  vigour  spread  ; 
To  me  his  strengih  he  did  impart, 

And  raised  my  drooping  head. 

Now  will  I  raise  my  voice, 
In  loud  and  cheertul  song  ; 

With  all  the  saints  will  I  rejoice, 
Who  to  his  courts  belong. 

With  them  the  path  I'll  trace, 
Which  leads  to  his  abode  ; 

With  them  I'll  sing  redeeming  grace, 
Along  the  joyful  road. 


Galatians  i.  6,  7. 

I  MAEVEL  THAT  YE  ARE  SO  SOON  REMOVED  FROM  IIIM  THAT  CALLED  TOU  INTO 
THE  GRACE  OF  CHRIST  UNTO  ANOTHER  GOSPEL :  'WHICH  IS  NOT  ANOTHER ; 
BUT  THERE  BE  SOME  THAT  TROUBLE  TOU,  AND  WOULD  PERVERT  THE  GOSPEIi 
OF   CHRIST. 

We  left  our  Pilgrim  quaking  with  fear  at  the 
mount  that  burned  with  fire.  He  had  been  seduced 
from  the  right  way  by  the  artful  representations  of 
Worldly- Wisdom.  This  man  had  persuaded  him 
to  seek  rest  and  deliverance  from  his  burden  by 
going  round  to  Mount  Sinai.  We  have  seen  how 
wofuUy  he  was  disappointed  in  his  expectation. 
Instead  of  finding  rest  and  ease,  he  found  nothing 
but  blackness  and  darkness,  and  fire,  and  storm, 
and  tempest,  in  the  way  he  went.     How  wa,l  he 

50 


THE  BACKSLIDER  RESTOPvED.  51 

delivered  from  this  perilous  situation  ?  It  was  by 
the  arrival,  and  plain  and  faithful  dealing,  of  his 
true  friend,  Evangelist.  We  remember  the  manner 
in  which  the  apostle  Paul  acted  to  the  Galatians,  after 
they  had  been  seduced  by  false  teachers  from  the  gos- 
pel which  he  had  taught  them.  Thus  did  Evangelist 
act  to  our  erring  Pilgrim.  He  addressed  him  in  the 
very  words  which  we  have  selected  as  the  ground- 
work of  the  present  discourse  :  "  I  marvel  that  ye 
are  so  soon  removed  from  him  that  called  you  into 
the  grace  of  Christ  unto  another  gospel :  which  is 
not  another ;  but  there  be  some  that  trouble  you, 
and  would  pervert  the  gospel  of  Christ." 

The  instructive  interview  between  Evangelist 
and  Christian  will  form  the  entire  subject  of  this 
lecture.  And  here  there  are  several  particulars 
that  demand  our  attention.  How  seasonable  was 
the  arrival  of  Evangelist  at  such  a  time  ;  how  skil- 
fully did  he  probe  the  backslider  ;  how  tenderly  did 
he  comfort  him  when  ready  to  faint ;  how  wisely 
he  admonished  him ;  how  strongly  he  confirmed 
his  words ;  and  how  happily  he  succeeded  in  re- 
storing him  into  the  right  way !  May  the  consi- 
deration of  these  particulars  prove  to  us  a  word  in 
season. 

(1.)  How  seasonable  was  the  arrival  of  Evan- 
gelist at  such  a  time.  In  the  midst  of  his  difficulties, 
when  Christian  was  on  the  very  verge  of  despair, 
trembling  and  astonished,  not  knowing  what  to  do, 
or  where  to  turn,  he  beheld  a  man  advancing  to- 
wards him,  and  recognised  soon  the  features  of  his 
friend  Evangelist.  This  sight  caused  the  poor 
backslider  to  blush  for  shame.  He  recollected  his 
disobedience  to  the  plain  direction  which  would 
have  saved  him  from  all  his  present  terror  and  dis- 


^i  LECTUKE  IV. 

tress.  He  is  speechless  when  Evangehst  stands 
before  him,  and  inquires,  with  a  severe  countenance^ 
"  What  doest  thou  here  ?"  Alas,  he  feels  that  he 
has  nothing  to  do  here,  and  that  he  is  now  out  of 
the  way.  The  further  questions  of  Evangelist  are 
very  pointed.  "Art  not  thou,"  he  said,  "  the  man 
that  I  found  crying  without  the  walJs  of  the  city  of 
Destruction  ?  Did  I  not  direct  thee  to  the  Wicket- 
Gate  ?  How  is  it  that  thou  hast  so  quickly  started 
and  turned  aside  from  the  path  which  I  pointed  out 
to  thee  ?  Thou  art  no  longer  now  in  the  road  to  the 
Celestial  City."  In  reply  to  these  questions,  the 
seduced  Pilgrim  manifests  the  sincerity  of  a  peni- 
tent, by  a  frank  avowal  of  his  sin,  and  a  simple 
declaration  of  the  steps  by  which  he  had  been  drawn 
into  it.  He  recounts  his  meeting  with  Worldly- 
Wisdom,  repeats  the  advice  and  the  counsel  which 
that  man  had  given,  and  concludes  by  saying,  "  so, 
I  beheved  him,  and  turned  out  of  that  way  into 
this,  if  haply  I  might  be  eased  of  my  burden.  But 
when  I  came  to  this  place,  and  beheld  things  as 
ihey  are,  I  stopped  for  fear  of  danger ;  and  at  this 
moment  I  know  not  what  to  do." 

There  is  much,  dear  brethren,  for  our  instruction 
and  encouragement  in  this  seasonable  meeting.  In 
this  way  the  Lord  often  graciously  interposes  on 
behalf  of  such  as  are  in  distress  and  perplexity 
about  their  souls.  He  seasonably  raises  up  for  them, 
and  providentially  brings  near  to  them,  pastors  ac- 
cording to  his  own  heart,  ministers  skilful  in  the 
word  of  righteousness,  and  able  to  do  the  work  of 
an  evangelist.  By  the  ministry  of  his  own  word, 
in  the  mouth  of  such  as  these,  he  speaks  to  the 
troubled  soul  a  word  in  season,  and  shows  him  the 
way  wherein  he  should  go.     The  poor  wanderei 


THE  BACKSLIDER  RESTORED.      53 

often  finds  his  deepest  distress  to  be  the  dawn  of 
deHverance ;  and  in  the  mount  the  Lord  is  seen. 
But  true  comfort  frequently  comes  in  a  very  un- 
comfortable form.  Those  who  are  really  in  earnest 
about  salvation,  sometimes  look  with  fear  and  suspi- 
cion, or  even  with  prejudice,  upon  those  who,  in 
the  providence  of  God,  are  the  appointed  instru- 
ments for  guiding  their  feet  into  the  way  of  peace, 
and  estabhshing  them  in  the  true  faith  of  Christ. 
Think  of  the  disciples,  when,  in  the  midst  of  their 
distress,  they  saw  Jesus  walking  towards  them  on 
the  sea.  At  the  first  they  supposed  it  had  been  a 
spirit,  and  they  cried  out  with  fear.  But  how 
sweetly  did  comfort  dawn  upon  their  sorrowful 
hearts,  as  soon  as  they  had  received  him  into  the 
ship  ;  and  immediately  there  was  a  great  calm. 
Thus  it  is  with  the  convinced  sinner,  when  he  meets 
with  the  ambassador  of  Christ,  whose  admonitions 
he  has  disobeyed.  But  if  there  be  true  sincerity, 
as  there  is  in  every  genuine  penitent,  the  interview 
that  opened  with  fear  and  shame,  shall  end  with 
comfort  and  satisfaction.  Remember,  however,  that 
this  sincerity  must  be  shown  by  a  free  confession 
of  our  sin ;  and  whoever  may  have  been  our 
seducers,  or  however  peculiar  may  have  been  our 
circumstances,  we  must  take  the  full  share  of  blame 
upon  ourselves,  and  not  endeavour  to  throw  it  upon 
others.  We  must  not  hide  our  transgression  like 
Adam.  "  He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  pros- 
per, but  whoso  confesseth  and  forsaketh  them  shall 
have  mercy." 

(3.)  Consider  next,  how  skilfully  did  Evangelist 
probe  the  wounds  of  the  erring  Pilgrim.  He 
referred  to  his  book.  All  the  instructions  of  Evan- 
gelist were  taken  from  the  book.     By  two  suitable 

6* 


54L  lecture  IV. 

passages  from  it,  he  showed  the  sin  and  the  danger 
of  drawing  back,  after  a  man  has  once  set  his  face 
towards  the  Celestial  City.  He  reminded  the  trans- 
gressor of  the  impossibility  of  escaping,  if  we  refuse 
him  who  speaketh  to  us  from  heaven.  At  the  same 
time,  he  described,  in  its  true  colours,  the  aggravated 
sin  of  apostasy.  This  sin  he  charged  home  directly 
upon  the  conscience  ^f  the  Pilgrim.  "  Thou,"  he 
said,  "art  the  man  who  art  running  into  all  this 
misery.  Thou  hast  begun  to  reject  the  counsel  of 
the  Most  High.  Thou  art  turned  aside  quick  out 
of  the  way  which  he  commanded  thee  by  my 
mouth,  to  the  hazardin    of  thy  perdition." 

This  language,  dear  brethren,  sounds  severe,  but 
the  occasion  called  for  it.  No  part  of  a  minister's 
duty  is  more  difficult,  and  yet  none  is  more  im- 
portant, than  skilfully  to  probe  the  wounds  of  those 
with  whom  he  has  to  deal.  On  the  one  hand,  he 
fears  lest  he  should  drive  the  trembhng  sinner  to 
absolute  desperation,  by  a  full  exposition  of  his 
conduct,  with  all  its  aggravated  circumstances  ;  on 
the  other,  he  dreads  lest  the  person  he  is  addressing 
should  mistake  a  flashing  pang  of  natural  convic- 
tion, for  the  deep,  abiding,  humiliating  work  of  the 
Holj'-  Spirit  upon  the  heart.  He  fears  lest  by  an 
unwise  and  unsuitable  application  of  gospel  pro- 
mises to  those  who  are  not  prepared  to  receive 
them,  he  should  be  guilty  of  healing  their  hurt 
slightly,  and  saying  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace. 
It  is  generally  found  that  persons  with  only  a  very 
slight  sense  of  their  sins,  are  soon  comforted,  and 
readily  conclude  that  all  is  well,  though  they  show 
neither  the  humihty  nor  the  consistency  of  a  par- 
doned penitent.  But  he  that  believeth  shall  not 
make  haste.     Genuine  penitents,  for  the  most  part, 


THE   BACKSLIDER   RESTORED.  55 

have  far  more  difficulty  in  applying  the  promises 
of  the  gospel  to  their  own  case.  They  perceive, 
indeed,  that  a  cold  heart  and  a  warm  promise  may 
be  brought  near  to  each  other  by  the  word ;  but 
they  know,  they  feel  that  they  cannot  unite,  and 
the  cheerful  blaze  of  hope  and  love  be  experienced 
within,  until  faith  is  given  from  above,  and  the  pro- 
mise is  apphed  by  a  hand  Divine.  The  true  evan- 
gelist knows  well  who  it  is  that  alone  can  effectually 
either  heal  or  wound.  And  knowing  that  the 
Lord's  general  method  is,  first  to  wound  and  then 
to  bind  up,  he  labours  thoroughly  to  humble,  before 
he  attempts  to  comfort.  This  process,  however, 
although  necessary  to  a  tender-hearted  minister,  is 
a  painful  necessity.  He  would  much  rather  be 
otherwise  employed.  Oh,  how  much  pleasanter 
does  he  find  it  to  pour  out  the  precious  balm  of 
the  gospel  to  the  truly  contrite,  than  to  probe  the 
consciences  of  those  of  whom  he  stands  in  doubt, 
with  the  two-edged  sword  of  the  Lord,  and  to  ter- 
rify and  arouse  them  with  the  mighty  thunderings 
of  Sinai  !  But  it  is  the  profit  and  salvation  of 
others,  not  his  own  pleasure  and  inclination,  that  he 
seeks.  Faithful,  he  remembers,  are  the  wounds  of 
a  friend ;  and  he  that  rebuketh  a  man  shall  after- 
wards find  more  favour  than  he  who  flattereth  with 
his  hps. 

(3.)  Observe  now  liow  tenderly  did  Evangelist 
encourage  the  wanderer  when  he  perceived  that  he 
was  ready  to  faint.  The  wise  reprover  is  now  satis- 
fied that  his  words  have  sunk  deep  into  the  heart 
of  him  whom  he  is  addressing.  No  sooner  has  his 
turning  aside  been  represented  to  him  in  its  true 
light  by  Evangehst,  than  Christian  fell  down  at  his 
feet  as  one  dead,  and  cried,  Wo  is  me,  for  I  am 


66  LECTURE   IV. 

undone  !  But  Evangelist,  like  his  Master,  wounds 
only  that  he  may  heal.  He  therefore  caught,  im- 
mediately, the  hand  of  the  fallen  Pilgrim,  and  said, 
with  a  distinct  voice  and  solemn  tone,  "All  manner 
of  sins  and  blasphemies  shall  be  forgiven  to  the 
children  of  men."  To  this  he  added  the  earnest 
exhortation, "  Be  not  faithless,  but  believing."  Then 
did  the  fallen  one  a  little  revive,  and  got  up,  and 
stood  trembling  as  at  the  first. 

Let  us  receive,  dear  brethren,  instruction  from 
the  behaviour  of  Evangelist.  Our  conduct  often 
appears  to  us  in  an  entirely  different  light  when  it  is 
plainly  set  before  us  by  another,  from  what  it  did 
when  we  viewed  it  through  the  false  medium  of 
self-love  and  self-deception.  When  the  righteous 
have  smitten  us,  and  we  see  our  sin  set  before  us, 
in  all  its  deformity  and  all  its  malignity,  where  can 
we  turn  for  comfort,  or  how  can  we  avoid  the  black- 
ness and  darkness  of  despair?  Nothing  but  the  un- 
fettered promises  of  free  forgiveness,  abounding, 
through  the  adorable  Saviour,  to  the  very  chiefest 
of  sinners,  can  then  meet  our  case.  Is  there  any 
poor  backslider  here,  now  filled  with  his  own  way, 
and  tasting  the  bitterness  of  his  domgs  ?  Are  you 
ashamed,  yea,  even  confounded,  at  the  sight  and 
sense  of  all  your  sins  ?  And  because  your  back-shd- 
ings  are  increased,  is  your  heart  ready  to  faint  with- 
in you  ?  Oh  !  look  to  the  only  Saviour  of  sinners. 
Through  him  is  preached  unto  you  the  forgiveness 
of  sins  ;  and  by  him,  all  that  believe  are  justified 
from  all  things.  Through  him  all  manner  of  sins 
are  forgiven  to  every  one  that  believcth.  With 
him  there  is  plenteous  redemption,  and  abundant 
pardon,  for  sinners  of  every  description. 

Pardon  for  crimes  of  deepest  dye  ; 
A  pardon  sealed  with  Jesus'  blood. 


THE  BACKSLIDER  RESTORED.  57 

Be  not  faithless,  but  believing ;  humbly  put  your 
trust  in  him,  and  you  shall  be  delivered  from  the 
dark  gulf  of  despair,  and  receive  the  gracious  an- 
swer, "  I  will  heal  their  backshdings,  I  will  love 
them  freely." 

(4.)  We  proceed  to  notice  further  how  wisely  did 
Evangelist  admonish  the  Pilgrim  for  his  future 
direction.  If  his  rebukes  are  salutary,  and  his  en- 
couragements reviving,  no  less  are  his  admonitions 
profitable.  Evangelist  represents,  in  the  most  for- 
cible manner  possible,  what  an  enemy  Worldly- Wis- 
dom must  ever  prove  to  all  who  go  on  pilgrimage 
to  the  Celestial  City.  He  savours  only  the  doc- 
trine of  the  world,  a  doctrine  which  he  can  profess 
without  any  cross  ;  but  he  cannot  endure  the  doc- 
trine propounded  by  Evangelist  and  his  fellows. 
Thus  he  will  not  cease  to  pervert  the  right  ways  of 
the  Lord.  There  were  three  things  especially 
which  Christian  was  admonished  utterly  to  abhor 
in  the  counsels  of  Worldly- Wisdom.  His  turning 
him  out  of  the  right  way ;  his  device  to  render  the 
cross  odious ;  and  his  setting  him  in  a  way  that 
would  only  lead  to  the  ministration  of  death. 

These  admonitions,  dear  brethren,  are  very  im- 
portant to  every  one  of  us.  We  should  not  be  ig- 
norant of  the  devices  of  Worldly-Wisdom;  and 
when  we  understand  what  he  is  aiming  at,  and 
what  is  his  drift,  we  shall  abhor  both  the  man  and 
his  communications.  This  enemy  would  not  have 
us  to  make  for  the  Strait-Gate.  Has  not  the 
Lord,  who  is  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life, 
expressly  told  us,  that  the  gate  is  strait,  and  the 
way  narrow,  that  leadeth  unto  hfe ;  and  that  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  for  us  to  strive,  if  ever  we  mean 
to  enter  in  ?     Whoever,  therefore,  may  tell  us  that 


66  LECTURE   IV. 

the  gate  is  not  straight,  that  the  way  is  7iot  narrow, 
and  that  so  much  striving  is  not  necessary,  we  may 
be  confident  that  this  is  an  adversary  ;  one  that 
would  trouble  us,  and  who  is  only  trying  to  turn 
our  feet  from  the  narrow  way  of  hfe  to  the  broad 
road  of  destruction. 

Worldly-Wisdom,  again,  would  make  the  cross 
odious  to  us.  By  the  cross  I  mean  any  reproach, 
or  loss,  or  suffering  which  we  are  clearly  required 
to  endure  for  the  sake  of  Christ,  or  out  of  attach- 
ment to  him.  True  disciples  ever  account  this 
most  precious.  Like  Moses,  they  esteem  the  re- 
proach of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures 
of  Egypt.  But  a  religion  of  this  kind,  which  may 
lead  to  such  serious  consequences.  Worldly- Wisdom 
can  never  endure ;  and  he  accounts  it  little  better 
than  madness  and  folly.  But  oh !  let  us  remember 
who  has  said,  "  He  that  cometh  after  me,  and  hateth 
not  his  father,  and  mother,  and  wife,  and  children, 
and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own  life  also, 
he  cannot  be  my  disciple."  His  love  to  them  must 
never  interfere  with  what  he  owes  to  his  Saviour. 
He  must  be  willing  to  leave  them,  to  give  them  all 
up,  and  act  as  if  he  hated  them,  sooner  than  allow 
them  to  sever  the  ties  that  bind  him  to  Christ.  He 
must  be  ready  to  deny  himself,  to  take  up  his  cross, 
and  prove  that  he  is  a  follower  of  Him  who  was 
crucified.  Surely,  then,  that  is  not  the  religion  of 
Christ,  whoever  may  recommend  it  to  us,  that  costs 
us  nothing, — that  is  fashionable  with  the  world,  and 
which  we  can  always  profess  without  any  cross  or 
any  self-denial.     . 

Worldly-Wisdom  would  send  usforjustijication 
to  the  works  of  the  law.  Oh  I  be  convinced,  this 
advice  will  certainly  prove  the  ruin  of  all  those  who 


THE   BACKSLIDER  RESTORED.  59 

persist  in  following  it.  None  can  follow  it  without 
being  involved,  as  Christian  was,  in  all  the  blackness 
and  darkness  of  terror  and  dismay.  Ever  since  our 
guilty  first  parents  were  expelled  from  Paradise,  the 
way  to  life  and  happiness,  by  our  own  works  and 
obedience,  has  been  bolted  and  barred,  and  closed 
up  for  ever.  All  who  attempt  to  climb  up  to  heaven 
by  this  way  are  thieves  and  robbers,  and  the  porter 
will  not  open  to  them.  Nay,  the  avenging  justice 
of  God  Almighty  stands  with  his  drawn  sword, 
which  turns  every  way,  to  cut  them  off,  and  to  ex- 
clude them  from  the  tree  of  life.  But  another  way 
has  graciously  been  revealed,  through  the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  No  man 
ever  did  or  ever  can  find  true  rest  to  his  soul,  or 
obtain  the  favour  of  God,  except  by  faith  in  the 
only  Saviour  of  offending  men.  All,  therefore,  who 
would  send  a  burdened  sinner  to  the  works  of  the 
law  for  peace  of  conscience,  and  who  have  no  better 
advice  to  give  than  to  recommend  the  practice  of 
moral  virtues,  and  civil  duties,  or  outward  services, 
are  clearly  physicians  of  no  value.  Nay,  they  are 
worse  than  that — they  are  perverters  of  the  gospel. 
To  every  poor  sinner  we  may  say,  Legality  is  not 
able  to  set  thee  free  from  thy  burden.  No  man  as  yet 
was  ever  rid  of  his  burden  by  him,  no,  nor  ever  is  like 
to  be.  You  cannot  be  justified  by  the  works  of  the 
laAV,  for  by  the  deeds  of  the  law  no  niu,:^  living  can  be 
justified.  Therefore,  Worldly-Wisdom  is  an  alien  ; 
Legality  is  a  cheat ;  and  his  son  Civility  is  but  an 
hypocrite,  who  cannot  help  thee.  Believe  me,  there 
is  nothing  else  in  all  that  you  have  heard  from  this 
man,  but  a  design  to  beguile  you  of  your  salvation, 
by  turning  you  from  the  only  right  way,  in  which 


W  LECTURE   IV. 

you  are  directed  to  seek  rest  to  your  soul  and  peace 
to  your  conscience. 

We  cannot  fail  to  remark  how  well  it  became 
Evangelist,  in  giving  these  admonitions,  thus  fully 
to  dwell  on  the  essential  difference  between  the 
law  and  the  gospel.  No  one  can  do  the  work  oi' 
an  evangelist — that  is,  he  cannot  be  a  true  minister 
of  the  gospel — who  does  not  perceive  and  under- 
stand this  important  distinction.  And  none  of  you, 
dear  brethren,  can  know  the  liberty  wherewith 
Christ  makes  his  people  free,  neither  can  you  offer 
any  obedience  to  the  law  that  wiil  be  acceptable  to 
God,  until  you  come  by  faith  to  be  justified  freely 
as  a  helpless  sinner,  through  the  redemption  that 
is  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  is  not  scholarship,  but  the 
teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  alone  can  make 
you  feel  and  know  this  precious  truth.  The  law 
was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by 
Jesus  Christ.  Oh  !  seek  to  know,  and  to  feel,  that 
you  can  be  saved,  not  by  any  thing  which  you  can 
do  yourself,  but  by  what  Christ  has  done  and  suf- 
fered in  your  stead.  Then,  while  you  look  unto 
him  as  the  only  ground  of  your  justification  before 
God,  by  receiving  the  law  in  all  its  extent,  as  the 
perfect  rule  of  your  conduct,  and  daily  endeavour- 
ing to  rule  your  heart  and  life  by  it,  you  will  prove 
yourself  to  be  a  justified  person  before  the  eyes  of 
all  men. 

(5.)  The  manner  i7i  which  Evangelist  confirmed 
his  doctrine  is  the  next  point  for  our  consideration. 
He  called  with  a  loud  voice  for  a  confirmation  of 
the  solemn  truths  which  he  had  delivered.  Neither 
did  he  call  in  vain  ;  for  lo  !  fire  again  was  seen  to 
flash  from  the  mountain,  and  a  voice  of  words  was 
distinctly  heard,  which  proclaimed  aloud  and  said, 


THE   BACKSLIDER  RESTORED.  61 

"  As  many  as  are  of  the  works  of  the  law  are  un- 
der the  curse ;  for  it  is  written,  "Cursed  is  every- 
one that  continueth  not  in  all  things  that  are  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do  them."  Christian  felt 
the  full  import  of  these  words.  His  own  heart 
condemned  him.  The  hair  of  his  flesh  stood  up  ; 
he  looked  for  nothing  but  instant  death ;  and  bitterly 
did  he  bewail  his  sin  and  folly,  in  declining  from 
the  right  way,  merely  upon  the  representations  of 
Worldly-Wisdom,  and  to  avoid  his  allotted  cross  in 
the  way  to  Zion. 

Oh,  how  full  of  important  meaning  is  all  this ! 
They,  dear  brethren,  who  preach  the  true  doc- 
trine— that  is,  death  and  despair  by  our  own  works 
and  deservings,  and  hfe  and  salvation  by  faith  in 
Christ,  are  able  to  give  the  most  undoubted  sanc- 
tions for  the  truth  of  what  they  proclaim.  They 
can  appeal  to  the  awakened  conscience  of  every 
man  born  into  the  world,  and  say,  Are  not  you  con- 
demned by  this  holy  law  ?  If  you  have  to  live  for 
ever,  or  to  suffer  the  bitter  pains  of  eternal  death, 
according  to  your  keeping  or  breaking  this  law,  is 
not  all  hope  of  your  salvation  done  away,  and  that 
for  ever?  Have  you,  from  the  earliest  dawn  of 
reason  to  the  present  moment,  paid  an  unsinning 
'  obedience  to  these  commandments  ?  What !  have 
you  loved  the  Lord  your  God  with  all  your  heart, 
and  mind,  and  soul,  and  strength  ;  and  your  neigh- 
bour as  yourself  ?  Have  you  never  once  in  your 
life,  by  thought,  word,  or  deed,  by  look,  intention, 
or  desire,  violated  any  one  of  the  ten  command- 
ments ?  You  dare  not  say  so.  Your  own  heart 
condemns  you.  You  stand  convicted  as  a  trans- 
gressor of  this  holy  law.  Notwithstanding  your 
morahty,  and  your  boasted  obedience,  there  is  one 


]62  LECTURE   IV. 

that  condemneth  you,  even  Moses,  in  whom  you 
trust.  You  see,  as  it  were,  the  fire  flashing  from 
the  mount.  You  hear  the  voice  of  words  which 
tell  you  that  you  are  exposed  to  the  curse  of  a 
broken  law.  The  testimony  of  God  is  confirmed 
in  you.  You  feel,  when  we  tell  you  these  things, 
that  these  are  the  true  sayings  of  God.  And  to  cut 
off  your  vain  expectation,  that  partial  obedience 
will  be  accepted  instead  of  perfect  obedience,  listen 
again  to  the  mighty  thunderings,  that  roll  so  fear- 
fully in  heaven  above,  and  echo  so  mournfully  from 
earth  beneath,  "  All  things  that  are  written  in  the 
book  of  the  law  to  do  them  !"  Listen  again  to  the 
voice  of  words,  so  impossible  for  any  child  of  Adam 
to  endure,  "  Whosoever  shall  keep  the  whole  law 
and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all." 
Oh,  what  could  any  of  us  look  for,  but  curses  and 
death,  and  burning  vengeance,  and  everlasting  de- 
struction from  the  Almighty,  if  we  had  no  better 
foundation  upon  which  to  rest  our  hope  than  our 
own  works  and  deservings  ! 

(6.)  But  we  have  to  notice  finally,  lioiv  happily 
Evungelist  succeeded  in  restorifig  our  pilgrim  into 
the  right  way.  The  good  effect  of  the  interview, 
and  of  the  wise  and  judicious  treatment  of  Evan- 
gelist, now  began  to  appear.  Christian  was  ex- 
ceedingly alarmed  by  the  things  which  he  heard 
and  saw.  But  though  greatly  cast  down,  he  is  not 
quite  in  despair.  He  inquires  first,  if  there  be  any 
hope  for  him  ;  if  he  may  retrace  his  steps  ;  and  if 
he  will  not  be  rejected  at  the  Gate,  for  what  he  has 
done  ?  More  fully  and  distinctly  than  ever,  and 
with  the  most  unfeigned  humility  and  sincerity,  he 
confesses  his  error.  "  I  am  heartily  sorry,"  he 
said,  "  that  I  Ustened  to  the  seducer's  voice,  and 


THE   BACKSLIDER   RESTORED.  63 

followed  his  advice ;  but  may  I  be  forgiven  ?" 
Evangelist,  in  reply,  did  not  excuse  the  wanderer's 
transgression,  but  having  spoken  of  it  as  being  most 
grievous,  he  declared,  to  the  unspeakable  comforJ 
of  the  poor  backsHder,  "  Yet  for  all  this  the  man  at 
the  Gate  will  not  reject  thee,  for  he  has  good-will 
for  men ;  only  take  heed  that  thou  turn  not  aside 
again,  lest  thou  perish  from  the  way,  when  his 
wrath  is  kindJed  but  a  little."  This  is  good  news, 
indeed,  to  the  humbled  and  the  burdened  pilgrim. 
Having  received  an  encouraging  smile  from  his 
faithful  friend,  with  the  utmost  care  and  diligence 
he  addressed  himself  to  retrace  his  wandering  foot- 
steps. He  went  like  one  that  was  all  the  while 
treading  on  forbidden  ground,  and  could  by  no 
means  think  himself  safe,  till  again  he  got  into  the 
way  which  he  had  forsaken  to  follow  the  counsel 
of  Worldly- Wisdom.  So  in  process  of  time  he  got 
up  to  the  Gate. 

Are  there  any  here  who  have  been  seduced  into 
some  false  way  ?  Have  you,  either  by  following 
the  devices  and  desires  of  your  own  hearts,  or  by 
listening  to  the  evil  communications  of  others,  made 
for  yourselves  crooked  paths ;  and  have  you  learned, 
by  bitter  experience,  that  they  who  walk  therein 
shall  know  no  peace  ?  Oh,  ponder  the  path  of 
your  feet,  that  all  your  ways  may  be  established  ! 
Search  and  try  your  ways,  and  turn  again  unto  the 
Lord.  Cry  earnestly  unto  him  to  restore  your  soul, 
and  to  lead  you  in  paths  of  righteousness  for  His 
name's  sake.  And  however  multiphed  may  have 
been  your  sins,  and  however  grievous  your  provo- 
cations ;  however  painfully  you  may  have  pierced 
yourselves  through  with  many  sorrows,  never  say, 
there  is  no  hope.     Hope,  indeed,  there  is  none,  if 


64  LECTURE   IV. 

you  are  determined  to  keep  your  sms,  to  persist  in 
rejecting  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  so  to  pursue  the 
ways  of  death.  But  what  is  the  gracious  message, 
which  the  Lord  himself  addresses  to  you,  in  his  own 
most  holy  word  ?  "  Return,  ye  backsliding  chil- 
dren, and  I  will  heal  your  backsHdings.  O  Israel, 
return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God,  for  thou  hast  fallen 
by  thine  iniquity."  Take  with  you  words,  and 
turn  unto  the  Lord.  Say  unto  him,  take  away  all 
our  iniquity,  and  receive  us  graciously.  If  you  are 
heartily  sorry  for  your  past  transgressions,  and  truly 
willing  to  renounce  the  counsel  of  Worldy- Wisdom ; 
and  if,  looking  unto  Jesus  as  a  poor  helpless  sinner, 
you  are  determined  to  press  forward  in  the  narrow 
way,  in  due  time  you  will  come  to  the  Gate,  the 
gate  of  mercy  ;  and  if  you  knock,  it  will  be  opened 
to  you. 

THE  HYMN. 

Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea, 
Save  that  thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  thou  bidst  me  come  to  thee, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 

Just  as  I  am,  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark,  blot, 
To  thee,  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 

Just  as  I  am,  though  tossed  about 
With  many  a  conflict,  many  a  doubt, 
Fightings  within,  and  fears  without, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 

Just  as  I  am,  poor,  helpless,  blind; — 
Sight,  wisdom,  healing  of  the  mind, 
Yea,  all  I  need,  in  thee  to  find, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 


THE   BACKSLIDER   RESTORED.  65 

Just  as  I  am,  thou  wilt  receive, 
Wilt  pardon,  welcome,  bless,  relieve, 
Because  thy  promise  I  believe: 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come. 

Just  as  I  am,  thy  love  unknown 
Has  broken  every  barrier  down  ; 
Now  to  be  thine,  yea,  thine  alone, 
O  Lamb  of  God,  1  come. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  Lord,  who  showest  to  them  that  be  in  error  the  light  of 
thy  truth,  to  the  intent  that  they  may  return  into  the  way 
of  righteousness,  receive  our  humble  petitions,  and  hearken 
to  the  prayer  that  we  make  before  thee.  We  have  erred  and 
strayed  from  thy  ways  like  lost  sheep.  We  have  broken 
thy  law,  we  have  neglected  thy  gospel,  we  have  fallen  by 
our  own  iniquity,  we  have  destroyed  ourselves,  and  we  have 
no  power  of  ourselves  to  help  ourselves.  But  turn  thou  us, 
and  so  shall  we  be  turned,  for  thou  art  the  Lord  our  God. 
Hast  thou  not  said.  Return,  ye  backsliding  children?  Lord, 
we  come  to  thee.  Take  away  all  our  iniquity,  receive  us 
graciously,  heal  our  backslidings,  love  us  freely,  and  let  thine 
anger  be  turned  away  from  us.  Grant  that  we  may  come  to 
thee,  just  as  we  are,  to  partake  of  the  full,  the  free,  and  the 
finished  salvation  of  thy  Son,  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  May 
it  please  thee,  through  the  ministry  of  thy  holy  word,  to  im- 
part to  us  sufficient  light  for  our  guidance  in  the  way  ever- 
lasting. Probe  our  wounds,  and  set  our  sins  before  us  in 
such  a  light,  that  we  may  abhor  ourselves  in  our  own  sight. 
But  oh,  do  thou  comfort  us  again  with  the  hope  of  mercy,  as 
we  look  to  the  great  sacrifice  of  the  cross.  Make  us  heartily 
ashamed  of  our  readiness  to  start  and  turn  aside  from  thee, 
for  our  proneness  to  shrink  from  our  allotted  cross,  and  for 
the  remaining  pride  and  self-righteousness  that  is  within  us. 
Confirm  thy  word  unto  thy  servants ;  and  though  it  be  by 
terrible  things  in  righteousness,  convince  us  that  we  can  only 
find  peace  and  rest  in  Christ.  Restore  our  souls,  and  lead 
us  in  paths  of  righteousness,  for  thy  name's  sake.  And  mer- 
cifully grant  that  all  our  lamented  sins,  negligences,  and 
ignorances,  may  be  overruled  to  our  spiritual  good  ;  making 
us  more  humble,  more  watchful,  more  steadfast  in  main- 
taining the  truth  of  thy  gospel.  These  things  we  humbly 
beg,  in  the  name  and  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour. 
Amen. 


LECTURE  Y. 

THE    STUAIT    GATE. 


Strait  is  the  way — the  door  is  strait, 

That  leads  to  joys  on  high  : 
'Tis  but  a  few  that  find  the  gate, 

While  crowds  mistake  and  die. 

Beloved  self  must  be  denied, 
The  mind  and  will  renewed, 

Passion  suppressed — and  patience  tried, 
And  vain  desires  subdued. 

Lord,  can  a  feeble,  helpless  worm 

Fulfil  a  task  so  hard  ? 
Thy  grace  must  all  the  work  perform, 

And  give  the  free  reward. 


Matthew  vii.  13. 

ENTER   YE   IN   AT   THE   STR.UT  GATE. 

The  only  Saviour  of  sinners  is  frequently  repre- 
sented to  us  in  the  Bible  under  the  emblem  of  a 
door  or  a  gate.  "I,"  he  says,  "am  the  door  ;  by  me 
if  any  man  enter  in  he  shall  be  saved."  This  is  the 
only  door  of  hope  that  is  set  before  us ;  the  only 
means  by  which  a  guilty  sinner  actually  enters 
into  a  state  of  acceptance  with  God.  It  is  a  strait 
gate.  Not  a  wide  and  expanded  door,  through 
which  we  can  easily  pass,  without  any  effort  or  any 
self-denial ;  but  a  little  tvicket-gatc,  which  we  can- 
not find  without  diligently  seeking,  and  which  we 

06 


THE   STRAIT   GATE.  67 

cannot  enter  without  earnestly  striving.  All  our 
efforts  to  enter  will  be  in  vain,  if  we  carry  with  us 
any  of  our  sinful  practices,  or  ungodly  companions; 
any  of  our  worldly  idols,  or  carnal  confidences. 
When  a  genuine  penitent  casts  himself,  by  faith, 
upon  the  mercy  of  God,  held  out  to  him  in  Christ, 
he  enters  in  at  the  strait  gate.  Having  done  this, 
he  not  only  depends  upon  his  Saviour  for  pardon  ; 
he  seeks  liberty  and  happiness  in  his  service. 
Through  him,  in  whom  he  has  believed,  he  has 
access  by  faith  into  that  grace  wherein  he  stands. 
He  goes  in  and  out,  and  finds  pasture.  It  is  im- 
mensely important  to  every  one  of  us,  not  to  be 
satisfied  with  any  thing  short  of  entering  by  the 
true  door  into  a  state  of  acceptance  with  God.  Let 
us  then  carefully  consider  our  burdened  Pilgrim  at 
the  Wicket-Gate.  We  shall  arrange  the  subject 
in  the  manner  following,  and  notice, 

I.  Christian's  application  at  the  Wicket-Gate. 

II.  The  manner  in  which  he  was  there  received. 

III.  The  conversation  that  passed  between  him- 
self and  the  man  at  the  Gate ;  and, 

IV.  The  directions  and  instructions  which  he 
there  obtained  for  his  future  guidance. 

May  the  Eternal  Spirit  enable  every  one  of  us 
effectually  to  strive  for  the  strait  gate  ! 

I.  We  begin  with  our  Pilgrim's  application  at 
the  Wicket-Gate.  He  had  now  got  up  to  the  Gate 
Avhich  had  been  pointed  out  to  him  by  Evangelist. 
The  first  thing  that  met  his  eye  was  this  inscrip- 
tion written  over  it :  "  Knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you."  Without  any  pause,  or  a  moment's 
delay  he  availed  himself  of  this  most  encouraging 


6s  LECTURE   V. 

direction.  He  was  told  to  knock,  and  he  did  knock 
He  knocked  more  than  once  or  twice,  and  inquired, 
if  indeed  that  door  would  be  opened  for  one  so  un- 
worthy and  rebellious  as  himself.  After  he  had 
stood  without,  and  continued  knocking  for  some 
time,  at  length  there  came  a  grave  person  to  the 
door,  named  Good-Will.  This  man  inquired  who 
was  there,  and  whence  he  came,  and  what  he 
would  have.  Christian  had  a  plain  and  ready- 
answer  to  give  to  all  these  questions.  Here  is  a 
poor  burdened  sinner,  he  said,  come  from  the  City 
of  Destruction,  and  going  to  Mount  Zion,  that  I 
may  be  delivered  from  the  wrath  to  come.  And 
since  I  am  informed  that  through  this  Gate  is  the 
way  thither,  I  would  therefore  know  if  you  are 
willing  to  let  me  in.  This  was  Christian's  applica- 
tion at  the  Gate. 

And  say,  dear  brethren,  does  not  this  speak  to 
every  one  of  us,  with  a  voice  full  of  instruction  ? 
"  The  door  was  not  opened  until  he  had  knocked 
more  than  once  or  twice."  It  is  only  persevering 
prayer  that  is  effectual  prayer.  St.  Paul  besought 
the  Lord  thrice  concerning  his  thorn  in  the  flesh, 
that  it  might  depart  from  him.  When  we  humbly 
come  to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  earnestly  apply  to 
Christ  for  pardon  and  rehef,  let  us  not  be  surprised 
if  our  petitions  and  desires  be  not  granted  immedi- 
ately. Delays  are  not  denials.  The  blessings  we 
seek  are  worth  waiting  for.  We  must  beware  of 
saying.  What  should  I  wait  for  the  Lord  any 
iono-er  ?  We  must  resolve  to  take  no  denial.  We 
must  knock,  and  knock,  and  knock  again,  until  we 
are  evidently  heard.  The  language  of  our  waiting 
souls  must  be : 


THE   STRAIT    GATE.  69 

I'll  wait  his  seasonable  aid, 

Though  oft  denied,  I'll  wait ; 
The  promise  may  be  long  delayed, 

But  cannot  come  too  late. 

It  is  by  repeated  knocking,  by  continual  coming,  by 
persevering  prayer,  that  the  earnest  and  upright 
inquirer  is  distinguished  from  the  mere  hypocrite 
and  dissembler  with  God.  An  insincere  person 
may  occasionally,  but  he  will  not  always  call  upon 
God.  When  Christian  had  waited  for  some  time, 
at  length  one  came  and  asked  what  he  wanted. 
When  persons  continue  instant  in  prayer,  in  due 
time  it  will  be  clearly  shown  that  they  have  not 
been  praying  in  vain.  Some  one,  as  it  were,  will 
appear  to  represent  to  them  the  good  will  of  Him 
who  heareth  and  answereth  prayer;  who  has  pro- 
mised that  he  will  hear  the  desire  of  the  humble  ; 
and  who  has  declared  that  the  prayer  of  the  upright 
is  his  delight.  By  his  providential  interference  on 
their  behalf,  or  by  the  secret  influence  of  his  Holy 
Spirit  upon  their  hearts,  they  will  be  encouraged 
to  spread  more  fully  all  their  wants  at  the  throne  of 
grace,  and  to  pour  out  their  hearts  before  him  who 
sits  upon  it.  He  who  is  the  merciful  receiver  of 
returning  penitents,  will  stretch  out  the  golden 
sceptre,  and  say,  What  is  thy  petition,  and  what  is 
thy  request?  The  Lord  our  God,  dear  friends, 
knows  far  better  than  we  do  ourselves,  both  who 
we  are  and  what  we  want.  But  he  would  hear  it 
from  our  own  mouth.  To  show  that  we  are  suit- 
ably impressed  with  our  true  condition,  he  requires 
us  humbly  to  acknowledge  our  guilt  and  ruin,  both 
by  nature  and  practice.  We  must  each  iee\  and 
confess  himself  to  be  a  poor  burdened  sinner, 
come  from  the  City  of  Destruction.     And  if  he  have 


70  LECTUllE  V. 

given  us  a  hearty  desire  to  pray  ;  if,  by  his  special 
grace  preventing  us,  he  hath  put  into  our  hearts 
good  desires,  we  must,  by  prayer  and  supphcation, 
make  knowm  our  requests  unto  God.  We  must 
tell  him  that  we  would  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come ; 
and  that  mercy  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  our 
wishes.  And  since  we  have  been  so  distinctly  in- 
formed in  his  holy  word,  that  mercy  can  only  flow 
to  us  through  Jesus  Christ;  that  there  it  is  treasured 
up, and  there  we  must  come  to  find  it;  that  no  man 
can  come  unto  the  Father  but  by  him  ;  and  that 
through  him  only  we  can  be  abundantly  pardoned 
and  graciously  accepted ;  we  must  humbly  state 
that  this  is  our  errand  to  the  throne  of  grace  :  We 
would  see  Jesus.  We  would  see  him  with  the  eye 
of  faith ;  we  would  cast  our  heavy  burden  at  his 
feet ;  we  would  thankfully  partake  of  his  great 
salvation. 

II.  The  manner  in  which  our  Pilgrim  was  re- 
ceived at  the  Gate  is  the  next  head  for  our  con- 
sideration. This,  we  shall  find,  was  a  most  gracious 
manner.  Oh,  what  a  cordial  welcome  did  he  receive 
from  the  man  at  the  Gate  !  Christian  had  asked 
with  fear  and  much  trembling,  whether  or  not  he 
was  vviUing  to  admit  him.  In  answer  to  this  inquiry 
the  man  said,  "I  am  willing  with  all  my  heart;" 
and  then  immediately  opened  the  Gate.  As  Chris- 
tian was  stepping  through,  the  man  who  opened  it 
hastily  caught  hold  of  him  and  drew  him  forward. 
He  knew  not  at  the  time  for  what  purpose  this  was 
done.  But  he  was  soon  after  informed  it  was  to 
save  him  from  the  arrows  of  a  powerful  adversary, 
whose  castle  was  hard  by.  From  thence  he  shoots 
at  the  pilgrims,  while  yet  they  are  without,  if  by 


THE   STRAIT    GATE.  71 

any  means  he  can  make  them  die  before  they  have 
entered  through  the  gate. 

Here,  again,  let  us  pause  a  httle  to  receive  in- 
struction. Was  the  burdened  Pilgrim  so  heartily 
welcomed  at  the  Gate?  God  our  heavenly  Father 
is  willing,  assuredly  wilhng,  to  welcome  and  receive 
every  returning  sinner,  who  comes  to  him  by  Jesus 
Christ.  While  they  are  yet  a  great  way  oft'  he 
sees  them,  and  has  compassion,  and  is  ready  to  run 
and  embrace  them,  and  welcome  them  with  joy 
into  the  arms  of  his  fatherly  mercy.  How  can  a 
poor  sinner  doubt  for  a  moment  the  good  will  of  our 
heavenly  Father  to  him,  if  he  humbly  come,  as  a 
genuine  penitent,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  Oh  !  if 
sinners  Avere  only  as  wilhng  to  come  to  Christ  for 
mercy,  as  he  is  willing  to  have  mercy  upon  them 
when  they  do  come,  heaven  would  be  full  and  hell 
would  be  empty.  The  ear  of  mercy  is  always  open 
to  the  cry  of  penitent  sinners ;  and  swiftly  will  the 
door  of  mercy  fly  open  for  their  admission  when 
they  hum.bly  prostrate  themselves  before  it.  Did 
Christian  find  friendly  aid  in  the  very  act  of  pass- 
ing through  the  Gate?  Oh,  what  an  astonishing 
contrast  is  to  be  seen  between  the  kindness  and  love 
if  God  our  Saviour  and  the  cruelty  and  malice  of 
lur  adversary  the  devil !  When  a  poor  sinner  flees 
.i'om  the  City  of  Destruction  to  find  refuge  in  Christ, 
he  is  by  no  means  fully  aware  of  all  the  dangers 
and  adversaries  that  oppose  his  progress,  and  that 
are  seeking  his  ruin.  But  the  eye  of  mercy  fixed 
upon  him,  sees  the  danger  which  he  cannot  see ; 
and,  the  Lord  being  very  gracious  to  him,  the  hand 
of  mercy  is  stretched  out  in  his  necessity,  to  dehver 
him  from  his  unknown  foe,  to  shield  him  from  the 
arrow  that  flieth  in.  darkness,  to  quicken  his  tardy 


72  LECTURE  V. 

footsteps,  and  to  bring  him  into  a  place  of  security 
On  the  other  hand,  how  great  is  the  craft  and  cru 
elty  of  Satan  !  He  chooses  alike  the  fittest  time  and 
place  for  divulging  his  murderous  intentions.  He 
would  kill  us  before  we  have  passed  through  the 
Gate.  He  well  knows  it  must  be  now  or  never. 
When  once  the  awakened  sinner,  by  true  faith,  has 
closed  with  Christ,  and  the  incorruptible  seed,  by 
which  he  becomes  a  child  of  God,  is  safely  lodged 
within  his  heart,  then  the  adversary  well  knows 
that,  to  a  great  extent,  the  prey  has  clean  escaped 
from  his  teeth.  After  this,  the  believer  is  furnished 
with  a  new  principle  wherewith  to  resist  sin  and 
temptation,  and  that  wicked  one  toucheth  him  not. 
True,  indeed,  he  will  pursue  the  Pilgrim's  steps  to 
the  very  end  of  his  course ;  perhaps  fiercely  assault 
him,  and  certainly  direct  arrows  against  him  at 
every  stage.  But  now  his  power  is  limited.  He 
has  only  power  to  tempt,  and  to  vex,  and  to  harass 
the  true  believer.  Thus,  very  frequently,  awakened 
sinners,  before  they  have  apprehended  Christ,  and 
when  they  are  on  the  point  of  closing  with  him  by 
true  and  saving  faith,  experience  most  of  Satan's 
craft  and  power.  When  the  merciful  Saviour  had 
said  to  the  afflicted  parent,  "  Bring  thy  son  hither ; 
as  he  was  yet  a  coming  the  devil  threw  him  down, 
and  tare  him." 

III.  The  conversation  that  passed  between  Chris- 
tian and  the  man  at  the  Gate  has  next  to  be  con- 
sidered. No  sooner  had  Christian  got  through  the 
Gate  and  been  informed  of  the  reason  why  he  was 
hastened  forward,  than  he  said,  "  I  rejoice  with 
trembling."  He  rejoiced  at  the  mercy  he  had  just 
received ;  and  trembled  at  the  danger  which  was 


THE  STRAtt   GATE.  73 

still  so  nigh.  Upon  being  asked  what  had  induced 
him  to  come  to  that  Gate,  he  rephed,  that  it  was 
Evangehst  who  had  directed  him  to  it ;  and  who 
had  also  instructed  him  there  to  seek  for  more  par- 
ticular information.  Now  does  the  poor  pilgrim 
hear  for  his  encouragement  that  an  open  door  is  set 
before  him,  which  no  man  can  shut.  The  joyful 
intelhgonce  causes  him  to  own  that  he  begins  to 
reap  the  fruit  of  his  labours.  The  next  inquiry- 
made  by  the  man  at  the  Gate  was  one  very  natural 
for  him  to  make.  His  name  was  Good-Will,  and 
his  heart  overflowed  with  benevolence  to  every  hu- 
man being.  He  inquired  therefore  of  Christian 
why  he  had  come  alone.  Christian's  reply  is  sim- 
ple, but  it  is  full  of  meaning.  Because,  he  said, 
none  of  my  neighbours  saw  their  danger  as  I  saw 
mine.  He  then  recounts  how  his  friends  and  rela- 
tions had  cried  after  him,  and  begged  him  to  return^ 
and  how  he  had  resisted  all  their  importunity.  He 
tells  too  his  interview  Avith  Obstinate  and  Pliable ; 
and  how  the  latter  had  gone  on  with  him  a  httle 
way,  until  he  drew  back  at  the  difficulties  he  met 
with  at  the  Slough  of  Despond.  The  remark  made 
by  Good- Will  upon  Pliable's  turning  back  is  very 
touching.  Alas,  he  said,  poor  man,  is  the  celestial 
glory*  of  so  small  esteem  with  him,  that  he  counteth 
it  not  worth  running  the  hazards  of  a  few  difficulties 
to  obtain  it !  This  observation  brings  to  Christian's 
mind  his  own  backsliding.  With  great  humihty 
he  compares  himself  to  Phable,  and  owns  that  there 
appears  to  be  little  betterment  between  them.  If 
Phable  had  turned  back,  Christian  had  been  seduced 
out  of  the  way  by  the  carnal  arguments  of  Worldly- 
Wisdom.  After  recounting  what  had  befallen  him 
for  following  this  fatal  advice,  Christian  is  informed 


74  LECTURE  V. 

that  Mount  Sinai  has  been  the  destruction  of  many; 
and  that  it  was  indeed  a  mercy  that  he  had  not 
been  dashed  to  pieces  while  hngering  about  it. 
Christian  feels  and  acknowledges  that  this  was  in- 
deed a  signal  mercy.  Fie  owns  how  seasonable 
was  the  approach  of  Evangelist  in  the  midst  of  his 
perplexity,  and  is  deeply  affected  when  he  calL 
his  own  ways  to  remembrance,  that  after  all  that 
he  had  done,  entrance  had  not  been  denied  him 
through  that  Gate.  When  this  acknowledgment 
had  been  made,  he  was  cheered  and  encouraged  in 
the  most  gracious  manner  by  him  who  had  opened 
for  him  the  Gate.  We  make,  he  said,  no  objections 
against  any,  notwithstanding  all  they  have  done 
before  they  come  hither :  they  are  in  nowise  cast 
out.  Therefore,  he  continued,  good  Christian,  come 
a  little  way  with  me,  and  I  will  teach  thee  about 
the  way  wherein  thou  must  go. 

Now,  if  we  only  rightly  consider  it,  this  conver- 
sation may  tend  greatly  to  our  profit,  in  a  variety 
of  ways.  Christian  rejoiced  with  trembling  when 
he  got  through  the  gate.  We,  dear  brethren,  who 
have  fled  for  refuge  to  the  gospel  hope,  should 
serve  the  Lord  with  fear,  and  rejoice  with  reverence 
before  him.  "  I  seek,"  said  an  eminent  Christian 
of  modern  times,  "  to  be  not  only  humbled  and 
thankfuU  but  humbled  in  thankfulness,  before  my 
•God  and  Saviour  continually.  1  do  not  undervalue 
joy  ;  but  I  suspect  it  when  it  is  not  blended  with 
the  deepest  humiliation  and  contrition."  As  Chris- 
tian spoke  of  the  benefits  he  had  received  from 
Evangelist,  so  we  shall  often  find  it  profitable  to 
look  back  upon  our  past  progress,  and  to  recall 
to  mind  the  instruments  that  were  employed  in 
directing  our   feet  into   the   narrow   way   of  fife. 


^  THE    STRAIT    GATE.  -^6 

We  should  be  very  careful  to  remember  and  to 
follow  all  the  admonitions  which  they  urged  upon 
us  from  the  word  of  God.  When  any  gracious  open- 
ing is  made  for  us,  we  should  be  diligent  in  follow- 
ing it  up  ;  and  if  we  do  this  faithfully,  we  are  sure, 
sooner  or  later,  to  be  abundantly  recompensed  for 
any  sacrifice  or  self-denial  which  we  may  have  en- 
countered for  the  gospel's  sake.  Every  behever, 
ere  long,  will  reap  the  fruit  of  all  his  pains.  The 
reason  assigned  by  our  Pilgrim  for  his  coming  out 
alone,  is  the  true  reason  why  such  numbers,  in 
every  place,  neglect  the  salvation  of  Christ,  and 
will  not  be  at  the  trouble  to  make  a  single  effort  to 
enter  in  at  the  strait  gate.  They  do  not  see  their 
danger  as  the  genuine  penitent  sees  his.  Oh  how 
deeply  painful  it  is  to  think,  that  all  the  glories  of 
heaven  should  be  of  so  little  value  in  the  eyes  of 
many  ;  that  they  will  not  encounter  the  least  diffi- 
culty for  the  sake  of  obtaining  them  !  But  the  sins 
and  inconsistencies  of  others  ought  to  touch  a  chord 
of  deep  humiliation  in  our  own  hearts.  They  should 
remind  us  of  our  own  provocations.  They  should 
make  us  own,  with  prostration  of  spirit,  that  we  are 
by  nature  children  of  wrath,  even  as  others ;  and 
that  if  in  any  thing  we  differ  from  the  worst  of  trans- 
gressors, it  is  grace  only  that  has  made  us  to  differ. 
How  thoroughly  thankful  we  ought  to  be,  if  we 
have  been  delivered  from  the  fearful  mistake  of  seek- 
ing life  from  the  ministration  of  death ;  and  how 
should  our  hearts  overflow  with  gratitude  and  praise 
to  remember,  that  no  sinners,  whatever  they  may 
have  done,  are  rejected,  when  they  come  as  peni- 
tents to  the  door  of  mercy  !  There  is  no  mention 
or  remembrance  made  of  all  their  multiplied  provo- 
cations in  time  past,  if  only  they  come,  with  weep- 


.76  LECTURE  V. 

ing  and  supplication,  looking  unto  Jesii^.  Who- 
ever they  be,  or  whatever  they  have  done,  "  they 
are  in  nowise  cast  out."  Be^^strong  therefore,  and 
of  good  courage,  all  ye  that  hope  in  the  Lord. 

IV.  We  have  lastly  to  consider,  the  directions 
and  instructions  which  Christian  received  at  the 
Gate  for  his  future  guidance.  He  was  informed 
that  his  path  lay  on  the  narrow  road,  which  went 
from  the  Gate,  as  straight  as  a  rule  could  make  it. 
He  could  not  with  care  miss  the  road.  There  were, 
indeed,  many  crooked  and  wide  paths  that  branched 
off,  on  each  side  of  his  way ;  but  the  road  to  Zion 
might  always  easily  be  distinguished  by  these  two 
evident  marks,  viz.  its  narrowness,  and  its  straight- 
ness.  A  very  affecting  question  followed.  Chris- 
tian then  asked  the  man  at  the  Gate,  if  he  could 
not  help  him  off  with  his  burden;  for  as' yet  he 
had  not  got  rid  of  it ;  nor  could  he  by  any  means 
be  delivered  from  it  without  assistance.  As  to  thy 
burden,  said  the  man,  be  content  to  bear  it,  until 
thou  comest  to  the  place  of  deliverance,  for  there  it 
will  fall  off  from  thy  back  of  itself.  As  soon  as 
Christian  heard  of  this  place  of  deliverance,  he  be- 
gan to  gird  up  his  loins,  and  to  address  himself  to 
his  journey. 

To  us,  my  friends,  as  weJl  as  to  him,  are  these 
instructions  and  directions  very  important.  If  we 
have  entered  in  at  the  Strait  Gate ;  I  mean,  if,  as 
genuine  penitents,  we  have  come  to  Christ  for  sal- 
vation, we  must  not  think  that  our  toiJs  are  ended, 
or  that  our  warfare  is  accomplished.  Still  have  we 
to  press  forward  in  the  narrow  way  of  life,  and  tc 
walk  by  the  straight  rule  of  the  commandments  of 
God.     We  shall  see  many  false  paths  branch  offj 


^^       THE   STRAIT   GATE.  77 

on  our  right  hand,  and  on  our  left ;  but  we  may- 
be sure  we  are  in  the  way  to  heaven,  if  we  are 
still  advancing  in  the  straight  and  narrow  path  of 
obedience.  This  alone  is  the  undoubted  proof  that 
we  have  entered  in  through  the  door.  This  alone 
is  the  path  that  leadeth  unto  life ;  all  others  are  the 
ways  of  death.  But  if  this  Gate  represents  the  mer- 
ciful receiver  of  returning  sinners,  you  may  perhaps 
inquire,  Can  a  weary  and  heavy-laden  sinner  come 
to  Christ,  and  not  find  rest  to  his  soul?  Can  he 
enter  through  the  Gate,  and  still  complain  that  he 
has  not  got  rid  of  his  burden  ?  The  question  is 
very  important,  and  it  deserves  a  distinct  reply. 
Know,  then,  that  a  general  reliance  on  the  mercy 
of  God  in  Christ,  if  it  be  sincere,  brings  a  man  into 
a  state  of  acceptance  with  God,  imparts  to  the  con- 
science a  degree  of  peace,  and  kindles  within  a 
measure  of  hope.  When  Christian  got  through 
the  Gate  he  rejoiced,  although  with  trembhng  ;  and 
he  confessed,  that  already  he  began  to  reap  the  fruit 
of  his  pains.  But  more  distinct  views  of  the  glory 
of  the  gospel,  and  a  fuller  revelation  of  the  myste 
ries  of  the  cross,  are  absolutely  necessary,  in  order 
to  our  obtaining  abiding,  established,  and  settled 
peace.  We  must  earnestly  pray  to  grow  in  grace, 
and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  We  must  seek  to  have  a  more  direct  and 
experimental  knowledge  of  him,  in  his  saving  office 
and  character.  Such  a  knowledge  as  this  will  de- 
liver us  from  all  our  fears  and  all  our  burdens.  Yes, 
dear  brethren,  a  simple,  clear,  distinct,  believing 
view  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  will  do  for  a  poor  sin- 
burdened  soul,  what  all  the  world  can  never  do. 
The  cross  of  Christ  is  the  place  of  deliverance. 
Oh,  be  not  satisfied  with  a  transient  glimpse  of  hope, 
7* 


78  LECTURE  V.  ^^ 

and  a  peace  that  is  moved  at  every  change,  just  as 
the  trees  of  the  wood  are  moved  by  the  wind.  \s 
you  have  received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  walk 
ye  in  him,  rooted,  and  built  up,  and  established  in 
the  faith,  that  your  peace  may  flow  as  a  river,  and 
that  you  may  have  an  abiding,  well-grounded,  and 
comforting  sense  of  your  pardon  and  acceptance. 
Only  let  us  seek  to  have  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  evi- 
dently crucified  before  the  eye  of  our  faith  ;  let  the 
divine  and  glorious  mystery  of  the  cross  be  distinctly 
shown  us  by  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  let 
us  see  the  Holy  One  of  God,  yea,  God  himself,  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  in  our  place,  and  in  our 
stead,  numbered  with  the  transgressors,  groaning 
under  that  wrath  which  our  sins  had  kindled,  suf- 
fering that  penaky  which  we  had  incurred,  and 
bearing  that  curse  which  otherwise  would  have 
rested  upon  our  guilty  souls  for  ever;  let  us,  I  say, 
only  realize  all  this,  and  then,  yes,  then  indeed,  we 
shall  have  arrived  at  the  place  of  dehverance,  and 
there  our  burden,  the  heavy  burden  of  our  guilt, 
will  fall  from  us  of  itself.  Oh,  let  us  imitate  him, 
who,  with  such  a  prospect,  addressed  himself  to  his 
journey,  and  went  forward.  First,  and  above  every 
thing  else,  let  us  be  sure  that  we  have  really  entered 
through  the  Gate ;  that  we  have  come  by  faith  to 
Jesus  Christ  for  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  and  access 
to  God.  And  oh,  let  us  not  be  satisfied  without  a 
lively  hope,  and  a  comforting  sense  of  our  pardon 
and  acceptance  !  Why  should  we  go  mourning 
all  our  days,  when  a  full,  free,  finished,  present, 
everlasting  salvation  has  been  provided  for  us  ? 
You  have  heard  of  the  place  of  deliverance.  Gird 
up  your  loins,  and  press  forward  to  it  with  unwea- 
rying footsteps.     Seek  not  only  for  salvation,  but 


^        THE    STRAIT   GATE.  79 

for  the  knowledge  of  salvation,  through  the  remis- 
sion of  your  sins.  We  desire  that  every  one  of 
you  do  show  the  same  diligence,  to  the  full  assu- 
rance of  hope  unto  the  end  :  that  ye  be  not  slothful, 
but  followers  of  them  who  through  faith  and  pa- 
tience inherit  the  promises. 

THE  HYMN. 

Thou  art  the  way — to  thee  alone 

From  sin  and  death  we  flee  ; 
And  he  who  would  the  Father  seek 

Must  seek  him,  Lord,  in  thee. 

Thou  art  the  truth — thy  word  alone 

True  wisdom  can  impart : 
Thou  only  canst  instruct  the  mind 

And  purify  the  heart. 

Thou  art  the  life — the  rending  tomb 
Proclaims  thy  conquering  arm  ; 

And  those  who  put  their  trust  in  thee, 
Nor  death  nor  hell  shall  harm. 

Thou  art  the  way,  the  truth,  the  life — 

Grant  us  to  know  that  way, 
That  truth  to  keep,  that  life  to  win. 

And  reach  eternal  day. 


THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  thou  hast  taught  us,  in  thy 
holy  word,  that  thy  Son,  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  is  the 
way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life  ;  mercifully  grant  that 
through  him,  and  by  one  Spirit,  we  may  now  have  access  to 
thee.  Thou  hast  made  known  unto  us  the  path  of  life  ;  thou 
iast  set  before  us  a  door  of  hope  ;  thou  hast  graciously  said, 
"  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find  ;  knock, 
and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you."  So  give  now  unto  us  that 
ask,  let  us  that  seek  find,  open  the  gate  unto  us  that  knock. 
We  come  as  poor  perishing  sinners  ^o  knock  at  the  door  of 
mercy.  Lord,  open  unto  us.  We  would  take  no  denial;  we 
would  not  be  sent  empty  away  ;  we  would  continue  instant 
in  prayer,  until  we  know  that  we  have  the  petitions  that  we 


80  LECTURE   V.  ^ 

ask  of  thee.  We  wait  for  thy  loving-kindness ;  show  us  thy 
mercy,  O  Lord,  and  grant  us  thy  salvation.  Assure  us  of 
thy  favour  and  good-will  towards  us ;  and  save  us,  we  be- 
seech ihee,  from  the  power  and  malice  of  our  cruel  adversary, 
who  desires  to  have  us,  and  to  prevent  our  approach  to  the 
only  Saviour  of  sinners.  May  we  know  what  it  is  to  have 
communion  with  thee,  and  to  pour  out  our  hearts  before  thee. 
And  when  we  declare  our  ways  unto  thee,  do  thou  gra- 
ciously hear  us,  and  abundantly  bless  us.  Show  thou  us  the 
way  wherein  we  should  walk,  for  we  lift  up  our  souls  unto 
thee.  Make  thy  way  plain  before  us.  Deliver  us  from 
turning  aside  into  any  crooked  path.  Oh  that  our  ways 
were  so  direct  that  we  might  keep  thy  statutes  !  Save  us, 
we  beseech  thee,  from  all  our  burdens,  and  from  all  our 
fears.  May  we  not  be  satisfied  with  a  general  hope  of  par- 
don, but  may  we  earnestly  press  after  a  clearer  view  and  a 
sweeter  sense  of  our  personal  interest  in  Christ.  Oh  give 
us  the  knowledge  of  salvation  through  the  remission  of  our 
sins !  May  we  forget  the  things  that  are  behind,  and  reach 
forth  to  those  that  are  before,  and  press  toward  the  mark  for 
the  prize  of  our  high  calling.  Hear  us,  O  Lord,  and  answer 
us  according  to  the  multitude  of  thy  tender  mercies,  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour ;  to  whom  with  thee  and  the 
eternal  Spirit,  three  persons  in  one  undivided  Godhead,  be 
honour  and  glory  for  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


LECTURE  YI. 

THE   interpreter's   HOUSE. 


Thou  great  Instructor !  lest  I  stray, 
O  teach  my  erring  feet  thy  way ; 
Thy  truth,  with  ever  fresh  delight, 
Shall  guide  my  youthful  steps  aright. 

How  oft  my  heart's  affections  yield, 
And  wander  o'er  the  world's  wide  field ! 
My  roving  passions,  Lord,  reclaim, 
Unite  them  all  to  fear  thy  name. 

Then,  to  my  God,  my  heart  and  tongue 
With  all  their  powers  shall  raise  the  song; 
On  earth  thy  glories  I'll  declare. 
And  heaven  my  song  of  joy  shall  hear. 


John  xvi.  13,  14. 

HOWBEIT  WHEN  HE,  THE  SPIRIT  OP  TRUTH,  IS  COME,  HE  WILI,  GUIDE  TOU 
INTO  ALL  truth:  FOR  HE  SHALL  NOT  SPEAK  OF  HIMSELF;  BUT  WHATSO- 
EVER HE  SHALL  HEAR,  THAT  SHALL  HE  SPEAK  :  AND  HE  WILL  SHOW  YOU 
THINGS  TO  COME.  HE  SHALL  GLORIFY  ME:  FOR  HE  SHALL  RECEIVE  OF 
MINE,   AND  SHALL   SHOW  IT   UNTO  YOU. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  only  infallible  interpreter 
of  Scripture.  None  teacheth  like  him.  He  it  is 
who  opens  our  eyes,  and  shows  us  wonderful  things 
out  of  the  law  of  God.  He  shines  into  our  hearts, 
and  disperses  the  natural  darkness  in  which  we  are 
involved ;  he  penetrates  the  innermost  recesses  of 
our  souls ;  there  he  plants  eyes,  and  enables  us  to 
see  what  before  was  hid  from  us,  especially  disco- 
vering to  us  the  grace,  and  glory,  and  beauty,  and 
excellence  of  Christ.     The  manner  in  which  the 

81 


82  LECTURE   VI. 

blessed  Spirit  teaches  the  hearts  of  all  faithful  peo- 
ple, and  the  important  lessons  which  he  inculcates, 
are  most  happily  illustrated  in  that  part  of  the  Pil- 
grim's Progress  now  for  our  consideration.  After 
a  person  has  entered  in  at  the  Strait  Gate — come 
by  true  faith  to  the  Saviour  of  sinners  for  salvation 
— he  has  much,  very  much,  still  to  learn,  both  of 
Christ,  and  himself,  and  the  ways  of  the  Lord. 
His  understanding  has  to  be  opened,  that  he  may 
understand  the  Scriptures.  All  the  eleven  dis- 
ciples, while  the  Lord  was  yet  with  them,  were 
true  of  heart.  But  they  had  much  remaining  igno- 
rance to  be  dispersed,  and  many  wonderful  disco- 
veries to  be  made  to  them.  Thus  the  Lord  assured 
them,  "  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you, 
but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  Howbeit,  when  he, 
the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into 
all  truth :  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself ;  but 
whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak :  and 
he  will  show  you  things  to  come.  He  shall  glorify 
me :  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and  shall  show  it 
unto  you." 

Christian's  approach  to  the  Interpreter's  house, 
with  some  of  the  wonders  that  were  there  shown 
him,  will  form  the  subject  of  the  present  lecture. 
Let  us  enter  upon  it  by  earnestly  invoking  the  spe- 
cial presence  and  blessing  of  that  gracious  Spirit, 
who  alone  can  make  it  profitable  to  our  souls. 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  come  ; 

Let  thy  briglit  beams  arise, 
Dispel  the  sorrow  from  our  minds, 

The  darkness  from  our  eyes. 

Convince  ns  of  our  sin, 

And  lead  us  to  the  Lord ; 
And  to  our  opening  view  reveal 

The  wonders  of  thy  word. 


THE  interpreter's  HOUSE.  83 

(1 .)  We  have  to  notice  Christian'' s  approach  to 
the  Interpreter's  house.     He  had  been  informed  at  ,^ 
the  Wicket-Gate,  through  which  he  passed,  that  it  j' 
was  necessary  for  him  to  call  at  this  house,  and  to 
get  admittance  into  it ;  and  that  there  very  excel- 
lent things  would  be  shown  him.     He  went  there- 
fore direct  from  the  Gate  to  this  famous  house,  until 
he  had  arrived  at  the  door  and  stood  before  it.     No  , 
notice  was  taken  of  his  arrival  until  he  had  knocked.  , 
He  knocked  over  and  over  again.     At  last  one 
came   to  the  door   and   inquired   who  was  there. 
Christian  gave  a  true  and  simple  account  of  himself 
and  preferred  his  request,  to  speak  with  the  master 
of  the  house.     This  request  was  by  no  means  con- 
sidered a  liberty.     After  it  had  been  reported,  the 
master  of  the  house  himself  appeared  and  asked 
Christian  what  he  wanted. 

Under  these  simple  words,  dear  brethren,  there 
is  contained  the  most  important  meaning.  A  deep 
sense  of  our  remaining  ignorance,  with  a  teachable 
disposition  and  a  hearty  desire  for  further  instruc- 
tion, is  a  hopeful  sign,  indeed  we  may  say,  a  sure 
mark  of  grace  begun  in  the  heart.  If  we  have 
been  sincere  in  our  application  to  Christ,  we  shall 
follow  the  gracious  directions  which  he  has  given 
us  to  promote  our  growth  in  grace,  and  our  advance- 
ment and  establishment  in  the  way  everlasting. 
We  shall  press  forward,  as  it  were,  from  the  Wicket- 
Gate  to  the  Interpreter's  house.  We  shall  feel  how 
necessary  it  is  for  us  to  become  individually,  if  I  > 
may  so  speak,  the  private  pupils  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  ^ 
When  the  ascending  Saviour  assured  the  disciples 
that  they  should  be  endued  with  power  from  on 
high  not  many  days  hence,  they  continued  with 
cne  accord  "  in  supplication  and  prayer"  until  they 


y 


84  LECTURE  VI. 

received  the  promise,  in  all  its  rich  and  unbounded 
fulness,  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  So  should  we 
plead  the  gracious  promises  and  the  abundant  en- 
couragement which  he  has  given  us  to  expect  that 
other  Comforter,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  to  teach 
us  all  things.  We  should  pray  earnestly  that  he 
would  open  the  eyes  of  our  understanding,  and  be 
in  us  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revekiion  in  the 
knoAvledge  of  Christ ;  that  he  may  glorify  Christ  in 
our  eyes,  and  take  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  show 
them  unto  us.  With  this  object  in  view,  and  this 
hope  before  us,  we  must  diligently  attend  to  every 
appointed  means  of  grace.  We  must  resort  con- 
stantly to  the  word  of  truth  and  the  house  of  praj^er; 
watching  daily  at  the  gates  of  wisdom,  and  waiting 
at  the  posts  of  her  doors.  Considering,  too,  that 
earnest  knocking  is  the  emblem  of  importunate 
prayer,  and  that  the  Lord  has  assured  us  that  he 
will  be  inquired  of  by  us  to  fulfil  his  gracious  pro- 
mise of  giving  us  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  must  knock 
over  and  over  again,  praying  without  ceasing,  until 
our  petitions  are  evidently  heard.  And  oh,  remem- 
ber that  your  business  is  with  the  Master  of  the 
house.  There  is  nothing  like  going  to  the  fountain- 
head.  Do  not  be  put  oflfby  a  servant,  as  if  he  could 
do  as  well  as  the  Master.  The  Holy  Spirit  himself 
is  promised  to  come  to  us  to  be  our  instructor,  and 
to  perform  for  us  the  office  of  an  infallible  Interpre- 
ter, in  answer  to  our  humble  petitions.  The  Great 
Teacher  himself  is  promised  as  the  fruit  of  the  Sa- 
viour's intercession,  and  we  ought  not  to  be  satisfied 
with  an  inferior  monitor. 

(2.)  We  have  next  to  see  how  Christian  got  ad- 
mittance into  the  Interpreter's  house.  The  Inter- 
preter had  asked  him  what  was  his  business.     To 


THE   INTERPRETER'S   HOUSE.  85 

! 

this  he  replied  most  simply:  "Sir,"  he  said,  "I  am".   /        I 
a  man  that  am  come  from  the  city  of  Destruction,   "'  | 

and  am  going  to  Mount  Zion  ;  and  I  was  told  by  j 

the  man  who  stands  at  the  Gate,  that  if  I  called  ] 

here,  you  would  show  me  excellent  things,  such  as 
would  be  a  help  to  me  in  my  journey."     This  ac-  ' 

count  of  himself  was  considered  entirely  satisfactory. 
So  the  Interpreter  said,  "Come  in, I  will  show  thee 
hat  which  will  be  profitable  to  thee."  ' 

Here  take  notice,  dear  friends,  of  a  most  import- 
ant truth.     It  is  not  a  vain  repetition  that  our  Pil-  < 
grim  gives  in  substance  the  same  account  of  himself 
to  every  person  of  whom  he  has  a  request  to  make. 
It  is  to  remind  us  that  all  the  promises  and  all  the  j 
encouragements  in  the  Bible  are  held  forth  to  per- 
sons who  answer  a  certain  description.     There  is  \  /" 
no  promise  in  the  Scripture,  from  the  beginning  to  ) 
the   end   of  it,  to   the  proud,  unhumbled   sinner, 
or  to  the  selfish,  unawakened  worldling,  who  is 
seeking  his  happiness  in  those  things  which  perish 
in  the  using.     No,  we  must  feel  and  confess  that 
we  are  from  the  City  of  Destruction ;  we  must  be 
on  the  way  to  Zion,  and  have  our  faces  thitherward. 
We  must  be  convinced  of  sin,  and  have  our  desires 
directed  to  Christ  and  heavenly  things,  before  we  ^ 
can  cotne  to  Christ,  or  know  any  thing  of  the  blessed                ] 
fellowship  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     If  this  be  our  char-                1 
acter,  we  have  nothing  to  fear.     Our  earnest  cries                i 
for  more  hght,  and  wisdom,  and  grace  will  not  be                i 
rejected.     The  Spirit  himself,  in  due  time,  will  gra-                i 
ciously  draw  near  to  us,  and  make  us  to  understand 
excellent  things.     Is  it  your  earnest  cry,  "  Teach               ^ 
me  to  do  thy  will,  for  thou  art  my  God :  thy  Spirit 
is  good:  lead  me  into  the  land  of  uprightness?"                | 
You  shall  not  be  disappointed  of  your  desire.     The               | 

8  i 


86  LECTURE  VI. 

condescending  love  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  readily 
granting  the  desires  of  those  who  apply  for  his 
teaching,  notwithstanding  their  duJness,  and  preju- 
dice, and  slowness  of  heart  to  understand,  can  never 
be  sufficiently  admired.  "Uphold  me  with  thy 
free  Spirit." 

(3.)  The  manner  in  which  the  Interpreter  in- 
structed Christian  after  he  was  admitted  into  the 
house  is  especially  deserving  of  our  consideration. 
He  commanded  his  man  to  light  a  candle,  and  bid 
Christian  follow  him.  So  he  led  him  into  a  private 
room.  There  he  directed  his  man  to  open  the  door. 
He  did  so;  and  Christian  beheld,  hanging  up  against 
the  wall,  a  very  striking  and  attractive  picture.  It 
seemed  to  be  the  fikeness  either  of  a  man  or  an 
angel. 

Before  we  pass  on  to  examine  distinctly  the  fea- 
tures of  this  wonderful  picture,  it  may  be  well  here 
to  pause  for  a  moment.  The  blessed  Spirit  employs 
generally  men  as  his  instruments  in  giving  light 
and  instruction  to  the  souls  of  those  whom  he  effectu- 
ally teaches.  But  it  is  his  secret  and  gracious 
power  alone  that  effectually  conveys  it  to  the  heart. 
Every  true  minister  of  the  gospel  is  the  Interpreter's 
man.  Fie  has  been  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
take  upon  him  that  office  and  ministry.  The 
minister,  by  explaining  and  enforcing  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  may,  as  it  were,  light  a  candle  and  be 
of  much  use  to  the  learner  in  the  school  of  Christ. 
But  it  is  only  by  the  command  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
that  the  light  can  be  produced.  It  is  only  by  its 
power  that  it  can  shine  into  the  heart ;  it  is  only  by 
his  gracious  influence  that  we  are  enabled  to  see 
and  constrained  to  follow  that  hght.  Without  this, 
the  hght  shineth  in  darkness,  and  the  darkness  com- 


THE   interpreter's   HOUSE.  87 

prehendeth  it  not.  Or  again,  as  the  Interpreter's 
man  did,  the  minister  of  Christ  may  draw  forth  from 
the  inspired  volume  many  a  wonderful  and  affecting 
picture,  and  set  it  plainly  before  the  eyes  of  men. 
But  it  is  only  when  the  Holy  Spirit  has  led  us, 
as  it  were,  into  a  private  room,  and  unfolds  and 
explains,  and  applies  to  the  conscience  what  we 
have  seen  and  heard,  that  we  derive  any  spiritual 
profit  and  advantage  from  them.  Dear  brethren, 
if  you  would  prosper  in  your  souls,  always  look  up 
above  means  and  instruments  to  Him  who  works 
by  them  and  through  them. 

(4.)  We  proceed  now  to  consider  the  first  great 
lesson  which  was  taught  Christian  in  the  Interpre- 
ter's house.  This  was  the  fashion  of  the  picture 
that  was  shown  him.  It  was  the  picture  of  a  very 
grave  person ;  he  had  eyes  lifted  up  to  heaven;  the 
best  of  books  was  in  his  hands ;  the  law  of  truth 
was  printed  upon  his  hps ;  the  world  was  behind 
his  back  ;  he  stood  as  if  he  pleaded  with  men  ;  and 
a  crown  of  gold  did  hang  over  his  head.  This 
picture  was  designed  to  instruct  the  Pilgrim  what 
manner  of  persons  he  ought  to  follow,  in  spiritual 
matters,  and  to  show  him  the  features  of  a  true 
guide  to  the  Celestial  City.  And  here,  indeed,  we 
have  the  true  apostoHc  succession.  In  every  par- 
ticular that  is  here  mentioned,  if  we  minutely  con- 
sider them,  we  see  the  features  of  the  genuine  am- 
bassador of  Christ,  whose  credentials  are  so  clear 
that  they  cannot  be  mistaken. 

The  true  minister  of  Christ,  then,  must  he  a 
grave  person.  The  awfully  important  work  which 
belongs  to  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  is  in  no  wise 
suited  to  a  hght,  trifling  and  frivolous  disposition. 


88  LECTURE   VI. 

"  He  that  negotiates  between  God  and  man, 
As  God's  ambassador,  the  grand  concerns 
Of  judgment  and  of  mercy,  should  beware 
Of  lighl?iess.^^ 

A  person  may  be  grave  without  being  morose, 
and  cheerful  without  any  levity.  No  one,  however, 
who  feels  the  power  of  the  world  to  come, — who  is 
impressed  in  some  good  measure  with  the  awful 
realities  of  eternit}^  nnd  who  is  perplexed  about  his 
soul,  would  be  able  to  open  his  grief  to  one  who 
was  of  a  hght  and  trifling  disposition  of  mind. 

The  true  minis fei^  again,  must  have  his  eyes  lifted 
up  to  heaven.  He  must  be  a  man  of  prayer.  His 
eyes  must  be  ever  to  the  Lord  ;  on  him  must  he 
wait  all  the  day.  Deeply  feeling  that  all  his  suffi- 
ciency is  from  above,  and  that  without  the  heavenly 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  all  his  labour  will  be 
of  no  avail,  he  looks  up  in  humble,  earnest  suppHca- 
tion,  that  the  Spirit  from  on  high  may  be  poured 
both  upon  him  and  his  people. 

The  best  of  books  will  be  in  the  hands  of  the  true 
minister.  The  Bible,  or  book  of  books,  is  the  best 
of  books,  and  this  is  the  constant  study  of  every 
true  minister.  He  is  a  minister  of  the  word,  and 
how  can  he  minister  to  others  what  he  has  not 
received  and  learned  himself?  How  can  he  preach 
the  word,  or  rightly  divide  the  word,  if  the  Avord 
does  not  first  dwell  in  him  richly? 

The  true  minister  has  the  law  of  truth  ivritten 
upon  his  lips.  No  one  can  turn  many  from  iniquity 
without  having  the  law  of  truth  in  his  mouth.  He 
appeals  to  the  law  and  to  the  testimony  for  every 
thing  that  he  delivers  to  his  people,  as  requisite  to 
their  salvation.  He  knows  that  Holy  Scripture 
contains  all  needful  truth,  and  therefore  he  does 


THE   interpreter's  HOUSE.  89 

not  trouble  or  perplex  his  hearers  with  any  thing 
besides.  All  other  books  he  only  values  and  uses 
just  as  they  illustrate,  enforce,  or  explain  the  Scrip- 
tures of  truth. 

Further,  the  true  minister  has  the  world  be- 
hind his  back.  A  covetous,  ambitious,  or  worldly 
minister,  is  a  wolf  and  not  a  shepherd.  He 
will  never  be  a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ, 
whose  back  is  not  turned  to  the  world,  and  who 
does  not  from  his  heart  renounce  all  its  bewitching 
pleasures,  all  its, entangling  cares,  and  all  its  aspir- 
ing projects.  "  Thoa,  O  man  of  God,  flee  these 
things."  He  must  not  take  the  oversight  of  the 
Lord's  inheritance  for  filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready 
mind.  Oh  what  havoc  is  made  of  the  souls  of  men, 
by  persons  obtruding  themselves  into  the  ministry, 
who  are  eagerly  pursuing,  instead  of  entirely  re- 
nouncing, the  world  and  the  things  of  the  world ! 

"Ambitious  of  preferment  for  its  gold, 
And  well  prepared,  by  ignorance  and  sloth, 
By  infidelity,  and  love  of  world, 
To  make  God's  work  a  sinecure." 

77ie  true  minister  stands  as  if  he  pleaded  with 
men.  He  cannot  sit  still  and  rest  contented  while 
souls  are  perishing  in  ignorance  and  sm  around 
him.  It  is  his  business  to  stand  pleading  with 
men.  He  is  commissioned  solemnly  to  appeal  to 
their  consciences,  and  to  say.  Why  will  ye  die  ? 
As  though  God  did  beseech  them  by  him,  he  is  to 
pray  them  in  Christ's  stead  to  be  reconciled  unto 
God.  As  he  feels  the  importance  of  his  subject, 
and  as  his  heart  is  influenced  by  what  he  proclaims, 
he  stands, 

"  Affectionate  in  look, 
And  tender  in  address,  as  well  becomes 
A  messenger  of  grace  to  guilty  men." 
8* 


90  LECTURE  VI. 

And  finally,  to  complete  the  picture,  and  to  perfect 
the  whole,  a  crown  of  gold  is  suspended  over  the 
head  of  every  true  minister  of  Christ.  What  bless- 
ed and  sure  reward  is  held  forth  in  the  world  to 
come,  to  every  faithful  labourer  in  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard, to  animate  his  faith,  and  to  encourage  his 
patient  continuance  in  well-doing  !  Here  his  trials 
and  discouragements  may  be  very  great,  and  he 
may  have  only  small  reward  for  his  toil.  But  if  he 
is  really  ready  to  spend  and  be  spent  in  his  Mas- 
ter's service,  and  for  the  good  of  souls — a  true 
candle,  wasting  away  himself  to  give  light  unto 
others ;  if  he  diligently  labours  now,  and  waits  for 
the  recompense  of  reward  hereafter,  he  shall  not  be 
disappointed.  When  the  Chief  Shepherd  shall 
appear,  he  shall  receive  a  crown  of  righteousness, 
that  fadeth  not  away. 

(5.)  We  have  only  now  to  consider  the  reason  as- 
signed by  the  Interpreter  for  showing  Christian 
this  picture.  "I  have  showed  thee  this  picture 
first,"  he  said,  "  because  the  man  whose  picture  this 
is,  is  the  only  man  whom  the  Lord  of  the  place 
whither  thou  art  going,  hath  authorized  to  be  thy 
guide  in  all  difficult  places  thou  mayest  meet  with 
in  the  way.  Wherefore  take  good  heed  to  what  I 
have  showed  thee,  and  bear  well  in  thy  mind  what 
thou  hast  seen ;  lest  in  thy  journey  thou  meet  with 
some  that  pretend  to  lead  thee  right,  but  their  way 
goes  down  to  death." 

The  wisdom  and  importance,  dear  brethren,  of 
this  admonition,  is  unspeakably  great ;  and  every 
true  Pilgrim,  in  his  progress  to  the  better  land,  will 
very  frequently  be  required  to  reduce  it  to  prac- 
tice. The  true  Christian,  who  has  felt  the  burden 
of  his  sins,  and  who  has  humbly  come  to  Christ 


THE   interpreter's   HOUSE.  91 

for  salvation,  is  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  distin- 
guish between  the  true  and  the  pretended  minister 
of  Christ.  He  has  been  commanded  to  beware  of 
false  prophets,  who  come  to  him  in  sheep's  clothing  ; 
and  not  to  believe  every  spirit,  but  to  try  the  spirits 
whether  they  be  of  God.  He  dare  not  commit  him- 
self to  the  spiritual  guidance  of  any  one,  merely  be- 
cause he  is  officially  a  minister.  Men  do  not  act 
thus,  with  regard  to  their  temporal  affairs,  or  their 
bodily  ailments.  They  do  not  suffer  any  one  to 
manage  their  affairs  merely  because  he  is  a  lawyer  ; 
they  will  not  put  themselves  into  the  hands  of  any 
one  merely  because  he  is  a  doctor.  They  consider 
that  all  lawyers  are  not  honest ;  and  that  all  doctors 
are  not  skilful.  They  want  something  more  than 
the  legal  certificate  which  allows  them  to  practise. 
Thus  it  is  with  the  true  Pilgrim  to  the  Celestial 
City.  The  Lord  of  the  country  whither  he  is 
going  has  showm  him  the  features  of  a  true  guide, 
and  solemnly  warned  him  of  the  danger  of  being 
led  astray  by  others.  He  is  to  follow  none  impli- 
citly any  further  than  they  have  the  clear  warrant 
of  Holy  Scripture  for  what  they  advance.  He  is  to 
take  heed  both  how  he  hears,  and  what  he  hears, 
proving  all  things  by  the  unerring  touchstone  of  the 
word  of  truth.  If,  therefore,  they  would  obtrude 
upon  him  the  commandments  of  men,  or  any  thing 
upon  the  authority  of  councils,  fathers,  or  traditions, 
as  necessar}''  to  his  salvation,  which  cannot  be  proved 
by  Scripture,  he  remembers,  "  If  they  speak  not  ac- 
cording to  this  rule,  it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in 
them." 


92  LECTURE  IV. 


THE  HYMN. 

Come,  blessed  Spirit,  source  of  light, 
Whose  power  and  grace  are  unconfined, 
Dispel  the  gloomy  shades  of  night, 
The  thicker  darkness  of  the  mind. 

To  our  illumined  eyes  display 
The  glorious  truth  thy  word  reveals  ; 
Cause  us  to  run  the  heavenly  way, 
Unfold  the  book,  unloose  the  seals. 

Thine  inward  teachings  make  us  know, 
The  mysteries  of  redeeming  love. 
The  emptiness  of  things  below, 
And  excellence  of  things  above. 

While  through  this  dubious  maze  we  stray, 
Spread  like  the  sun,  thy  beams  abroad, 
To  show  the  dangers  of  the  way. 
And  guide  our  feeble  steps  to  God. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  merciful  and  gracious  Lord  God,  who  dost  teach  the 
hearts  of  thy  faithful  people,  by  sending  to  them  the  light  of 
thy  Holy  Spirit ;  and  who  hast  promised  to  give  this  best  of 
all  good  things  to  them  that  ask  ;  we  come  before  thee  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour,  humbly  to  ask  for  the 
gift  of  thy  Holy  Spirit  to  be  poured  into  our  hearts.  May 
we  all  be  taught  of  thee  !  We  feel  and  bewail  our  exceed- 
ing sinfulness,  and  our  slowness  of  heart  to  receive  and  under- 
stand thy  blessed  word.  Oh  send  thy  Holy  Spirit,  tp  sanctify 
and  instruct  us  ;  to  make  us  of  quick  understanding  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  and  cause  us  to  receive  with  meekness  the 
engrafted  word,  which  is  able  to  save  our  souls  !  Give  us, 
we  beseech  thee,  the  Spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christ.  Lord,  we  would  not  have  thy  fear 
taught  us  by  the  precept  of  man,  but  by  the  effectual  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  apply  for  the  great  Interpreter  him- 
self, and  humbly  pray  that  he  may  come  to  us,  guiding  us 
into  all  truth,  and  taking  of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  show- 
ing  them  to  us.     We  are  poor,  blind,  and  benighted  sinner? 


THE   INTERPEETER'G   HOUSE.  93 

O  thou  Father  of  lights,  who  didrt  corntnand  the  light  to 
shine  out  of  darkness,  shine  into  our  hearts,  and  give  us  the 
light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glory  of  God,  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Raise  up,  we  pray  thee,  in  every  place,  pas- 
tors according  to  thine  own  heart — men  of  gravity,  men  of 
prayer,  mighty  in  the  Scriptures,  and  with  the  law  of  truth 
upon  their  lips  ;  spiritual  men,  who  are  not  of  the  world  ;  who 
plead  earnestly  with  perishing  sinners,  that  they  may  be 
saved  by  Christ  for  ever;  and  who  look  for  their  recompense 
of  reward  hereafter.  And  may  thy  word  in  their  mouths 
never  be  spoken  in  vain  !  These  mercies,  for  them,  for  us, 
and  thy  whole  Church,  we  humbly  beg  in  the  name  and  me- 
diation of  Jesus  Christ  our  most  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour. 
Amen. 


LECTURE  YII. 

THE   interpreter's   LESSONS. 


The  sovereign  will  of  God  alone 
Creates  us  heirs  of  grace  ; 

Born  in  the  image  of  his  Son, 
A  new,  peculiar  race. 

The  Spirit,  like  some  heavenly  wind. 
Blows  on  the  sons  of  flesh, 

New-models  all  the  carnal  mind. 
And  forms  the  man  afresh. 

Our  quickened  souls  awake  and  rise 
From  their  long  sleep  of  death  ; 

On  heavenly  things  we  fix  our  eyes, 
And  praise  employs  our  breath. 


Psalm  cxix.  18. 

OPEN   THOU  MINE  EYES,   THAT  I   MAT  BEHOLD  WONDROUS  THINGS  OUT  OP 
THY  LAW. 

Every  real  Christian  is  under  the  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Very  wonderful  are  the  discoveries 
made  to  him  by  the  gracious  operation  of  this 
heavenly  guide.  Without  the  unction  from  the 
Holy  One,  we  are  bhnd  and  dark  as  to  the  things  of 
God.  We  may  have  the  clear  shining  of  God's 
holy  word  round  about  us,  making  it  noon  as  to 
outward  privileges ;  and  yet,  if  the  veil  of  nature 
be  upon  our  eyes,  we  shall  stumble  at  noon  as  in 
the  night ;  we  shall  grope  as  if  we  had  no  eyes. 
It  is  the  impressive  and  solemn  lessons  taught  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  heart,  that  make  all  the 

94 


THE  interpreter's   LESSONS.  95 

diMinice  between  him  that  is  carnal  and  him  that 
is  spiritual.  Just  as  it  is  impossible  for  any  man  to 
know  what  is  passing  in  the  heart  of  another  in- 
dividual, but  only  that  individual  himself,  "  even  so 
the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man  but  the  Spirit 
of  God."  These  things  God  reveals  to  his  people 
by  the  Spirit.  We  are  proceeding  with  the  won- 
ders shown  to  Christian  in  the  Interpreter's  house  ; 
in  other  words,  the  discoveries  made  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  the  hearts  of  his  faithful  people. 

There  are  four  lessons  for  our  present  considera- 
tion. 

I.  A  proper  view  of  the  human  heart. 

II.  The  difference  between  things  present  and 
things  to  come. 

III.  The  mystery  by  which  grace  prevails  in  the 
sinner's  heart;  and 

IV.  Lastly,  the  necessity  of  decision  in  order  to 
succeed  in  the  Christian  warfare. 

We  cannot  do  better  than  enter  upon  our  subject 
by  offering  up  the  earnest  prayer  which  we  have 
selected  as  the  text  for  this  Lecture  :  "  Open  thou 
mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out 
of  thy  law." 

I.  We  have  set  before  us  a  proper  view^  of  the 
human  heart.  Having  taught  Christian  to  distin- 
guish a  faithful  shepherd  fiom  all  false  guides, 
the  Interpreter  instructs  his  pupil  concerning  the 
wickedness  of  the  human  heart,  and  the  only 
effectual  manner  in  which  it  can  be  cleansed  from 
sin.  This  is  represented  by  a  very  simple  and  fami- 
liar emblem.     He  took  Christian  by  the  hand,  and 


96  LECTURE   VII. 

led  him  into  a  very  large  parlour,  that  was  ^P  of 
dust,  because  never  swept.  After  this  had  been 
viewed  awhile,  a  man  was  called,  who  began  to 
sweep  the  room.  But  no  sooner  had  he  commenced 
his  task,  than  the  dust  began  so  abundantly  to  fly 
about,  that  Christian  was  almost  blinded  and  choked 
with  it.  A  certain  damsel  was  then  desired  to  bring 
water,  and  sprinkle  the  room.  When  this  had  been 
performed,  the  dust  was  allayed,  and  the  room  was 
swept  and  cleansed  with  pleasure. 

rThis  large  unswept  room  is  the  unsanctified 
heart  of  man.  The  dust  is  original  sin.  The 
sweeper  who  raised  the  dust  is  the  law.  The 
damsel  who  sprinkled  the  water  and  allayed  it  is 
the  gospel.  When  a  man  is  in  some  measure 
awake  to  his  true  condition,  he  is  convinced  that 
his  heart  and  life  are  not  what  they  ought  to  be. 
He  feels  that  his  life  must  be  reformed,  that  his 
heart  must  be  cleansed,  before  it  can  be  a  suitable 
habitation  for  the  great  King.  He  sets  about  the 
work  of  making  himsrJf  better.  Before  he  has 
come  by  faith,  as  a  poor  undone  sinner,  to  Christ, 
for  mercy  and  grace,  he  tries  what  is  to  be  done  by 
the  works  of  the  law.  He  abstains  from  the  out- 
ward act  of  sm,  and  commences  the  performance 
of  many  outward  duties.  If  it  be  only  natural  con- 
viction, or  transient  alarm,  by  which  he  is  influenced, 
here  he  stops,  and  here  he  is  satisfied.  He  has 
gone  from  the  ranks  of  open  snners,  or  thoughtless 
triflers,  to  join  the  company  of  pharisees  or  formal- 
ists. But  he  is  as  far  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
as  ever.  He  is  yet  an  unconverted  sinner,  in  the 
gall  of  bitterness  and  in  the  bond  of  iniquity.  Very 
difl^erent,  however,  will  be  the  effect  of  his  attempts 
to  keep  the  commandments  of  God,  if  his  convic 


THE  interpreter's   LESSONS.  97 

tiong^Psin  are  the  genuine  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Then  the  more  dihgently  he  attempts  to 
make  himself  better,  the  more  vile  and  sinful  he 
will  appear  in  his  own  sight:  just  as  the  dust  was 
raised  and  excited  by  the  sweeping  of  the  room. 
Ever}^  attempt  to  produce  conformity  of  heart  and 
life  to  the  law  of  God,  in  all  its  spiritual  extent, 
apart  from  the  promises  of  the  gospel,  can  only 
excite  and  discover  the  evils  which  before  lay  dor- 
mant in  the  heart.  To  use  the  words  of  the  Inter- 
preter: "The  law,  instead  of  cleansing  the  heart 
(by  its  working)  from  sin,  doth  revive,  put  strength 
into  it,  and  increase  it  in  the  soul,  even  as  it  doth 
discover  and  forbid  it,  for  it  doth  not  give  power  to 
subdue  it."  How  wonderfully  scriptural  is  all  this ! 
The  law,  instead  of  cleansing  from  sin,  revives,  and 
strengthens,  and  increases  it  in  the  soul.  "  When 
the  commandment  came,  sin  revived  and  I  died. 
The  strength  of  sin  is  the  law  ;  moreover  the  law 
entered,  that  the  offence  might  abound."  It  dis- 
covers and  forbids  sin.  "  By  the  law  is  the  know- 
ledge of  sin,  and,  I  had  not  known  sin  but  by  the 
law."  But  it  has  no  power  to  subdue  it.  To  give 
peace  to  the  conscience,  and  break  the  dominion  of 
sin,  this  is  what  the  law  cannot  do.  Widely  differ- 
ent, however,  is  the  effect  of  the  gospel !  Again  to 
recur  to  the  Interpreter's  words  :  "  When  the  gos- 
pel comes,  in  the  sweet  and  precious  influences 
thereof,  to  the  heart,  even  as  the  dust  was  laid  by 
the  sprinkling  of  wpter,  so  is  sin  vanquished  and 
subdued,  and  the  soul  made  clean  through  the  faith 
of  it,  and  consequently  fit  for  the  King  of  glory  to 
inhabit."  Yes,  my  brethren,  we  must  come  to  the 
blood  of  sprinkling,  to  be  cleansed  from  all  our  sin, 
and  to  be  effectually  delivered  from  its  hated  do 


98  LECTURE  VII. 

minion.  "  Our  hearts  must  be  purified  b^Kh.*' 
When  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ  is  apphed  to  the 
conscience,  we  have  not  only  new  motives,  TduI  a 
new  principle  and  new  strength  with  which  to 
strive  against  sin.  When  the  guilt  of  sin  is  purged 
by  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ,  the  power  of  sin 
will  be  subdued  by  his  sanctifying  grace.  "Christ 
will  dwell  in  our  hearts  by  faith,  and  sin  shall  not 
have  dominion  over  us."  This  is  a  lesson,  dear 
brethren,  which  wo  must  all  be  taught,  that  sancti- 
fication  follows  after  justification.  Had  Christian 
learned  this  lesson  before,  he  would  never  have  been 
seduced  out  of  his  way  by  the  arguments  of 
W^orldly- Wisdom,  nor  thought  for  a  moment  of 
finding  rehef  at  Legahty's  house. 

II.  The  next  wonder  unfolded  by  the  Interpreter 
was  to  show  Christian  the  difference  between 
things  present  and  things  to  come.  He  was  shown 
two  children,  Passion  and  Patience.  At  this  time 
they  were  sitting  each  in  a  separate  chair.  Passion 
was  much  discontented,  but  Patience  was  very 
quiet.  And  what  was  the  reason  of  this  difference 
in  their  appearance  ?  Their  governor  had  directed 
them  both  to  stay  for  their  best  things  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next  year.  Passion  would  have  them 
all  now ;  but  Patience  was  willing  to  wait  for  his. 
Passion  got  his  wish,  wherein  for  awhile  he  greatly 
rejoiced  ;  but  very  soon  he  lavished  all  away,  and 
was  reduced  to  beggary. 

This,  dear  brethren,  is  the  part  acted  by  the  men 
of  this  world.  Present  gratification  is  every  thing 
with  them.  They  will  have  their  good  things  now 
in  their  lifetime.  They  have  no  concern  or  con- 
sideration how  it  will  be  with  them  in  the  life  of  the 


«THE   interpreter's  LESSONS.  99 

come.  Only  let  them  cast  off  restraint, 
and  do  as  they  please  now,  that  is  enough  for  them. 
But  oh,  of  what  wretched  folly  are  they  guilty ! 
Pass  but  a  very  little  while,  and  they  have  spent 
all ;  the  things  which  their  soul  lusted  after  are  de- 
parted from  them,  and  a  long  eternity  stretches 
before  them,  for  which  they  are  altogether  unpre- 
pared. Say,  is  not  the  part  acted  by  the  true 
Christian  unspeakably  wiser  ?  He  looks  forward, 
and  walks  not  by  sight  nor  by  sense,  but  by  faith. 

"  He  scorns  the  trifles  of  a  day, 
For  joys  which  none  can  take  away." 

When  the  poor  worldhng  has  spent  his  all,  the 
Christian  has  still  to  receive  his  portion,  a  portion 
which  can  never  be  squandered  away,  but  which 
he  will  enjoy  for  ever.  How  poor  was  Dives,  and 
how  rich  was  Lazarus,  in  the  eternal  world  !  Oh, 
how  much  better  it  is  not  to  covet  things  that  are 
now,  but  to  wait  for  things  to  come  !  When  Martin 
Luther  had  received  an  unexpected  present,  he  fell 
down  upon  his  knees,  and  said,  "O  Lord,  I  will  not 
receive  my  good  things  now  in  my  lifetime."  It 
is  this  lesson,  dear  brethren,  which  the  Holy  Spirit 
alone  can  effectually  impress  upon  our  hearts.  Our 
worldly  hearts  are  so  taken  up  with  things  of  time 
and  sense,  and  the  great  and  dreadful  reahties  of 
eternity  are  so  dimly  and  indistinctly  apprehended 
by  us,  that  we  speak,  and  think,  and  act,  and  plan, 
as  if  time  was  every  thing,  and  eternity  nothing. 
But  when  the  Eternal  Spirit  is  our  teacher,  he 
shows  us  these  things  in  quite  a  different  light.  He 
makes  us  see,  and  feel,  and  act  entirely  by  a  dif- 
ferent rule.  He  shows  how  little  it  signifies  what 
we  suffer  in  this  present  life,  if  only  all  be  well  in 


100  LECTURE  VII. 


ncl^-€ 


eternity.  In  this  sense  all  is  well  that  enol^vell. 
"  For  our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal 
weight  of  glory."  If  this  lesson  be  thoroughly  learn- 
ed by  us,  oh  !  how  useful  will  it  be  to  us  through 
every  part  of  our  pilgrimage  to  the  heavenly  city. 

III.  The  mystery  by  which  grace  prevails  in  a 
believer's  heart,  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  that 
are  made  to  quench  it,  wa^"  the  next  Avonder  shown 
to  Christian.  Again  the  Interpreter  took  him  by 
the  hand,  and  led  him  to  a  place  where  was  a  fire 
burning  against  a  wall,  and  one  standing  by  it, 
always  casting  much  water  upon  it  to  quench  it ; 
but  instead  of  being  quenched,  the  fire  only  burnt 
higher  and  glowed  brighter.  This  fire  represents 
the  grace  of  God,  which  is  kindled  in  every  true 
behever's  heart.  The  water  that  was  cast  upon  it 
signifies  all  the  counteracting  influence  that  grace 
meets  with,  from  the  malice  of  the  devil,  the  power 
of  indwelling  corruption,  and  the  course  and  current 
of  this  present  evil  world.  Surely  it  is  little  short 
of  a  miracle,  that  it  is  not  quenched  by  so  many 
powerful  efforts  that  are  made  against  it.  But  to 
see  it  only  rising  higher  and  burning  brighter,  as 
if  it  were  fanned  and  cherished  by  the  very  efforts 
made  to  extinguish  it ;  this  is  indeed  the  most  won- 
derful of  all.  How  can  we  account  for  this  wonder? 
A  poor,  tried  and  afflicted  believer  has  all  the  waves 
and  storms  of  adversity  and  persecution  emptied 
upon  him,  and  yet  his  faith  holds  out ;  nay,  it  waxes 
stronger  and  bujns  brighter  for  all  the  many  waters 
that  try  to  drown  it.  See  now  the  explanation  of 
this  mystery.  The  Interpreter  led  Christian  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  wall,  where  the  fire  was  burn- 


THE  interpreter's  LESSONS.  101 

in^.^^here  he  showed  him  a  man  with  a  vessel 
of  oil  in  his  hand ;  and  this  oil  he  continually,  but 
secretly,  cast  into  the  fire.  It  was  this  secret  oil 
that  counteracted  all  the  influence  of  the  water ; 
yea,  which  made  the  very  water  seem  to  act  con- 
trary to  its  nature. 

Oh,  happy  and  instructive  emblem  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  Lord  Jesus  graciously  preserves 
and  cherishes  the  spiritual  hfe  of  his  tried  and  af- 
flicted members  !  The  same  almighty  hand  which 
was  first  put  forth  to  kindle  in  our  souls  the  vital 
spark  of  spiritual  life,  must  constantly  be  exerted  in 
order  to  its  preservation  Which  of  us  must  not 
say  to  our  adorable  Saviour, 

"  Thy  grac».  and  mercy  first  prevailed, 
From  death  to  set  us  free, 
And  often  since  our  life  had  failed, 
Unless  renewed  by  ihee." 

He  it  is  who  keeps  ahve  the  gracious  flame  which 
he  first  kindled  in  the  hearts  of  his  people.  He  it 
is  who  stands  behind  the  wall  of  their  clay  tene- 
ment, and,  though  invisible  to  their  mortal  eyes,  he 
constantly  supplies  them  with  grace  and  strength 
according  to  their  need.  When  their  tribulations 
abound,  he  makes  their  consolations  abound  also. 
The  more  grievously  they  are  plunged  in  outward 
troubles,  the  more  abundantly  he  pours  into  their 
hearts,  in  secret,  the  oil  of  gladness,  giving  them 
more  grace ;  and  thus  making  them  more  than  con- 
querors over  all  the  powerful  adversaries  that  rise 
up  against  them.  Well  may  the  true  Christian 
count  it  all  joy  when  he  falls  into  manifold  tempta- 
tions. Well  may  he  glory  in  tribulations,  and  take 
pleasure  in  reproaches,  and  things  which  m  them- 

9* 


102  LECTUKE  VII.  ^ 

selves  are  very  grievous  to  flesh  and  blood,  ii  only 
he  finds,  by  sweet  experience,  that  this  heavenly 
unction  is  more  largely  infused  into  his  soul.  It  is 
a  hard  thing  for  you,  O  tempted  behever,  to  see  how 
the  work  of  grace  is  kept  alive  within  you  !  You 
see  the  many  waters  that  daily  strive  to  quench  it. 
But  the  oil  b}^  which  it  is  fed,  and  the  hand  by 
which  that  oil  is  supplied,  you  cannot  see.  The 
man  stood  behind  the  wall  who  maintained  the  fire. 
Christ,  who  has  received  all  the  infinite  fulness  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  pour  forth  upon  his  believing 
people,  is  the  King  invisible.  But  he  is  no  less 
certainly  present  with  all  his  beheving  people.  He 
is  very  nigh  to  ail  that  call  upon  him  ;  and  he  is 
always  at  hand  to  succour  and  to  help  those  that 
are  tempted-  Only  let  us  apply  to  him,  and  trust 
in  him,  in  all  our  straits  a 'id  necessities,  and  we 
shall  know  from  happy  experience  that  he  is  indeed 
near  to  us,  and  a  very  present  help  in  trouble. 

"  Then  let  our  humble  faith  address 
His  mercy  and  his  power; 
We  shall  obtain  delivering  grace, 
In  the  distressing  hour." 

IV.  The  necessity  of  decision,  in  order  to  succeed 

(in  the  Christian  warfare,  was  another  wonder  shown 
to  our  Pilgrim  in  the  Interpreter's  house.  Again 
this  wise  instructor  took  his  scholar  and  led  him  to 
a  pleasant  place,  where  was  a  stately  palace,  beau- 
tiful to  behold.  The  sight  of  this  greatly  delighted 
Christian ;  and  he  saw  upon  the  top  of  the  palace 
certain  persons  walking,  who  were  clothed  all  in 
gold.  He  was  then  led  to  the  door  of  this  glorious 
palace.  There  he  beheld  a  great  company  of  men, 
who  seemed  all  desirous  to  go  in  but  durst  not.     A 


THE  interpreter's   LESSONS.  103 

writer  sat  by  the  door  to  take  down  the  names  of  all 
who  entered.  Armed  men  also  stood  in  the  way 
to  oppose  and  injure  aJl  who  should  enter,  in  every 
way  they  could.  The  fear  of  these  armed  men 
caused  the  most  to  linger,  and  many  to  start  back 
in  dismay.  At  length,  however,  a  candidate  ap- 
proached of  another  spirit.  He  came  up  boldly  at 
once  to  him  who  took  down  the  names,  and  desired 
to  have  his  name  set  down.  This  done,  he  drew 
his  sword,  put  on  his  helnet,  and  rushed  towards 
ihe  door  where  the  armed  men  were  standing  to 
oppose  his  progress.  But  all  their  deadly  opposi- 
tion was  in  vain.  The  bold  warrior,  not  at  all  dis- 
couraged, quitted  himself  like  a  man.  After  he  had 
received  and  given  many  wounds  to  those  that  had 
attempted  to  keep  him  out,  he  cut  his  way  through 
them  all,  and  pressed  forward  into  the  palace.  His 
victory  and  welcome  within  the  palace  were  hailed 
by  the  pleasant  voices  and  congratulations  of  those 
that  walked  upon  the  top  of  it.  So  he  went  in,  and 
was  clothed  with  such  garments  as  they. 

See,  dear  brethren,  the  necessity  of  energy  and 
exertion,  of  decision  and  determination  in  every  one 
that  would  enter  into  the  palace  of  the  great  King. 
"The  kingdom  of  heaven  sufTereth  violence,  and 
the  violent  take  it  by  force."  Many  desire  the  joys 
and  glories  of  heaven,  according  to  their  carnal  ideas 
of  them;  but  few  are  willing  to  press  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven,  and  to  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith, 
that  they  may  lay  hold  of  eternal  Hfe.  But  what 
can  be  the  result  of  such  faint-hearted  indecision, 
and  such  slothful  desires?  We  shall  never  get  to 
heaven  by  wishing  ourselves  there,  if  we  have  not 
the  resolution  to  make  the  effort  and  use  the  exer- 
tion that  is  requisite.     Grace  sets  a  man  dihgently 


104  LECTURE  VII. 

to  strive  for  that  which  he  desires  ;  but  "the  desire 
of  the  slothful  killeth  him."  The  fearful  and  un- 
beheving  who  stand  long  hesitating,  and  at  last  start 
back  from  the  difficulties  and  adversaries  that  stand 
in  their  way,  shall  in  nowise  enter  into  the  hea- 
venly city.  But  the  penitent  behever  has  counted 
the  cost  of  the  warfare  in  which  he  is  engaged. 
He  is  more  afraid  of  the  destruction  behind  him 
than  of  the  adversaries  before  him.  His  hope  in 
the  gospel  promises  prevails  over  his  fear  of  diffi- 
culties. He  does  not  confer  with  flesh  and  blood. 
His  everlastinor  all  is  at  stake,  and  go  forward  he 
must,  be  the  adversaries  what  they  may.  Thus 
resolved,  he  makes  no  secrect  of  his  intentions.  He 
requests,  as  it  were,  to  have  his  name  put  down  as 
a  soldier  of  Christ  and  a  candidate  for  heaven.  He 
professes  openly  whose  he  is,  and  where  he  would 
be.  He  takes  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
word  of  God,  and  the  helmet  of  salvation,  which  is 
the  hope  of  glory.  Thus  furnished,  he  goes  forth,  no- 
thing daunted,  though  an  host  should  rise  up  against 
him.  Effort  and  exertion  indeed  he  finds  to  be  ne- 
cessary ;  and  pains  and  wounds  he  may  get  in  the 
conflict.  But  he  overcomes  at  the  last,  and  then  he 
is  welcomed  into  the  heavenly  kingdom,  is  clothed 
in  white  raiment,  the  palm  of  victory  is  put  into  his 
hand,  the  croAvn  of  righteousness  is  set  upon  his 
head,  and  he  is  admitted  into  the  blissful  presence 
of  those  who  are  before  the  throne  of  God  and  the 
Lamb,  and  who  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his 
temple.  Oh,  dear  brethren,  let  not  this  animating 
lesson  be  lost  upon  any  of  us.  Let  us  all  be 
ashamed  of  the  dull  and  languid  manner  in  which 
we  too  often  contend  for  the  prize  of  our  high  call- 
ing.    Let  us  seek  for  grace  to  act  like  good  soldiers 


THE   interpreter's   LESSONS.  106 

of  J3SUS  Christ,  and  to  war  a  good  warfare.  Let 
us  say  each, 

"Awake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve, 

And  press  with  vigour  on  ; 
A  heavenly  race  demands  thy  zeal, 

And  an  immortal  crown." 

And  may  the  Lord  himself  make  every  one  of  us  so 
to  run,  and  so  to  fight,  as  knowing  that  it  is  for  our 
life  !  Oh  that  he  may  make  every  one  of  us  win- 
ners in  the  heavenly  race,  and  conquerors  in  the 
spiritual  conflict,  that  at  last  we  may  receive  the 
animating  promise  set  before  us  by  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation,  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant 
to  sit  with  me-  on  my  throne,  even  as  I  also  over- 
came, and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  on  his 
tbroDie !" 

THE  HYMN. 

Creator  Spirit,  by  whose  aid 
The  world's  foundations  first  were  laid; 
Come,  visit  every  waiting  mind, 
Come,  pour  thy  joys  on  all  mankind ; 
From  sin  and  sorrow  set  us  free, 
And  make  us  temples  meet  for  thee. 

Thou  strength  of  his  almighty  hand, 

Whose  power  doth  heaven  and  earth  command ; 

Thrice  holy  fount — thrice  holy  fire  ! 

Our  hearts  with  heavenly  love  inspire ; 

Come,  and  thy  sacred  unction  bring, 

To  sanctify  us  while  we  sing. 

Great  Source  of  Life,  come  from  on  high, 
Rich  in  thy  seven-fold  energy  ; 
Give  us  thyself,  that  we  may  see 
The  Father  and  the  Son  by  thee ; 
Make  us  eternal  truths  receive, 
Aud  practise  all  that  we  believe. 


106  LECTURE  VII. 

Immortal  honour,  endless  fame, 
Attend  the  Almighty  Father's  name  , 
Let  God  the  Son  be  glorified. 
Who  for  lost  man's  redemption  died; 
And  equal  adoration  be. 
Eternal  Spirit,  paid  to  thee. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  God,  the  Holy  Ghost,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  have  mercy  upon  us,  miserable  sinners.  We  are 
encouraged  to  pray,  in  the  all-prevailing  name  of  Jesus,  for 
thy  marvellous  light  to  be  imparted  to  us.  Open  thou  our 
eyes,  that  we  may  behold  wonderful  things  out  of  thy  law. 
Teach  us,  we  beseech  thee,  those  things  which  are  foolish- 
ness to  the  natural  man,  and  which  we  can  none  of  us  see  or 
know,  without  thy  gracious  light.  Oh  do  thou  come  as  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  effectually  to  convince  us  of  sin,  and  of  right- 
eousness, and  of  judgment.  Show  us  that  the  depravity  and 
corruption  of  our  nature  is  such,  that  thy  holy  law  can  only 
cause  our  offences  to  abound  ;  and  that  we  can  never  be 
effectually  purged  from  dead  works  to  serve  the  living  God, 
without  the  blood  of  sprinkling.  Purge  thou  us  therewith, 
and  we  shall  be  clean ;  wash  us,  and  we  shall  be  whiter  than 
snow.  Give  us,  we  humbly  pray,  a  right  judgment  in  all 
things  ;  and  do  thou  deeply  impress  upon  our  hearts,  that  the 
things  which  are  seen  are  temporal,  and  the  things  which  are 
not  seen  are  eternal.  May  none  of  us  be  satisfied  to  receive  our 
good  things  now  in  our  lifetime  ;  but  may  we  hope  for  that 
which  we  see  not,  and  be  enabled  with  patience  to  wait  for 
it.  If  thou  hast  begun  the  good  work  in  our  hearts,  oh  do 
thou  perfect  that  which  concerneth  us,  and  cherish  and  main- 
tain thine  own  work  in  our  souls  !  Many  there  be  that  fight 
against  us,  O  thou  Most  High.  But,  Lord,  replenish  us  whh 
everlasting  oil ;  let  thine  own  most  precious  and  holy  anoint- 
ing abide  upon  us,  that  in  all  our  trials  and  distresses  we  may 
rejoice  in  thy  heavenly  comfort ;  and  find  thy  grace  suffi- 
cient for  us,  and  thy  strength  perfected  in  our  weakness. 
Strengthen  us  with  might  in  the  inner  man,  that  we  may 
endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  fight 
manfully  under  his  banner,  against  sin,  the  world,  and  the 
devil,  until  at  last  we  are  admitted  to  those  unspeakable 
joys  which  are  prepared  in  heaven  for  the  people  of  God. 
We  ask  this  in  the  name  and  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ ;  to 
whom  with  thee,  O  Father,  and  thee,  O  Holy  Ghost,  be 
ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  world  without  end.    Amen. 


LECTURE  YTII. 


The  Spirit,  by  his  heavenly  breath, 

New  life  creates  within  : 
He  raises  sinners  from  the  death 

Of  trespasses  and  sin. 

The  things  of  Christ  the  Spirit  takes, 
And  shows  them  unto  men ; 

The  humble  soul  his  temple  makes, 
God's  image  stamps  again. 

Come,  Holy  Spirit !  from  above, 

With  thy  celestial  fire  ; 
Oh  come  !  with  holy  zeal  and  love 

Each  heart  and  tongue  inspire  ! 


PsAL.  cxix.  18. 

fPEN  THOU  MINE  EYES,  THAT  I  MAT   SEE    THE  WONDROUS    THINGS  OF  THY 
LAW. 

Very  wonderful  are  the  things  which  have 
ah'eady  been  shown  to  Christian  in  the  Interpreter's 
house.  All  these  wonders,  it  will  be  remembered, 
signify  the  solemn  and  important  lessons  which  are 
revealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  heart  of  every 
real  Pilgrim  to  the  New  Jerusalem,  for  his  direc- 
tion, instruction,  and  security  in  the  way  everlast- 
ing. He  is  taught  to  distinguish  the  true  shepherd 
from  ail  false  teachers  and  bhad  guides.     He  is 

107 


108  LECTURE  VIII. 

made  to  understand  that  his  sinful  nature  can  only 
be  cleansed  and  subdued  by  the  application  of  the 
atoning  blood  of  Christ.  He  is  made  to  perceive 
and  feel  how  infinitely  better  it  is  to  wait  for  the 
good  things  which  God  has  prepared  for  his  people 
in  the  world  to  come,  than  to  receive  his  portion  in 
this  present  world.  He  is  instructed  in  the  great 
mystery,  how  spiritual  h"fe  is  preserved  in  the 
heart  of  a  believer,  notwithstanding  the  desperate 
efforts  that  are  made  to  extinguish  it.  And  it  is 
revealed  to  him  how  certainly  decision  and  bold- 
ness, in  the  Christian  warfare,  will  break  through 
every  difficulty,  and  at  length  be  crowned  with  the 
palm  of  victory.  All  these  lessons  are  of  an  en- 
couraging kind,  and  calculated  to  animate  the  pil- 
grim's hope.  But  godly  fear,  no  less  than  lively 
hope,  is  essential  to  the  Christian's  perseverance 
to  the  end  of  his  course.  And  we  have  now  to 
consider  two  more  wonders  shown  in  the  Inter- 
preter's house,  which  are  both  calculated  to  impress 
us  with  the  salutary  principle  of  godly  fear. 

I.  After  Christian  had  seen  the  victory  of  the 
armed  man,  the  Interpreter  next  took  him  into  a 
very  dark  room,  where  there  sat  a  man  in  an  iron 
cage.  Very  fearful  was  the  account  which  this 
man  gave  of  himself.  "  I  was  once,"  he  said,  "  a 
fair  and  flourishing  professor.  I  thought  well  of 
myself,  others  thought  well  of  me  too.  I  seemed 
to  be  in  a  fair  way  for  heaven,  and  rejoiced  at  the 
thought  of  getting  there.  But  I  am  now  a  man  in 
despair,  and  am  shut  up  in  this  iron  cage.  I  can- 
not get  out.  Oh,  no,  I  cannot !"  And  listen  to 
his  relation  of  the  sad  steps  by  which  he  came  into 
that  awful  condition :  "  I  left  off  to  watch  and  be 


■goj)ly  Ifear.  109 

sober.  I  gave  way  to  my  sinful  lusts.  I  sinned 
against  light  and  love.  I  grieved  the  great  Teacher, 
and  he  is  gone.  I  tempted  the  grand  enemy,  and 
he  is  come.  I  have  provoked  the  King  to  anger, 
and  he  has  left  me.  I  have  so  hardened  my  heart, 
that  I  cannot  repent."  When  Christian  asked  the 
Interpreter  whether  there  was  any  hope  for  this 
man,  for  wise  and  important  reasons  he  declined 
answering  the  question  ;  but  simply  referred  him 
to  the  man  himself.  The  wretched  prisoner  him- 
self can  only  reply  :  "  No,  there  is  no  hop©  for  m-e 
at  all !"  But  why  so  ?  Is  not  the  Son  of  the- 
Blessed  very  pitiful  ?  "  His  pity,"  he  rephed,. 
*'  cannot  reach  to  me.  I  have  crucified  him  afresh,, 
counted  his  blood  an  unholy  thing,  and  done  despite 
to  the  Spirit  of  his  grace.  I  have  therefore  nothing 
to  do  with  promises  ;  fearful  threatenings  and  fiery 
indignation  now  only  belong  to  me."  Oh,  fearful 
state,  and  still  more  fearful  prospect !  And  Avhat 
was  the  bait,  the  glittering  and  enticing  bait,  for  the 
sake  of  which  he  plunged  himself  into  all  this 
misery  ?  He  had  sold  himself  for  a  thing  of  nought. 
He  shall  speak  for  himself:  "It  was  for  the  lusts, 
and  pleasures,  and  profits  of  the  world.  In  the 
enjoyment  of  these,  I  then  promised  myself  nothing 
but  delight ;  but  now  every  one  of  them  bites  and 
gnaws  me  like  a  burning  worm."  To  complete 
the  description  of  his  misery,  in  answer  to  the 
question,  whether  he  cannot  turn  and  repent,  he 
adds  :  "  The  King  has  denied  me  repentance.  His 
word  gives  me  no  encouragement  to  beheve ;  yea, 
himself  has  shut  me  up  in  this  iron  cage,  nor  can 
all  the  men  in  the  world  let  me  out.  Oh,  eternity 
— eternity  !  How  shall  I  grapple  with  the  misery 
that  I  must  meet  with  in  eternity  !"     This  man's 

10 


110  LECTXJUE  vm. 

misery  was  sho^vn  to  Christian,  to  be  an  everlasting 
caution  to  him.  And  the  fearful  spectacle  was  not 
lost  upon  him.  It  taught  him  how  absolutely 
necessary  it  was  for  him  to  watch,  and  be  sober, 
and  to  pray,  and  to  shun  the  causes  of  this  man's 
misery. 

See,  dear  brethren,  in  what  an  affecting  light  all 
.the  solemn  passages  of  Scripture  are  here  set  before 
lus,  that  speak  of  the  terrible  consequences  of  apos- 
'4asy,  and  sinning  wilfully,  after  we  have  received 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth  !  The  Lord  keeps  his 
people  from  falling  away,  by  keeping  them  con- 
tinually in  fear  of  doing  so.  And  this  is  a  whole- 
some and  godly  fear  ;  altogether  different  from  the 
carnal  fear  of  the  ungodly.  It  is  true,  many  per- 
sons, when  they  are  tried  and  tempted,  write  bitter 
things  against  themselves,  imagine  their  case  to  be 
desperate,  and  that  they  have  committed  the  unpar- 
donable sin,  who  are  afterwards  brought  out  of  pri- 
son, and  made  to  perceive  that  their  fears  were 
groundless.  And  it  is  the  duty  of  ministers,  in  the 
most  desperate  cases,  to  point  out  the  Lamb  of  God, 
that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world ;  and  to  en- 
courage sinners  of  every  description,  to  cast  their 
guilty  souls  upon  the  free  and  unbounded  love  of 
God  in  Christ,  to  all  who  come  to  him.  But 
every  threatening,  as  well  every  promise,  in  the 
Holy  Scripture,  is  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  as 
the  means  of  the  true  believer's  perseverance  to 
the  end.  No  part  of  Scripture  is  explained  away, 
or  considered  unimportant,  by  him  who  is  really 
under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  When  a 
person  has  really  set  out  in  the  narrow  way,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  interprets  to  him  the  meaning  of 
these  fearful  passages,  then  he  gets  a  sight,  as  it 


GODLY  FEAR.  Ill 

were,  of  the  man  shut  up  in  the  iron  cage ;  and  he 
is  led  resolutely  to  turn  away  from  the  down\yard 
steps  that  iead  to  such  misery.  How  can  he  sin 
when  he  has  imprinted  upon  his  heart  such  a  pas- 
sage as  this  :  "  It  is  impossible  for  those  who  were 
once  enhghtened,  and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly 
gift,  and  were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ; 
and  have  tasted  the  good  w^ord  of  God,  and  the 
powers  of  the  v/orld  to  come,  if  they  shall  fall  away, 
to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance,  seeing  they 
crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and 
put  him  to  an  open  shame."  Oh,  let  us  have  the 
fearful  doom  of  the  apostate  constantly  before  us, 
whenever  we  are  disposed  to  relax  in  duty,  and  to 
presume  that  we  are  safe,  when  w^e  leave  off  to 
watch  and  to  pray,  and  to  strive  against  sin !  A 
young  man  once  asked  an  aged  and  excellent 
minister  this  question — "  Sir,  do  not  you  think  a 
eaint  may  fall  very  low  without  finaljy  perishing  ?" 
"  I  think,"  was  the  reply,  "  it  is  the  most  awful  ex- 
periment that  can  possibly  be  made."  To  keep  us 
humble,  and  to  keep  us  w^atchful,  let  us  think  of 
the  man  in  the  iron  cage ;  and  let  us  hsten  to  the 
Holy  Ghost,  who  speaketh  to  us  on  this  wise  :  "  If 
we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more 
sacrifice  for  sins,  but  a  certain  fearful  looking  for 
of  judgment,  and  fiery  indignation,  which  shall 
devour  the  adversary." 

II.  We  proceed  now  to  consider  the  last  lesson 
taught  to  Christian  in  the  Interpreter's  house.  The 
design  of  this  was  very  similar  to  the  one  we  have 
just  been  noticing;  only  it  was  enforced  by  a  differ- 
ent emblem.     He  Avas  led  into  a  chamber  where  a 


112  LECTURE   VIII. 

man  was  shown  him,  who  trembled  very  exceedingly 
as  he  put  on  his  raiment.  And  this  was  the  cause 
of  that  individual's  alarm  :  he  had  just  awoke  out  of 
a  solemn  and  affecting  dream  of  the  day  of  judg- 
ment. All  the  terrors  and  glories  of  that  tremendous 
scene  had  been  so  vividly  set  before  him,  that  he 
could  not  shake  off  the  impression  which  it  had  pro- 
duced. He  had  seen  in  his  dream  the  heavens 
passing  away  with  a  great  noise.  He  had  heard 
the  awful  note  of  the  judgment-trumpet;  and  he 
beheld  the  Son  of  Man  coming  with  ten  thousand 
of  his  saints  to  judge  the  world.  He  had  heard  the 
solemn  command  given  :  "  Arise,  ye  dead,  and  come 
to  judgment !"  Immediately  the  rocks  were  rent, 
the  graves  were  opened,  and  the  dead  came  forth. 
Some  of  them  were  exceeding  glad,  and  looked  up- 
wards ;  and  some  sought  to  hide  themselves  under 
the  mountains.  The  books  were  opened,  and  the 
world  drew  near.  All  mankind  were  assembled 
before  the  tribunal  of  the  eternal  Judge.  He  heard 
the  proclamation  made,  "  Gather  together  the  tares, 
and  the  chaff,  and  the  stubble,  and  cast  them  into 
the  burning  lake  !"  No  sooner  was  this  proclama- 
tion uttered,  than  it  appeared  to  the  dreamer,  that 
the  bottomless  pit  opened  just  whereabout  he  stood  ; 
and  out  of  the  mouth  of  it  there  came  forth,  in  large 
abundance,  smoke  and  coals  of  fire,  with  hideous 
noises.  He  heard  another  command  then  issued : 
"  Gather  my  wheat  into  my  garner."  And  lo !  many 
about  him  were  caught  away  and  carried  into  the 
clouds,  but  he  was  left  behind!  Upon  this  he 
sought  to  hide  himself,  but  he  could  not,  for  He  who 
sat  on  the  cloud  kept  his  piercing  eye  fixed  upon 
him.  Then  all  his  sins  were  brought  to  his  recol- 
lection ;  and  conscience  accused  him  on  every  side. 


GODLY   FEAR.  113 

The  man  whom  Christian  had  beheld  trembhng  was 
just  awakened  up  from  tliis  solemn  dream.  When 
Christian  asked  him,  What  it  was  especially  that 
had  made  him  so  much  afraid  at  this  sight,  he  re- 
phed,  "  I  thought  that  the  day  of  judgment  had 
come,  and  that  I  was  not  ready  for  it !  But  this 
frightened  me  most,  that  the  angels  gathered  up 
several  and  left  me  behind  !  Also,  the  burning  pit 
opened  her  mouth  just  where  I  stood.  My  con- 
science too  accused  me  ;  and,  as  I  thought,  the  Judge 
had  always  his  eye  upon  me,  showing  indignation 
in  his  countenance." 

Oh,  solemn  and  affecting  representation!  well 
calculated,  not  only  to  awaken  the  careless  and  un- 
concerned, but  to  keep  ahve  in  the  true  believer 
that  reahzing  impression  of  eternal  things,  without 
which  he  will  never  resolutely  set  his  face  as  a  flint, 
and  still  hold  on  his  way,  and  neither  turn  aside  to 
the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left,  until  he  arrives  at  his 
journey's  end  !  Very  properly  is  this  lesson  placed 
the  last  of  all  those  that  were  taught  to  Christian  in 
the  Interpreter's  house.  We  remember  it  is  men- 
tioned last  of  the  three  all-important  particulars 
which  our  Saviour  refers  to,  as  the  special  subjects 
of  the  Holy  Spirit's  teaching :  "  When  he  is  come 
he  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteous- 
ness, and  of  judgment."  The  believer's  conviction 
of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  was  evidently  shown 
in  the  emblem  of  the  dusty  room,  and  the  sprinkling 
of  water:  and  now  we  have  his  conviction  of  judg- 
ment set  before  us  by  this  affecting  dream.  It  is 
by  his  realizing  impression  of  what  God  has  de- 
clared in  his  holy  word,  respecting  the  hfe  of  the 
world  to  come,  and  an  eternal  judgment,  that  the  true 
behever  is  distinguished,  as  much  as  in  any  thing, 

10* 


114  LECTURE   VIII. 

from  the  rest  of  the  world.  He  knows  that  this  is 
an  awful  reality.  He  lives  in  the  expectation  of  it. 
He  tries  to  be  habitually  looking  for,  and  hastening 
to  it.  He  views  all  his  present  plans,  and  pursuits, 
and  undertakings  in  the  light  of  it ;  and  frequently 
does  he  check  his  over-anxiety  respecting  his  pre- 
sent concerns,  by  inquiring  what  he  will  think  of 
them,  and  how  much  importance  they  will  be  shown 
to  possess,  at  the  time  of  the  end,  when  he  takes 
his  place  before  the  tribunal  of  Christ.  And  how, 
dear  brethren,  is  this  solemn  lesson,  this  habitual 
practical  conviction  of  judgment  to  be  wrought  in 
our  hearts  ?  I  answer,  only  by  the  effectual  teach- 
ing of  the  Holy  Spirit.  By  education,  and  outward 
instruction  from  the  Bible,  we  may  any  of  us  attain 
to  a  right  knowledge  of  the  doctrine  of  judgment; 
and  from  time  to  time,  we  may  profess  our  belief, 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  now  at  the  right 
hand  of  God,  "shall  come  from  thence  to  judge  the 
quick  and  the  dead."  Or  again,  a  very  careless, 
or  a  very  wicked  man,  at  some  intervals,  may  have  a 
powerful  impression  upon  his  mind  of  the  coming 
judgment.  But  neither  of  these  individuals,  neither 
the  unawakened  formalist,  nor  the  startled  sinner, 
can  have  any  proper  or  sanctifying  apprehension  of 
judgment,  unless  he  be  taught  it  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 
To  him  only  it  appertains  to  convince  of  judgment. 
And  unless  we  are  convinced  of  it  by  his  secret 
power,  either  we  shall  coldly  profess  to  believe  it, 
while  it  has  no  effect  whatever  upon  our  daily  walk 
and  conversation,  or  else  we  shall  powerfully  feel 
it  in  seasons  of  terror  and  alarm,  and  then  relapse 
again  into  our  former  insensibility  and  unconcern. 
Oh,  let  us  pray  earnestly  for  the  only  effectual 
Teacher  to  impress  this  solemn  lesson  deeply  upon 


GODLY  FEAR.  115 

our  hearts !  Are  we  not  dying  sinners,  standing 
on  the  narrow  brink  of  a  never-ending  eternity  ? 
Is  it  not  appointed  for  us  once  to  die,  and  after 
death  the  judgment?  Let  us  cry,  then,  earnestly 
while  yet  we  are  in  a  world  of  mercy, 

"  0  God,  mine  inmost  soul  convert ! 
And  deeply  on  my  thoughtful  heart 

Eternal  things  impress  : 
Give  me  to  feel  their  solemn  weight, 
And  tremble  at  my  lifeless  state, 
And  wake  to  righteousness. 

"  Before  me  place,  in  dread  array, 
The  pomp  of  that  tremendous  day, 

When  thou  with  clouds  shalt  come. 
To  judge  the  nations  at  thy  bar  : 
And  tell  me.  Lord,  shall  I  be  there, 

To  meet  a  joyful  doom  !" 

III.  We  proceed  now  to  consider  the  next  affect- 
ing event  which  befell  Christian,  after  his  departure 
from  the  Interpreter's  house.  This  was  indeed  a 
wonder.  It  was  nothing  else  than  the  manner  of 
his  deliverance  from  his  burden.  He  took  with 
him  the  good  wishes  of  the  Interpreter,  and  ad- 
dressed himself  to  his  journey,  greatly  pondering 
in  his  mind  all  the  wonderful  and  instructive  sights 
which  he  had  seen.  His  way  was  now  fenced  on 
either  side  with  a  wall  that  was  called  Salvation. 
It  was,  however,  steep,  and  he  found  it  difficult,  by 
reason  of  the  burden  which  he  still  carried.  But 
nothing  daunted,  he  pressed  forward  until  he  came 
to  a  place  where  stood  a  cross,  and  a  little  below  it, 
a  sepulchre.  And  now  mark  the  signal  benefit 
which  he  here  received.  Just  as  he  came  up  to 
the  cross,  his  burden  loosened  off' from  his  shoulders 
and  fell  from  his  back,  and  began  to  tumble,  and  so 


116  LECTURE   VIII. 

continued  to  do,  till  it  came  to  the  mouth  of  the 
sepulchre,  where  it  fell  in,  and  was  no  more  to  be 
seen!  Great  was  his  joy  upon  this  occasion.  He 
knew  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  this  deliverance, 
and  cried  :  "  He  has  given  me  rest  by  his  sorrow, 
and  life  by  his  death."  He  was  filled  with  wonder 
as  well  as  with  joy  and  praise.  It  was  very  sur- 
prising to  him  that  the  sight  of  the  cross  should 
thus  have  eased  him  of  his  burden.  He  looked  to 
it,  therefore,  again  and  again,  until  the  plenteous 
tears  began  to  flow  down  his  cheeks.  As  he  thus 
stood,  weeping  before  the  cross,  he  was  saluted  by 
three  Shining  Ones,  who  each  conferred  upon  him 
an  unspeakable  boon.  The  first  assured  him  that 
his  sins  were  forgiven.  The  second  stripped  him 
of  his  rags,  and  clothed  him  in  a  change  of  raiment. 
The  third  set  a  mark  upon  his  forehead,  and  gave 
him  a  roll  with  a  seal  upon  it,  which  he  was  to 
peruse  as  he  proceeded,  and  also  to  present  at  the 
Celestial  Gate,  at  the  end  of  his  journey.  Having 
bestowed  these  gifts,  they  departed.  And  now  was 
our  pilgrim  so  completely  comforted,  that  he  looked 
like  another  person.  Neither  could  he  suppress 
the  joyful  emotion  of  his  heart,  but  "  he  gave  three 
leaps  for  joy,  and  went  on  his  way  walking,  and 
leaping,  and  praising  God." 

Nothing,  dear  brethren,  can  be  more  instructive, 
or  more  encouraging,  than  the  whole  of  this  most 
happy  representation.  All  the  encouragement, 
however,  is  for  the  true  penitent,  who  is  seeking 
for  rest,  and  hberty,  and  establishment,  according  to 
the  gospel.  When  the  affecting  truths  of  God's 
word  have  been  applied  to  your  hearts,  you  are 
more  diligent  and  earnest  in  running  your  race. 
But  you  still  want  what  Christian  wanted,  until  he 


GODLY  FEAR.  117 

had  come  to  the  place  of  the  cross.  You  want  a 
more  full  and  distinct  revelation  of  the  mystery  of 
the  cross  to  your  heart,  and  a  sweet  and  joyful  as- 
surance of  your  own  personal  interest  in  Him  who 
died  upon  it.  Every  real  penitent,  looking  unto 
Jesus,  trusting-  for  mercy  according  to  the  gos- 
pel, and  actually  under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  is  certainly  on  the  way  of  life,  and  is  walled 
on  either  side  by  salvation.  Yet  is  he  habitually 
oppressed  with  the  burden  of  his  guilt,  and  knows 
little  or  nothing  of  spiritual  joy,  and  peace,  and 
comfort.  But  when  the  mystery  of  the  cross  is 
more  distinctly  and  expressly  revealed  to  him  ; 
when  he  can  look  with  faith's  unclouded  eye  to  the 
Lord  of  glory,  bearing  his  sins  in  his  own  body  on 
the  tree  ;  when  he  can  understand,  and  perceive, 
and  beheve,  with  all  his  heart,  and  with  all  his  soul, 
that  Christ  has  stood  in  his  place,  and  that  he 
stands,  as  it  were,  in  the  place  of  Christ, — his  sin 
being  laid  upon  Christ,  and  Christ's  righteousness 
being  laid  upon  him, — as  he  apprehends  this,  all 
the  distress  which  he  felt  in  his  mind,  as  to  the 
punishment  of  sin,  is  removed  and  done  away. 

There  are  three  unspeakable  benefits  intimately 
connected  with  this  simple  revelation  of  Christ 
crucified  to  the  soul.  "  Pardon,  justification,  and 
sanctification."  Each  of  these  was  represented  by 
the  gifts  of  the  three  Shining  Ones  to  Christian. 
We  cannot  have  Christ  distinctly  revealed  to  us, 
without  at  the  same  time  perceiving  our  interest  in 
his  blood,  his  righteousness,  and  his  Spirit.  His 
blood  to  pardon  us,  his  righteousness  to  justify  us, 
and  his  Spirit  to  sanctify  and  seal  us  to  the  day  of 
redemption.  Thus  at  the  same  time  the  true  be- 
liever has  his  sin  taken  away,  is  clothed  in  the  robe 


118  LECTURE  VIII. 

of  his  Saviour's  righteousness,  and  is  sealed  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of 
Ine  purchased  inheritance.  Then,  as  the  result  of 
all  this,  he  is  filled  with  comfort,  leaps,  as  it  were, 
for  joy,  and  goes  on  his  way  in  the  gladness  of  his 
heart.  There  is  a  passage  in  the  excellent  Leighton, 
which  answers  exactly  to  the  representation  which 
is  here  given,  of  the  burden  falling  at  the  sight  of 
the  cross,  and  joy  and  gladness  resulting  from  it. 
"Faith,"  says  the  Archbishop,  "works  this  joy  in 
the  soul  by  uniting  it  to  Christ,  and  applying  his 
merits,  from  the  apphcation  of  which  arise th  the 
pardon  of  sin ;  and  so  that  misery,  which  was  the 
great  cause  of  sorrow,  is  removed.  As  soon  as  the 
soul  findeth  itself  hghtened  and  unloosened  of  that 
burden  which  was  sinking  it  to  hell,  it  cannot  fail 
to  leap  for  joy  in  the  ease  and  refreshment  it  finds." 
And,  to  come  to  an  instance  of  modern  times,  how 
very  similar  to  this  was  the  experience  of  Mr. 
Simeon,  at  the  entrance  of  his  bright  and  blessed 
course.  What  a  heavy  burden  did  he  feel  his  sins 
to  be,  when  he  could  say,  "  So  greatly  w^as  my 
mind  oppressed  with  the  weight  of  them,  that  I 
frequently  looked  upon  the  dogs  with  envy  ;  wish- 
ing, if  it  were  possible,  that  I  could  be  blessed  with 
their  mortality,  and  they  be  cursed  with  my  immor- 
tahty  in  my  stead  !"  And  how  did  he  find  peace, 
and  rest,  and  comfort,  to  his  soul  ?  Only  by  the 
sight  of  the  cross.  He  shall  speak  for  himself. 
"  As  I  was  reading  Bishop  Wilson  on  the  Lord's 
Supper,  I  met  with  an  expression  to  this  effect : 
The  Jews  knew  what  they  did  when  they  trans- 
ferred their  sin  to  the  head  of  their  offering.  The 
thought  rushed  into  my  mind.  What !  may  I  trans- 
fer all  my  guilt  to  another  ?     Has  God  provided  an 


GODLY  FEAR.  119 

offering  for  me,  that  I  may  lay  my  sins  on  his  head? 
Then,  God  willing,  I  will  not  bear  them  on  my  own 
soul  one  moment  longer !  Accordingly  I  sought  to 
lay  my  sins  on  the  sacred  head  of  Jesus ;  and  on 
Wednesday  began  to  have  a  hope  of  mercy ;  on 
Thursday  that  hope  increased ;  on  Friday  and 
Saturday  it  became  more  strong;  and  on  Sunday 
morning,  I  awoke  early  with  these  words  on  my 
heart  and  lips,  Jesus  Christ  is  risen  to-day:  Hal- 
lelujah !  Hallelujah !  From  that  hour  peace 
flowed  in  rich  abundance  into  my  soul ;  and  at  the 
Lord's  table  in  our  chapel,  I  had  the  sweetest  ac- 
cess to  God,  through  my  blessed  Saviour."  When 
some  one  smiled  after  the  communion,  at  his  pray- 
ing when,  he  received  some  of  the  consecrated  ele- 
ments. "  1  thought,"  he  says,  "  if  he  had  felt  such 
a  load  taken  off  from  his  soul  as  I  did,  and  had 
been  as  sensible  of  his  obligations  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  as  I  was,  he  would  not  deem  my  prayers 
and  praises  at  all  superfluous."  Truly  this  was  a 
revelation  of  Christ  to  a  sin-burdened  soul.  See, 
dear  brethren,  how  certain  it  is,  that  experimental 
religion  is  essentially  the  same  in  every  individual 
who  partakes  of  it,  however  different  or  varying 
may  be  their  situations.  John  Bunyan,  Archbishop 
Leighton,  and  Charles  Simeon  were  all  taught  the 
same  truth;  and  found  peace  alike  in  the  same 
manner.  They  felt  their  sins,  and  they  looked  as 
perishing -sinners  to  the  atoning  sacrifice  of  the 
Lamb  of  God.  They  looked  unto  him  and  were 
lightened,  and  their  faces  were  not  ashamed.  Oh, 
seek  earnestly,  above  every  thing  else,  to  have  the 
mysteiy  of  the  Saviour's  cross  revealed  to  your  soul. 
Seek  to  find  in  your  crucified  Redeemer,  Christ  the 
wisdom  and  the  power  of  God.     Never  think  you 


120  Ll:ci?0RE  vm. 

have  found  Christ,  until  your  burden  sinks  to  rise  | 
no  more,  and  tumbles,  for  ever  to  remain,  in  the 
sepulchre  where  he  was  buried.  Oh,  seek  from 
him  the  knowledge  of  salvation,  through  the  re- 
mission of  your  sins ;  and  learn  to  say,  from  an 
experimental  sense  of  his  great  salvation,  "  O  Lord,  I 
I  will  praise  thee ;  though  thou  wast  angry  with 
me,  thine  anger  is  turned  away,  and  thou  comfort- 
est  me»"  i 


THE  HYMN. 

Not  all  the  blood  of  beasts, 
On  Jewish  altars  slain, 
Could  give  the  guilty  conscience  peace, 
Or  wash  away  its  stain. 

But  Christ,  the  heavenly  Lamb, 
Takes  all  our  sins  away: 
A  sacrifice  of  nobler  name 
And  richer  blood  than  they. 

My  faith  would  lay  her  hand 
On  that  dear  head  of  thine, 
While  like  a  penitent  I  stand, 
And  there  confess  my  sin. 

My  soul  looks  back  to  see 
The  burden  thou  didst  bear. 
When  hanging  on  the  cursed  tree. 
And  trusts  her  guilt  was  there. 

Believing,  we  rejoice 
To  see  the  curse  remove  ; 
We  praise  the  Lamb  with  cheerful  voice 
And  sing  his  dying  love. 


GODLY  FEAR.  121 


THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  our  heavenly  Father,  who  of  thy  tender 
mercy  didst  give  thine  only  Son  Jesus  Christ  to  suffer  death 
upon  the  cross  for  our  redemption  ;  who  made  there  (by  his 
one  oblation  of  himself  once  offered)  a  full,  perfect,  and  suffi- 
cient sacrifice,  oblation,  and  satisfaction  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world:  hear  us,  we  most  humbly  beseech  thee,  when 
we  come  betore  thee  in  his  name.  Take  from  us  all  hardness 
of  heart,  and  contempt  of  thy  word  and  commandment.  Save 
us  from  the  unpardonable  sin.  If  in  any  measure  we  have 
been  enlightened,  and  tasted  thy  good  word,  and  partaken  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  felt  the  power  of  the  world  to  come ;  oh 
keep  us  from  falling  away,  and  from  crucifying  the  Son  of 
God  afresh,  and  putting  him  to  open  shame  !  May  we  re- 
member that  if  we  sin  wilfully,  after  that  we  have  received 
the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more  sacrifice 
for  sin.  Put  thy  fear  in  our  hearts,  that  we  may  not  depart 
from  thee  ;  and  keep  us  by  thy  power  through  faith  unto  sal- 
vation. Impress  upon  our  minds  the  nearness  and  the  reality 
of  approaching  judgment.  O  Thou,  whose  office  it  is  to  con- 
vince of  judgment,  as  well  as  of  sin  and  of  righteousness,  be 
pleased  to  perform  this  office  for  us.  Make  us  to  perceive 
and  feel  our  own  personal  concern  in  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day  ;  and  the  solemn  account  which  we  must  then  give 
each  for  himself.  Oh,  may  we  act  and  speak,  and  think  and 
feel,  and  have  our  conversation  in  the  world  as  if  the  judg- 
ment-trumpet were  sounding  in  our  ears  !  May  we  all  find 
mercy  of  the  Lord  in  that  day  !  Gather  not  our  souls  with 
the  wicked,  but  grant  us  to  be  found  among  thy  people  in  the 
hour  of  death,  and  in  the  day  of  judgment.  And,  for  this 
end,  oh  do  thou  reveal  to  us  now  the  mystery  of  the  cross  I 
Grant  that  now,  in  the  time  of  this  mortal  life,  we  may  come 
to  the  place  of  deliverance.  Now  may  we  cast  the  heavy 
burden  of  our  guilt  upon  that  precious  Saviour,  who  bare  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree.  May  we  look,  as  genuine 
penitents,  with  the  eye  of  faith  to  the  Lamb  of  God  who 
taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world !  May  we  be  washed  in 
his  most  precious  blood ;  clothed  in  the  robe  of  his  perfect 
righteousness ;  and  sanctified  and  sealed  by  his  gracious 
Spirit  unto  the  day  of  redemption  !  Thus  may  we  go  on  our 
way  rejoicing  until  we  appear  before  thee,  the  God  of  our 
salvation,  in  the  heavenly  Zion  !  These  mercies  we  ask, 
looking  to  the  sacrifice,  and  making  mention  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  Mediator  and  Redeemer, 
Amen. 

11 


LECTURE  IX. 

SIMPLE,  SLOTH,  AND  PRESUMPTION;  FORMALITY 
AND    HYPOCRISY. 


Blest  is  the  man  who  shuns  the  place, 
Where  sinners  love  to  meet ; 

Who  fears  to  tread  their  wicked  ways, 
And  hates  the  scoffer's  seat : — 

But  in  the  statutes  of  the  Lord 
Has  placed  his  chief  delight ; 

By  day  he  reads  or  hears  the  word, 
And  meditates  by  night. 

He,  like  a  plant  of  generous  kind, 

By  living  waters  set. 
Safe  from  the  storm  and  blasting  wind, 

Enjoys  a  peaceful  state. 


1  Peter  iii.  15. 

BE  READY  ALWAYS   TO  GITE  AN  ANSWER   TO    EVERT  MAN  THAT  ASKETH  TOO 
A  REASON  OF  THE  HOPE  THAT  18  IN  TOU,   WITH  MEEKNESS   AND  FEAR. 

What  various  characters  does  the  true  Christian 
meet  with,  as  he  pursues  his  way,  throiioh  the  wil- 
derness of  tears  to  the  place  of  his  everlasting  rest ! 
How  ought  he  to  act  to  these  different  characters 
when  they  come  in  his  way  ?  Surely  he  is  not  to 
pass  them  in  sullen  silence ;  neither  is  he  to  conceal 
his  sentiments  as  if  ashamed  of  the  profession  which 
he  has  made.  As  opportunity  offers,  he  is  to  warn 
the  unruly,  to  comfort  the  feeble-minded,  to  support 

122 


123 

tho  weak,  ami  to  be  patient  towards  all  men.  When 
he  enters  into  conversation  with  those  who  are  evi- 
dentiy  unacquainted  with  the  only  sure  refuge 
which  can  support  a  sinking  sinner,  and  who  are 
anxious  to  hear  something  more  respecting  the 
Christian's  experience  and  the  Christian's  hope, 
then  especially  silence  would  be  sinful,  and  he  is 
to  be  ready  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in 
him.  The  various  characters  which  our  Pilgrim 
met  in  his  progress  to  the  heavenly  city,  and  his 
interesting  and  edifying  conversation  with  them, 
furnish  us  with  many  lessons  of  practical  wisdom, 
and  are  well  deserving  of  our  serious  attention. 

Three  particulars  will  include  the  subject  of  the 
present  Lecture. 

I.  Christian's  intercourse  with  Simple,  Sloth, 
and  Presumption. 

II.  His  intercourse  with  Formality  and  Hypo- 
crisy. 

III.  The  end  of  these  two  last  men  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  Difficulty. 

I.  We  begin  with  Christian's  intercourse  with 
Simple,  Sloth,  and  Presumption.  You  remembei 
how  he  was  eased  of  his  burden  at  the  cross,  and 
how  he  was  there  assured  of  his  pardon,  and 
clothed,  and  sealed  in  the  manner  described  in  our 
last  Lecture.  After  this,  as  he  joyfully  pursued 
his  journey,  he  had  not  proceeded  far,  before  he 
saw,  a  little  out  of  the  way,  three  men  fast  asleep, 
with  fetters  upon  their  heels.  These  were  Simple, 
Sloth,  and  Presumption.  Christian  could  not  pass 
them  by  without  an  effort  to  benefit  them.  So  he 
went  to  them,  and  faithfully  represented  to  them 


124  LECTURE  IX. 

their  danger ;  telling  them  that  they  were  like  men 
that  sleep  upon  the  top  of  a  mast ;  for  the  dead  sea 
was  just  under  them,  a  gulf  that  had  no  bottom. 
He  therefore  earnestly  besought  them  to  awake, 
and  come  away,  and  kindly  proffered  any  service 
he  was  able  to  afford,  toward  freeing  them  from 
their  fetters.  He  also  represented  to  them  how 
inevitably  they  must  fall  a  prey  into  the  teeth  of 
him  who  goeth  about  as  a  roaring  hon,  should  he 
come,  and  find  them  in  that  unguarded  and  unbe- 
coming situation  !  But  now  mark  what  Christian 
gets  for  his  pains,  and  the  reply  that  was  made  to 
his  solemn  warning  and  friendly  admonition,  by 
these  scorners.  Simple  said,  "I  see  no  danger." 
Sloth  said,  "  Yet  a  httle  more  sleep."  And  Pre- 
sumption said,  "  Every  vat  must  stand  upon  its  own 
bottom."  And  so  they  lay  down  to  sleep  again  ; 
and  Christian  went  on  his  way.  Yet  he  was  trou- 
bled to  think  that  men  in  that  danger  should  so 
little  esteem  the  kindness  and  aid  which  he  desired 
to  show  them. 

Oh,  dear  brethren,  how  many  there  are,  in  every 
place,  how  many  among  ourselves,  who  answer,  in 
every  particular,  to  this  affecting  description  !  How 
many  are  ignorant  and  out  of  the  way,  who  are  lulled 
to  sleep  in  carnal  security,  and  tied  and  bound  with 
the  chain  of  sin,  and  the  fetters  of  Satan  !  There 
«s  only  one  step  between  them  and  death.  They 
ire  almost  gone:  their  steps  are  well-nigh  slipping.' 
If  their  soul  should  be  required  of  them,  and  they 
should  be  summoned  into  eternity,  in  their  present 
state,  they  are  ruined  and  undone  for  ever  ?  Can 
nothing  be  attempted  for  their  benefit  ?  Oh,  it  is 
a  sad  proof  of  the  low  ebb  of  religion  in  our  own 
60uls,  that  we  have  so  little  zeal  for  the  spiritual 


SIMPLE,  SLOTH,  AND   PRESUMPTION.      125 

welfare  of  others.  Surely  if,  like  Cnristian,  we  had 
really  experienced  the  precious  efficacy  of  the  Sa- 
viour's cross,  to  deliver  us  from  the  heavy  burden 
of  our  sin,  a  burden  which  was  ready  to  sink  us 
Jower  than  the  grave,  into  the  pit  of  destruction; 
J,  like  him,  we  were  assured  of  our  pardon,  and 
were  rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God,  we 
could  not  hold  our  peace  as  we  do  now  ;  the  spirit 
within  would  constrain  us,  and  we  should  say  con- 
tinually to  those  that  are  perishing  before  our  eyes, 
in  awful  ignorance  of  their  danger :  "  How  long, 
ye  simple  ones,  will  ye  love  simphcity  ?"  "  What 
meanest  thou,  O  sleeper  ?  Arise,  call  upon  thy 
God,  that  thou  perish  not !"  How  dare  you  pre- 
sume upon  the  goodness  and  forbearance  of  God  ? 
"  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  arise  from  the  dead, 
and  Christ  shall  give  thee  hght."  And  what  is  the 
reply  that  the  zealous  Christian  must  too  frequently 
be  prepared  to  meet  from  those  whom  he  ad- 
monishes ?  Men  will  not  believe  that  there  is 
danger  w^here  they  can  see  none.  They  will  not 
make  the  least  effort  to  shake  off  the  fatal  slumber 
in  which  they  are  held ;  or  else  they  plainly  inti- 
mate that  they  consider  all  admonitions  addressed 
to  them  as  an  unwarrantable  piece  of  interference. 
Thus  the  sum  and  substance  of  their  reply  is, 
"  Mind  your  own  business  ;  we  see  no  danger  ;  do 
not  come  here  to  disturb  our  peace,  and  make  such 
a  fuss  about  religion ;  see  to  yourself,  and  leave  us 
CO  ourselves."  In  such  a  state  as  this,  unless  a 
miracle  of  mercy  interpose  on  their  behalf,  they 
sleep  on  till  death  and  judgment  awake  them. 
Surely  every  one  who  knows  any  thing  of  the 
power  of  the  world  to  come  must  be  deeply  affected 
at  such  a  spectacle.     He  cares  little  for  the  wrong 


146  LECTURE  IX. 

motives  that  are  attributed  to  him,  and  the  rude 
and  uncourteous  manner  in  which  he  is  repaid  for 
his  good-will ;  but  he  is  deeply  grieved  at  the 
short-sighted  folly  of  those  who  are  determined  to 
slumber  on  in  the  fatal  sleep,  out  of  which  he 
knows  they  must  be  so  soon  and  so  fearfully 
awakened  !  And  he  says,  from  his  heart,  "  Oh 
that  they  were  wise,  that  they  knew  this,  that  they 
Would  consider  their  latter  end  !" 

II.  We  pass  on  now  to  consider  Christian's  next 
intercourse  with  Formahty  and  Hypocrisy.  These 
two  he  spied,  as  he  advanced  forward,  to  come 
tumbhng  over  the  wall,  on  the  left  hand  of  the 
narrow  way  :  and  they  made  up  apace  to  him.  He 
immediately  asked  them  whence  they  came,  and 
whither  they  were  going.  And  if  every  formalist 
and  every  hypocrite  would  speak  the  truth,  they 
would  have  to  give  the  same  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion that  these  two  men  did.  They  replied,  "  We 
were  born  in  the  land  of  Vain-Glory,  and  are  going 
for  praise  to  Mount  Zion."  Vain-Glory  is  the  birth- 
place of  every  formalist  and  every  hypocrite.  And 
praise,  carnal  praise,  the  praise  of  men,  is  the  great 
end  of  the  profession  which  they  make.  They 
love  the  praise  of  men  more  than  the  praise  of  God. 
When  Christian  asked  them  why  they  did  not  enter 
through  the  narrow  gate,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
way,  they  replied,  that  the  entrance  there  was  con- 
sidered by  all  their  countrymen  too  far  about :  and 
therefore  the  usual  way  with  them  was  to  make  a 
short  cut  of  it,  and  to  climb  over  the  wall,  as  they 
had  done. 

Yes,  dear  brethren,  the  strait  gate  of  conversion, 
the  only  true  entrance  into  the  way  of  life,  is  con-» 


SIMPLE,  SLOTH,  AND   PRESUMPTION.     127 

sidered  as  far  too  roundabout  for  formalists  and  hy- 
pocrites ;  and  tiierefore,  without  one  pang  perhaps 
of  godly  sorrow  for  sin,  without  any  personal  appli- 
cation to  Him  who  is  the  door,  they  come  tumbling, 
as  it  were,  over  the  wall,  no  one  knows  how ;  and 
they  imagine  themselves  to  be  far  advanced  on  the 
road  to  heaven,  when  in  reality  they  are  experi- 
mentally unacquainted  with  the  first  principles  of 
the  oracles  of  God. 

In  vain  did  Christian  represent  to  them,  that  they 
would  be  accounted  thieves,  and  robbers,  and  tres- 
passers, by  the  Lord  of  the  city,  having  violated  his 
express  appointment.  To  this  they  replied,  that 
they  had  the  custom  and  practice  of  large  numbers, 
for  a  long  course  of  years,  to  sanction  their  pro- 
ceedings. And  moreover  that,  being  now  in  the 
way  (however  they  had  got  there)  as  certainly  as 
Christian  himself,  they  could  not  see  wherein  his 
condition  was  better  than  their's.  Upon  this  Chris- 
tian reminded  them,  that  he  walked  by  the  rule  of 
his  Master,  Vv-hile  they  followed  only  the  rude  work- 
ing of  their  own  fancies  ;  and  he  expressed  his 
fear,  that  as  they  came  in  by  themselves,  without 
the  King's  direction,  so  they  would  have  to  go  out 
by  themselves,  without  his  mercy.  This  faithful 
rebuke  for  a  little  w^hile  seemed  to  silence  these  two 
dissemblers.  But  advancing  a  little  onward,  they 
soon  took  heart  again,  and  said  to  Christian,  As 
to  laws  and  ordinances,  they  doubted  not  but  that 
they  should  as  conscientiously  do  them  as  he.  And 
the  only^difference  they  could  perceive  between 
themselves  and  him,  appeared  to  be  this,  that  his 
coat  was  different  from  their's.  Then  did  Christian 
first  admonish  them  how  utterly  impossible  it  was 
for  any  one  to  be  saved  by  ordinances,  who  was 


128  LECTURE   IX. 

neglecting  the  grand  ordinance  of  all,  viz.  entrance 
through  the  door.  This  done,  he  proceeded  to  give 
a  reason  of  the  hope  that  was  in  him.  The  coat 
of  which  they  had  taken  notice,  he  confessed,  had 
been  put  upon  him  by  the  Lord  of  the  country 
where  he  was  going.  It  was  given  him  freely  in 
the  day  that  he  was  stripped  of  his  rags.  And 
since  he  is  thus  clothed,  what  a  comfortable  hope  he 
can  entertain  of  the  acceptance  he  will  receive,  at 
the  end  of  his  journey,  from  the  Lord  himself, 
when  he  shall  stand  before  him,  clothed  in  raiment 
which  he  had  received  from  him.  Moreover,  Chris- 
tian has  been  assured  of  his  pardon,  and  has  been 
sealed  by  the  Holy  Spirit  unto  the  day  of  redemp- 
tion. A  mark  was  set  on  his  forehead  in  the  day 
that  the  burden  fell  from  his  shoulders.  And  he 
had  then  also  given  him  a  roll  sealed,  to  read  for 
his  comfort  as  he  went  on  his  way,  and  also  to  pre- 
sent at  the  Celestial  Gate.  "All  these  things," 
said  Christian,  "  I  presume  you  want,  and  want 
them  because  you  came  not  in  at  the  gate." 

Yes,  my  friends,  all  those  things  which  constitute 
the  very  essence  of  vital  religion  are  wanting,  and 
must  be  wanting  in  every  individual,  whatever  he 
may  profess,  who  has  not  entered  by  the  gate.  If 
you  have  never  felt  the  burden  of  your  sin,  and 
have  never  personally  applied  by  faith  to  Christ, 
for  an  interest  in  his  great  salvation,  you  have  no 
scriptural  evidence  whatever  to  produce  of  your 
pardon  and  acceptance  in  the  beloved.  You  have 
no  personal  interest  either  in  his  atoningjl^lood,  his 
justifying  righteousness,  or  his  sanctifying  grace. 
Your  sins  are  unblotted  out  by  his  atoning  blood ; 
your  person  is  unclothed  with  the  robe  of  his 
righteousness;    your  heart  is  unrenewed  by  his 


rOEMALITY  AND   HYPOCRISY.  129 

Holy  Spirit,  and  as  yet  you  have  no  inheritance 
among  them  that  are  sanctified. 

The  awful  ignorance  of  Formahty  and  Hypo- 
crisy, as  to  these  essential  matters,  is  very  shortly 
but  most  emphatically  declared.  When  Christian 
had  done  speaking,  they  gave  him  no  answer. 
Only  they  looked  at  each  other  and  laughed.  Oh, 
what  numbers  of  formal  and  hypocritical  professors 
would  be  unmasked,  in  almost  every  congregation, 
if  we  could  see,  as  God  sees,  the  secret  ridicule  that 
rises  in  their  hearts,  as  they  hsten  to  the  solemn 
realities  of  experimental  religion,  with  which  they 
have  no  acquaintance  whatever ! 

III.  The  end  of  these  two  men,  with  the  com- 
mencement of  Christian's  ascent  up  the  hill  Diffi- 
culty, will  form  the  last  branch  of  the  present 
Lecture.  For  a  while,  all  the  three  proceeded  a 
little  in  the  same  path,  without  any  further  con- 
versation. Christian,  however,  kept  before,  and 
communed  only  with  his  own  heart.  Sometimes 
he  went  sighingly  and  sometimes  comfortably,  and 
often  was  he  employed  in  reading  his  roll,  by  which 
he  was  refreshed.  A  real  Christian  ought  not  to 
let  hypocrites  and  formahsts  outstrip  him  in  dili- 
gence and  zeal.  When  he  has  faithfully  delivered 
his  testimony  to  those  with  whom  he  has  been  as- 
sociated, he  should  be  silent  when  it  is  the  time  for 
silence,  and  only  commune  with  his  own  heart. 
He  must  expect  changes  through  every  part  of  his 
progress.  Sometimes  he  will  be  able  to  sing  ;  but 
more  frequently  he  will  have  to  sigh.  Not  only 
the  dangers  and  delusions  of  those  around  him,  but 
the  remains  of  indwelhng  sin  within  him,  will  cause 
him  to  sigh.     Happy  indeed  it  will  be  for  him,  if 


130  LECTURE  IX. 

he  can  refresh  his  soul  from  time  to  time,  by  per- 
ceiving clearly  the  evidence  of  a  gracious  work 
upon  his  own  heart ;  and  thus  can  allay  all  his 
earthly  cares  and  troubles  by  reading  his  title  to  a 
mansion  in  the  skies. 

All  the  three  still  went  on,  till  they  came  to  the 
foot  of  the  hill  of  Difficulty,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
was  a  spring.  Here,  beside  the  narrow  path  that 
led  from  the  gate  and  went  up  the  hill,  there  were 
two  ways  that  branched  off,  on  each  side,  to  the 
right  hand  and  to  the  left.  Without  turning  aside 
to  either  of  these,  Christian  went  straight  forward 
towards  the  hill.  But  before  he  commenced  to 
chmb,  he  went  to  the  spring,  and  drank  of  it  for 
his  refreshment,  that  he  might  have  more  strength 
for  the  difficult  ascent  he  had  now  to  make.  For- 
mahty  and  Hypocrisy  approached  also  the  foot  of 
the  hill.  But  seeing  a  way  on  each  side  of  the 
steep  hill,  and  being  very  glad  to  avoid  the  diffi- 
culty of  chmbing,  they  persuaded  themselves  that 
these  two  ways  would  both  take  them,  by  an  easier 
and  better  road,  round  the  hill,  and  would  bring 
them  again  into  the  narrow  road  which  Christian 
was  pursuing.  They  were  both,  however,  fear- 
fully mistaken  in  their  calculations.  The  name  of 
one  way  was  Danger,  and  that  of  the  other  Destruc- 
tion. So  the  one  took  the  way  which  is  called 
Danger.  And  such  it  proved.  It  led  him  into  a  great 
wood ;  and  what  became  of  him  there  nobody  knows. 
He  was  most  likely  lost.  The  other  took  the  way  of 
Destruction.  And  it  proved  destruction  to  him.  For 
it  led  him  into  a  wide  field,  full  of  dark  mountains, 
where  he  stumbled  and  fell,  and  rose  no  more. 

Let  us  all,  dear  brethren,  receive  instruction  and 
warning  from  these  affecting  particulars.     If  you 


FORMALITY  AND   HYPOCRISY.  131 

are  persevering  in  the  good  and  the  right  way,  be 
not  surprised  if  many  a  steep  hill  of  difficulty  come 
in  your  path.  No  progress  already  made  on  the 
heavenly  way  can  exempt  you  from  further  trials. 
Neither  can  any  sweet  experience,  or  joyful  sea- 
sons, which  you  may  have  had  in  times  past,  secure 
you  from  self-denial,  and  many  things  which  are 
grievous  to  flesh  and  blood,  in  time  to  come.  Be 
sure  that  you  cleave  to  the  Lord,  with  full  purpose 
of  heart,  and  turn  not  aside,  either  to  the  right  hand 
or  to  the  left.  Keep  to  the  narrow  road  that  ha? 
been  pointed  out  to  you  in  the  Scriptures  of  truth ; 
yea,  though  it  look  steep  and  difficult,  turn  not  away 
from  it.  It  is  your  privilege,  as  a  sincere  follower 
of  the  Lord,  to  have  the  path  of  duty  made  plain 
before  your  eyes.  I  do  not  mean  plain  in  such  a 
sense  as  signifies  smooth  and  easy,  but  so  plain  as 
to  leave  you  in  no  manner  of  uncertainty  respecting 
the  way  you  ought  to  take.  Amid  all  the  false 
ways  that*  you  see,  on  your  right  hand  and  on  your 
left,  you  shall  not  be  misled  or  deceived  by  them, 
but  you  shall  hear,  as  it  were,  a  voice  saying  to 
you,  "This  is  the  way,  walk  ye  in  it."  And 
though  carnal  reason,  from  present  appearances, 
may  come  to  a  different  conclusion,  you  are  certain 
to  find  eventually,  that  the  path  of  duty  is  the  path 
of  safety.  You  could  not  have  turned  either  to  one 
side  or  the  other,  without  danger  or  destruction  to 
your  soul.  There  is  only  safety  to  be  found  in 
keeping  to  the  narrow  path.  The  way  may  be 
rough  and  steep,  but  only  keep  to  it,  "and  thy 
shoes  shall  be  iron  and  brass,  and  as  thy  days  so 
shall  thy  strength  be."  As  Christian  found  a 
spring  at  which  he  drank  for  his  refreshment,  be- 
fore he  began  to  climb  the  difficult  hill,  so  all  need- 


132  LECTURE  IX. 

ful  supplies  of  grace  and  strength  are  preparea  by 
the  good  hand  of  their  God,  for  all  the  true  pilgrims 
to  the  heavenly  city.  If  they  have  to  go  through 
the  vale  of  misery,  or  to  climb  up  the  hill  of  Diffi- 
culty, they  shall  find  some  secret  spring  of  consolation 
which  they  shall  use  as  a  well ;  and  thus  refreshed, 
they  shall  he  prepared  to  go  from  strength  unto 
strength.-  If  you  have  any  specially  self-denying 
duty  to  perform,  or  any  difficult  service  required  at 
your  hands,  in  one  means  of  grace  or  another, 
either  while  in  private  prayer,  or  in  the  sanctuary 
of  God,  or  meditation  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
you  shall  draw  water  with  joy  out  of  the  wells  of 
salvation,  and  thus  be  specially  furnished  for  the 
special  duty  you  have  to  perform,  or  the  special 
difficulty  you  have  to  encounter.  "  They  that  wait 
on  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength." 

But  oh,  how  extremely  painful  it  is  to  consider 
the  end  of  hypocrites  and  formalists,  and  all  such 
as  are  merely  dissemblers  with  God  !  As  for  such 
as  turn  aside  to  their  crooked  paths,  the  Lord  shall 
lead  them  forth  with  the  workers  of  iniquity.  If 
people  pretend  to  religion  without  having  any,  how 
surely  and  fearfully  they  will  be  detected  at  the 
last !  Not  having  the  gracious  principle  within 
them,  nor  the  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes,  they 
W)ll  turn  aside  from  the  way  as  soon  as  the  hill  of 
difficulty  appears.  Either  they  will  be  seduced 
into  some  dangerous  path,  where  they  will  be  lost 
amid  the  mazes  of  error  and  uncertainty ;  or  else 
they  will  rush  blindly  in  the  way  of  destruction, 
and  perhaps  remain  ignorant  of  their  fearful  situa- 
tion, until  they  are  involved  in  hopeless  ruir. 
"  There  is  a  way  that  seemeth  right  unto  a  man, 
but  the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death."     Oh ! 


FORMALITY   AND    HYPOCRISr.  133 

let  us  every  one  take  timely  warning  from  such  a 
fearful  end.  Let  us  seek  earnestly  for  the  light  of 
God's  holy  word  to  direct  us  in  all  things,  and  let 
us  try  to  be  obedient  in  all  things  to  that  light.  So 
shall  we  be  able  to  say,  "  Through  thy  precepts 
I  get  understanding,  therefore  I  hate  every  false 
way." 

THE  HYMN. 

Beset  with  snares  on  every  hand, 
In  Ufe's  uncertain  path  I  stand : 
Saviour  divine  !  diffuse  thy  light, 
To  guide  my  doubtful  footsteps  right. 

Engage  this  vi^andering,  treacherous  heart, 
Great  God  !  to  choose  the  better  part, 
To  scorn  the  trifles  of  a  day, 
For  joys  that  none  can  take  away. 

Then,  should  the  wildest  storms  arise, 
And  tempests  mingle  seas  and  skies  ; 
No  fatal  shipwreck  shall  I  fear, 
But  all  my  treasures  with  me  bear. 

If  thou,  my  Saviour,  still  art  nigh, 
Cheerful  I  live,  and  joyful  die  ; 
Secure,  when  mortal  comforts  flee, 
To  fmd  ten  thousand  worlds  in  thee. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  thou  Father  of  lights,  we  are  taught  in  thy  holy  word, 
that  if  any  man  lack  wisdom  he  is  to  ask  of  God,  who  giveth 
unto  all  men  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not ;  send  out  thy  Hght 
and  thy  truth,  and  let  them  lead  us.  Give  us,  we  beseech 
thee,  a  wise  and  understanding  heart.  We  are  indeed  beset 
with  snares  and  dangers  on  every  hand.  Lord,  grant  that 
we  may  neither  fall  from  our  steadfastness,  nor  be  led  astray 
by  the  error  of  the  wicked.  May  we  have  no  fellowship  with 
the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather  reprove  them. 
Number  us  not  with  the  simple  ones,  who  are  void  of  under- 
standing. Grant  that  we  may  be  thoroughly  delivered  from 
12 


134  LECTURE   IX. 

the  power  of  sloth.  Keep  back  thy  servants-also  from  pre- 
sumptuous sins.  Let  them  not  have  dominion  over  us  ;  that  we 
may  be  innocent  and  undefiled  from  the  great  oflence.  Lighten 
our  eyes,  that  we  sleep  not  the  sleep  of  death.  May  we  know 
how  to  answer  every  one  that  asketh  us  a  reason  of  the  hope 
that  is  in  us.  Oh  give  us  the  heavenly  wisdom  of  winning 
souls  !  May  we  be  enabled,  with  all  wisdom  and  faithfulness, 
to  instruct  the  simple,  to  awaken  the  slothful,  and  to  warn 
the  presumptuous  of  their  awful  danger.  And,  Lord,  do 
thou  bless  our  humble  endeavours  to  benefit  others,  and  to 
save  their  souls  from  death.  Send  thy  Holy  Spirit  into  their 
hearts  ;  visit  them  with  thy  salvation  ;  and  save  them  for  thy 
mercy's  sake.  Oh  let  our  hearts  be  sound  in  thy  testimonies 
that  we  be  not  ashamed.  Deliver  us  from  the  fearful  mis- 
take of  trusting  to  a  form  of  godUness,  while  we  are  ignorant 
of  its  power.  And  may  we  beware  of  the  leaven  of  the  Pha- 
risees, which  is  hypocrisy.  From  pride,  vain-glory,  and  hy- 
pocrisy, good  Lord,  deliver  us  !  May  we  know  what  it  is  to 
come  to  him  who  is  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life. 
May  we  all  enter  through  the  strait  gate  of  conversion  upon 
the  narrow  way  of  life,  and  have  respect  to  thy  command- 
ments in  all  things  ;  that  we  may  not  at  last  be  numbered 
among  the  thieves  and  robbers,  to  whom  the  porter  will  not 
open.  Give  us  all  things  that  accompany  salvation  ;  a  peni- 
tent heart,  a  lively  faith,  and  a  life  ruled  by  thy  holy  word. 
When  we  meet  with  difficulties  in  our  heavenly  course,  grant 
to  us  such  strength  and  protection  as  may  support  us  in  all 
dangers,  and  carry  us  through  all  temptations.  If  troubles 
abound,  may  consolations  abound  also  ;  and  as  our  day  is  so 
may  our  strength  be.  Make  thy  way  plain  before  us  ;  and 
grant  that  when  tempted  to  turn  either  to  the  right  hand  or 
the  left,  we  may  hear  a  voice,  saying.  This  is  the  way,  walk 
ye  in  it.  Keep  us  from  the  way  of  danger  and  destruction, 
and  from  every  false  and  crooked  path.  May  we  follow  faith- 
fully thy  holy  word;  getting  understanding  through  thy  pre- 
cepts, and  therefore  hating  every  false  way.  Hear  us,  O  Lord  . 
hear  us,  and  answer  us,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  Medi- 
ator and  Redeemer.    Amen. 


LECTUKE  X. 

ASSUEANCE  LOST  AND  REaAINED. 


Oh,  that  I  knew  the  secret  place 
Where  I  might  find  my  G'od  ! 

I'd  spread  my  wants  before  his  face, 
And  pour  my  woes  abroad. 

I'd  tell  him  how  my  sins  arise, 

What  sorrows  I  sustain  ; 
How  grace  decays — and  comfort  dies, 

And  leaves  my  heart  in  pain. 

Arise,  my  soul,  from  deep  distress, 

And  banish  every  fear  ; 
He  calls  thee  to  the  throne  of  grace, 

To  spread  thy  sorrows  there. 


Psalm  li.  12. 

RESTORE  TINTO   ME   THE  JOT  OF  THT  SALTATION,  AJTD  ITPHOLD  ME  WITH  THY 
FKEE  SPIRIT. 

It  is  the  concluding  sentence  in  a  memorable 
Sermon  of  the  judicious  Hooker,  "Therefore  the 
assurance  of  my  hope  I  will  labour  to  keep  as  a 
jewel  unto  the  end  ;  and  by  labour,  through  the 
gracious  mediation  of  his  prayer,  I  shall  keep  it." 
David  lost  all  his  assurance  upon  his  awful  fall.  His 
harp  was  silent ;  his  peace  had  vanished  ;  his  hope 
was  turned  into  fear,  and  all  his  joyful  experience 
had  passed  away  like  a  dream.  He  remembered, 
however,  his  pleasant  things  in  the  day  of  his 
misery ;  and  amid  all  his  sorrowful  confessions, 
and  his  earnest  cries  to  be  pardoned,  and  washed, 

135 


136  LECTURE   X. 

and  renewed,  he  breathes  out  also  his  fervent  de- 
sire for  the  restoration  of  the  joyful  assurance  which 
he  had  lost :  "  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  sal- 
vation, and  uphold  me  w^ith  thy  free  Spirit."  We 
have  to  consider  at  this  time, 

I.  How  Christian  lost  his  evidence  by  sleeping  in 
the  arbour. 

II.  How  he  recovered  it  again  ;  and 

III.  How  he  sought  admittance  into  the  house 
Beautiful. 

May  we  all  receive  instruction  and  edification 
from  these  interesting  particulars. 

How  did  Christian  lose  his  assurance  ?  It  will 
be  remembered  that  he  had  received  this  in  the 
shape  of  a  roll,  in  the  day  that  the  burden  fell  from 
his  back,  when  he  was  contemplating  the  cross. 
When  Hypocrisy  and  Formalist  parted  from  him 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  Difficulty,  he  was  left  to  toil 
up  the  steep  ascent  alone.  He  gradually  relaxed 
from  running  to  going,  and  from  going  to  clamber- 
ing upon  his  hands  and  knees,  because  of  the  steep- 
ness of  the  way.  Ever  mindful,  however,  of  the 
necessities  of  his  poor  pilgrims,  the  Lord  of  the 
country  had  provided  a  pleasant  arbour  for  their  re- 
freshment, mid-way  up  the  hill.  To  this  Christian 
repaired  ;  and  here  he  sat  him  down  to  rest.  He 
pulled  out  his  roll  to  read  for  his  comfort,  and  began 
to  take  fresh  notice  of  the  garment  which  he  had  re- 
ceived at  the  cross.  Thus  pleasing  himself  awhile, 
he  sunk  into  a  slumber,  and  from  that  into  a  sound 
sleep.  In  this  state  he  continued  till  the  day  was 
far  spent;  and  in  his  sleep  his  roll  fell  out  of  his 
hand.  He  was  not,  hovvever,  suffered  to  remain 
ihus,  without  timely  w^arning.     There  came  one  to 


ASSURANCE  LOST  AND  REGAINED.   137 

him  who  awakened  him,  and  said :  "Go  to  the  ant, 
ihou  sluggard,  consider  her  ways  and  be  wise." 
This  admonition  thoroughly  aroused  the  sleeper. 
He  suddenly  started  up,  and  hastened  on  his  way, 
and  went  apace,  till  he  came  to  the  top  of  the  hill. 
Though,  as  yet,  unconscious  of  the  loss  which  he 
had  sustained,  new  discouragements  now  perplexed 
him.  Two  men,  Timorous  and  Mistrust,  came 
running  to  meet  him,  in  great  alarm.  Upon  being 
asked  the  cause  of  their  alarm,  and  why  they  ran 
in  the  wrong  direction.  Timorous  said,  they  had 
been  on  their  way  to  Zion,  and  had  got  up  that  diffi- 
cult place,  "  but  the  further  we  go,  the  more  danger 
we  meet ;  wherefore  we  turned  and  are  going  back 
again."  Mistrust  chimed  in  with  the  testimony  of 
his  fearful  companion.  Indeed,  he  confirmed  it  by 
saying,  "  Just  before  us  lie  a  couple  of  lions  in  the 
way,  and  we  both  thought,  if  we  came  within  their 
reach,  they  would  presently  pull  us  in  pieces." 
Mark  the  effect  of  this  discouraging  testimony  upon 
our  poor  Pilgrim.  "  Then  said  Christian,  '  You 
make  me  afraid.' "  But  mark  also  the  arguing 
and  the  conclusion  of  an  upright  though  a  discour- 
aged soul.  "  Whither,"  said  Christian,  "  shall  I 
flee  to  be  safe  ?  If  I  go  back  to  my  own  country, 
that  is  prepared  for  fire  and  brimstone,  I  shall  cer- 
tainly perish  there.  If  I  can  get  to  the  Celestial 
City,  I  am  sure  to  be  in  safety  there.  I  must  ven- 
ture !  To  go  back  is  certain  death  ;  to  go  forward 
is  fear  of  death ;  and  if  that  be  overcome,  everlast- 
ing hfe  beyond  it !  I  am  resolved  what  to  do :  I 
will  yet  go  forward  !"  O  divine  and  blessed  reso- 
lution !  a  resolution  which  can  only  be  made  and 
acted  upon  by  the  genuine  Pilgrim.  So  Mistrust 
and  Timorous  ran  down  the   hill,  and   Christian 

12* 


138  LECTUEE   X. 

went  on  his  way  alone.  He  could  not,  however, 
dismiss  from  his  heart  the  discouraging  feeling 
which  had  been  lodged  within  it  by  the  evil  report 
of  the  way  which  he  had  just  heard.  He  there- 
fore felt  in  his  bosom  for  his  roll,  that  he  might 
read  therein,  and  be  comforted,  as  he  had  done 
heretofore.  But  lo !  now  comes  his  perplexity  in- 
deed. He  felt  for  it ;  but  now,  when  he  needs  it 
more  than  ever,  he  found  it  not.  Then  was  Chris- 
tian in  great  distress,  and  knew  not  what  to  do ;  for 
he  wanted  that  which  used  to  relieve  him,  and  that 
which  should  have  been  his  pass  into  the  Celestial 
City.  He  therefore  began  to  he  much  perplexed, 
and  knew  not  what  to  do. 

Here,  let  us  pause  to  reflect  for  a  few  moments 
on  all  this  for  our  profit.  The  true  believer,  who 
has  been  favoured  with  the  bright  evidence  of  his 
pardon,  or  who  has  in  his  possession  a  glad  and  scrip- 
tural hope  of  his  acceptance,  should  labour  to  pre- 
serve this  as  a  precious  jewel.  He  cannot  keep  it 
without  constant  watchfulness  and  prayer,  habitual 
self-denial,  and  all  humility  of  mind.  By  a  drowsy, 
•prayerless,  self-indulgent,  or  self-satisfied  frame  of 
mind,  we  are  sure  to  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
whereby  we  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption. 
All  diligence  is  necessary  in  order  to  retain  the  full 
assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end.  To  'do  this  we 
must  not  be  slothful,  but  followers  of  them  who 
through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises.  If 
we  delight  too  much,  or  linger  too  long  at  anj*-  of 
those  places  which  were  only  designed  to  refresh 
us  on  our  way  to  Zion  ;  if  we  feel  secretly  pleased 
or  satisfied  with  any  attainments  in  religion  already 
made,  and  gradually  sink  into  a  listless,  or  a  tho- 
roughly insensible  state  of  mind,  we  are  sure  to  lose 


ASSURANCE   LOST  AND   REGAINED.       139 

our  evidence.  It  will  slip,  as  it  were,  out  of  our 
hand,  before  we  are  aware.  In  mercy,  however, 
to  the  souls  of  his  erring  children,  the  Lord  will  not 
suffer  them  to  sleep  on  unwarned.  He  hghtens  their 
eyes,  that  they  sleep  not  the  sleep  of  death.  By 
the  voice  of  some  faithful  monitor,  or  by  some  sharp 
and  providential  rebuke,  he  rouses  them  out  of  their 
fatal  lethargy;  convinces  them  that  it  is  high  time 
to  awake  out  of  sleep,  and  makes  them  heartily 
ashamed  of  their  inconsistent  conduct.  Then  they 
press  forward,  through  every  difficulty,  with  re- 
newed zeal.  But  it  is  not  with  them  as  it  was  in 
months  past,  when  the  candle  of  the  Lord  shone 
about  their  head.  They  are  less  able  now  than 
they  were  before  to  escape  unhurt  from  the  carnal 
representations  of  timorous  and  mistrustful  men, 
who  have  turned  their  backs  upon  the  heavenly 
city.  Their  hands  are  weakened,  and  their  hearts 
are  moved  by  the  evil  report  which  unbelieving 
men  and  apostates  bring  of  the  good  ways  of  the 
Lord.  They  tremble  now  at  the  apprehension  of 
dangers  and  lions  in  the  way,  which  would  not 
once  have  frightened  them.  But  amid  all  this 
weakness,  they  give  one  never-faihng  proof  of  sin- 
cerity and  uprightness  of  heart ;  they  have  no  in- 
tention whatever  of  turning  back.  Whatever  dan- 
gers they  may  apprehend  before,  they  are  convinced 
they  would  find  greater  behind.  Faint  and  feeble 
though  it  may  appear,  still  there  is  a  hope  of  ever- 
lasting life  by  going  forward.  But  there  is  no  hope, 
nothing  but  despair,  certain  death  and  certain  ruin, 
by  turning  back  ;  and  therefore,  at  all  events,  at 
any  risk,  come  what  may,  the  believer's  choice  is 
made.  He  has  determined  he  will  yet  go  forward; 
and  forward  he  goes,  though  it  be  alone.     Great, 


140  LECTURE  X. 

however,  is  the  perplexity  of  one  who  has  rejoiced 
in  the  blessedness  of  pardoned  sin,  to  find  his  evi 
dence  gone  when  he  wished  to  cheer  and  comfort 
his  heart  by  reviewing  it !  How  wonderful  it  is 
that  many  who  are  evidently  sincere  Christians, 
should  look  so  little,  and  so  seldom  as  they  do,  to 
their  evidence !  How  many  fall  into  the  same  mis- 
take about  assurance  that  Joseph  and  Mary  did, 
with  regard  to  the  Saviour  himself.  The  child 
Jesus  had  tarried  behind,  and  they  knew  not  of  it, 
but  they, "supposing  him  to  have  been  in  the  com- 
pany," went  a  day's  journey.  Thus  many  take 
too  much  for  granted  respecting  the  nearness  and 
presence  of  Christ.  They  go  for  days  and  days 
imagining  that  all  is  well ;  but  when  the  searching 
time  comes,  then  they  find  their  errors,  and  have 
with  sorrow  to  retrace  their  steps.  On  the  other 
hand,  true  believers  not  unfrequently  disquiet  them- 
selves in  vain  with  regard  to  the  doctrine  of  assurance. 
*'  Faith  is  essential  to  our  salvation ;  assurance  is 
essential  to  our  comfort.  Clearly  there  may  be  sav- 
ing faith,  where  there  is  no  comfortable  assurance." 

II.  Let  us  now  proceed  in  the  next  place  to  con- 
sider how  Christian  recovered  his  lost  evidence. 
At  last,  he  bethought  himself  that  he  had  slept  in 
the  arbour ;  and  falling  down  upon  his  knees,  he 
asked  forgiveness  for  his  foolish  act,  and  then  went 
back  to  look  for  his  roll.  As  he  retraced  his  steps, 
looking  very  diligently  on  either  side  for  his  lost 
roll,  the  sorrows  of  his  heart  were  enlarged ;  and 
deep  and  very  bitter  were  the  reflections  which  he 
made,  and  the  self-reproaches  to  which  he  gave 
utterance.  He  reflected  most  severely  upon  his 
folly  in  falhng  soundly  asleep  in  a  place  that  was 


ASSURANCE   LOST  AND   REGAINED.       141 

only  erected  for  a  little  refreshment  for  his  weari- 
ness. The  sight  of  the  arbour,  when  he  again  ob- 
tained a  view  of  it  from  a  distance,  increased  his 
sorrow  still  more,  and  made  hmi  feel  more  keenly 
than  ever  the  evil  of  his  sleeping.  As,  therefore, 
he  approached  it,  he  bewailed  his  sinful  sleep, 
and  said  :  "  Oh,  wretched  man  that  I  am,  that  I 
should  sleep  in  the  day-time  !  How  many  steps 
have  I  now  to  tread  in  vain  !  How  far  might  I 
have  been  on  my  way  by  this  time  !  I  am  made 
to  tread  these  steps  thrice  over,  which  I  need  only 
to  have  trodden  once ;  yea,  now  also  I  am  like  to 
be  benighted,  for  the  day  is  almost  spent.  Oh,  that 
I  had  not  slept !"  By  this  time  he  was  come  to  the 
arbour  again,  where  for  awhile  he  sat  down  and  wept. 
But,  at  last,  looking  sorrowfully  down  under  the  seat 
he  had  occupied,  to  his  unutterable  dehght,  there 
again  he  espied  his  roll !  With  trembhng  haste  and 
joy  he  caught  it  up  and  put  it  in  his  bosom  again. 
Oh,  how  happy  is  he  now !  This  roll  was  the  assur- 
ance of  his  life  and  acceptance  at  the  gate  of  the  city. 
With  a  glad  and  thankful  heart,  and  a  light  and 
bounding  step,  as  if  all  his  grief  and  fatigue  were 
forgotten  ;  he  has  nothing  now  to  do  but  to  betake 
him  on  his  journey.  But  his  joyful  feelings  were 
not  unmixed  with  others  of  an  opposite  kind.  The 
sun  went  down  upon  him  before  he  got  to  the  top 
of  the  hill.  He  did  not  like  the  prospect  of  travel- 
ling in  the  dark.  He  recalled  also  to  mind  what 
he  had  heard  from  Timorous  and  Mistrust ;  and  he 
went  on  in  continual  apprehension  of  doleful  crea- 
tures and  beasts  of  prey  that  prowl  about  in  the 
night.  As  thus  he  sorrowfully  mused  and  went  on, 
he  saw  a  very  stately  palace  before  him.  Its  name 
was  Beautiful,  and  it  stood  by  the  highway  side. 


142  LECTURE  X. 

We  must  not  omit  to  reflect  for  a  few  moments 

on  Christian's  recovered  roll.  The  believer  who 
has  lost  his  assurance  will  never  find  it  until  he 
begins  seriously  to  call  his  ways  to  remembrance. 
He  must  search  and  try  his  ways,  and  turn  again 
to  the  Lord.  As  he  narrowly  reviews  his  past 
conduct,  and  recalls  to  mind  the  country  through 
which  he  has  passed,  the  places  where  he  has  tar- 
ried, and  the  people  with  whom  he  has  conversed, 
he  must  solemnly  charge  his  conscience  to  bring 
home  to  his  heart  and  his  memory  every  instance 
where  he  walked  not  uprightly,  or  acted  inconsist- 
ently. And  when  he  bethinks  him  of  the  fatal 
arbour  ;  the  scene,  or  the  company,  or  the  occasion, 
when  he  wounded  his  conscience,  and  acted  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  provoke  the  Holy  Comforter  to 
depart  from  him,  he  must  humbly  confess  his  par- 
ticular sin  unto  the  Lord,  bewailing  and  acknow- 
ledging all  its  aggravating  circumstances.  In  this 
manner  the  royal  penitent  poured  out  his  soul  unto 
God,  and  said,  "  I  acknowledge  my  transgression, 
and  my  sin  is  ever  before  me.  Against  thee,  thee 
only,  have  I  sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight, 
that  thou  mightest  be  justified  when  thou  speakest, 
and  be  clear  when  thou  judgest."  Before  he  had 
opened  his  mouth  to  give  utterance  to  this  full 
acknowledgment  of  his  guilt,  he  could  find  no  rest, 
day  nor  night,  to  his  dark  and  burdened  heart. 
*'  While  he  kept  silence  his  bones  waxed  old, 
through  his  roaring  all  the  day  long :  and  day  and 
night  the  hand  of  his  offended  God  was  heavy  upon 
him."  But  when  he  confessed  his  transgressions 
unto  the  Lord,  he  obtained  at  once  the  forgiveness 
of  his  sins.  In  this  manner,  dear  brethren,  every 
true  penitent  must  seek  for  his  pardon ;  and  in  this 


ASSURANCE   LOST   AND    REGAINED.        143 

manner,  too,  the  backslider  in  heart,  who  is  going 
heavily,  and  who  is  filled  with  his  own  way,  must 
seek  for  the  renewal  of  his  pardon,  and  the  restora- 
tion of  his  peace  and  joy.  "  If  we  confess  our 
sin,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins, 
and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  unrighteousness."  When 
a  person  thus  humbles  himself  greatly  before  the 
Lord,  renewing  his  repentance,  and,  as  it  were, 
going  over  the  same  ground  again  and  again,  deter- 
mined to  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  the  par- 
dcn  of  his  sin,  and  the  favour  of  his  God,  in  due 
time  he  shall  obtain  his  desire.  Let  the  believer 
who  has  lost  his  assurance,  only  imitate  the  dili- 
gence, and  zeal,  and  perseverance,  of  those  who 
have  lost  any  thing  which  they  greatly  value,  and 
the  result  will  be  the  same.  Remember  the  woman 
who  had  lost  her  piece  of  silver.  She  begins  to 
seek,  and  never  desists  until  her  efforts  are  crowned 
with  success ;  and  then  she  calls  together  her 
friends  and  neighbours,  and  says,  "  Rejoice  with 
me,  for  I  have  found  the  piece  which  I  had  lost.'* 
Thus  shall  it  be  with  every  true  penitent,  who  con- 
tinues weeping,  and  praying,  and  seeking,  and 
crying  unto  the  God  of  his  Saviour,  "  Restore  unto 
me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation."  He  shall  find  the 
jewel  which  he  has  lost.  The  joy  of  salvation, 
which  had  quite  vanished,  shall  again  be  restored  ; 
and  the  holy  Comforter,  who  had  for  awhile  with- 
drawn, shall  again  return  to  comfort  and  uphold  his 
fainting  soul.  He  may  indeed  feel  the  sad  effects 
of  his  backshding,  after  he  has  been  fully  restored 
to  the  Divine  favour.  Perplexing  fears  and  dis- 
quieting thoughts  may  again  obtrude  into  his  mind. 
4.nd  while  he  has  the  evidence  of  his  pardoii  and 
salvation  safely  lodged  in  his  breast,  he  may  some- 


144  LECTURE  X. 

times  forget  it,  or  else,  through  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  or  some  other  pecuharities,  he  may  be  unablo 
to  read  it,  or  to  enjoy  the  full  benefit  to  be  derived 
from  its  possession.  But  he  will  often  find  that  he 
has  been  disquieting  himself  in  vain  ;  and  not  un- 
frequently,  while  he  is  going  on  his  way,  sad  and 
disquieted,  he  will  find  himself  prevented  with  the 
blessings  of  goodness,  and  shortly  after  delivered 
out  of  all  his  fears. 

III.  Christian's  approach  to  the  Beautiful  House 
w^as  to  be  the  last  head  for  our  consideration.  The 
sight  of  this  mansion  was  most  seasonable,  circum- 
stanced as  he  was.  He  made  haste  and  went  for- 
ward, that,  if  possible,  he  might  get  lodging  there. 
He  entered  a  narrow  passage  which  led  to  the  por- 
ter's lodge,  and  looking  very  narrowly  before  him 
as  he  went,  he  spied  two  hons  in  the  way.  What 
then  !  Was  it  indeed  a  true  report  which  Timorous 
and  Mistrust  had  given  of  impassable  dangers  ? 
Both  the  hons  were  chained,  but  Christian  could 
not  see  the  chains.  Here,  therefore,  again  is  our 
poor  Pilgrim  quite  at  a  stand,  and  in  a  very  great 
strait.  He  was  afraid,  and  thought  to  go  back  after 
the  others,  for  he  imagined  nothing  but  death  was 
now  before  him.  But  lo,  an  encouraging  voice  is 
heard,  which  is  just  sufficient  to  turn  the  scale. 
The  porter  at  the  lodge,  whose  name  was  Watch- 
ful, perceiving  that  Christian  made  a  halt,  as  if  he 
would  go  back,  cried  unto  him,  saying,  "  Is  thy 
strength  so  small  ?  Fear  not  the  lions,  for  they  are 
chained,  and  are  placed  there  for  trial  of  faith, 
where  it  is,  and  for  discovery  of  those  that  have 
none.  Keep  in  the  midst  of  the  path,  and  no  hurt 
ehall  come  unto  thee."     Oh,  joyful  sound !     Oh, 


ASSURANCE   LOST   AND    REGAINED.      145 

welcome  assurance  !  Christian  is  indeed  possessed 
of  faith,  and  his  faith  shall  stop  the  mouths  of  these 
lions.  He  ventures  forward.  They  look  so  fierce 
and  dreadful  that  it  is  only  in  fear  and  trembling 
that  he  advances.  But  he  does  advance ;  and 
taking  good  heed  to  the  porter's  directions,  he  got 
safely  by  them.  He  heard  them  roar  as  he  passed, 
but  no  manner  of  harm  did  he  receive  from  them. 
Then  did  he  clap  his  hands  for  joy,  and  came  and 
stood,  before  the  gate  where  the  porter  was,  and  in>- 
quired  what  house  it  was,  and  if  he  might  lodge 
there  that  night.  To  this  the  porter  answered, 
"This  house  was  built  by  the  Lord  of  the  Hill,  and 
he  built  it  for  the  relief  and  security  of  pilgrims.'* 
Here  we  must  break  off  for  the  present. 

This  Beautiful  House  is  the  emblem  of  any  true 
church,  or  congregation  of  faithful  men,  in  which 
the  pure  word  of  God  is  faithfully  proclaimed,  and 
the  sacraments  w^hich  Christ  ordained  are  duly  ad- 
ministered. Entrance  into  this  house  represents 
the  public  profession  of  religion  made  by  any  per 
son,  when  he  casts  in  his  lot  among  the  people  of 
God,  and  begfins  to  associate  amonof  those  who  con 
stitute  the  household  of  faith.  A  pubhc  profession 
of  religion  exposes  a  person  to  more  opposition,  and 
sometimes  to  more  cruel  persecution,  than  a  private 
attention  to  it.  Many  who  feel  the  importance  of 
eternal  things,  have  a  great  dread  of  making  a  de- 
cided profession  of  their  faith.  The  ridicule  or  op- 
position which  they  must  encounter,  in  doing  this, 
seenis  to  stand  like  lions  in  the  way.  To  sight  and 
sense  such  a  step  appears  very  formidable.  Satan 
m.agnifies  the  danger,  and  to  carnal  reason  it  some- 
tim.es  appears  hke  rushing  into  the  jaws  of  death. 
This  is  especially  the  case  in  times  of  persecution. 


146  LECTURE  X. 

Faith,  however,  can  discern  the  secret  restraints 
which  the  Lord  lays  upon  the  fiercest  opposers.  All 
faithful  ministers,  Avatching  for  souls,  have  a  special 
duty  to  perform,  in  encouraging  every  true-hearted, 
though  fearful  pilgrim,  boldly  to  venture  forward. 
If  you  are  united  by  a  true  and  hving  faith  to 
Christ,  and  are  pressing  forward  into  his  kingdom, 
why  should  you  not  also  be  united  by  the  blessed 
l^ond  of  Christian  love  and  fellowship  with  all  his 
people  ?  Think  not  to  pass  by  the  Beautiful  House, 
which  the  Lord  of  the  Hill  has  built  expressly  for 
the  relief  and  security  of  poor  pilgrims  like  you  ! 
Do  you  not  want  relief?  Do  you  not  want  security  ? 
Fear  not,  then,  the  dangers  and  the  difficulties  that 
lie  in  your  way,  however  great  and  dreadful  they 
may  appear  to  be  !  The  hons  are  chained  !  They 
are  formidable  in  appearance  only,  not  in  reality. 
They  are  placed  there  for  the  trial  of  faith;  to 
show  who  has  it,  and  who  has  it  not.  Only  keep 
in  the  midst  of  the  path,  and  no  manner  of  harm 
shall  in  anywise  happen  to  you.  You  may  hear 
them  roar,  but  that  is  all.  They  cannot  break  their 
chain.  Dismiss,  therefore,  your  unbelieving  fears. 
Be  not  ashamed  to  confess  the  faith  of  Christ  cruci- 
fied. Confess  him  in  the  midst  of  this  sinful  and 
aduherous  generation,  and  he  will  confess  you  be- 
fore his  Father,  and  the  holy  angels.  Have  all 
your  delight  in  the  saints  that  are  upon  earth,  and 
such  as  excel  in  virtue.  Very  excellent  things 
will  be  shown  you,  and  sweet  communion  and  fel- 
lowship will  be  granted  you,  in  the  congregation 
of  the  faithful.  Here  you  will  get  a  glimpse,  now- 
ever  faint  and  imperfect,  of  the  joy  of  heaven,  and 
the  beauty  of  holiness.  "  Beautiful  for  situation  is 
the  Mount  Zion,  the  joy  of  the  whole  earth.   Only 


ASSURANCE   LOST!   AND    REGAINED.      147 

<^itli  a  true  heart  cast  in  your  Jot  among  the  Lord's 
people  ;  and  continue  steadfast  in  the  apostles'  doc- 
trine and  fellowship,  and  in  breakinor  of  bread,  and 
in  prayer,  and  the  heavenly  love  and  blessed  unity 
of  the  early  Christians  shall  again  be  seen.  The 
multitude  of  them  that  beheve,  you  will  find  of  one 
heart  and  one  soul ;  and  you  will  draw  water  with 
joy  out  of  the  wells  of  salvation. 

THE  HYMN. 

Oh !  for  a  closer  walk  with  God, 

A  calm  and  heavenly  frame ; 
A  light  to  shine  upon  the  road 

That  leads  me  to  the  Lamb  ! 

Where  is  the  blessedness  I  knew 

When  first  I  saw  the  Lord  ? 
Where  is  the  soul-refreshing  view 

Of  Jesus  and  his  word  ? 

What  peaceful  hours  I  onee  enjoyed  ! 

How  sweet  their  memory  still ! 
But  they  have  left  an  aching  void 

The  world  can  never  filL 

Return,  O  holy  Dove,  return, 

Sweet  messenger  of  rest ! 
I  hate  the  sins  that  made  thee  mourn, 
And  drove  thee  from  my  breast. 

The  deafest  idol  I  have  known, 

Whate'er  that  idol  be, 
Help  me  to  tear  it  from  thy  throne, 

And  worship  only  thee. 

So  shall  my  walk  be  close  with  God, 

Calm  and  serene  my  frame  ; 
And  clearer  light  shall  mark  the  road 

That  leads  me  to  the  Lamb. 


148 


LECTURE   X. 


THE  PRAYER. 


0  God,  merciful  Father,  that  despiseth  not  the  sighing  of 
a  contrite  heart,  nor  the  desire  of  such  as  be  sorrowiul ; 
mercifully  assist  our  prayers  that  we  make  before  thee,  in  all 
our  troubles  and  adversities,  whensoever  they  oppress  us. 
If  thou  hast  begun  thy  gracious  work  in  our  hearts,  and 
given  us  the  blessed  hope  of  everlasting  life,  may  we  hold 
fast  the  beginning  of  our  confidence  steadfast  unto  the  end. 
May  we  be  kept  from  grieving  ihy  Holy  Spirit  and  sinning 
against  our  own  mercies,  and  piercing  ourselves  through  with 
many  sorrows.  Grant  that  we  may  not  sleep  as  do  others; 
but  may  we  watch  and  be  sober.  May  we  give  all  diligence 
to  retain  the  full  assurance  of  hope  unto  the  end.  And  if 
any  of  us,  through  the  wiles  of  the  devil,  or  our  own  sinful 
negligence,  have  lost  the  evidence  of  our  pardon  and  accept- 
ance, restore  unto  us  the  joy  of  thy  salvation,  and  uphold  us 
with  thy  free  Spirit.  Help  us  to  call  our  own  ways  to  remem- 
brance ;  to  humble  ourselves  greatly  before  thee  ;  and  never 
to  rest  or  be  satisfied  until  our  peace  is  restored,  and  we  are 
enabled  to  say,  O  Lord,  I  will  praise  thee  ;  though  thou  wast 
angry  with  me,  thine  anger  is  turned  away,  and  thou  comfort- 
est  me.  May  we  h<ive  the  joy  of  the  Lord  for  our  strength. 
Deliver  us  from  the  fear  of  the  wicked.  May  we  trust  and 
not  be  afraid.  May  we  ponder  well  the  awful  doom  of  the 
fearful  and  unbelieving.  Make  us  more  afraid  of  thy  wrath 
than  of  any  thing  else.  And  whatever  difficulties  may  be  in 
our  path,  may  we  be  more  afraid  of  turning  back  unto  perdi- 
tion than  of  all  the  adversaries  we  have  to  face  in  the  way 
to  heaven.  May  we  never  be  ashamed  to  confess  the  faith 
of  Christ  crucified ;  and  give  us  grace  to  overcome  all  the 
fears  and  scruples  that  would  deter  us  from  making  a  public 
avowal  of  our  attachment  to  Christ,  and  our  fellowship  with 
his  people.  Oh  grant,  that  by  our  owii»act  and  deed,  we  may 
seek  admission  into  the  congregation  of  the  faithful.  Show 
us  that  every  lion  is  chained;  and  that  there  shall  no  harm 
happen  unto  us,  if,  as  genuine  penitents  looking  unto  Jesus 
we  walk  in  the  even  path  of  thy  holy  commandments.  Oh 
grant  that  we  may  indeed  belong  to  the  household  of  faith 
and  the  Israel  of  God  ;  that  being  numbered  now  among  the 
saints  that  are  upon  earih,  hereafter  we  may  be  numbered 
with  them  in  glory  everlasting.  Hear  us,  O  Lord,  and 
answer  us,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  most  blessed 
Lord  and  Saviour.     Amen. 


LECTURE  XL 

THE   COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS. 


Oh  !  magnify  the  Lord  with  me. 
With  me  exalt  his  name  ; 

When  in  distress,  to  him  I  called, 
He  to  my  rescue  came. 

The  hosts  of  God  encamp  around 
The  dwellings  of  the  just ; 

Deliverance  he  affords  to  all, 
Who  on  his  succor  trust. 

Oh  !  make  but  trial  of  his  love, 

Experience  will  decide 
How  blest  are  they — and  only  they, 

Who  in  his  truth  confide. 


Psalm  Ixvi.  16. 

COKE  AND  HEAR,  ALL  TE  THAT  FEAR  GOD,  AyV  I  WILL  DECLARE  WHAT 
HE  HATH  DONE  FOR  MY  SOUL. 

Before  Christian  was  admitted  into  the  house 
Bealitiful,  he  was  required  to  give  some  account  of 
the  state  of  his  mind,  and  the  way  in  which  he  had 
been  led.  After  he  had  gained  admission,  very 
edifying  and  instructive  is  the  conversation  that  en- 
sued between  himself  and  the  members  of  that 
blessed  community.  When  a  person  makes  a  pub- 
lic profession  of  religion,  it  is  very  desirable  that 
he  should  open  his  mind,  and  declare  his  senti- 
ments, to  some  faithful  minister  of  the  gospel,  or  to 

13*  14S 


150  LECTURE   XI. 

some  experienced  and  judicious  Christian  ;  and 
when,  by  his  own  act  and  deed,  he  has  cast  in  his 
lot  among  the  congregation  of  the  faithful,  lie  should 
endeavour  to  improve  his  intercourse  with  the 
Lord's  people,  to  let  his  conversation  be  that  Avhich 
is  good  to  the  use  of  edifying,  that  it  may  minister 
grace  to  the  hearers  ;  and  he  should  endeavour  to 
act  as  David  did,  when  he  said,  "  Hearken  unto  me, 
ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  he  hath 
done  for  my  soul." 

The  present  Lecture  will  consist  of  two  parts : 

I.  The  manner  in  which  Christian  was  ques- 
tioned before  he  was  admitted  into  the  house 
Beautiful. 

IL  His  conversation  with  the  members  of  the 
family  after  he  had  been  admitted. 

L  His  conversation  with  the  porter,  and  with 
Discretion,  before  he  was  adtnitted  into  the  house, 
has  first  to  engage  our  attention.  The  porter  at  the 
lodge  asked  him,  "  Whence  he  was,  whither  he  was 
going,  and  what  was  his  name  ?"  "  I  am  come," 
he  said,  "from  the  City  of  Destruction,  and  am 
going  to  Mount  Zion ;  but  because  the  sun  is  now 
set,  I  desire,  if  I  may,  to  lodge  here  to-night :  my 
name  is  now  Christian,  but  at  the  first  it  was 
Graceless."  Another  question  was  also  put  b}^  the 
porter,  which  touched  Christian  on  a  tender  point. 
"How  happens  it,"  he  said,  "that  you  come  so 
late  ?  The  sun  is  set."  Now  mark  the  Christian 
simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  of  our  Pilgrim  in  his 
answer.  He  does  not  attempt,  as  all  men  do  in 
their  natural  state,  to  justify  or  palhate  his  errors : 
he  adheres  to  the  simple  truth,  and  takes  blame  to 


THE   COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS.  151 

himself  where  his  own  conscience  tells  him  he  is  to 
be  blamed.  His  sleep  in  the  arbour,  his  losing  his 
evidence,  and  the  long  delay  occasioned  by  his  sor- 
rowful journey  back  to  seek  it, — all  this  he  deli- 
berately confesses.  The  watchful  porter  was 
favourably  impressed  towards  him  by  this  instance 
of  his  humility  and  candour,  and  summoned  Dis- 
cretion, one  of  the  inmates  of  the  house,  to  have 
some  further  conversation  with  him,  and  to  admit 
him,  if  she  thought  good,  according  to  the  rules  of 
the  house,  as  an  inmate.  Discretion  soon  appeared 
at  the  summons  of  the  porter.  Her  inquiries  of 
Christian  were  very  similar  to  those  which  had  just 
been  put  to  him  by  the  porter,  only  they  were  a 
httle  more  particular  and  searching.  But  in  addi- 
tion to  all  the  other  questions,  she  asked  him  also, 
"How  he  got  into  the  way?"  and  he  told  her. 
Christian  now  begins  to  understand  the  use  of  the 
mansion  at  which  he  has  arrived,  and  the  kind  of 
company  he  must  expect  to  find  within.  He  re 
hshes  the  company,  and  he  longs  for  admission 
more  earnestly  than  ever.  He  therefore  said  to 
Discretion,  "  I  have  so  much  the  more  a  desire  to 
lodge  here  to-night,  because,  by  what  I  perceive, 
this  place  was  built  by  the  Lord  of  the  hiJl  for  the 
relief  and  security  of  pilgrims."  Discretion  herself 
could  only  rejoice  at  the  expression  of  such  a  desire 
as  this.  She  perceives  with  joyful  emotion  the 
genuine  marks  of  a  true  pilgrim  in  the  stranger  with 
whom  she  is  speaking.  "  So  she  smiled,  but  the 
water  stood  in  her  eyes."  She  was  overcome  by 
the  joyful  sensation  produced  at  the  sight  of  another 
wanderer  on  his  way  to  heaven.  After  a  little 
pause,  she  said,  "  I  will  call  forth  two  or  three  more 
of  the  family."  So  she  ran  and  called  out  Prudence, 


152  LECTURE   XI. 

Piety,  and  Charity.  These  soon,  after  a  little  more 
converse  with  Christian,  admitted  him  into  the 
family,  and  united  to  give  him  a  most  hearty  wel- 
come. So  he  bowed  his  head  and  followed  them 
into  the  house. 

How  well,  dear  friends,  it  would  be  ;  how  many 
scandals  it  would  prevent ;  and  how  much  it  would 
promote  the  true  prosperity  of  the  church  of  Christ, 
if  more  watchfulness  were  observed ;  if  discretion, 
were  invariably  consulted,  and  prudence,  and  piety, 
and  charity,  were  constantly  called  forth,  before  a 
new  disciple  is  received  and  ranked  among  the  pro- 
fessors of  godliness ! 

II.  We  now  pass  on  to  the  edifying  conversation 
that  Christian  had  with  the  inmates  of  the  house, 
after  he  had  obtained  admittance  there.  It  was 
agreed  that  until  supper  was  ready,  some  of  them 
should  discourse  with  Christian  for  their  mutual 
edification  and  improvement ;  and  they  appointed 
Piety,  Prudence,  and  Charity,  to  do  this. 

(1.)  Piety  begins.  Her  first  inquiry  of  Christian 
is  a  very  important  one.  "  What  moved  you,"  she 
said,  "at  first  to  betake  yourself  to  a  pilgrim's  life?" 
Christian  has  a  plain  answer  ready.  It  was  his 
deep  conviction  of  sin,  and  his  quick  apprehension 
of  destruction  if  he  remained  where  he  was.  But 
as  many  under  their  convictions  run  in  various  di- 
rections for  relief,  Piety  next  inquires,  "How  hap- 
pens it  that  you  came  out  of  your  country  this 
way  ?"  Here  again  our  Pilgrim  has  a  most  satis 
factory  answer.  He  owns  that  it  was  entirely 
through  the  directions  of  Evangelist,  that  he  sought 
relief  in  that  direction.  This  is  quite  as  it  should 
be.     But  still,  as  many  run  well  for  a  season,  wha 


THE    COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS.  153 

never  experience  the  gracious  teaching  with  which 
all  the  generation  of  the  upright  are  favoured,  Piety 
again  inquires, ''  But  did  you  not  come  by  the  house 
of  the  Interpreter?"  In  answer  to  this,  Christian 
recounts  the  memorabJe  lessons  which  he  had  there 
learned — lessons  which  he  declared  would  be  en- 
graved on  the  tables  of  his  heart  to  the  latest  day 
of  his  life.  There  he  had  been  taught  how  Christ 
maintains  his  work  of  grace  in  the  heart,  notwith- 
standing all  the  opposition  of  Satan ;  how  a  man 
may  sin  himself  beyond  the  reach  of  mercy ;  and  the 
fearful  situation  of  one  who  shall  be  summoned  to 
judgment  in  his  unprepared  state.  In  addition  to 
these  and  other  wonders,  he  had  seen  the  bright 
crown  of  glory,  and  the  eternal  blessedness  of  him 
who  boldly  opposed  all  his  adversaries,  and  by 
faith  overcame  them  all.  Piety  inquires  finally, 
what  other  things  he  had  seen  since  he  left  the 
Interpreter's  house  ?  And  here  again  he  simply 
records  his  memorable  adventures.  He  tells  how 
wonderfully  the  cross  was  manifested  to  him  ;  and 
the  precious  benefits  which  he  there  received,  when 
the  burden  fell  from  his  back ;  how  he  was  par- 
doned and  justified,  and  received  the  earnest  or 
evidence  of  his  adoption.  He  mentions,  too,  his 
interview  w^ith  the  three  sleepers,  Simple,  Sloth, 
and  Presumption ;  how  Formahty  and  Hypocrisy 
came  tumbling  over  the  wall,  with  their  miserable 
end  ;  how  hard  a  business  he  found  it  to  toil  up  the 
hill  DifncuUy ;  and  his  dreadful  fear  of  the  hons, 
which  in  all  probabihty  would  have  turned  him 
back,  had  it  not  been  for  the  friendly  and  encourag- 
ing voice  of  the  porter  at  the  lodge. 

How  well  it  is  for  the  true  Pilgrim  to  the  hea- 
venly Zion  to  remember  all  the  way  which  the  Lord 


154  LECTURE   XI. 

his  God  has  led  him  !  It  is  well  for  himself,  and 
well  for  others.  As  for  himself,  it  humbles  him 
and  proves  him,  and  shows  what  is  in  his  heart, 
making  him  more  deeply  sensible  that  he  is  still  a 
poor  helpless  sinner  at  the  best;  and  that,  from  first 
to  last,  he  must  depend  entirely  on  free  and  un- 
bounded grace.  Others  too  are  often  greatly  bene- 
fited by  hearing  a  real  Christian  give  some  simple 
account  of  his  fears  and  hopes,  his  joys  and  sorrows, 
his  dangers  and  deliverances.  Many  shall  hear 
and  fear,  and  put  their  trust  in  the  Lord.  Can  we, 
dear  friends,  give  a  plain  answer  to  the  important 
questions  which  might  be  put  to  us  by  any  person 
of  real  piety  ?  What  made  us  first  think  seriously 
about  religion?  How  came  we  to  seek  salvation 
in  the  way  we  have  sought  it  ?  Are  there  any 
special  lessons  which  have  been  engraved  on  our 
hearts  by  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  Can 
we  call  to  mind  the  season  when  we  first  trembled 
at  the  sight  of  our  guilt  and  danger  ?  Or  if  this 
was  more  gradually  produced,  still  have  we  ever 
been  deeply  affected  at  the  sight  and  sense  of  our 
vileness  and  depravity,  and  exposure  to  the  wrath 
of  God  ?  If  so,  is  there  no  faithful  minister,  or 
Christian  friend,  or  well-remembered  book  that  did 
for  us  the  work  of  an  Evangehst,  directing  us  to 
Jesus,  and  guiding  our  wandering  feet  into  the  way  ? 
Have  we  really  been  private  pupils  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  since  we  paid  any  attention  to  religion  ?  Has 
he  convinced  us  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment ; — showing  us  how  alone  the  spark  of 
grace  can  be  kindled  and  kept  alive  within  us, — 
filling  us  with  godly  fear,  lest  we  should  sin  wil- 
fully after  we  have  received  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth, — and  making  us  habitually  to  Uve  as  if  the 


THE  COMMUNION  OF  SAINTS.  155 

judgment-trumpet  were  sounding  in  our  ears  ?  Has 
he  shown  us  the  necessity  of  dihgently  striving,  if 
we  would  be  crowned  with  the  palm  of  victory  ? 
And  above  all  these  things,  do  we  know  any  thing 
experimentally  of  the  beauty,  and  glory,  and  power, 
and  efficacy  of  the  cross  of  Christ  ?  Have  we  had 
any  special  revelation  of  the  cross  made  to  our  souls  ? 
Do  we  know  what  it  is  to  come,  weary  and  heavy- 
laden,  to  a  crucified  Saviour?  And,  as  we  have 
contemplated  his  dying  love,  by  faith,  have  we  ever 
felt  our  load  remove,  and  there  obtained  a  good 
hope  of  pardon  and  acceptance  with  God,  and  some 
tokens  and  earnests  of  our  pardon  ?  These,  dear 
friends,  are  the  questions  that  real  piety  would  urge 
U'pon  us  ;  and  happy  is  every  one  who  can  reply 
to  them  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

(2.)  When  Piety  ceased.  Prudence  commenced. 
It  is  a  very  solemn  thought  to  consider  that  men 
may  learn  by  human  teaching  to  profess  any  doc- 
trine and  relate  any  experience.  This  is  the  fatal 
rock  upon  which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  numbers  spht, 
in  every  place  where  the  gospel  is  preached ;  and 
it  is  the  great  evil  to  be  guarded  against  among 
every  society  of  professors  who  converse  together 
upon  rehgious  subjects.  How  may  we  avoid  the 
sad  mistake  of  confounding  mere  talk  and  know- 
ledge with  vital  godhness  ?  Prudence  will  suggest 
some  searching  questions  relating  to  the  inward 
struggle  with  indwelhng  sin  and  our  manner  of  life, 
which  will  greatly  assist  us  on  this  important  point. 
Prudence,  when  she  began  to  speak,  inquired  of 
Christian  first,  "  If  he  ever  thought  of  the  country 
he  had  left  ?"  To  this  he  replied,  he  only  thought 
of  it  with  shame  and  detestation,  desiring  a  better 
country.     Upon  being  asked  further,  "If  he  had 


156  LECTURE  XL 

no  remains  still  of  indwelling  sin  ?"  he  owns  that  it 
is  too  true.  Carnal  thoughts  still  lodge  within  him ; 
but  he  can  testify  that  they  are  his  grief,  and  pain, 
and  sorrow,  and  that  he  is  striving  and  longing  for 
dehverance  from  them.  He  can  only  very  seldom 
feel  as  if  those  things  were  vanquished,  which  at 
other  times  are  his  perplexity.  They  are  golden 
hours,  seldom  and  far  between,  when  this  is  the 
case.  Prudence  then  asks  him, "  If  he  can  remem- 
ber by  what  means  he  finds  at  times  his  annoyances 
vanquished  ?"  Nothing  can  be  more  deeply  experi- 
mental, or  more  truly  scriptural,  than  Christian's 
answer.  "  Yes,"  he  said,  "  when  I  think  of  what 
I  saw  at  the  cross,  that  will  do  it ;  when  I  look 
at  my  embroidered  coat,  that  will  do  it ;  when  I 
look  at  the  roll  which  I  carry  in  my  bosom,  that 
wnll  do  it ;  and  when  my  thoughts  wax  warm  about 
whither  I  am  going,  that  wnll  do  it."  "  And  why 
is  our  Pilgrim"  (it  is  the  last  question  of  Prudence) 
"  so  anxious  to  be  at  Mount  Zion  ?"  Because  he 
longs  to  see  his  Saviour ;  to  be  rid  entirely  of  all 
his  annoyances ;  to  have  communion  with  saints ; 
and  to  celebrate,  through  all  eternity,  the  praises 
of  redeeming  love. 

What  answer,  dear  brethren,  can  we  give  to  the 
searching  inquiries  of  Prudence  as  to  the  reality  of 
a  work  of  grace  upon  our  heart?  How  are  we 
affected  towards  the  sins  and  vanities,  or  follies,  to 
which  we  were  once  in  bondage?  Do  we  think  of 
them  only  with  shame  and  abhorrence?  Do  we 
feel  and  deplore  the  law  of  sin  in  our  members, 
warring  against  the  law  of  God  in  our  minds;  and 
is  it  our  constant  grief  and  burden  that  so  much 
that  is  carnal  and  wrong  should  still  remain  in  us? 
I>o  we  know,  from  blessed  experience,  what  alone 


THE   COMMUNION   OF  SAINTS.  157 

can  effectually  subdue  our  iniquities  and  give  us 
some  blessed  foretaste  of  our  final  deliverance  l 
When  we  obtain  a  realizing  and  believing  view  of 
Christ  crucified,  will  not  that  do  it?  When  we  can 
see  ourselves  clothed  in  the  perfect  righteousness 
of  Christ,  will  not  that  do  it  ?  When  we  can  read 
clearly  our  title  to  the  heavenly  inheritance,  will 
not  that  do  it  ?  Or  when  our  hearts  are  drawn  out 
in  ardent  longings  after  our  complete  salvation  in 
heaven,  will  not  that  do  it  ?  Do  not  all  our  corrup 
tions  seem  to  be  like  dead  men,  when  it  is  thus  with 
us,  in  the  golden  moments  of  communion  with  God? 
And  are  they  really  gracious  desires  that  cause  us 
to  long  for  Mount  Zion,  and  the  city  of  the  living 
God  ?  Do  we  long  to  be  there,  not  merely  to  be 
free  from  trouble,  and  to  be  at  rest,  but  to  be  free 
from  the  hated  remains  of  sin,  to  be  present  with 
that  Saviour,  whom  having  not  seen  we  love,  and 
to  serve  him  day  and  night  without  defilement  and 
without  distraction  in  his  temple  above  ? 

(3.)  When  Prudence  Avas  satisfied  and  held  her 
peace,  then,  finally,  Charity  opened  her  mouth  and 
began  to  question  Christian.  But  after  all  that  has 
been  said,  what  can  be  asked  more  ?  What  single 
point  has  still  been  left  untouched  ?  A  very  important 
and  most  practical  point  is  adverted  to  by  Charity : 
one  which  it  was  exceedingly  proper  for  her  to  in- 
troduce ;  and  by  neglecting  of  which  too  many  high 
professors,  when  weighed  in  the  balances,  are  found 
wanting.  Then  said  Charity  to  Christian,  "  Have 
you  a  family  ?  Are  you  a  married  man  ?  And  why 
did  you  not  bring  them  along  with  you  ?"  There  is 
a  beauty,  and  a  propriety,  a  delicacy,  and  a  mean- 
ing in  these  inquiries  of  Charity,  which  can  never 
be  sufficiently  admired.     Their  present  effect,  how- 

14 


158  LECTURE   XI. 

ever,  is  only  to  stir  up  the  grief  and  the  sorrow  of 
Christian's  mind.  When  these  questions  were  put 
to  him,  he  wept;  and  said,  "Oh,  how  wilh'ngly 
would  I  have  done  it,  but  they  were  all  of  them 
utterly  averse  to  my  going  on  pilgrimage."  "  But," 
said  Charity,  "you  should  have  talked  to  them,  and 
endeavoured  to  have  shown  them  the  danger  of  be- 
ing left  behind."  "So  I  did,"  replied  Christian, 
"  and  told  them  what  God  had  showed  me  of  the 
destruction  of  our  city  ;  but  I  seemed  to  them  as  one 
that  mocked,  and  they  believed  me  not."  Charity 
is  very  loath  to  give  up  the  precious  souls  of  men, 
and  to  conclude  that  their  case  is  hopeless.  She 
hopeth  all  things ;  and  while  any  means  for  their 
benefit  are  yet  untried,  she  will  never  despair. 
"Did  you  pray  to  God,"  she  said  to  Christian,  "  that 
he  would  bless  your  counsel  to  your  family  ?  Did 
you  tell  them  your  own  sorrow  and  fear  of  destruc- 
tion ?"  "  Yes,"  said  Christian,  "  I  prayed  with 
much  affection,  for  they  were  very  dear  to  me.  And 
over  and  over  again  I  informed  them  of  my  certain 
apprehensions,  which  they  could  see  plainly  enough 
depicted  in  my  countenance.  But  love  of  the  world 
and  the  foolish  delights  of  youth  overcame  all  my 
arguments  and  all  my  representations."  Oh,  how 
unwilling  is  Charity  to  give  them  up  !  Another 
most  searching  question  she  therefore  proposes. 
*'  Did  you,  by  your  vain  hfe,  damp  all  the  fire  of 
your  excellent  words  in  their  sight  ?"  Christian's 
reply  is  with  mingled  modesty  and  integrity.  He 
has  nothing  to  commend  in  his  life,  for  he  is  deeply 
conscious  of  many  failings.  He  knows  well  that 
by  inconsistent  conduct  the  most  powerful  argu 
ments  to  a  godly  life  fall  without  any  effect  upon 
the  ears  of  those  to  whom  they  are  addressed.     Yet, 


THE   COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS.  159 

he  has  the  testimony  of  his  conscience,  that  he  was 
very  careful  not  to  put  any  stumbhng-block  of  this 
kind  in  the  way  of  his  family.  Indeed,  their  great 
objection  was,  that  he  was  too  precise  and  particular. 
And  what  offended  them  most  was  his  great  tender- 
ness in  sinning  against  God,  or  of  doing  any  wrong 
to  another.  There  was  so  much  humility,  and 
piety,  and  tenderness  in  this  answer,  that  Charity 
herself  is  obhged  to  confess,  that  under  such  cir- 
cumstances Christian  had  done  well  to  set  off  alone 
without  his  family.  "Cain,"  she  said,  "hated  his 
brother  because  his  own  works  were  evil  and  his 
brother's  righteous ;  and  if  thy  wife  and  children 
have  been  offended  with  thee  for  this,  they  thereby 
show  themselves  implacable  to  good,  and  thou  hast 
delivered  thy  soul  from  their  blood." 

Will  our  religion,  dear  brethren,  bear  the  test  of 
these  most  important  questions  of  Charity  ?  A 
saint  abroad  and  a  devil  at  home  is  one  of  the  most 
deplorable  characters  to  be  met  with  in  the  world. 
To  be  full  of  religious  zeal  everywhere  but  in  our 
own  house,  and  to  profess  great  anxiety  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  others,  while  we  are  very  negli- 
gent respecting  those  who  more  especially  apper- 
tain to  us,  and  who  are  more  immediately,  by 
Providence,  placed  under  our  care,  is  a  very  fearful 
mark  that  all  is  not  well.  If  religion  be  really  be- 
gun in  our  own  hearts,  it  Avill  make  us  especially 
anxious  about  the  salvation  of  those  that  are  nearest 
and  dearest  to  us.  We  shall  long  to  take  them 
every  one  with  us  to  the  heavenly  city.  And  we 
shall  use  all  prudent  means  that  may  conduce  to  so 
desirable  an  end.  We  shall  represent  to  them  the 
amazing  importance  of  eternal  things  ;  endeavour- 
ing to  show,  by  our  whole  hfe  and  conduct,  how 


160  LECTURE   XL 

deeply  we  are  affected  by  those  things  ourselves. 
We  shall  pray  earnestly  for  our  households,  that 
they  ail  may  be  truly  converted  to  God,  and  brought 
to  belong  to  the  household  of  faith.  But  we  must 
take  good  heed  to  our  ways,  that  we  do  not,  by  our 
improper  tempers,  our  bitter  words,  or  our  incon- 
sistent conduct,  in  anywise  prejudice  them  agamst 
religion  or  religious  professors.  We  must  behave 
ourselves  wisely,  and  walk  in  our  house  with  a 
perfect  heart,  and  not  take  any  wicked  thing  in 
hand.  And  if,  after  all  our  care  and  pains,  any  for 
the  present  are  grieved  and  offended  at  so  much 
precision  and  religion,  we  must  take  good  heed  not 
to  be  snared  by  them,  and  induced  to  violate  our 
conscience.  W"e  must  go  on  our  way  to  Zion 
alone,  without  delaying  to  set  out  until  all  that  be- 
long to  us  are  ready  to  set  out  too.  And  if  we  walk 
uprightly,  and  act  consistently,  Charity  herself  will 
confess  that  we  have  delivered  our  souls  ;  and  in 
due  time  the  seeds  and  the  prayers,  which  seemed 
at  the  time  to  be  lost,  may  afterwards  spring  up  with 
abundant  increase,  and  we,  and  all  that  belong  to 
us,  may  rejoice  together  in  the  heavenly  Zion. 


THE  HYMN. 

Come,  ye  who  love  the  Lord, 
And  let  your  joys  be  known  ; 
Join  in  a  song  witli  sweet  accord, 
While  we  surround  the  throne. 


The  sorrows  of  the  mind 
Be  banished  from  tliis  place  ; 
Religion  never  was  designed 
To  make  our  pleasures  less. 


THE   COMMUNION   OF   SAINTS.  161 

Let  those  refuse  to  sing 
Who  never  knew  our  God  ; 
But  children  of  the  heavenly  King 
May  speak  their  joys  abroad. 

The  hill  of  Zion  yields 
A  thousand  sacred  sweets, 
Before  we  reach  the  heavenly  fields, 
Or  walk  the  golden  streets. 

There  shall  we  see  his  face, 
And  never,  never  sin  ; 
There,  from  the  rivers  of  his  grace, 
Drink  endless  pleasures  in. 

Then  let  our  songs  abound. 
And  every  tear  be  dry  ; 
We're  marching  through  Immanuel's  ground, 
To  fairer  worlds  on  high. 


THE  PRAYER. 

0  Almighty  God,  who  hast  knit  together  thine  elect  in  one 
communion  and  fellowship,  in  the  mystical  body  of  thy  Son 
Christ  our  Lord,  send  thy  heavenly  grace  into  our  hearts,  and 
grant  that  we  may  receive  one  another,  even  as  Christ  hath 
received  us.  And  we  most  humbly  beseech  thee  to  inspire 
continually  the  universal  church  with  the  spirit  of  truth, 
unity,  and  concord  ;  and  grant  that  all  they  that  do  confess 
thy  holy  name,  may  agree  in  the  truth  of  thy  holy  word,  and 
live  in  unity  and  godly  love.  May  we  all  be  admitted  as 
living  members  of  thy  true  church.  Make  us  to  know  the 
experience  of  thy  genuine  disciples,  that  we  may  be  able  to 
say  to  others.  Hearken  unto  me,  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will 
tell  you  what  he  hath  done  for  my  soul.  Purify  thy  church 
from  heresies  and  scandals.  Give  grace,  O  heavenly  Father, 
to  all  the  appointed  watchmen  of  Zion's  hill.  May  they  act 
with  discretion  in  all  that  they  do ;  and  grant  that  all  those 
who  are  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  Christ's  religion 
may  eschew  those  things  which  are  contrary  to  their  profes- 
sion, and  follow  all  such  things  as  are  agreeable  to  the  same. 
O  Thou,  whose  eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  who  will 
14* 


162  LECTURE   XI. 

make  all  the  churches  to  know,  that  thou  searchest  the  heart 
and  triest  the  reins,  forbid  it,  we  humbly  beseech  thee,  that 
any  of  us  should  be  satisfied  with  a  name  to  live  while  we 
are  dead.  May  we  have  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  to 
give  to  every  one  that  asketh  us  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  i& 
in  us.  May  we  approve  ourselves  unto  piety,  as  we  recount, 
with  all  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  how  first  we  were 
moved  to  think  about  our  souls  ;  what  directions  we  received 
from  the  ministers  of  thy  word  ;  and  what  lessons  we  have 
been  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  oh,  grant  that  we 
may  especially  have  to  record  the  revelation  which  we  have 
had  of  the  mystery  of  the  cross !  May  we  approve  ourselves 
to  prudence,  by  seeking  a  better  country,  striving  against  in- 
dwelling sin,  and  constantly  desiring  the  fulness  of  joy  in  thy 
presence.  And  oh,  may  we  approve  ourselves  to  charity  by 
our  earnest  longing,  and  our  fervent  prayers,  and  our  constant 
endeavour  to  advance  the  salvation  of  our  kindred  according 
to  the  flesh  !  May  we  behave  ourselves  wisely,  and  walk  in 
our  house  with  a  perfect  heart,  lest,  by  our  sins  and  incon- 
sistencies, we  should  offend  those  whose  salvation  we  are 
bound  to  seek.  Hear  us,  O  Lord  our  God,  and  bring  us  at 
last  to  those  unspeakable  joys  which  thou  hast  prepared  for 
thy  people,  when  their  warfare  is  accomplished,  and  the  days 
of  their  mourning  are  ended,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  only 
Mediator  and  Redeemer.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XII. 

GODLY   EDIFYING. 


My  soul  shall  glory  in  the  Lord, 
His  wondrous  acts  proclaim  ; 

Oh  let  us  now  his  love  record, 
And  magnify  his  name. 

Mine  eyes  beheld  his  heavenly  light, 
When  I  implored  his  grace; 

I  saw  his  glory  with  delight. 
And  joy  beamed  o'er  my  face. 

Oh  taste  and  see  the  Lord  is  good. 

Ye,  who  on  him  rely  ; 
He  shall  your  souls  with  heavenly  food 

And  strengthening  aid  supply. 


Ephesians  ii.  19. 

NOW  THEREFORE  TE  ARE  NO  MORE  STRANGERS  AND  FOREIGNERS,  BUT  FELLOW- 
CITIZENS  WITH   THE   SAINTS,   AND   OF   THE  HOUSEHOLD  OF    GOD. 

It  was  a  happy  day  for  our  Pilgrim,  when  he 
gained  admittance  into  the  house  Beautiful.  The 
edifying-  discourse  which  he  had  with  the  happy 
inmates  he  found  there,  was  the  subject  of  our  last 
Lecture.  We  have  now  to  consider  the  further 
privileges  and  advantages  which  he  enjoyed  during 
his  abode  in  this  fair  place.  Every  poor  sinner, 
convinced  of  sin,  under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  who  has  been  enabled  to  cast  the  burden 
of  his  guilt  upon  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  to  pursue 

163 


164  LECTURE   XII. 

his  way  over  every  difficulty,  to  the  heavenly  in- 
heritance, is  a  member  of  the  true  church,  which 
consists  of  the  blessed  company  of  all  faithful  people. 
Though  he  was  far  off  he  is  made  nigh  by  the 
blood  of  the  cross.  Through  Christ,  in  whom  he 
has  believed,  and  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  has  access 
unto  the  Father.  But  he  must  belong  also  to  the 
visible  church  of  Christ  upon  earth.  He  believes  in 
the  communion  of  saints,  and  he  must  cast  in  his  lot 
among  the  congregation  of  faithful  men,  where  the 
word  of  God  is  faithfully  proclaimed,  and  the  sacra- 
merrts  which  Christ  has  ordained  are  duly  adminis- 
tered. It  is  not  the  design  of  his  heavenly  Master 
that  he  should  go  to  heaven  alone.  He  has  much  to 
receive,  much  to  learn,  and  much  to  enjoy,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  other  behevers.  All  true  be- 
hevers  are  his  fellow-citizens,  and  members  of  the 
household  to  which  he  belongs.  The  privileges  and 
advantages  peculiar  to  the  community  are  also  his  ; 
and  all  the  rules  and  reofulations  observed  by  the 
rest  of  the  family  are  binding  upon  him.  As  a  pro- 
fessed believer  in  Christ,  he  is  no  more  a  stranger 
and  foreigner,  but  a  fellow-citizen  with  the  saints, 
and  of  the  household  of  God.  What  are  the  privi- 
leges and  advantages  to  be  derived  from  fellowship 
with  that  goodly  society  ?  He  celebrates  with  them 
the  supper  of  the  Lord,  he  derives  a  more  experi- 
mental acquaintance  with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  he 
is  clad  with  armour  essential  for  the  remaining  part 
of  his  journey,  and  he  often  obtains  a  clearer  view 
of  the  blissful  home  to  which  he  is  hastening.  All 
these  particulars  we  shall  find  instructively  set  be- 
fore us  in  the  part  of  the  allegory  for  our  present 
consideration. 

(1.)  The  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  hap- 


GODLY   EDIFYING.  165 

pily  described  in  figurative  language.  Christian  sat 
talking  with  the  inmates  of  the  house  until  supper 
was  ready.  And  when  all  was  prepared  they  sat 
down  to  meat.  The  table  was  furnished  with  fat 
things  full  of  marrow,  and  of  wines  on  the  lees  well 
refined.  All  their  thoughts  and  all  their  talk  were 
directed  to  one  object.  The  Lord  of  the  hill,  who 
had  built  that  house,  and  provided  such  entertain- 
ment for  poor  pilgrims,  was  the  animating  subject 
of  their  discourse.  They  spoke  of  him  as  a  glori- 
ous warrior,  who,  with  a  mighty  arm,  and  with  bitter 
sufferings,  even  the  shedding  forth  of  his  own  most 
precious  blood,  had  obtained  dehverance  for  them, 
and  rescued  them  from  the  hand  of  all  their  ene- 
mies. They  spoke  in  such  a  feeling  manner  of  his 
love  and  power,  his  kindness  and  compassion,  until 
their  hearts  began  to  burn  with  admiration,  and  to 
melt  with  tenderness.  What  they  especially  cele- 
brated, was  his  amazing  and  unexampled  love. 
Some  of  the  household  had  conversed  with  him, 
after  his  bitter  conflict  with  their  enemies  was  over, 
and  had  attested  from  his  own  lips,  "  that  he  is  such 
a  lover  of  poor  pilgrims,  that  the  like  is  not  to  be 
found  from  the  east  to  the  west.  Another  topic, 
too,  on  which  they  loved  to  dwell,  was  his  astonish- 
ing condescension,  and  the  exceeding  riches  of  his 
kindness  to  the  poor  and  destitute.  They  had  heard 
him  say,  that  he  would  not  dwell  in  Mount  Zion 
alone  ;  and  he  had  stripped  himself  of  his  own  glory, 
that  he  might  exalt  poor  beggars  unto  princes,  and 
take  them  from  the  dunghill  to  inherit  the  throne  of 
glory.  This  was  their  discourse  till  late  at  night ; 
then  was  Christian  ushered  into  a  chamber  whose 
name  was  Peace.  It  looked  toward  the  rising  of  the 
sun ;  and  here  he  slept  until  break  of  day. 


166  LECTURE  XII. 

See  here,  my  friends,  what  is  the  great  business 
before  us,  and  what  should  be  the  frame  of  our 
hearts,  when  we  meet  together  with  our  brothers 
and  sisters,  in  our  Father's  house,  to  celebrate  the 
Lord's  Supper.  Here  is  a  feast  of  royal  dainties, 
consisting  of  every  thing  that  is  satisfying  to  the 
soul,  and  reviving  to  the  heart,  provided  for  the 
strengthening  and  refreshing  of  weary  pilgrims  as 
they  journey  on  to  Zion. 

"  Hail,  sacred  feast,  which  Jesus  makes, 
Rich  banquet  of  his  flesh  and  blood  !" 

None  but  true  penitents,  who  know  something  of  the 
burden  of  sin  ;  none  but  true  behevers,  who  know 
something  of  the  preciousness  of  Christ,  and  who 
are  resting,  by  faith,  their  everlasting  all  upon  him, 
are  invited  as  guests  to  this  table,  or  can  in  any  wise 
partake  of  the  precious  benefits  which  it  imparts  to 
the  upright.  The  self-righteous,  the  formalist,  or 
the  allowed  transgressor,  may  indeed  approach  the 
table,  and  press  with  their  teeth  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  body ;  but  they  are  in  nowise  partakers  of 
Christ.  They  do  not  feed  upon  him  in  their  heart 
by  faith.  The  true  penitent  cannot  be  satisfied  with 
the  sign,  except  he  have  the  thing  signified  as  well. 
His  language  is, 

"  I  eat  the  bread  and  drink  the  wine, 
But  oh  !  my  soul  needs  more  than  sign ; 
I  faint  unless  I  feed  on  thee. 
And  drink  thy  blood  as  shed  for  me." 

If  we  keep  the  feast  aright,  and  if  we  come  in  the 
marriage-garment,  all  our  thoughts  will  be  directed 
to  Christ,  and  will  fasten  and  centre  upon  him 
alone.  Christ  is  the  supper,  and  he  ma«o^e  j..  It 
is  the  divinely-appointed  memorial  of  his.  ^ji  <scious 


GODLY  EDIFYING.  167 

sacrifice,  to  be  celebrated  by  all  his  people,  in  their 
generations  until  his  coming  again.  Here  he  im- 
parts to  his  believing  people  the  spiritual  food  of  his 
own  most  precious  iDody  and  blood,  for  the  nourish- 
ment and  revival  of  their  spiritual  life.  And  as  the 
memorials  of  his  broken  body  and  poured-out  blood 
are  before  them,  and  they  sincerely  profess  their 
acceptance  of  his  purchased  salvation,  and  surrender 
themselves  anew  to  his  service,  sometimes,  as  they 
are  musing,  the  fire  kindles,  and  their  cold,  hard, 
and  unfeeling  hearts  begin  to  burn  with  love,  to  glow 
with  admiration,  and  to  dissolve  and  melt  with 
godly  sorrow  and  contrition  for  sin.  They  are  in 
some  measure  properly,  but  still  very  inadequately, 
affected  by  the  view  they  get  of  the  bitter  sufferings 
he  endured  for  them,  to  wash  them  and  to  save 
them  from  their  sins,  and  dehver  them  from  Satan 
and  from  death,  and  from  hell  and  the  grave,  for 
ever  and  ever.  They  see,  as  it  were,  the  full  his- 
tory of  his  marvellous  loving-kindness,  his  amazing 
mercy,  and  his  dying  love,  written  out  in  characters 
of  blood.  And  when  they  think  that  all  this  was 
out  of  love  for  their  guilty  souls,  for  their  pardon, 
and  for  their  salvation  ;  that  Jesus  might  not  dwell 
in  Mount  Zion  alone,  but  that  wretched  sinners, 
such  as  they,  might  be  washed  and  made  white  in 
his  blood,  be  delivered  from  going  down  to  the  pit 
of  destruction,  and  made  to  inherit  the  throne  of 
glory  ; — oh  !  when  they  realize  all  this,  and  per- 
ceive their  own  personal  concern  in  it,  they  cannot 
hold  out  any  longer  in  cold-hearted  insensibility. 
They  look  unto  Him  whom  their  sins  have  pierced, 
and  mourn.  At  the  same  time  their  hope  revives, 
their  zeal  and  their  love  is  rekindled  afresh,  a  tender 
and  compassionate  spirit  now  possesses  them,  and 


168  *      LECTURE   XII. 

they  are  furnished  with  new  motives  and  new 
strength  to  strive  against  sin,  and  to  live  no  longer 
to  themselves,  but  to  Him  who  died  for  them  and  rose 
again.  May  these  precious  effects  of  communion  with 
Christ  be  produced  in  us  whenever  we  celebrate  our 
Redeemer's  dying  love !  Then  we  shall  lie  down, 
as  it  were,  in  the  chamber  of  peace — we  shall 
rest  safely ;  and  when  we  awake,  the  cheering 
beams  of  the  Sun  of  righteousness  will  sweetly 
visit  us. 

(2.)  On  the  next  day,  when  our  Pilgrim  awoke 
from  his  refreshing  sleep,  the  rarities  of  the  place 
were  shown  to  him.  First,  the  members  of  the 
house  took  him  into  the  study,  where  the  ancient 
records  were  kept ;  and  from  these  they  read  for 
his  profit  and  edification.  They  showed  him  the 
pedigree  of  the  Lord  of  the  hill,  proving,  from  that 
infaUible  source,  that  he  was  the  Son  of  the  Ancient 
of  Days,  and  came  by  an  eternal  generation.  In 
the  record  from  which  they  read,  the  noble  acts  of 
their  King  were  related ;  the  names  put  down  of 
numbers  whom  he  had  taken  into  his  service  ;  and 
how  he  had  placed  them  in  such  habitations  that 
could  neither  by  length  of  days  nor  decay  of  nature 
be  dissolved.  They  read,  too,  of  the  toils  and  suf- 
ferings, the  bitter  tortures,  the  cruel  deaths,  the  as- 
tonishing deliverances,  and  the  triumphant  victories, 
accomplished  by  martyrs  and  saints  of  earher  times; 
not  failing  to  mention  the  secret  spring  and  hidden 
principles  of  all  their  strength.  Again,  in  another 
part  of  the  records,  it  was  rehearsed,  how  exceed- 
ingly merciful  was  their  King,  and  how  ready  he 
is  to  show  kindness  and  compassion,  yea,  even  to 
the  rebellious.  Many  other  affecting  narratives 
were  read,  and  more  especially  the  sure  word  of 


GODLY  EDIFYING.  169 

prophecy  was  unfolded,  and  its  final  accomplish- 
ment noticed,  to  the  dread  and  amazement  of 
enemies,  and  the  comfort  and  solace  of  pilgrims. 

How  wonderfully,  my  brethren,  do  the  Holy 
Scriptures  open  out  to  the  view  of  every  true 
Christian,  as  he  searches  them  with  earnest  prayer, 
converses  about  them  with  others  more  experienced 
than  himself,  or  hstens  to  the  faithful  exposition  of 
them  in  the  sanctuary  of  God  !  There  he  is  con- 
firmed and  estabhshed  in  all  saving  and  essential 
truth.  He  learns,  from  the  sure  source  and  foun- 
tain of  truth,  that  in  resting  for  salvation  upon 
Christ,  he  is  not  trusting  in  any  created  being,  but 
in  the  everlasting  Son  of  the  Father,  begotten  of  his 
Father  before  all  worlds  :  for  who  shall  declare  his 
generation?  A  late  eminent  divine  of  the  Scotch 
Kirk,  the  Henry  Martyn  of  Scotland,*  has  placed 
this  fundamental  doctrine  in  a  most  striking  point 
of  view.  "  Christ,"  he  says,  "  did  not  gain  one 
perfection  more  by  becoming  man  ;"  neither  could 
he  lose  any  thing  of  all  that  he  originally  possessed 
as  God.  By  the  union  of  the  Divine  and  the  human 
nature,  God  is  now  manifest  in  the  flesh.  "  The 
almightiness  of  God  now  moved  in  a  human  arm. 
The  infinite  love  of  God  now  beat  in  a  human 
heart.  The  unbounded  compassion  of  God  to  sin- 
ners now  glistened  in  a  human  eye.  God  was  love 
before,  but  Christ  was  love  covered  over  with  flesh." 
The  believer  is  warned,  and  encouraged,  and  di- 
rected by  what  he  reads  of  the  Lord's  dealings 
with  his  people  in  former  times ;  and  he  rejoices 
greatly  to  find  the  strong  consolation  held  forth  to 
those  who  have  fled  for  refuge  to  the  gospel  hope. 

♦  McChejme. 
15 


170  LECTURE  XII. 

From  the  word  of  God  he  learns  the  true  nature 
and  glorious  power  of  simple  faith.  He  perceives 
that  this  was  the  secret  wherein  their  great  strength 
consisted,  and  that  by  faith  all  their  triumphs  and 
wonders  were  achieved.  Here  he  learns  that  the 
King  of  Israel  is  a  merciful  King :  that  he  is  the 
Saviour  of  all  that  put  their  trust  in  him  and  humbly- 
cast  themselves  at  his  feet,  however  daring  and 
multiphed  their  rebellions  and  provocations  may 
have  Been.  In  short,  he  is  made  sensible  that  all 
Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is 
profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for 
instruction  in  righteousness,  And  especially  by 
giving  heed  to  the  sure  word  of  prophecy,  which 
shines  as  a  light  in  a  dark  place,  he  is  enabled  to 
look  forward  to  the  approaching  time,  when  the 
mystery  of  God  shall  be  finished,  when  every  ad- 
versary shall  be  cut  off  for  ever,  when  the  Lord 
alone  shall  be  exalted,  and  the  kingdom  and  domi- 
nion, and  the  greatness  of  the  kingdom  under  the 
whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of  the 
saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an  ever- 
lasting kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and 
obey  him.  Let  us,  my  brethren,  diligently  search 
the  Divine  records  with  these  important  ends  in 
view,  so  we  shall  daily  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 

p.)  Christian  was  next  taken  into  the  armoury 
belonging  to  the  house  Beautiful.  Here  they 
showed  him  all  manner  of  accoutrements,  which 
their  Lord  had  provided  for  pilgrims.  Here  was 
sword  and  shield,  helmet  and  breastplate,  trumpet 
and  shoes,  meet  for  the  service  to  which  a  pilgrim 
may  be  called.  In  such  abundance  was  this 
heavenly  armour  here  to  be  found,  that  there  was 


GODLY  EDIFYING.  171 

enough  to  harness  out  as  many  men  for  active 
service  as  there  be  stars  in  the  heaven  for  multi- 
tude. Before  Christian  parted  from  this  house, 
he  took  to  himself  a  complete  suit  of  this  armour. 
He  was  shown  some  of  the  engines  with  which 
wonderful  things  had  been  performed  in  the  times 
of  old.  The  rod  of  Moses,  which  he  stretched  out 
over  the  Red  Sea ;  the  pitchers  and  trumpets  with 
which  Gideon  put  to  flight  the  armies  of  Midian  ; 
the  goad  which  had  been  used  by  Shamgar ;  and 
the  jaw-bone  with  which  Samson  did  such  mighty 
feats,  were  all  exhibited  to  his  wondering  sight. 
They  showed  him,  moreover,  the  sling  and  the 
stone  with  which  David  had  slain  Goliath  ;  and  the 
sword  with  which  their  Lord  will  kill  the  man  of 
sin,  in  the  day  that  he  shall  rise  up  to  the  prey. 
Other  excellent  things  they  also  showed  him,  with 
which  Christian  was  much  delighted.  This  done, 
they  went  to  their  rest  again. 

If  we,  my  brethren,  would  finish  our  course  with 
joy,  we  must  take  to  ourselves  the  whole  armour 
of  God,  that  we  may  be  able  to  stand  in  the  evil 
day  of  temptation.  Armour  is  provided  for  us, 
exactly  suited  to  our  necessities  ;  and  if  we  do  not 
take  it,  and  learn  to  use  it,  we  shall  never  be  able 
to  stand  before  our  adversaries.  All  those  gracious 
dispositions  and  heavenl)'-  affections,  by  the  lively 
exercise  of  which  the  Christian  prevails  over  sin, 
the  world,  and  the  devil,  must  be  known  and  used 
by  us  individually.  Our  loins  must  be  girt  about 
with  truth;  we  must  embrace  the  whole  truth  of 
God,  and  nothing  but  truth  and  uprightness  must 
proceed  from  our  hps.  We  must  have  on  the 
breastplate  of  righteousness.  Integrity  and  up- 
rightness must  shine  forth  and  appear  in  all  our 


172  LECTURE   XII. 

dealings.  We  must  have  our  feet  shod  with  tne 
preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  deriving  all  our 
motives  to  zeal  and  activity  from  that  gospel  which 
has  spoken  peace  to  our  souls,  and  delighting,  in 
all  our  ways,  to  make  peace,  and  to  follow  peace 
with  alJ  men.  Above  every  thing  else,  we  must 
take  the  shield  of  faith  ;  a  firm  and  unshaken  re- 
liance upon  the  promises  of  the  gospel,  wherewith 
we  shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked.  We  must  take  the  helmet  of  salvation, 
cherishing  the  blessed  hope  of  everlasting  salva- 
tion, which  will  prevent  us  from  drooping  in  the 
midst  of  difliculties.  The  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
which  is  the  word  of  God,  is  absolutely  necessary. 
A  Christian,  unacquainted  with  the  word  of  God, 
is  like  a  soldier  without  a  sword  in  the  day  of  battle. 
And  as  the  sound  of  the  trumpet  collects  in  battle 
the  scattered  forces  to  the  point  of  danger,  so  must 
we,  with  all  prayer  and  supplication,  cry  continually 
for  succour  and  strength  from  above,  in  all  our 
straits  and  necessities.  The  sight  too,  of  the  weak 
and  feeble  instruments,  so  frequently  shown  us  in 
the  church  of  Christ,  by  which  his  servants  have 
achieved  such  mighty  things,  is  designed  to  teach 
us  a  most  important  lesson.  What  poor,  weak,  and 
powerless  things,  for  instance,  in  themselves,  were 
a  rod  and  a  pitcher,  a  goad  or  a  bone,  or  a  stone  and 
sling  !  And  yet,  when  these  were  used,  as  God 
commanded  them  to  be  used,  or  in  entire  depend- 
ence upon  his  almighty  power,  what  wonders  did 
they  effect !  Oh  !  let  us  ever  remember,  that  the 
means  of  grace  are  in  themselves  weak  and  power- 
less. They  are  only  made  effectual  by  the  power 
of  God.  And  when  we  use  them  in  implicit  obe- 
dience to  his  appomtments,  and  humbly  looking  up 


GODLY   EDIFYING.  1Y3 

m  faith  to  him  who  appointed  them,  to  make  them 
effectual,  then  we  shall  find  them  wells  of  salvation, 
and  blessed  means  of  bringing  down  strength  into 
our  souls. 

(4.)  The  sight  of  the  Delectable  Mountains  was 
the  last  benefit  conferred  upon  Christian  in  the 
house  Beautiful.  He  was  now  thinking  of  pro- 
ceeding on  his  journey,  but  the  inmates  of  the  house 
desired  him  to  delay  yet  another  day,  and  then 
they  promised,  if  the  day  should  be  clear,  to  show 
him  the  Delectable  Mountains.  This  sight,  they 
informed  him,  would  yet  further  add  to  his  comfort, 
because  those  happy  hills  were  nearer  the  desired 
haven  than  the  place  where  at  present  he  was. 
Christian  consented  to  remain.  So,  when  the 
morning  was  come,  they  had  him  to  the  top  of  the 
house,  and  bid  him  look  toward  the  south.  He  did 
as  he  was  directed  ;  and,  at  a  great  distance,  he 
beheld  a  most  pleasant  mountainous  country,  beauti- 
fied with  woods,  vineyards,  fruits  of  all  sorts,  flowers 
also,  with  springs  and  fountains  very  delightful  to 
behold.  That  happy  country,  they  told  him,  was 
Immanuel's  land,  and  was  assigned  and  allotted  to 
all  the  pilgrims.  "  When  thou  comest  there,"  they 
said,  "thou  mayest  see  the  gate  of  the  Celestial 
Oity,  as  the  shepherds  that  live  there  will  make  it 
appear."  This  happy  sight  already  acted  fike  a 
spur  upon  Christian.  Now  he  bethought  himself 
of  setting  forward  indeed,  and  no  objection  is  made 
to  his  doing  so.  Being  therefore  completely  armed, 
he  walked  with  his  friends  to  the  gate,  and  having 
learned  from  the  watchful  porter,  that  another  pil- 
grim, one  Faithful,  was  on  the  way  before  him,  he 
was  still  more  wishful  to  depart ;  and  after  taking 
a  kind  farewell,  and  making  his  grateful  acknow- 


174  LECTURE  XII. 

ledgments  to  the  porter  for  all  the  kindness  he  had 
showed  him,  he  began  to  go  forward.  His  more 
experienced  friends,  however,  knew  better  than  he 
did  what  was  before  him  ;  and  therefore  Discretion, 
and  Piety, and  Charity,  and  Prudence,  would  accom- 
pany hiin  down  to  the  foot  of  the  hill.  So  they  went 
on  together,  still  conversing,  till  they  came  to  the 
descent  of  the  hill.  Then,  said  Christian,  "  As  it 
was  difficult  coming  up,  so,  as  I  can  see,  it  is  dan- 
gerous going  down."  "  Yes,"  said  Prudence,  "so 
it  is  :  for  it  is  a  hard  matter  for  a  man  to  go  down  into 
the  valley  of  Humiliation,  as  thou  art  now  doing,  and 
to  catch  no  slip  by  the  way."  "  Therefore,"  said 
they,  "  we  are  come  out  to  accompany  thee  down 
the  hill."  And  though  he  went  down  very  warily, 
and  with  such  excellent  company,  still  he  caught  a 
shp  or  two.  But  being  come  to  the  bottom  of  the 
hill,  they  gave  him  their  gifts,  and  departed. 

Have  we,  my  brethren,  ever  had  a  glimpse  of 
these  Delectable  Mountains?  It  is  a  sad  mark  that 
all  is  not  right,  if  we  rest  satisfied  with  any  pro- 
gress or  attainments  already  made  in  the  life  and 
walk  of  faith.  The  real  Christian  never  in  this 
world  counts  himself  to  have  already  attained,  either 
to  be  already  perfect.  Still  has  he  to  be  forgetting 
the  things  that  are  behind,  and  to  be  pressing  forward 
to  those  which  are  before.  By  communion  with  the 
Lord's  people,  and  a  profitable  use'  of  the  means  of 
grace,  he  is  made  deeply  sensible  that  there  is  a 
state  of  privilege  and  enjoyment,  even  in  this  world, 
very  superior  to  that  at  which  he  himself  has 
arrived.  He  has  not  yet  come  to  the  rest,  the 
abiding  rest,  the  established  peace,  the  prevaihng 
spirituality  of  mind,  and  habitual  delight  in  com- 
munion with  God,  after  which  he  aspires.     Much 


GODLY  EDIFYING.  175 

of  the  land,  even  on  this  side  Jordan,  has  still  to  be 
possessed.  The  Delectable  Mountains  were  only 
to  be  seen  at  a  great  distance  from  the  top  of  the 
house,  and  when  the  day  was  clear.  Thus  behevers 
only  at  particular  seasons,  when  the  mists  of  doubt 
and  worldhness  are  dispersed  by  the  clear  shining 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  into  their  hearts,  are 
able  to  realize,  and,  as  it  were,  get  a  glimpse  of 
that  heavenl}^  life  upon  earth  which  it  is  their  pri- 
vilege to  lead.  Then  they  seem  to  stand  in  a  posi- 
tion similar  to  that  occupied  by  Moses,  when  he 
stood  on  Mount  Piso^ah,  and  viewed  thence  the  land 
of  promise,  in  all  its  beauty  and  glory,  stretching 
before  him.  Like  him,  they  perceive  it  to  be  a 
good  land  and  a  large.  They  are  enabled,  for  a 
httle  while,  at  least, 

"  To  view  the  Canaan  that  they  love, 
With  unbeclouded  eye." 

It  is  Immanuel's  land  upon  which  they  are  fixing 
their  ardent  gaze — the  privileged  place  occupied  by 
those  happy  pilgrims,  to  whom  the  Saviour  mani- 
fests himself  as  he  does  not  unto  the  world.  They 
walk  in  the  light  of  his  reconciled  countenance ; 
and  in  his  name  they  rejoice  all  the  day.  What  a 
happy  and  what  a  blessed  state  is  this  !  Where 
communion  with  God  like  this  is  sweetly  enjoyed, 
the  whole  face  of  the  earth  seems  renewed.  Some 
bright  foretaste  of  heavenly  joy  is  felt  even  on  earth. 
If  that  happy  place  be  not  heaven  itself,  the  com- 
forts and  consolations  of  heaven  there  abound,  and 
from  thence  the  gate  of  heaven  is  distinctly  to  be  seen. 
There  the  Good  Shepherd  feeds  his  flock  in  green 
pastures,  and  makes  them  to  lie  down  beside  the 
waters  of  comfort.    There  the  believing  sou]  knows 


176  LECTURE   XII. 

all  the  blessedness  that  can  be  known  of  communion 
with  God  on  this  side  of  heaven.  The  dreary  sea- 
son of  distance  and  alienation  between  Christ  and 
the  soul  is  over.  "  For  lo,  the  winter  is  past,  the 
rain  is  over  and  gone."  The  blessed  effects  of 
communion  with  Christ  appear  in  the  sweet  and 
gracious  affections  that  bud  forth  in  the  heart.  "The 
flowers  appear  on  the  earth."  Joys  more  abiding 
and  established  than  any  that  were  known  before, 
result  from  the  gracious  discoveries  that  have  been 
made  to  the  soul.  "  The  time  of  the  singing  of 
birds  is  come."  The  holy  Dove,  the  gracious  Spi- 
rit of  peace  and  love,  and  hohness  and  adoption, 
abides  continually,  and  makes  his  presence  to  be 
perceived  in  Immanuel's  land.  *'  The  voice  of  the 
turtle  is  heard  in  our  land."  The  curse  of  barren- 
ness is  removed  from  the  soul  that  lives  in  close 
communion  with  Christ.  To  that  soul  he  comes  no 
more  searching  in  vain  for  the  fruits  of  holiness. 
"  The  fig-tree  putteth  forth  her  green  figs."  There 
is  nothing  morose  or  repulsive  in  the  established 
Christian  who  lives  near  to  God  ;  but  every  thing 
to  attract,  and  invite,  and  to  soften  down  prejudice, 
and  to  win  others  to  the  obedience  of  the  faith. 
"  The  vines,  with  the  tender  grape,  give  a  good 
smell."  This,  my  brethren,  is  a  glimpse  of  Im 
manuel's  land.  Is  it  not  a  good  and  pleasant  land? 
Ought  we  not  every  one  to  be  heartily  ashamed 
that  we  are  still,  after  professing  the  gospel  so  long, 
at  so  great  a  distance  from  it  ?  Oh  !  be  persuaded 
that  in  sweeter  and  closer  communion  with  Christ, 
there  is  far  more  heavenly  joy  to  be  known  on  earth 
than  any  which  you  have  yet  experienced.  Blessed 
Lord,  reveal  thyself  more  perfectly  to  our  souls,  and 
then  we  shall  love  thee  more,  and  be  happi«r  far: 


GODLY  EDIFYING.  177 

"  'Tis  heaven  on  earth,  'tis  heaven  above, 
To  see  thy  face,  and  sing  thy  love." 

And  now  let  us  all  bethink  ourselves  that  it  is  high 
time  to  be  setting  forward  indeed,  to  the  happy- 
place  of  which  we  have  been  speaking.  Let  our 
zeal  be  quickened,  to  think  how  many  faithful  ones 
have  passed  on  before  and  outstripped  our  steps. 
And  as  we  are  called  to  go  down  into  the  valley  of 
humihation,  after  all  we  have  seen  and  heard  in 
the  holy  sanctuary,  remembering  how  liable  we 
are  to  slip  in  going  down  the  hill,  let  us  be  sure  to 
have  discretion  and  piety,  charity  and  prudence,  to 
attend  our  steps.  If  we  walk  warily,  with  these 
for  our  companions,  we  shall  take  no  harm,  though 
the  way  be  dangerous.  While  on  the  road  we  may 
sometimes  have  to  say,  "As  for  me,  my  feet  were 
almost  gone ;  my  steps  had  well  nigh  shpped." 
But  then  we  shall  have  to  testify  in  the  end,  "  When 
I  said<My  foot  slipped,  thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  held 
me  up." 


THE  HYMN. 

Led  by  a  Father's  gentle  hand, 
Through  this  dark  wilderness  of  wo, 
We  long  to  reach  that  peaceful  land 
Where  streams  of  lasting  comfort  flow. 

Oh,  may  our  meetings  here  be  blessed 
To  fit  us  for  that  holy  place  ; 
May  faith  and  love  inflame  each  breast 
With  zeal  to  run  the  heavenly  race. 

Here  may  the  Spirit  shed  the  light 
Of  truth,  to  guide  us  on  our  way; 
God's  word  upon  our  conscience  write, 
And  teach  us  how  to  watch  and  pray. 


178  LECTURE  XII. 

We  would  dismiss  each  worldly  thought, 
When  thus  we  commune  with  our  God ; 
Our  theme  shall  be  the  love  that  brought 
A  Saviour  from  his  blessed  abode. 

We'll  think  how  Jesus  lived  and  died, 
The  pains  and  sorrows  that  he  bore  ; 
The  blessings  which  his  love  supplied, 
The  home  to  which  he's  gone  before. 

Saved  by  redeeming  grace  alone, 
There  we  will  hope  to  rest  ere  long ; 
And  gladly  change,  before  his  throne, 
The  pilgrim's  for  the  conqueror's  song. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  God,  who  hast  prepared  for  them  that  love  thee,  such 
good  things  as  passman's  understanding,  pour  into  our  hearts 
such  love  towards  thee,  that  we,  loving  thee  above  all  things, 
may  obtain  thy  promises,  which  exceed  all  that  we  can  de- 
sire or  deserve,  through  Jesus  Christ.  Bring  us  nigh  unto 
thee  by  the  blood  of  the  cross.  Grant,  Lord,  that  we  may 
be  no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with 
the  saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God.  Blessed  are  they 
that  dwell  in  thy  house,  they  will  be  still  praising  thee.  Oh, 
grant  that  by  thy  Holy  Spirit  we  may  be  knit  together  with 
all  in  every  place  who  are  joined  to  the  same  Lord,  both 
theirs  and  ours.  And  may  we  with  one  mind  and  one  mouth 
glorify  thee  ;  endeavouring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in 
the  bond  of  peace.  Prepare  us,  we  most  humbly  beseech 
thee,  with  meek  heart  and  due  reverence  to  celebrate  the 
holy  communion  of  the  body  and  blood  of  our  Saviour  Christ. 
If  any  of  us  have  hitherto  neglected  to  partake  of  this  hea- 
venly feast,  oh,  teach  our  souls  what  is  inwardly  signified  by 
those  holy  mysteries  ;  and  then  may  we  come,  with  a  peni- 
tent heart,  and  lively  faith,  and  in  perfect  charity  with  all 
men,  to  show  forth  the  Lord's  death,  in  the  manner  which 
he  himself  has  commanded.  Give  us  all  a  larger  and  more 
experimental  acquaintance  with  thy  holy  word.  May  it  dwell 
in  us  richly  in  all  wisdom  and  spiritual  understanding.  May 
it  show  us  more  of  the  glory  of  Christ  as  the  only-begotten 
of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth.  May  we  be  instructed 
by  its  examples,  guided  by  its  precepts,  and  animated  and 
encouraged  by  the  glorious  prospects  which  it  opens  to  our 


GODLY  EDIFYING.  1T9 

view.  Lord,  arm  us  with  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  we 
may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done 
all,  to  stand.  Oh,  may  our  loins  be  girt  about  with  truih, 
our  breasts  covered  with  the  breastplate  of  righteousness, 
and  our  feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace. 
Above  all,  may  we  take  the  shield  of  faith,  and  the  helmet 
of  salvation,  and  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word 
of  God.  Endue  us  with  the  heavenly  principle  by  which 
thy  blessed  saints  out  of  weakness  were  made  strong,  and 
put  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens.  Finally,  we  beseech 
thee  to  reveal  to  us,  by  thy  Holy  Spirit,  those  good  things 
which  thou  hast  prepared  for  them  that  love  thee.  As  thou 
didst  show  to  thy  servant  Moses,  in  days  of  old,  the  goodly 
land  and  the  glorious  mountain  beyond  Jordan,  so  that  he 
longed  earnestly  to  go  over  and  possess  it ;  oh,  grant  us  to 
see  with  the  eye  of  faith,  such  a  sight  of  the  heavenly  Ca- 
naan, the  incorruptible  inheritance,  and  the  glory  to  be 
revealed,  that  we  may  choose  rather  to  be  absent  from  the 
body,  that  we  may  be  present  with  the  Lord,  and  have  a  de- 
sire to  depart  and  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.  Now 
unto  Him  that  is  able  to  keep  us  from  falling,  and  to  present 
us  faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding 
joy,  to  the  only  wise  God  our  Saviour,  be  glory  and  majesty, 
dominion  and  power,  both  now  and  for  ever.    Amen. 


LECTURE   XIII. 

OUR   ADVERSARY   THE   DEVIL. 


My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard, 
Ten  thousand  foes  arise  ; 
The  hosts  of  sin  are  pressing  hard 
To  draw  thee  from  the  skies. 

Oh  watch,  and  fight,  and  pray; 
The  battle  ne'er  give  o'er; 
Renew  it  boldly  every  day, 
And  help  Divine  implore. 

Ne'er  think  the  victory  won, 
Nor  lay  thine  armour  down  : 
Thy  arduous  work  will  not  be  done 
Till  thou  obtain  thy  crown. 


Peter  v.  8,  9. 
be  soberj  be  viqilant,  because  tottr  adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roariwa 

UON,  'WALKETH  ABOUT,   SEEKING   'WnOM  HE  MAT  DEVOUE :  yTHOM    RESIST, 
STEADFAST  IN  THE  FAITH. 

How  little  do  the  generality  of  professing  Chris- 
tians apprehend  from  the  assaults  of  their  adver- 
sary the  devil !  One  great  reason  of  this  false 
security  is  the  extreme  craft  and  subtilty  of  this 
practised  deceiver.  He  is  too  crafty  to  direct  his 
shafts  against  his  own  subjects.  As  long  as  men 
live  in  sin  or  unbelief,  formality  or  worldliness,  and 
have  never  come  in  earnest,  as  poor,  lost  sinners, 
for  an  interest  in  the  salvation  of  Christ,  it  is  no 

180 


OUR  ADVERSARY  THE   DEVIL.  18t 

^X'•ond^r  that  they  see  b'ttle  to  fear  from  the  attacks 
of  the  Wicked  One.  They  are  bound  to  his  ser- 
vice by  chains  of  darkness,  and  although  they  do 
not  think  so,  they  are  led  captive  by  him  at  his 
will.  He  is  no  adversary  to  these  :  they  are  in 
league  with  him  already ;  why  then  should  he  go 
forth  against  them,  or  shoot  out  his  fiery  darts  at 
them  ?  But  when  a  poor  sinner  becomes  a  Chris- 
tian indeed,  that  is,  when  he  comes  by  faith  to 
Christ  to  save  him,  and  actually  renounces  the 
devil  and  all  his  v/orks,  then  he  begins  to  find  that 
there  is  an  awful  reality  in  the  Scripture  represen- 
tations of  the  craft  and  power,  the  activity  and  the 
malice,  of  his  ghostly  enemy.  He  perceives  that 
he  has  to  resist,  and  to  strive  against  him,  to  the 
very  end  of  his  pilgrimage  ;  and  how  seasonable  is 
the  admonition,  "  Be  sober,  be  vigilant,  because 
your  adversary  the  devil,  as  a  roaring  hon,  walketh 
about,  seeking  whom  he  may  devour :  whom  re- 
sist, steadfast  in  the  faith." 

Christian's  battle  with  Apollyon  will  form  the  sub- 
ject of  this  lecture.     We  shall  have  to  consider — 

I.  His  meeting  with  this  terrible  enemy. 
II.  The  parley  that  ensued  between  them  :  and 
III.  The  battle  that  was  fought. 

Two  remarks  it  may  be  well  to  make  before 
we  proceed.  The  first  is,  that  the  nature  of  an 
allegory  required  this  painful  part  of  a  believer's 
experience  to  be  described  under  outward  emblems; 
but  under  these,  the  inward  suggestions  of  evil 
spirits  are  intended.  Our  author  no  more  meant 
that  the  Christian  actually  sees  with  his  eyes  the 
dreadful  enemy  in  the  shape  he  described,  than 


182  LECTtJUE  XIII, 

Peter  intended  that  we  should  meet  him  in  the 
form  of  a  Hon.  In  both  places  the  description  is 
clearly  figurative.  Again,  it  may  be  well  to  re- 
member, that  among  real  Christians,  all  are  not 
assaulted  alike  with  the  same  violence,  and  ^nder 
the  same  distressing  circumstances.  If  God  have 
some  special  service  to  be  performed  by  any  fjf  his 
.servants,  and  they  are  to  be  eminently  instrumental 
■in  opposing  the  kingdom  of  darkness,  as  the  apostle 
Paul,  or  Luther,  or  even  the  author  of  Pilgrim'''s 
Progress,  their  inward  conflicts  with  Satan's  tempta- 
tions are  very  frequently  both  special  and  peculiar. 
Our  author's  temptations  were  very  peculiar,  and 
his  recollection  of  them  has  evidently  given  the 
strong  colouring  to  the  description  before  us. 

I.  Christian's  meeting  with  this  invisible  enemy 
is  first  described  in  bold  and  expressive  language. 
He  had  not  gone  far  in  the  valley  of  Humiliation 
before  he  spied  a  wicked  spirit,  ApoUyon  himself, 
coming  over  the  field  to  meet  him.  Then  was  our 
Pilgrim  sore  afraid,  and  began  to  cast  in  his  mind 
whether  to  stand  his  ground  or  to  fly.  But  con- 
sidering that  he  had  no  armour  for  his  back,  he 
concluded  that,  on  mere  grounds  of  personal  safety, 
it  was  better  for  him  to  do  any  thing  than  to  retreat ; 
and  therefore  he  determined  to  venture,  and  to  stand 
his  ground.  So  on  he  went,  and  Apollyon  met  him. 
"  The  monster  was  very  hideous  to  behold.  He 
was  clothed  with  scales  like  a  fish,  (and  they  are  his 
pride  ;)  he  had  wings  like  a  dragon,  feet  like  a  bear, 
out  of  his  belly  came  fire  and  smoke,  and  his  mouth 
was  as  the  mouth  of  a  lion.  When  he  was  come 
up  to  Christian,  he  beheld  him  with  a  disdamfuj 
•countenance." 


OUR  ADVEHSART  THE   DEVIL.  183 

Every  pilgrim  to  the  Celestial  City  has  to  go 
through  the  valley  of  Humihation.  A  principal, 
part  of  his  journey  hes  through  these  regions.  He 
must  not  expect  an  uninterrupted  course  of  joy  and 
triumph,  peace  and  assurance;  but  he  must  be  pre- 
pared continually  for  humiliating  scenes,  and  look 
forward  to  trials  and  conflict.  When  his  sensible 
joy  has  vanished,  when  he  seems  to  be  abandoned 
by  prudence  and  discretion ;  and  when  piety  and 
charity  are  no  more  at  hand  to  encourage  him  with 
their  counsels,  he  is  often  brought  very  low,  and  by 
giving  way  to  unbelief,  and  discouragement,  and 
fear,  he  exposes  himself  to  the  advances  of  Satan, 
and  is  open  to  the  wicked  suggestions  which  he 
infuses  into  the  mind.  He  sees,  as  it  were,  the 
grand  enemy  himself  coming  to  meet  him.  He  is 
dreadfully  afraid  that,  after  all,  he  will  fail  a  prey 
to  the  enemy's  teeth ;  or  else  he  has  such  a  vivid 
perception  of  the  arduous  struggle  to  which  he  is 
called,  that  he  is  exceedingly  perplexed  and  cast 
down.  Many  who  have  no  root  in  themselves,  on 
such  occasions,  turn  aside  out  of  the  way  and  go 
back.  But  the  true  Christian,  though  perplexed,  i& 
not  in  despair.  He  is  deeply  persuaded  that  if  he 
turns  back,  it  must  be  unto  perdition,  and  that  re- 
gard to  his  own  safety  alone  requires  him  to  go  for- 
ward. The  enemy  whom  he  has  to  encounter  is 
very  terrible  to  behold.  He  is  the  king  of  pride, 
and  haughtily  claims  the  allegiance  of  all  mankind. 
He  is  terrible  as  a  dragon,  cruel  as  a  bear,  and  de- 
vouring as  a  lion.  And  as  fire  and  smoke  proceed- 
ed from  him,  so  he  can  infuse  into  the  mind  either 
the  wildest  rage,  or  the  most  horrible  darkness 
What  but  strong  faith  can  enable  the  Christian  to 
stand  his  ground,  and  not  to  turn  away  from  such 


184  LECTURE  xin. 

an  adversary  as  this  ?  We  should  all  pray  very 
earnestly, "  From  the  craft  and  assaults  of  the  devil, 
good  Lord,  dehver  us." 

II.  The  parley  between  Christian  and  Apollyon 
is  very  instructive  and  full  of  meaning  to  the  deeply 
experienced  Christian.  When  Christian  declared 
who  he  was,  and  where  he  was  going,  the  adversary 
claimed  him  as  one  of  his  subjects,  and  said,  he  only 
forbore  striking  him  to  the  ground  as  a  deserter,  in 
the  hope  of  getting  more  effectual  service  frcm  him 
in  the  character  he  had  assumed.  Christian  owned 
that  he  was  indeed  born  in  the  enemy's  country, 
but  declared  that  he  had  exchanged  his  grievous 
service  and  hard  wages  for  a  better  master,  better 
wages,  and  a  pleasanter  service.  And  now,  at  first 
with  gentle  Avords  and  fair  speech,  Apollyon  ex- 
presses his  unwillingness  to  lose  his  subject,  and 
promises  to  give  Christian  whatever  he  will  ask,  if 
only  he  will  be  content  to  turn  back.  How  'can 
Christian  do' this,  when  he  has  deliberately  bound 
himself  to  the  service  of  another?  Mark  the  craft 
and  malicious  wickedness  of  the  adversary's  reply. 
*'  It  is  quite  common  for  those  who  have  professed 
themselves  his  servants,  after  awhile  to  give  him 
the  slip  and  return  again  to  me.  Do  thou  so  too, 
and  all  shall  be  well."  Without  any  reference  to 
others,  Christian  replied,  that  having  sworn  alle- 
giance to  the  Master  he  now  serves,  he  cannot  leave 
him  without  being  a  traitor,  and  exposed  to  be 
hanged  as  such.  In  vain  does  the  monster  allege 
that  Christian  had  first  acted  such  a  traitor's  part 
to  him.  This  was  only  in  the  time  of  his  nonage. 
His  Prince  had  absolved  him  for  that;  and,  in  short, 
•le  loves  his  service  too  well  to  think  of  quitting  it 


OUR  ADVERSARY  THE  DEVIL.     185 

Apollyon  then  endeavours  to  turn  Christian  aside 
by  a  fearful  representation  of  all  the  dangers  and 
troubles  he  was  likely  to  encounter  by  holding  on 
his  way  ;  and  reminding  him  how  many  cruelties 
and  horrors  his  boasted  Master  leaves  his  servants  to 
endure  in  this  present  world.  But  neither  will  this 
temptation  take  with  Christian.  He  knows  that 
the  present  troubles  of  the  believer  only  prove  the 
sincerity  of  his  faith  and  love,  and  he  rests  assured 
that  the  loving-kindness  of  their  Lord  to  all  his  ser- 
vants will  be  abundantly  manifested  when  this  fleet- 
ing scene  has  passed  away,  and  a  never-ending 
eternity  has  begun.  And  now  the  subtile  adversary 
changes  his  ground,  and  after  being  the  tempter, 
proves  himself  also  the  accuser  of  the  brethren.  In 
the  most  mahcious  manner  he  rakes  together  all  the 
instances  of  sin,  and  weakness,  and  infirmity  which 
Christian  had  displayed  since  his  first  setting  out. 
He  omits  not  to  mention  his  falling  into  the  gulph 
of  despond,  his  being  seduced  out  of  the  way  by 
Worldly-Wisdom,  his  sleep  in  the  arbour,  his  dread 
of  the  lions ;  and  last  of  all  he  accused  him  of  vain 
glory  in  telhng  his  experience  in  the  house  Beau- 
tiful. Poor  Pilgrim  acknowledges  that  all  this  and 
much  more  is  true,  but  declares  that  he  serves  a 
merciful  Prince,  who  he  knows  will  not  reject  him 
for  sins  and  errors  confessed,  and  bewailed,  and 
striven  against.  This  good  confession  only  stirred 
up  the  rage  and  enmicy  of  Apollyon  the  more,  and 
he  said,  "  I  am  an  enemy  to  this  Prince.  I  hate 
his  person,  I  hate  his  laws,  and  I  hate  his  people ; 
and  I  am  come  out  on  purpose  to  withstand  thee." 
Then  said  Christian,  "  Beware  what  you  do,  for  I 
am  in  the  King's  highway,  the  way  of  holiness, 
therefore  take  heed  to  yourself."     But  Apollyon, 

16* 


186  LECTURE  XIII. 

with  a  terrible  menace,  made  it  impossible  for  Chris- 
tian to  proceed,  occupying  the  entire  breadth  of  the 
way,  and  said,  "I  am  void  of  fear;  prepare  to  die, 
for  I  swear  by  my  infernal  den,  that  thou  shah  go 
no  further ;  here  will  I  spill  thy  soul." 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that  these  speeches 
of  Apollyon  point  out  the  suggestions  of  Satan  to 
the  tempted  soul ;  and  the  replies  of  Christian  as 
clearly  illustrate  the  manner  in  which  they  are  to 
be  repelled.  How  subtile  and  how  various  are  the 
devices  he  uses  in  order  to  bring  back  again  to  his 
cruel  sway  those  that  have  clean  escaped  from  his 
power !  It  cannot  be  safe  for  any  of  us  to  be  igno- 
rant of  his  devices.  His  original  claim,  his  Matter- 
ing promises,  the  apostasy  of  others,  the  dangers 
and  difficulties,  and  grievous  things  to  flesh  and 
blood,  to  be  encountered  by  the  way ;  our  own 
m'anifold  and  grievous  sins  and  inconsistencies  since 
we  professed  the  service  of  Christ,  are  suggested  to 
us  and  brought  against  us  by  this  practised  deceiver, 
and  used  as  so  many  arguments  to  tempt  us  from 
the  narrow  way.  If  this  will  not  do,  and  the  Chris- 
tian still  determines  at  any  rate,  and  at  any  cost,  to 
hold  fast  his  integrity,  and  to  cleave  to  his  Saviour, 
the  great  adversary  may  only  be  moved  to  buffet 
him  the  more,  and  to  make  his  way  to  heaven  as 
grievous  and  difficult  as  possible,  if  he  be  not  able 
to  turn  him  back  on  the  road  to  hell.  But  how, 
dear  brethren,  is  the  tempted  Christian  to  resist  the 
wicked  insinuations  that  are  injected  into  his  mind 
by  his  adversary  the  devil  ?  We  reply  in  the  same 
spirit,  and  nearly  in  the  same  language, that  Chris- 
tian here  did.  Let  not  the  Christian,  in  the  evil 
day  of  temptation,  attempt  to  deny  whose  he  is,  and 
whom  he  serves.     Let  him  boldly  maintain  that  he 


OUR  ADVERSARY  THE  DEVIL.     187 

comes  from  the  City  of  Destruction,  the  place  of  ail 
evil,  and  that  he  is  going  to  the  City  of  Zion,  the 
place  of  all  good.  If  his  original  sin  and  natural 
depravity  be  alleged  against  him,  let  him  never 
cease  to  maintain,  that  although  by  nature  he  is  a 
child  of  wrath  even  as  others,  yet,  having  fled  as  a 
poor  perishing  sinner  by  faith  to  the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners, "  he  has  been  turned  from  darkness  to  light, 
and  from  the  power  of  Satan  to  God."  If  the  plea- 
sures of  sin  and  the  vain  dehghts  of  this  present 
evil  world  are  held  out  as  a  bait  or  a  bribe  to  seduce 
him  from  Christ,  let  him  remember  the  apostate 
traitor's  doom,  and  let  him  say :  "  I  have  opened 
my  mouth  unto  the  Lord,  and  I  cannot  go  back  from 
it."  If  he  be  pressed  sore  with  hard  and  discour- 
aging thoughts  when  he  sees  the  prosperity  of  the 
wicked,  and  thinks  of  the  painful  trials,  the  griev- 
ous sufferings,  and  sometimes  the  cruel  deaths  of 
the  Lord's  people,  so  that  he  is  ready  to  say,  "Then 
verily  have  I  cleansed  my  heart  in  vain,  and  washed 
my  hands  in  innocency,"  oh,  let  him  seriously  pon- 
der the  end  of  these  men — the  end  of  the  ungodly 
after  all  their  prosperit}',  the  end  of  the  righteous 
after  all  their  afflictions  ;  then  surely  his  conclusion 
will  be,  "  I  reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present 
time  are  not  worth}^  to  be  compared  with  the  glory 
that  shall  be  revealed  in  us."  If  all  his  manifold 
sins  and  backslidings  are  urged  against  him,  to  shake 
his  confidence,  let  him  plead  guilty  to  all  this  with 
every  aggravation.  But  if  he  bewails  and  strives 
against  these,  let  him  believe  firmly  that  the  Master 
he  serves  is  full  of  pity  and  of  love  ;  that  "  there  is 
no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus, 
who  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  after  the  Spirit ;" 
and  that  "  if  any  man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with 


188  LECTURE   XIII. 

the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous."  Finally, 
if  trial,  and  danger,  and  death,  in  its  most  dreadful 
form,  oppose  the  pilgrim's  progress  to  the  better 
land,  only  let  him  be  sure  that  he  is  in  the  King's 
highway,  the  way  of  truth,  of  obedience,  of  hohness; 
and  what  has  he  then  to  fear  ?  "  Who  shall  harm 
you,  if  ye  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good?" 

III.  After  this  parley,  the  conflict  itself  with 
Christian  and  Apollyon  is  described.  Followmg 
up  his  threatening  words  with  deeds.  Apollyon 
threw  a  flaming  dart  at  Christian's  breast.  But  he 
had  not  in  vain  sojourned  in  the  house  Beautiful. 
He  had  a  shield  in  his  hand,  with  which  he  caught 
the  dart,  and  so  prevented  the  danger.  Then  did 
Christian  draw  for  his  defence,  for  fiery  darts,  as 
thick  as  hail,  were  hurled  against  him.  And  though 
he  made  a  brave  defence,  and  was  saved  from  all 
mortal  injury,  still  his  adversary  wounded  him  in 
his  head,  his  hand,  and  his  foot.  These  wounds 
caused  him  to  give  back  a  little,  while  the  ad- 
versary pressed  him  still  closer.  But  Christian 
took  courage  again,  and  resisted  as  manfully  as  he 
could.  The  conflict  lasted  so  long  that  Christian, 
growing  weaker  and  weaker  from  his  bleeding 
wounds,  was  almost  entirely  exhausted.  His  wary 
enemy,  spying  his  opportunity,  then  came  close  up 
to  Christian,  and  wrestling  with  him,  contrived  to 
give  him  a  dreadful  fall.  With  that  Christian's 
sword  flew  out  of  his  hand.  Then  said  the  insult- 
ing adversary,  "I  am  sure  of  thee  now  ;"  and  with 
that  he  almost  pressed  him  to  death,  so  that  Chris- 
tian began  to  despair  of  life.  But  man's  extremity 
is  God's  opportunity.  As  God  would  have  it,  while 
Apollyon  was  lifting  up  his  hand  to  give  the  finish- 


OUR  ADVERSARY  THE  DEVIL.     189 

ing  blow,  Christian  nimbly  stretched  out  his  hand 
for  his  sword,  and  caught  it,  saying,  "Rejoice  not 
against  me,  O  mine  enemy  ;  when  I  fall  I  shall 
arise  ;"  and  with  that  he  gave  the  enemy  a  deadly 
thrust,  which  made  him  give  back  as  one  that  had 
received  a  mortal  wound.  Following  up  his  ad- 
vantage. Christian  made  at  him  again,  saying, 
•'  Nay,  in  all  these  things  we  are  more  than  con- 
querors through  him  that  loved  us."  Upon  this 
Apollyon  spread  forth  his  dragon  wings,  and  sped 
him  away,  that  Christian  saw  him  no  more.  Such 
was  the  end  of  this  dreadful  fight.  Then  did  Chris- 
tian heartily  give  thanks  to  him  who  had  dehvered 
him  from  the  mouth  of  the  lion,  and  saved  him  from 
the  hand  of  his  strong  adversary.  His  wounds 
were  soon  healed  by  some  of  the  leaves  of  the  tree 
of  life.  He  also  sat  down  to  eat  of  the  provision 
which  had  been  supplied  him  from  the  place  where 
he  had  last  rested.  And  so,  being  revived  and  re- 
freshed, again  he  proceeded  on  his  journey,  with 
sword  drawn,  as  if  apprehensive  of  another  attack. 
But  he  met  with  none  quite  through  the  valley. 

It  is  not,  dear  brethren,  in  vain  and  for  nought 
that  it  is  said  to  the  true  Christian  soldier :  "  Put 
on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able 
to  stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  devil;  for  we 
wrestle  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against 
principahties  and  powers.  Wherefore  take  unto 
you  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able 
to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all, 
to  stand."  We  mentioned  in  our  last  Lecture  Avhat 
it  is  that  constitutes  the  Christian  armour.  We 
must  take  to  ourselves  this  armour  of  God,  before 
the  evil  day  of  temptation  comes.  Yes,  while  you 
are  enjoying  the  days  of  the  Son  of  man — while 


190  LECTURE   XIII. 

you  have  Sabbath  privileges — while  your  eyes  be- 
hold your  teachers,  and  you  have  the  uninterrupted 
privilege  of  searching  the  Scriptures,  and  frequent- 
ing the  throne  of  grace — this  is  the  time  for  your 
girding  on  the  Christian  armour.  Take  it  now, 
that  you  may  have  it  when  you  want  it.  A  Chris- 
tian in  the  day  of  temptation  without  armour,  re- 
sembles the  foolish  virgins,  who  had  oil  to  seek  when 
the  cry  was  heard,  "  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh !" 
How  well  it  was  for  our  Pilgrim  that  he  was  fur- 
nished with  the  shield  of  faith,  when  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  Wicked  One  were  hurled  as  thick  as  hail  at 
his  breast !  And  what  shall  we  do  when  painful 
and  distressing  thoughts  and  feelings  and  appre- 
hensions are  injected  into  our  minds,  unless  we  are 
enabled  to  oppose  to  them  a  firm  dependence  upon 
the  precious  promises  of  the  gospel?  This  is  the 
only  shield  "  which  is  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery 
darts  of  the  Wicked  One."  The  use,  too,  of  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God,  is 
absolutely  necessary,  if  we  would  not  be  overcome 
by  the  violence  of  Satan's  temptations.  Every 
wicked  and  cruel  suggestion  by  which  he  may  en- 
deavour to  drive  us  to  despair  and  to  destroy  our 
souls,  will  eventually  be  foiled,  if  only  we  are  skil- 
ful in  the  word  of  righteousness,  and  are  able  to 
reply  to  every  temptation,  as  the  Captain  of  our 
salvation  did — "  It  is  written."  But  because  of  the 
sin  that  dwclleth  in  us,  we  cannot  come  in  contact 
with  temptation  without  suffering  loss.  Something 
of  the  temptation  generally  adheres,  and  leaves  its 
humiliating  traces  behind,  even  though  it  has  been 
resisted.  As  Christian  was  wounded  in  his  head, 
his  hand,  and  his  foot,  by  the  darts  of  Apollyon,  so 
the  tried   believer,  by  the   harassing  temptations 


OTIR  ADVERSARY  THE  DEVIL.  191 

which  he  endures,  is  not  unfrequently  impaired  in 
various  ways.  He  cannot  understand,  or  work,  or 
walk,  with  the  same  facility  as  before.  He  often 
loses  ground  from  the  effects  of  these  wounds.  Some 
of  his  temptations  may  not  only  be  very  painful,  but 
of  long  continuance.  One  principal  mark,  however, 
of  Christian  sincerity  will  ever  be,  that  though  faint 
or  weary,  or  well  nigh  overcome,  the  true  soldier 
of  Christ  never  yields,  but  continues  to  resist. 
Great  and  continual  watchfulness  he  has  to  use, 
lest  Satan  get  an  advantage  over  him.  And  with 
all  his  watchfulness,  this  will  occasionally  be  the 
case.  He  will  sometimes  fall  before  the  craft  or 
violence  of  his  powerful  enemy.  And  pitiable  in- 
deed will  his  situation  be,  and  apparently  desperate, 
if  his  fall  be  such  as  to  make  the  sword  of  the  Spi- 
rit fall  out  of  his  hand.  I  mean  if  the  Christian  be 
so  far  overcome  by  the  violence  of  temptation  as  to 
be  unable  for  a  while  to  make  any  use  of,  or  derive 
any  advantage  from,  the  word  of  God.  Then  indeed 
it  is  well  nigh  all  over  with  him.  There  appears 
to  be  only  one  step  between  him  and  everlasting 
ruin.  Now  his  exulting  adversary  feels  sure  of  him ; 
and  even,  to  his  own  sorrowful  apprehension,  all 
hope  of  his  salvation  is  for  a  while  taken  away.  But 
the  Lord  will  not  forsake  his  people  for  his  great 
name's  sake.  Just  as  they  are  about  to  fall  a  prey 
into  the  teeth  of  the  grand  enemy,  they  are  mar- 
vellously strengthened  with  new  strength  and 
power  from  on  high,  their  soul  escapes  as  a  bird  out 
of  the  snare  of  the  fowler;  the  snare  is  broken,  and 
their  sor.l  is  delivered.  Though  they  had  fallen, 
grievously  fallen,  they  rise  again.  They  lay  hold 
again  on  the  word  of  God,  or  rather  it  lays  hold  upon 
tkem,  with  new  power,  and  they  are  enabled  to  use 


192  LECTURE  XIII. 

it  for  all  the  blessed  purposes  for  which  it  was  given* 
They  manfully  resist,  with  all  the  simplicity  of 
faith,  their  raging  adversary,  and  he  cannot  with- 
stand them  any  longer.  He  is  disappointed  of  his 
prey  at  the  very  moment  when  he  was  most  con- 
fident ;  and  baffled,  and  foiled,  and  evidently 
defeated,  he  is  compelled  to  retreat.  "  Resist  the 
devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you."  After  all  his 
sore  conflicts  and  distressing  experience,  the  true 
believer  is  more  than  conqueror  through  Him  that 
loved  him.  His  wounds  are  healed,  his  comforts 
are  restored,  his  heart  revives,  and  all  his  dark 
forebodings  and  distressing  fears  are  turned  into 
songs  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  and  triumph. 
He  is  enabled  to  go  on  his  way  rejoicing,  without 
any  further  attacks,  for  a  season,  from  his  defeated 
adversary.  Oh,  let  every  tempted  behever,  how- 
ever painful  and  long  his  trials  may  be,  and  how- 
ever near  he  may  apparently  be  to  destruction, 
"  hope  still  in  God,"  and  continue  to  resist  the  ad- 
versary to  the  last.  The  bitterness  of  the  conflict 
will  only  make  the  song  of  victory  more  sweet  in 
the  end.  God  is  faithful,  who  will  not  suffer  you 
to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able,  but  will  with 
the  temptation  also  make  a  way  to  escape,  that  ye 
may  be  able  to  bear  it.  We  have  a  merciful  and 
compassionate  High  Priest;  and  seeing  that  he  hath 
sufll'red  being  tempted,  he  is  able  to  succour  them 
that  are  tempted. 

THE  HYMN. 

I  asked  the  Lord  that  I  mifiht  grow 
In  faith,  and  love,  and  every  grace: 
Might  more  of  his  salvation  know, 
And  seek  more  earnestly  his  face. 


OUR  ADVERSARY  THE  DEVIL.     193 

'Twas  he  who  taught  me  thus  to  pray, 
And  he,  I  trust,  ha?  answered  prayer; 
But  oh,  it  was  in  such  a  way, 
It  almost  drove  me  to  despair. 

I  thought  that  in  some  favoured  hour, 
At  once  he'd  grant  me  my  request  ; 
And:  by  his  love's  constraining  power, 
Subdue  my  sins,  and  give  me  rest. 

Instead  of  this,  he  made  me  feel 
The  hidden  evils  of  my  heart ; 
And  let  the  angry  powers  of  hell 
Assault  my  soul  in  every  part. 

"  Lord,  why  is  this  ?' '  I  trembling  cried, 
"  Wilt  thou  pursue  thy  worm  to  death  !" 
"  'Tis  in  this  way,"  the  Lord  replied, 
"  I  answer  prayer  for  grace  and  faith  ! 

These  inward  trials  I  employ, 
From  pride  and  self  to  set  thee  free  ; 
To  break  thy  dreams  of  earthly  joy. 
And  bid  thee  seek  thy  all  in  me." 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  God  our  Saviour,  who  for  our  sake  wast  forty  days  in 
the  wilderness,  tempted  of  the  devil ;  who  wast  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  and  yet  without  sin;  and  who  art 
still  a  compassionate  High  Priest,  touched  with  the  feeling 
of  our  infirmities,  and  ready  to  succour  them  that  are 
tsmpted  ;  mercifully  look  upon  us,  to  save  and  defend  us 
from  our  ghostly  enemy.  Lead  us  not  into  temptation;  but 
deliver  us  from  the  craft  and  assaults  of  the  devil.  Blessed 
Lord,  when  the  Prince  of  this  world  came,  he  had  nothing 
in  thee  :  for  though  found  in  the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  thou 
wast  holv,  harmless,  undefiled,  separate  from  smners.  There 
was  nothing  in  thee,  thou  immaculate  Lamb,  upon  which  the 
Wicked  One  could  fasten  his  temptations  to  evil.  But  it  i? 
not  so  with  us.  We  were  conceived  and  born  in  sin,  quj 
nature  is  corrupt  and  depraved  ;  our  hearts  are  naturally  in 
clined  to  evil ;  and  there  is  no  sin,  however  dreadful,  whicl 
we  may  not  commit,  if  left  to  ourselves.  Oh  how  soon  an 
17 


194  LECTURE  XIII. 

we  drawn  aside,  and  enticed  into  sin,  by  our  own  lust.  We 
feel  tliat  we  are  no  match  for  our  strong  adversary.  Our  first 
parents,  thougli  made  upright,  did  not  stand  before  him: 
how,  then,  shall  we  stand  ?  Oh  save  us  from  the  very  ap- 
proacn  of  the  enemy.  May  we  watch  and  pray,  lest  we 
enter  into  temptation.  Keep  us,  we  beseech  thee,  from  the 
sore  conflic'-=;  and  terrible  assaults  of  Satan,  to  which  many 
of  thy  preciuus  saints  have  been  exposed.  But  if  indeed  we 
are  called  to  the  painful  encounter,  may  we  be  found  with 
the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  we  may  be  able  to  withstand 
in  the  evil  day,  and  having  done  all,  to  stand.  ?*Iay  we  know 
how  to  silence  the  accuser  of  the  brethren.  PJay  we  resist 
him,  steadfast  in  the  faith.  Teach  us  how  to  repel  the  wicked 
suggestions  which  he  puts  into  our  mind,  and  may  we  not  be 
ignorant  of  his  devices.  Grant  that  with  the  shield  of  faith 
we  may  be  able  to  quench  all  his  fiery  darts,  and  by  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God,  may  prevail 
over  all  his  craft  and  power  and  cruelty.  And  forasmuch 
as  we  cannot  always  stand  upright,  because  of  the  frailty  of 
our  mortal  nature,  oh  do  thou  gird  us  with  strength  for  the 
battle  that  is  against  us.  Bring  forth  the  spear;  stop  the 
way  against  them  that  persecute  us,  and  say  to  our  soul,  I 
am  thy  salvation.  Gracious  Saviour,  by  thine  own  most 
precious  death,  and  rising  to  life  again,  thou  hast  bruised  the 
head  of  this  old  serpent,  the  devil ;  and  thou  hast  promised 
that  he  shall  never  finally  prevail  against  any  that  truly  be- 
lieve in  thee.  Oh  stretch  forth  thy  right  hand  to  keep  and 
deliver  us  in  all  our  dangers  and  necessities.  When  Satan 
desires  to  have  us,  hold  us  by  thy  right  hand,  and  suffer  not 
our  faith  to  fail.  May  we  know,  from  sweet  experience,  if 
we  are  sifted  and  tempted,  that  thou  dost  save  to  the  utter- 
most, seeing  thou  ever  livest  to  make  intercession  for  us. 
Bruise  Sat  in  under  our  feet  shortly,  and  suffer  him  not  to 
have  any  advantage  over  us.  Hast  thou  not  said  in  thy  holy 
word,  Reoist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee  from  you  ?  Lord,  in 
thy  name  and  in  thy  strength,  we  will  resist  him.  Grant 
that  we  may  fight  manfully,  and  endure  hardness  as  good 
soldierii  of  thine  ;  and  may  we  never  cease  or  desist  until  the 
enemy  is  cast  down,  and  we  have  overcome  him  by  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb  and  the  testimony  of  our  mouth.  And 
now  the  God  of  peace,  that  brought  again  Irom  the  dead  our 
Lord  Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the 
blood  of  the  everlasting  covenant,  make  us  perfect  in  every 
good  work  to  do  his  will,  working  in  us  that  which  is  well 
pleasing  in  his  sight,  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be 
glory,  lor  ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XIY. 

THE   REGION   OF   DARKNESS. 


Hear,  gracious  God,  my  humble  moan, 
To  thee  I  breathe  my  sighs  : 

^VTien  will  the  mournful  night  be  gone  ? 
And  when  my  joys  arise  ? 

My  God — 0  could  I  make  the  claim — 
My  Father  and  my  friend — 

And  call  thee  mine,  by  every  name. 
On  which  thy  saints  depend  ! 

By  every  name  of  power  and  love, 

I  would  thy  grace  entreat : 
Nor  should  my  humble  hopes  remove, 

Nor  leave  thy  sacred  seat. 


Lamentations  iii.  2. 

rE  HATH  LED  ME  AND  BROUGHT  ME  INTO  DABKNESS,  BFT  N04    CfTO  LIGHT 

How  very  varied,  and  how  deeply  affecting,  is 
the  experience  of  the  Christian  pilgrim,  as  he  pur- 
sues his  way  through  this  worldly  wilderness  to  his 
heavenly  home  !  When  God  brought  his  people 
out  of  Egypt,  and  led  them  by  a  right  way  to  a  city 
of  habitation,  sometimes  they  passed  through  pleas- 
ant places,  but  more  frequently  their  journey  lay 
through  a  pamful  and  difficult  region.  *'  He  led 
them  through  the  wilderness,  through  a  land  of 
deserts  and  pits,  through  a  land  of  drought  and  of 
the  shadow  of  death,  through  a  land  that  no  man 

195 


196  LECTURE   XIV. 

passed  through,  and  where  no  man  dwelt."  The 
Christian  pilg-rim,  as  well  as  Israel  of  old,  is  to  re- 
member all  the  way  which  he  has  been  led  through 
the  wilderness.  To  him  also  it  is  said,  "  Thou  shalt 
consider  in  thine  heart,  that  as  a  man  chasteneth 
his  son,  so  the  Lord  thy  God  chasteneth  thee."  As 
he  reviews  his  steps  from  some  of  the  places  where 
he  tarries  for  a  season,  he  can  say,  "  I  am  the  man 
that  hath  seen  affliction,  by  the  rod  of  his  wrath. 
He  hath  led  me  and  brought  me  into  darkness,  and 
not  into  light."  The  painful  experience  of  our 
Pilgrim  in  the  region  of  darkness  will  form  the  sub- 
ject of  the  present  Lecture.     AVe  shall  consider, 

L  His  entrance  into  this  dark  region. 
IL  His  distresses  in  the  midst  of  it,  and 
in.  His  deliverance  from  it. 

I.  We  begin  with  Christian's  entrance  into  the 
region  of  darkness.  Just  after  his  painful  conflict 
with  Apollyon,  our  Pilgrim  arrived  at  a  dark  and 
gloomy  glen  or  cavern.  He  must  needs  pass 
through  this,  because  the  way  to  the  Celestial  City 
lay  through  the  midst  of  it.  Just  on  the  borders  of 
this  region,  there  met  him  two  men,  children  of 
them  that  brought  an  evil  report  of  the  good  land, 
who  were  making  haste  to  go  back.  These  men 
were  not  pilgrims,  but  spies.  They  spoke  in  the 
most  discouraging  and  exaggerated  manner  of  what 
they  had  seen  and  heard ;  urging  Christian,  if  he 
had  any  regard  either  for  his  life  or  his  peace,  to 
turn  back.  "  The  valley  itself,"  they  said,  "  is  as 
dark  as  pitch  :  we  saw  also  there  hobgoblins,  satyrs, 
and  dragons  of  the  pit.  We  heard  also,  in  the 
valley,  a  continued  howling  and  yeUing,  as  of  people 


THE   KEGION  OP  DARKNESS.  197 

under  unutterable  misery,  who  there  sat  bound  in 
affliction  and  iron.  Confusion  and  death  are  there, 
and  it  is  every  whit  dreadful,  being  utterly  without 
order."  This  dismal  description,  however,  though 
much  distorted,  could  not  convince  our  Pilgrim  that 
his  way  did  not  lie  through  that  dreadful  valley. 
While,  therefore,  the  affrighted  spies  hurried  past 
him,  on  their  w-ay  back,  Christian  pursued  his 
journey,  but  still  with  his  sword  drawn  in  his  hand, 
for  fear  lest  he  should  be  assaulted. 

This  land  of  darkness,  into  which  our  Pilgrim 
now  entered,  seems  to  represent  the  dark  and  un- 
happy frame  of  mind  into  which  a  true  believer 
may  faJl.  While  in  such  a  state,  he  is  dull  and  re- 
luctant in  the  performance  of  rehgious  duties,  and 
exposed  to'  a  great  variety  of  alarms  and  tempta- 
tions. The  absence  of  all  sensible  comfort,  the 
trouble  that  is  caused  by  the  hiding  of  the  Lord's 
face,  the  inabiHty  to  find  any  spiritual  communion 
with  God  in  the  use  of  ordinances,  a  dark  and  des- 
popding  feeling  pervading  the  mind,  bodily  languor, 
and  Satan's  temptations,  may  all  unite  to  make  this- 
region  of  darkness.  Very  frequently  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  especially  in  the  Psalms  and  the 
book  of  Job,  we  read  the  sorrowful  complaints  that 
have  been  uttered  by  the  Lord's  people  on  such 
occasions.  "  When  I  looked  for  good,"  says  Job, 
"  then  evil  came  unto  me ;  and  when  I  waited  for 
light,  there  came  darkness.  I  went  mourning  with- 
out the  sun.  I  am  a  brother  to  dragons,  and  a  com- 
panion to  owls.  My  harp  also  is  turned  to  mourn- 
ing, and  my  organ  into  the  voice  of  them  that 
weep."  Very  much  to  the  same  import  are  many 
of  the  sorrowful  expressions  of  the  Psalmist.  He 
remembered  God,  and  was  troubled;  he  complained, 

17* 


198  LECTURE   XIV. 

and  his  spirit  was  overwhelmed.  He  was  laid  in 
the  lowest  pit,  in  darkness,  and  in  the  deeps.  He 
had  to  say  :  "  While  I  suffer  thy  terrors,  I  am  dis- 
tracted. Thy  fierce  wrath  goeth  over  me,  thy 
terrors  have  cut  me  off.  The  enemy  hath  perse- 
cuted my  soul ;  he  hath  smitten  my  life  down  to 
the  ground ;  he  hath  made  me  to  dwell  in  dark- 
ness, as  those  that  have  been  long  dead.  Persona 
in  this  painful  situation  often  increase  and  })rolong 
their  difficulties  by  the  uuscriptural  notions  which 
they  form,  and  unfounded  expectations  which  they 
entertain.  They  are  apt  to  look  for  uninterrupted 
enjoyment ;  to  consider  sensible  comfort  as  the  only 
evidence  of  a  gracious  state  ;  to  confound  assurance 
with  saving  faith ;  to  expect  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit  in  voices,  and  visions,  and  strong  impressions. 
The  evil  reports,  too,  which  are  brought  by  fearful 
and  unbelieving  men,  and  the  extravagant  and  ex- 
aggerated way  in  which  they  speak  of  the  dreadful 
things  which  they  have  witnessed  among  profes- 
sors of  religion,  form  another  sore  discouragement 
to  the  tempted  Christian.  Such  men  pretend  'to 
have  made  trial  of  religion,  and  to  have  found  it  a 
comfortless  and  dreary  pursuit.  Not  having  tasted 
that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  they  are  unable  to  give  a 
true  report  as  to  the  comfort  of  serving  God.  And 
having  never  experienced  the  convincing  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  their  hearts,  they  are  unable 
to  understand  the  language  or  enter  into  the  feel- 
ings of  genuine  penitents.  Neither  can  they  make 
any  allowance  for  the  strong  expressions  and  figur- 
ative language  in  which  convinced  sinners  describe 
their  experience.  Thus  they  give  an  inflated  ac- 
count of  the  sighs,  and  groans,  and  terrors,  and  dis- 
tresses of  pious  people.    By  this  means  they  excuse 


THE   REGION   OF   DARKNESS.  199 

their  own  apostasy,  and  endeavour  to  bring  reproach 
upon  the  cause  they  have  abandoned.  Seeing  now 
that  these  spies  do  so  much  mischief  by  their  re- 
ports of  what  they  witness  among  the  people  of 
God,  professors  should  be  very  careful  to  give  them 
no  handle  or  occasion  for  what  they  say.  The 
deepest  experience  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  work  upoa- 
the  heart  is  in  no  way  inconsistent  with  the  utmost 
sobriety  and  decorum  of  conduct.  But  whatever 
reports  the  true  Christian  may  hear  of  the  way  to 
heaven,  and  in  whatever  strange  light  religion  and 
rehgious  people  may  be  represented  to  him  by  such 
as  turn  aside,  he  must  by  no  means  be  intimidated 
by  what  he  hears,  or  induced  by  it  to  turn  back. 

II.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  the  difficul- 
ties and  dangers  that  Christian  met  with  in  this  dark 
valley.  On  each  side  there  was  danger,  a  deep 
ditch  being  on  the  right  hand,  and  a  miry  quag  on 
the  left.  Moreover,  the  way  was  so  very  narrow 
that  it  required  the  utmost  circumspection  to  avoid 
one  of  these  dangers  without  falling  into  the  other. 
In  addition  to  this,  it  was  so  dark  that  Christian 
could  not  see  a  step  before  him  ;  he  therefore  sighed 
bitterly  as  he  took  his  uncertain  footsteps.  There 
was  also  a  dreadful  pit,  which  yawned  in  the  midst 
of  the  valley,  hard  by  the  way,  and  flame,  and 
smoke,  and  hideous  noises  proceeded  from  it. 
Nothing  but  all  prayer  could  preserve  our  Pilgrim 
here,  and  to  this  he  applied  himself  with  unceasing 
voice.  What  with  the  dreadful  sounds  which  he 
heard,  the  terrible  sights  which  he  beheld,  and  the 
fearful  shapes  that  flitted  before  him,  he  was  sorely 
distressed.  Sometimes  he  had  half  a  mind  to  go 
back,  but  he  repelled  the  thought  and  pursued  hia 


200  LECTURE   XIV. 

way,  though  terrors  came  round  about  him  like 
water.  In  his  greatest  extremity  he  cried  out :  "  1 
will  walk  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  God  ;"  and  by 
this  means  he  was  enabled  to  advance.  During  his 
progress  through  this  dreadful  region  he  was  so 
confounded  that  he  did  not  know  his  own  voice. 
And  when  one  of  the  phantoms  from  the  burning 
pit  got  softly  behind  him,  and  whispered  some  dread- 
ful blasphemies  in  his  ear,  he  verily  thought  that  he 
had  uttered  them  himself.  This  thought  distressed 
and  afflicted  him  more  than  aught  beside ;  but  he 
had  not  the  discretion  either  to  stop  his  ears,  or  to 
know  from  whence  these  blasphemies  proceeded. 

Dear  brethren,  what  an  affecting  picture  we  have 
here,  in  all  these  particulars,  of  a  soul  temptation- 
tossed  and  half  a  wreck  !  How  numerous  are  the 
dangers  and  temptations  that  beset  the  Christian's 
path,  and  especially  at  some  particular  stages  of  his 
journey ! 

"  Dangers  of  every  shape  and  name 
Attend  the  followers  of  the  Lamb, 
Who  leave  the  world's  deceitful  shore, 
And  leave  it  to  return  no  more." 

Did  our  Pilgrim  here  find  a  deep  ditch  on  his  right 
hand,  and  a  dangerous  quag  on  the  left  ?  Presump- 
tion or  unfounded  confidence  is  the  deep  ditch  ; 
desperation  is  the  dangerous  quag.  Some  people 
say  there  is  no  fear,  and  fall  headlong  into  the  deep 
ditch  of  presumption  ;  others  say  there  is  no  hope, 
and  down  they  plunge  into  the  quag  of  despair. 
The  narrow  way  to  Zion  lies  between  these  two ; 
and  it  is  often  with  extreme  difficulty  that  the  Chris- 
tian pilgrim  is  enabled  to  persevere  in  it.  You 
have  felt  something  of  the  power  of  the  world  to 
come  ;  had  some  experience  of  eternal  things  upon 


THE   REGION   OF   DARKNESS.  201 

your  heart ;  you  have  begun  to  think,  to  read,  to 
pray,  to  make  a  profession  of  religion  ;  and  perhaps 
you  have  done  this  for  a  iong  time.  Oh,  take  care, 
after  all  this,  that  you  do  not  settle  down  in  a  state 
of  carnal  presumption  and  false  security.  Do  not 
depend  upon  any  strong  impressions  you  may  have 
had  in  time  past,  and  be  confident  that  all  is  right, 
and  that  you  are  in  the  way  to  heaven,  if  you  are 
not  NOW  living  a  hfe  of  faith  and  prayer,  looking 
unto  Jesus,  and  striving  against  sin.  On  the  other 
hand,  though  you  may  have  lost  the  lively  impres- 
sions you  once  had,  and,  what  is  worse,  though  you 
may  have  fallen  grievously  into  sin  and  pierced 
yourself  through  with  many  sorrows,  still  do  not 
say,  "  There  is  no  hope.  Beware  of  coming  to  des- 
perate conclusions,  and  plunging  into  the  danger- 
ous quag  of  despair.  There  is  no  hope  indeed,  if 
you  continue  in  sin,  and  refuse  to  look  again  to  the 
atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ.  But  if  you  repent  and 
beheve  the  gospel,  there  is  pardon  for  crimes  of 
deepest  dye.  Let  it  be  your  constant  endeavour  to 
avoid  alike  presumption  and  desperation. 

"  See  that  the  balanced  scales  be  such 
You  neither  fear  nor  hope  too  much." 

And  though  your  way  be  narrow  and  dark,  and  ter- 
rors and  distresses  of  the  most  appalling  kind  im- 
pede your  progress,  still  hold  on  your  way,  and 
entertain  not  for  a  moment  the  apostate  thought  of 
turning  back.  Only  give  yourself  unto  prayer,  and 
hope  still  in  God,  and  in  due  time  you  will  come  ta 
the  end  of  this  dark  and  painful  part  of  the  road. 
"  Heaviness  may  endure  for  a  night,  but  joy  cometh 
in  the  morning."  Cry  unto  Him  who  is  able  to 
deliver  you  out  of  all  your  fears :  "  Let  not  the 


202  LECTURE   XIV. 

deep  swallow  me  up,  neither  let  the  pit  shut  her 
mouth  upon  me."  And  though  your  experience 
may  be  very  distressing,  and,  to  your  terrified  con- 
science, the  fire  of  the  pit  may  seem  kindling  before 
you,  and  the  pains  of  hell  may  take  hold  upon  you, 
still  go  on  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord  God.  Though 
deep  may  call  unto  deep,  and  the  noise  of  the  water- 
spouts may  be  very  fearful,  and  all  the  waves  and 
storms  of  temptation  may  go  over  you,  hope  still  in 
God,  and  you  shall  yet  praise  him  for  the  help  of 
his  countenance.  "  The  Lord  will  command  his 
loving-kindness  in  the  day-time,  and  in  the  night 
his  song  shall  be  with  me,  and  my  prayer  unto  the 
God  of  my  hfe."  And  be  not  cast  down  overmuch 
on  account  of  any  wicked  and  distressing  thoughts 
that  may  occasionally  be  darted  into  your  mind.  If 
you  give  no  entertainment  to  these,  if  they  are  pain 
and  grief  to  you,  if  you  really  hate  and  abhor  them, 
you  may  rest  assured  that  an  enemy  hath  done  this, 
and  that  these  things  will  not  be  laid  to  your 
charge. 

in.  We  now  proceed  to  consider  in  the  last  place. 
Christian'' s  deliverance  from  this  place  of  darkness 
and  horror.  When  he  had  gone  on  for  some  time, 
in  a  desolate  condition,  he  heard  the  voice  of  one 
going  before  him,  saying,  "  Though  I  walk  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no 
evil:  for  thou  art  with  me  ;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff 
they  comfort  me."  He  was  exceedingly  cheered 
by  this  voice.  He  rejoiced  to  think  that  some  who 
feared  God  were  in  that  valley  as  well  as  himself. 
He  was  quite  revived  with  the  consideration,  which 
now  flashed  upon  him,  that  God  might  really  be 
present  with  a  poor  disconsolate  pilgrim,  though 


THE   REGION   OF   DARKNESS.  203 

the  pilgrim  himself  was  in  a  very  dark  and  dismal 
situation,  and  unable  for  a  while  to  perceive  the 
Divine  presence.  In  addition  to  all  this,  the  hope 
of  Christian  fellowship,  in  his  present  circumstances, 
was  very  sweet.  As  he  went  forward  with  this 
hope,  the  day  broke.  Then  said  Christian:  "He 
turneth  the  shadow  of  death  into  the  morning." 
And  now  that  the  day  had  dawned,  and  the  shadows 
fled  all  away,  when  Christian  surveyed  the  region 
he  had  just  passed,  he  was  able  to  comprehend,  at 
one  glance,  all  the  accumulated  dangers  and  horrors 
of  that  dreadful  vale.  When  he  saw  the  ditch  and 
the  quag,  and  the  narrow  space  between  them, 
through  which  he  had  gone  in  the  dark ;  and  when 
he  beheld  at  a  distance  the  doleful  creatures  that 
shrunk  from  the  light,  and  crowded  together  in  that 
place  of  darkness,  he  was  deeply  affected  at  the 
wonderful  dehv^erance  which  he  had  experienced. 
He  had  greater  fear  of  these,  now  he  could  see 
them  more  perfectly,  because  the  light  of  day  made 
them  more  conspicuous.  He  felt  at  this  time  what 
an  unspeakable  mercy  was  the  light  of  day  which 
he  now  enjoyed ;  for  though  the  first  part  of  the 
valley  which  he  had  passed  was  very  dangerous, 
yet  the  second,  which  was  still  to  be  traversed,  was, 
if  possible,  more  so.  From  the  place  where  he  now 
stood,  all  the  way  to  the  end  of  the  valley,  every 
side  was  beset  v/ith  snares,  and  traps,  and  gins,  and 
nets  ;  and  at  every  step  he  had  to  beware  of  pits  and 
pitfalls,  deep  holes  and  shelving  declivities.  Had 
he  now  been  enveloped  in  darkness,  as  he  had  been 
a  httle  while  before,  it  had  been  absolutely  impos- 
sible for  him  to  escape  destruction.  But  in  the  cheer- 
ful hght  of  day,  he  went  ^vith  far  greater  security 
over  this,  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  valley. 


204  LECTURE   XIV. 

He  said,  as  he  went  right  onward:  "His  candle 
shineth  on  my  head,  and  by  his  h'ght  I  go  through 
darkness." 

Here  let  us  pause,  and  endeavo  ir  to  bring  home 
to  our  own  hearts  the  instruction  and  the  encour- 
agement that  is  presented  to  us.  Who  is  among 
you  that  feareth  the  Lord,  that  walketh  in  darkness 
and  hath  no  light  ?  As  you  pursue  your  way  and 
mourn,  tossed  with  the  tempest  and  not  comforted, 
you  feel  lonely  and  sad,  and  your  heart  within  you 
is  desolate.  You  think  verily  that  never  a  true 
pilgrim  to  the  Heavenly  City  was  vexed  and  per- 
plexed, tempted  and  tried,  as  you  are.  You  are 
ready  to  say  :  "  Hath  God  forgotten  to  he  gracious  ?" 
and  are  induced  almost  to  conclude,  that  the  con- 
flicting doubts  and  fears  that  assail  you  are  suffi- 
cient to  prove  that  you  are  destitute  altogether  of  one 
spark  of  saving  faith.  But  look  very  diligently  if 
you  cannot  trace  the  footsteps  of  the  flock,  yes,  the 
steps  of  the  precious  sheep  of  Christ,  who  have  trod 
before  you  that  painful  path.  Listen,  moreover, 
attentively,  if  you  cannot  hear  the  voice  of  those 
who  have  been  comforted  and  supported,  and  ena- 
bled to  sing  of  the  presence  of  the  good  Shepherd, 
even  in  that  dark  valley.  Oh,  be  persuaded  that 
many  of  the  precious  saints  of  God  have  experienced 
exactly  all  the  sorrows  and  distresses  of  which  you 
complain.  They  have  been  brought  into  darkness 
and  not  into  light ;  they  have  been  bowed  down  and 
gone  heavily  all  the  day  ;  they  have  passed  through 
fire  and  water ;  men  have  been  made  to  ride  over 
their  heads;  they  have  been  sorely  buffeted  by  the 
messenger  of  Satan ;  and  the  most  painful  and  harass- 
ing thoughts  have  been  obtruded  into  their  minds. 
And  yet,  after  all  this,  they  have  been  brought  into 


THE  REGION  OF  DARKNESS.      205 

a  wealthy  place  ;  and  there  they  have  been  con- 
stramed  to  sing  of  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  Him 
who  led  them  through  the  wilderness.  Thus  it 
will  assuredly  be  with  you,  and  with  every  genuine 
penitent,  if  only  you  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
and  stay  your  soul  on  the  God  of  your  salvation. 
It  is  in  the  night,  the  deep  and  the  dark  night, 
when  the  beasts  of  the  forests  creep  forth.  But 
when  the  sun  ariseth  they  get  them  away  to  their 
dens.  And  thus  it  is  with  the  tempted  believer. 
During  the  night,  the  long  and  moonless  night  of 
his  temptation,  fears  and  sorrows  of  the  most  distress- 
ing kind  haunt  his  steps  and  fill  him  with  dismay. 
But  when  the  sun  ariseth,  when  the  Lord  hfts  up 
upon  him  the  hght  of  his  reconciled  countenance, 
all  these  fears  and  distresses  get  them  away  to- 
gether. Cry,  dear  brethren,  earnestly  out  of  the 
depths  of  your  sorrows,  to  the  compassionate  Re- 
deemer, to  be  merciful  to  you,  and  to  cause  his  face 
to  shme  upon  you. 

"  In  darkest  shades,  if  he  appear, 
Our  dawning  is  begun  ; 
He  is  our  soul's  bright  morning  star, 
And  he  our  rising  sun." 

Only  trust  in  his  promises  and  call  for  his  help. 
Let  your  language  be,  "  I  wait  for  the  Lord,  my 
soul  doth  wait,  and  in  his  word  do  I  hope.  My 
soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord,  more  than  they  that  watch 
for  the  morning,  I  say,  more  than  they  that  watch 
for  the  morning;"  and  in  due  tim.e,  the  light  and 
consolation  and  deliverance,  for  which  you  are 
longing  and  thirsting  and  praying,  shall  surely 
come.  And  then,  when  comfort  and  peace  are  re- 
turned to  your  sorrowful  soul,  and  you  look  back 

18 


206  LECTURE   XIV. 

upon  the  way  in  which  you  have  been  led,  and  the 
dangers  which  you  have  escaped,  you  will  be  com- 
pelled to  confess  that  the  Lord  was  surely  in  that 
place  to  preserve  and  keep  you,  though  you  knew 
it  not.  Your  heart  will  overflow  with  love  and 
gratitude  to  Him  who  has  led  you  by  a  way  that 
you  have  not  known,  who  has  made  darkness  light 
before  you,  and  crooked  things  straight.  What 
though  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  most  appall- 
ing kind  may  still  be  thickly  spread  in  your  path, 
and  constant  watchfulness  and  circumspection  be 
still  necessary  to  enable  you  to  escape  them  ;  oh, 
give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  he  does  not  leave  you 
any  longer  to  grope  your  way  in  the  dark  through 
so  many  and  such  great  dangers  !  How  seasonable 
are  the  communications  of  heavenly?-  grace  !  If 
you  cleave  to  the  Lord  with  full  purpose  of  heart, 
and  walk  in  the  right  way  as  well  as  you  can  in 
the  dark,  still  crying  for  more  light  to  be  given  to 
you ;  when  more  hght  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
you,  it  shall  certainly  be  given  you.  To  the  up- 
right there  ariseth  light  in  the  darkness.  "  His 
going  forth  is  prepared  as  the  morning." 


THE  HYMN. 

God  of  my  life,  to  thee  T  call ! 
Afflicted,  at  thy  feet  I  fall. 
When  the  great  water-floods  prevail, 
Leave  not  my  trembling  heart  to  fail ! 

Friend  of  the  friendless  and  the  faint, 
Where  should  I  lodge  my  deep  complaint  ? 
Where,  but  withj[hee,  whose  open  door 
Invites  the  helpless  and  the  poor  ? 


THE  EEGION  OF  DARKNESS.     20? 

Did  ever  mourner  plead  with  thee, 
And  thou  refuse  that  mourner's  plea  ? 
Does  not  thy  word  still  fixed  remain, 
That  none  shall  seek  thy  face  in  vain ! 


That  were  a  grief  I  could  not  bear. 
Didst  thou  not  hear  and  answer  prayer  , 
But  a  prayer-hearing,  answering  God 
Supports  me  under  every  load. 

Fair  is  the  lot  that's  cast  for  me  ; 
I  have  an  Advocate  with  thee : 
They  whom  the  world  caresses  most 
Have  no  such  privilege  to  boast. 

Poor  though  I  am,  despised,  forgot, 
Yet  God,  my  God,  forgets  me  not; 
And  he  is  safe,  and  must  succeed, 
For  whom  the  Lord  vouchsafes  to  pieaa. 


THE  PRAYER. 

0  God,  merciful  Father,  that  despisest  not  the  sighing  of  a 
contrite  heart,  nor  the  desire  of  such  as  be  sorrowful ;  mer- 
cifully assist  our  prayers  that  we  make  before  thee,  in  all  our 
troubles  and  adversities,  whensoever  they  oppress  us.  Save 
us,  we  most  humbly  beseech  thee,  from  all  the  evils  that  we 
feel  or  fear.  Bring  us  into  light,  and  not  into  darkness. 
Blessed  Lord,  hast  thou  not  said,  he  that  foUoweth  me  shall 
not  walk  in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life  ?  Oh 
send  out  thy  light  and  thy  truth,  and  let  them  lead  us  !  If  it 
please  thee,  guide  us  through  every  part  of  our  journey, 
without  suffering  us  even  to  enter  upon  the  dark  and  slippery 
way  which  has  been  trod  by  many  of  thy  people.  Suffer  us 
not  to  be  distracted  with  thy  terrors  :  and  cause  not  thy  fierce 
wrath  to  go  over  us.  Let  not  the  enemy  persecute  our  soul, 
nor  smite  our  life  to  the  ground,  nor  make  us  to  dwell  in 
darkness,  as  those  that  have  been  long  dead.  In  compassion 
to  our  frailty,  and  our  manifold  infirmities,  save  us  from  every 
trial  which  is  too  hard  for  us.  But  whatever  be  the  path 
wherein  we  should  go,  grant.  Lord,  that  we  may  not  turn 
a\vay  from  it.  May  we  give  ne  heed  to  the  evil  report  which 
is  brought  of  the  good  ways  of  the  Lord,  by  unbelieving  peo- 


208  LECTURE   XIV. 

pie.  Whatever  dangers  may  surround  us  in  our  appointed 
path,  mercifully  grant  that  we  may  be  preserved  from  them 
all.  And  if  we  are  called  to  walk  in  darkness,  and  have  no 
light,  may  we  trust  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  stay  our 
souls  on  the  God  of  our  salvation.  Let  not  the  deep  swallow 
us  up,  neither  let  the  pit  shut  her  mouth  upon  us.  Lead  us 
on  in  the  narrow  path  to  Zion.  Keep  back  thy  servants  from 
presumptuous  sins ;  and  save  us  from  the  dangerous  down- 
fall of  despair.  May  we  pray  always,  with  all  prayer  and 
supplication,  and  watch  thereunto  with  all  perseverance. 
Enable  us  to  detect  the  wiles  of  the  de\il,  and  to  close  our 
hearts  against  the  wicked  suggestions  which  he  puts  into  our 
minds.  May  we  wait  for  the  Lord,  more  than  they  that 
watch  for  the  morning,  until  the  time  of  deliverance  shall 
come.  Help  us  to  discern  the  footsteps  of  the  flock  in  the 
darkest  shades  through  which  we  have  to  pass.  And,  oh, 
grant  that  we  may  be  cheered  with  the  presence  of  the  Chief 
Shepherd  himself,  and  know  that  thou  art  with  us.  Be  mer- 
ciful unto  us  and  bless  us,  and  cause  thy  face  to  shine  upon 
us,  that  we  may  pass  on  safely  through  all  the  snares  and 
traps  that  are  set  for  our  feet.  Lord,  let  thy  candle  shine  on 
our  heads,  and  by  thy  light  may  we  go  through  darkness. 
And  mercifully  grant,  that  after  all  our  painful  trials  and  nar- 
row escapes,  we  may  be  brought  at  last  to  the  heavenly  Ca- 
naan, where  our  sun  shall  no  more  go  down,  neither  shall 
our  moon  withdraw  itself,  but  the  Lord  shall  be  our  everlast- 
ing light,  and  the  days  of  our  mourning  shall  be  ended.  Now 
unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  we  can  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  that  work- 
eth  in  us,  unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  church  by  Christ  Jesus, 
throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.     Amen. 


LECTURE  XV. 


THE  pope's  cave,  AND  FAITHFUL'S  EXPERIENCE. 


Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  iiearts  in  Christian  love  ! 

The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds 
Is  like  to  that  above. 

Before  our  Father's  throne 
We  pour  our  ardent  prayers  ; 

Our  fears,  our  hopes,  our  aims,  are  one, 
Our  comforts  and  our  cares. 

We  share  our  mutual  woes  ; 

Our  mutual  burdens  bear : 
And  often  for  each  other  flows 

The  sympathizing  tear. 


EccLESiASTES  iv.  9,  10. 

TWO  ARE  BETTER  THAN  ONE ;  BECAUSE  THEY  HAVE  A  GOOD  RE'WAED  FOR  THEIft 
LABOUR.  FOR  IF  THEY  FALL,  THE  ONE  WILL  LIFT  UP  HIS  FELLOW  :  BUT  WO 
TO  HIM  THAT  IS  ALONE  WHEN  HE  FALLETH  ;  FOR  HE  HATH  NOT  ANOTHER  TO 
HELP  HIM  UP. 

What  a  delightful  privilege  is  the  communion 
of  saints  !  Those  who  have  for  some  time  been 
deprived  of  it,  as  soon  as  they  are  permitted  to 
enjoy  it  again,  feel  and  understand  its  exceeding 
sweetness.  They  can  say,  from  a  sense  of  what 
they  have  tasted  and  enjoyed, 

"  Christian  fellowship  how  sweet !" 
As  they  pursue  their  way  together  to  the  Celestial 
City,  and  converse  together  of  their  past  trials  and 

18*  209 


210  LECTURE   XV. 

conflicts,  and  their  future  hopes  and  prospects,  they 
feel  that  "  as  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  a  man  shar-  I 
peneth  the  countenance  of  his  friend."    The}^  have   I 
a  practical  proof  that  "  two  are  better  than  one  ;" 
and  in   the  mutual  comfort  and  help  which  they  ; 
receive  and  impart,  "  they  have  good  reward  for   i 
their  labour."     The  true  Christian  is  continually   i 
liable   to  mistakes    and   errors  and  falls.     In    the   j 
midst  of  these,  oh,  what  unspeakable  advantage   I 
does  he  derive  from  the  counsel   and  aid  and  ad- 
vice  of  a  faithful  companion  !   "  If  they  fall,  the 
one  will  lift  up  his  fellow :  but  wo  to  him  that  is 
alone  when  he  falleth  ;  for  he  hath  not  another  to 
help  him  up."  I 

We  have  to  consider  in  the  present  Lecture,  j 

I.  Christian's  journey  past  the  Pope's  Cave  be-   , 
fore  he  overtook  Faithful. 

II.  Faithful's  experience  from  the  City  of  De- 
struction to  the  valley  of  Humiliation  ;  and 

III.  His  experience  in  that  valle)^ 

I.  We  begin  with  Christian's  journey  past  the 
Pope's  Cave,  before  he  overtook  Faithful.  He  had 
scarcely  come  to  the  end  of  the  region  of  darkness 
before  another  mournful  spectacle  was  presented  to 
his  view.  He  came  to  a  place  that  was  all  covered 
over  with  blood  and  bones  and  ashes,  and  the 
mangled  bodies  of  pilgrims  who  had  gone  that  way 
in  earlier  times.  Hard  by  was  a  cave,  which  had 
once  been  the  residence  of  two  giants,  I'agan  and 
Pope.  It  was  by  the  tyranny  and  cruel  persecu- 
tions of  these  two  that  the  pilgrims  of  bygone  time 
had  been  massacred  and  burnt,  and  their  remains 
left  in  the  manner  which  Christian  beheld.     He 


/-■'■ 


THE   pope's   cave.  211 

passed  by  this  dismal  place  without  let  or  hin- 
drance. And  this  was  the  reason  that  he  did  so : 
the  eider  giant,  viz.  Pagan,  had  been  dead  for  many 
a  day,  and  his  destructions  had  come  to  a  perpetual 
end.  As  for  the  other,  though  he  was  still -alive, 
yet  by  reason  of  age,  and  also  of  the  many  shrewd 
brushes  hQ  had  met  with  in  his  younger  days,  he 
had  grown  so  crazy  and  stiff  in  his  joints,  that  he 
could  do  little  more  than  sit  in  his  cave's  mouth, 
grinning  at  pilgrims  as  they  passed,  and  biting  his 
nails  because  he  could  not  come  at  them.  Won- 
derfully striking  and  fearfully  ominous  are  the 
words  uttered  by  the  aged  and  infirm  giant.  Pope, 
as  Christian  passed  by  his  cave.  "  You  will  never," 
he  said,  "  mend  till  more  of  you  be  burned !" 
Christian,  however,  held  his  peace,  and  so  passed 
by  without  injury.  Past  this  cave  he  came  to  a 
little  ascent,  which  was  cast  up  on  purpose  that 
pilgrims  might  see  before  them.  From  this  eleva- 
tion he  espied  a  man  named  Faithful  before  him, 
and  he  called  on  him  to  wait  until  he  should  come 
up  to  him.  But  Faithful  replied,  "  No,  I  cannot 
stay.  I  am  upon  my  life,  and  the  avenger  of  blood 
is  behind."  Christian  was  so  affected  by  this  reply, 
that  he  strained  every  nerve  until  he  had  outstripped 
Faithful.  Then  smiling  because  he  was  the  first, 
he  stumbled  and  fell,  and  could  not  rise  up  again, 
until  Faithful  came  up  to  help  him.  Being,  how- 
ever, raised,  they  both  went  very  lovingly  together, 
and  had  sweet  discourse  of  all  the  things  that  had 
happened  to  them  in  their  pilgrimage. 

We  may  all,  brethren,  derive  much  important 
admonition  from  what  is  here  recorded.  In  our 
happy  country,  blessed  be  God,  we  have  nothing  to 
fear  from  Pagan  persecutions.     That  giant  has  long 


212  LECTURE   XV. 

been  dead.  The  altars  erected  by  our  idolatrous 
ancestors  to  the  Sun  and  to  the  Moon,  to  Woden 
and  to  Thor,  to  Friga  and  to  Saturn,  the  abomina- 
tions of  the  Saxons,  have  long  been  overthrown. 
Their  names,  which  still  distinguish  our  week- 
days, just  serve  to  remind  us,  in  what  a  dark  and 
dismal  night  our  forefathers  were  enveloped. 
But  the  slaughters  and  burnings  made  by  the 
other  monster,  Papal  Rome,  were  far  more  ex- 
tensive ;  and  the  proofs  of  them  are  to  be  found 
in  almost  every  city  and  every  town  of  Eng- 
land. Until  the  glorious  Reformation  was  fully 
established  in  England,  this  giant  reigned  in  all  his 
strength,  and  made  himself  drunk  with  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  burning  and  destroying  on 
every  side.  At  that  eventful  period,  he  was  shorn 
of  his  strength.  The  blows  and  shocks  which  he 
then  received  were  the  shrewd  brushes  that  stiffened 
his  joints,  and  curtailed  his  power,  and  reduced  him 
to  the  condition  of  a  feeble  old  man,  who  is  unable 
any  longer  to  perform  the  dreadful  feats  in  which 
he  had  formerly  delighted,  in  the  days  of  his  youth 
and  the  time  of  his  strength.  But  his  spirit  was 
unchanored  with  his  changed  condition.  His  malice 
remained,  though  his  strength  was  gone.  It  was 
power,  not  will,  that  he  wanted,  to  act  more  cruelty. 
He  could  not  persecute  true  Christians  unto  death, 
as  he  had  done  before  ;  but  he  showed  the  teeth  of 
his  malice  as  they  passed,  and  bit  his  nails  w^ith 
envy  and  vexation  that  he  could  not  molest  them. 
Nay,  more  than  this,  he  uttered  those  ominous 
words,  which  clearly  showed  what  he  would  do  if 
he  had  the  power ;  and  what  was  the  sovereign 
medicine,  in  his  estimation,  for  the  cure  of  heretics  : 
*'  You  will  never  mend  till  more  of  you  be  burned." 


THE  pope's  cave.  218: 

How  many  are  labouring,  in  various  ways,  again  to 
involv^e  us  in  the  Babylonian  wo  !  We  have  no 
sympathy  with  the  false  brethren  that  speak  so  dis- 
dainfully and  contemptuously  of  the  glorious  Refor- 
mation, and  so  tenderly  and  so  smoothly  of  the  great 
harlot, 

"  Drunk  with  the  blood  of  martyrs  and  of  saints." 

Not  so  much  by  burnings  and  slaughters,  as  by 
craft  and  subtlety,  and  the  spread  of  doctrines 
essentially  Popish,  though  disguised,  he  is  now 
working  his  way,  and  has  overthrown  the  faith  of 
some. 

II.  We  now  come  to  consider  the  first  part  of 
Faithful's  experience.  In  answer  to  the  questions 
of  Christian,  Faithful  relates  the  principal  events 
that  had  befallen  him  since  his  first  setting  out  from 
the  City  of  Destruction.  He  had  heard  of  Chris- 
tian's departure  from  the  same  place,  and  had  hoped 
to  have  overtaken  him  before.  He  said  that  after 
Christian's  setting  out,  there  was  much  talking 
among  the  people  about  the  danger  of  the  city. 
But  while  others  were  excited  and  talked  about  this  . 
report,  he  himself  believed  it,  and  set  off  on  pil- 
grimage. There  was  much  talking  also  in  the  city 
about  Pliable,  after  he  had  returned  to  it  again.  All 
united  to  despise  and  deride  him  as  a  turncoat.  So 
little  did  he  get  for  his  apostasy,  that  he  found  even 
in  this  life  it  would  have  been  better  for  him  not  to 
have  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  than,  after 
having  known  it,  to  turn  from  the  holy  command- 
ment. The  experience  of  Faithful  had  been  very 
different  from  that  of  Christian.  He  escaped  the 
troubles  in  which  Christian  was  plunged  at  the 


214  LECTURE  XV. 

Slough  of  Despond,  having  found  the  steps  and  got 
over  safely.  But  another  bewitching  adversary, 
whom  Christian  had  never  met,  had  laboured  hard 
to  draw  him  aside.  A  person  named  Wanton,  with 
flattering  words  and  fair  speech,  and  promise  of  all 
carnal  and  fleshly  delight,  endeavoured  to  allure 
him  into  the  pit  of  destruction.  But  he  was  pre- 
served from  this  fatal  snare.  He  cleansed  his  way 
by  ruling  himself  according  to  the  Divine  word. 
He  remembered  that  it  is  written  :  "  Her  steps  take 
hold  on  hell."  So  he  shut  his  eyes,  because  he 
would  not  be  bewitched  by  her  looks.  Then  she 
had  railed  on  him,  while  he  went  his  way.  But 
escaped  from  this  snare,  Faithful  was  soon  assailed 
by  another.  An  old  man  named  Adam,  who  dwelt 
in  the  town  of  Deceit,  had  come  to  meet  Faithful  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  Difficulty.  This  old  man  left  no 
effort  untried  to  engage  his  services.  He,  too, 
promised  ail  the  dainties  and  dehghts  of  the  world; 
and  engaged  that  if  Faithful  would  serve  him,  he 
should  marry  his  three  daughters :  "  The  lust  of 
the  eye,  the  lust  of  the  flesh,  and  the  pride  of  life." 
Poor  Faithful  felt  at  the  first  a  secret  inchnation  to 
go  with  this  man.  But  seeing  it  written  on  the 
wrinkled  forehead  of  his  tempter,  "  Put  off'  the  old 
man  with  his  deeds ;"  and  feehng  a  powerful  per- 
suasion that  he  only  wanted  him  for  a  slave,  Faith- 
ful bade  him  forbear  to  talk,  for  he  would  not  come 
near  the  door  of  his  house.  Then  did  the  old  man 
revile,  and  threaten  what  he  would  do  to  make  his 
w^ay  bitter.  And  as  an  earnest  of  it,  when  Faithful 
turned  to  go  away,  he  felt  him  take  hold  of  his 
flesh  and  give  him  such  a  deadly  twitch  back,  that 
he  seemed  to  pull  away  after  him  a  very  part  of 
himself.  This  caused  him  to  cry  out,  "  O  wretched 


THE  pope's  cave.  215 

man  that  I  am  !"  So  h6  went  on  his  way  up  the 
hill.  He  had  not  proceeded  far  before  he  was  over- 
taken by  a  severe  schoolmaster,  one  Moses,  who 
came  and  inflicted  a  terrible  blow  upon  him,  which 
knocked  him  down  as  one  dead.  He  said  this  was 
for  his  secret  incHnation  to  go  after  the  old  Adam. 
With  that  he  repeated  his  blows,  and  would  soon 
have  made  an  end  of  him,  had  not  one  with  holes 
in  his  hands  and  in  his  side  bade  him  to  forbear. 
Faithful  remembered  the  terrible  face  of  the  school- 
master, who  has  no  mercy  or  pity  for  them  that 
break  his  rules.  He  had  felt  his  power  before.  It 
was  this  Moses  who  had  threatened  to  burn  his 
house  over  his  head,  while  he  was  yet  in  the  City 
of  Destruction,  if  he  stayed  there  any  longer.  He 
knew  his  deliverer  also.  By  the  wounds  and  marks 
of  suffering  which  he  beheld,  he  knew  well  who 
it  was  that  had  saved  him  from  the  terrible  lashes 
of  Moses.  Faithful,  after  this,  had  gone  by  the 
house  Beautiful,  without  calling  there,  and  conse- 
quently without  being  at  all  molested  by  the  lions. 

Let  us  pause  here  to  receive  instruction.  When 
a  thoughtless  sinner  is  awakened  out  of  his  carnal 
security,  and  sets  his  face  decidedly  and  resolutely, 
as  Christian  had  done  at  the  first,  to  the  heavenly 
Zion,  if  he  act  consistently  and  hold  on  his  way, 
his  conduct  will  excite  attention.  Some  convictions 
will  flash  across  his  worldly  associates ;  and  although 
manjr  may  be  satisfied  with  a  little  talk  and  noise,  it 
will  have  a  more  powerful  and  abiding  effect  upon 
others.  They,  through  grace,  will  be  faithful  to  their 
convictions,  and  then  they  will  linger  no  longer  in 
the  City  of  Destruction.  The  trials  and  temptations 
of  one  believer  may  be  very  different  from  those  of 
another.     We  need  not  doubt  the  reahty  of  our 


216  LECTURE   XV. 

religion,  merely  because  *we  have  not  been  tried 
and  assailed  exactly  in  the  same  way  as  some  of 
our  brethren  have  been.  If  we  are  not  tempted  in 
one  way,  we  shall  be  in  another.  One  may  be  es- 
pecially tempted  to  despair,  and  another  to  carnal 
indulgence.  It  is  only,  however,  by  a  proper  use 
of  the  warnings  and  promises,  the  precepts  and 
examples  of  the  Bible,  and  by  earnestly  seeking  for 
sanctifying  grace,  that  we  shall  be  enabled  to  pre- 
vail over  our  special  and  peculiar  temptation.  Every 
behever  Avho  treads  the  way  to  Zion  will  learn 
something  of  the  deceit  and  strength  and  power 
of  the  old  man.  Indwelling  sin  will  often  dispose 
him  secretly  to  hanker  after  forbidden  objects.  And 
though  he  may  be  enabled  not  to  comply  with  the 
outward  act,  oh,  what  a  wrench,  what  a  tearing  of 
himself  will  he  often  find  it  to  be,  to  mortify,  and 
cast  off,  and  to  crucify  the  old  man !  This  cruel 
adversary  will  mar  his  peace,  if  he  cannot  destroy 
his  soul.  And  by  the  terrible  lashes  of  the  law, 
which  reach  to  the  "thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart,"  the  believer  will  often  be  painfully  reminded 
that  his  secret  desire  to  comply  with  the  old  man 
brings  him  in  a  transgressor  in  the  sight  of  God, 
and  justly  exposes  him  to  righteous  condemnation. 
When  under  this  painful  and  distressing  experi- 
ence, it  is  only  as  the  gracious  Saviour  is  spiritually 
revealed  to  his  heart,  that  the  believer  finds  rehef. 
When,  self-convicted  and  self-condemned,  he  is 
enabled  to  look  with  the  eye  of  faith  to  Him  who 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and  bruised 
for  our  iniquities,  he  is  delivered  from  the  curse 
and  condemnation  of  the  broken  law.  "  The  law 
was  given  by  Moses,  but  grace  and  truth  came  by 
Jesus  Christ."     The  real  Christian  eminently  dis- 


Me  pope's  cave.  217 

plays  his  candour  and  charity  by  giving  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  to  all  faithful  men,  though  they 
have  been  led  in  a  way  diiferent  from  himself.  He 
ma)'-  regret  that  they  have  not  enjoyed  all  the  out- 
ward privileges  and  advantages  which  he  has  found 
so  precious  to  himself.  This,  however,  will  not 
break  the  bond  of  brotherhood  between  them.  He 
that  is  spiritual  judgeth  all  things.  He  knows  how 
to  distinguish  that  which  is  circumstantial  in  reli- 
gion, from  that  which  is  essential.  Where  he  finds 
the  essence,  he  is  not  troubled  overmuch  by  th© 
absence  of  the  rest.  He  knows  that  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness 
and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

III.  We  come  now  to  the  experience  of  Faithful 
in  the  valley  of  Humiliation.  Discontent  and 
Shame  were  the  principal  adversaries  that  he  met 
with  here.  He  saw  nothing  of  the  terrible  Apollyon, 
with  whom  Christian  had  so  severe  a  conflict ;  and 
instead  of  the  sad  passage  of  Christian  through  the 
dark  and  dreadful  valley,  he  had  sunshine  all  the 
way  through  that  part  of  his  journey.  The  ad- 
versaries, however,  that  Faithful  had  encountered^ 
were  both  subtle  and  difficult  to  cast  off.  The  man 
Discontent  would  willingly  have  persuaded  him  to 
go  back.  He  represented  that  the  journey  was 
altogether  without  honour,  and  that  it  would  be 
utterly  impossible  for  him  to  wade  through  that 
humble  vale  without  offending  all  his  best  and  noble- 
minded  friends,  such  as  Pride,  Arrogancy,  Self- 
Conceit,  and  Worldly-Wisdom.  But  Faithful 
rephed  that  all  these  relations  had  disowned  him 
since  he  became  a  pilgrim,  and  that  they  were  now 
nothing  whatever  to  him.     How  then  should  he  at 

19 


218  LECTtjRE  xr. 

all  be  influenced  by  the  judgment  they  might  pass 
upon  him  ?  And  as  for  the  want  of  honour,  he 
was  quite  willing  to  sacrifice  the  honour  that  cometh 
from  men,  that  he  might  obtain  that  which  comes 
from  the  King.  This  he  was  convinced  could  not 
be  obtained  without  pursuing  his  way  through  the 
valley  of  Humiliation,  since  "  before  honour  is  hu- 
mility." Discontent  fled  away  upon  these  repre- 
sentations. The  next  adversary  that  he  met  w^as 
Shame.  This  man  he  found  it  very  diflicult  to  cast 
off.  It  seemed  as  if  he  would  never  have  done, 
and  would  not  be  said  nay.  He  objected  to  religion 
and  a  tender  conscience,  as  being  pitiful  and  un- 
manl}^,  and  exposing  a  person  to  the  ridicule  of  the 
times.  He  urged,  too,  how  very  few  of  the  rich, 
and  mighty,  and  wise,  paid  any  serious  regard  to 
religion.  He  laughed  at  the  idea  of  being  aflected 
under  a  sermon,  and  thought  it  monstrously  absurd 
to  become  strange  and  cool  to  the  great  and  learned, 
for  their  want  of  religion,  and  to  love  and  reverence 
the  meanest  person  that  you  take  to  be  a  true  pil- 
grim. Representations  like  these  were  made  with 
such  vehemence  and  confidence  by  this  Shame,  that 
they  actually  fetched  up  the  blood  into  the  face  of 
Faithful ;  and  at  the  first  he  was  almost  beaten  off 
from  the  right  way.  But  when  he  compared  the 
representations  of  Shame  with  the  true  sayings  of 
the  King  recorded  in  his  hoiy  word ;  and  above  all, 
when  he  vividly  set  before  his  eyes  the  judgment 
)f  the  great  day,  and  the  different  characters  tc 
"vhom  will  be  then  assigned  eternal  glory,  and 
everlasting  shame  ;  when  he  thought  of  this,  it  was 
enough.  And  he  said,  "  Shame,  depart  !  Thou  an 
an  enemy  to  my  salvation.  Shall  I  entertain  thee 
gainst  my  Sovereign  Lord  ?     How  then  shall  I 


THE  pope's  cave.  219 

look  Him  in  His  face  at  His  coming  ?  Should  I 
now  be  ashamed  of  His  ways  and  servants,  how 
can  I  expect  His  blessing  then  ?"  But  even  after 
such  a  noble  rebuke,  this  bold-faced  Shame  would 
hardly  be  gone.  If  beaten  off  for  a  while,  he  would 
constantly  return,  and  continually  be  whispering  in 
the  ear  something  of  the  infirmities  that  attend  re- 
ligion. He  was  only  quite  vanquished  when 
Faithful  told  him  plainly,  "  It  is  vain  for  you  to 
make  another  attempt ;  for  those  very  things  which 
you  so  greatly  disdain,  in  those  I  see  the  greatest 
glory."  Christian  congratulated  his  brother  Faith- 
ful upon  the  noble  victory  he  had  obtained  over  this 
importunate  foe  ;  and  they  both  agreed  that  it  was 
absolutely  necessary  for  every  one  who  would  be 
valiant  for  the  truth  upon  earth,  to  cry  earnestly 
for  strength  and  power  to  overcome  Shame. 

Let  us,  dear  friends,  every  one,  with  all  good  re- 
solution, set  our  faces  as  a  flint  against  these  two 
formidable  adversaries.  Discontent  and  Shame.  We 
are  sure  to  meet  them  in  our  way  to  the  Celestial 
City,  if  so  be  that  we  are  faithful  followers  of  the 
Lamb.  In  compassion  to  our  weakness  and  frailty, 
and  manifold  infirmities,  the  Lord  whom  we  serve 
may  graciously  spare  us  the  terrible  conflicts  with 
Satan,  which  some  of  our  brethren  have  had ;  and 
w^  may  know  little  of  the  most  distressing  expe- 
rience of  those  who  have  been  brought  into  dark- 
ness, and  not  into  light.  But  the  sinful  and 
discouraging  representations  of  Discontent,  and  the 
plausible  arguments  of  Shame,  we  siMl  certainly 
h&.ve  to  encounter.  These  foes  are  both  nid  in  our 
o\/n  hearts,  and  they  only  wait  for  a  suitable  op- 
portunity to  hft  up  their  voice,  and  to  exert  their 
p-iwer.     Few  believers  walk  far  in  the  valley  of 


220  LECTURE   XV. 

Humiliation,  or  keep  for  long  "  the  noiseless  tenor 
of  their  way,"  without,  as  it  w^ere,  the  man  Dis- 
content coming  to  meet  them,  and  employing  all  his 
power  to  turn  them  back.  Like  Israel  of  old, 
"  their  soul  is  discouraged  because  of  the  way." 
They  feel  an  inward  shrinking  from  the  daily  cross 
ihey  are  required  to  bear,  and  for  a  time  it  is  griev- 
ous in  their  sight  when  they  think  of  the  friends 
they  must  lose,  and  the  ties  they  must  burst,  in 
order  to  persevere  in  the  cause  they  have  chosen. 
When  you,  dear  brethren,  are  tried  v/ith  such  a 
temptation,  consider  how  Faithful  chased  away 
Discontent  from  his  side.  Think  of  the  honour 
and  glory  that  await  you  at  the  end  of  your  course, 
if  only  you  are  faithful  unto  death.  Will  you  not 
bear  a  cross  for  a  little  while  now,  when  you  are  to 
wear  a  crown  for  ever  hereafter  ?  Is  it  not  better 
for  you  to  become  a  stranger  to  j^our  brethren  and 
an  ahen  to  your  another's  children,  rather  than  deny 
the  Lord  that  bought  you  ?  Be  humhled  now,  and 
you  shall  be  exalted  hereafter.  Walk  now  patiently 
in  the  valley  of  Humiliation,  and  in  due  time  you 
shall  be  exaked  to  the  throne  of  glory.  How  can 
discontent  remain  with  you,  if  j^ou  meet  his  com- 
plaints whh  such  considerations  as  these  ?  The 
conduct  of  Faithful  will  also  serve  for  your  example, 
if  like  him  you  are  assailed  by  Shame.  Does  he 
dare  to  suggest  that  the  pleasure!^  of  piety,  and  of 
a  good  conscience,  are  not  to  be  enjoyed  without 
being  little  in  your  own  sight,  and  perhaps  ridicu- 
lous in  the  sight  of  others ;  does  he  tell  you  how 
unfashionable  it  is  to  be  troubled  with  such  things, 
and  that  there  is  a  deal  of  cant  and  hypocrisy 
among  people  who  pretend  to  be  so  much  better 
than  others ;  and  are  you  sometimes  so  moved  by 


TUE  pope's  cave.  221 

all  this,  that  you  feel  the  blood  mount  up  to  your 
cheek  ?  Oh,  be  sure  that  you  weigh  all  this  in  the 
even  balances  of  eternal  truth  !  Think  of  the  judg- 
ment, and  the  honour,  and  glory,  and  immortahty, 
that  shall  be  assigned  to  the  faithful  followers  of 
Christ,  who  have  confessed  Him  before  men ;  and 
the  terriole  doom  of  the  fearful  and  unbeheving, 
who  have  basely  denied  Him,  and  been  ashamed 
of  Him  !  Who  would  not  be  among  the  wise  ? 
Who  would  have  their  lot  among  the  fools  in  that 
day  ?  "  The  wise  shall  inherit  glory,  but  shame 
shall  be  the  promotion  of  fools."  You  cannot  get 
free  from  shame  without  firmness  and  decision. 
Tell  him  plainly  to  depart  from  you  as  the  enemy 
of  your  soul.  Nay,  mortify  and  lay  him  as  low  as 
you  possibly  can.  Tell  him  that  you  and  he  are 
at  complete  issue  ;  that  you  despise  that  in  which 
he  glories,  and  glory  in  that  which  he  despises. 
You  will  have  this  answer  to  give,  if  you  have 
learned  to  glory  supremely  in  your  Saviour's  cross. 
Then  you  will  pour  contempt  on  all  your  pride ; 
and  you  will  not  scruple  to  sacrifice  all  the  vanities 
in  which  you  once  delighted,  to  Him  who  sacrificed 
himself  for  you.  Act  in  this  manner,  and  Shame 
will  be  compelled  to  leave  ^'•ou,  and  will  never  give 
you  any  more  trouble.  And  when  you  have  tasted 
the  preciousness  of  bearing  reproach  for  Christ's 
sake,  you  will  esteem  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  of  the  world. 


THE  HYMN. 

Great  the  joy  when  Christians  meet ; 
Christian  fellowship  how  sweet ; 
When,  their  theme  of  praise  the  same, 
They  exalt  Jehovah's  name  ! 
19* 


222  LECTURE  XV. 

Sing  we  then  eternal  love  ! 
Such  as  did  the  leather  move  ; 
He  beheld  the  world  undone, 
Loved  the  world,  and  gave  his  Son. 

Sing  the  Son's  unbounded  love  ! 
How  he  left  the  realms  above  ; 
Took  our  nature  and  our  place  ; 
Lived  and  died  to  save  our  race. 

Sing  we  too  the  Spirit's  love  ! 
With  our  stubborn  hearts  he  strove 
Chased  the  mists  of  sin  away  ; 
Turned  our  night  to  glorious  day. 

Great  the  joy,  the  union  sweet. 
When  the  saints  in  glory  meet ; 
Where  the  theme  is  still  the  same, 
Where  they  praise  Jehovah's  name. 


THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  and  most  merciful  Father,  we  bless  and  praise 
thy  holy  name  that  we  are  taught  to  know  thee,  the  only 
true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent.  What 
shall  we  render  unto  thee,  for  thy  blessed  word  and  thy  Holy 
Spirit,  whereby  we  have  been  brought  out  of  darkness  and 
error  into  the  clear  light  and  true  knowledge  of  thee,  and  of 
thy  Son  Jesus  Christ  !  Oh  grant  that  we  may  walk  in  the 
light,  and  have  fellowship  one  with  another.  Make  us  truly 
thankful  that  pagan  darkness  has  passed  away  from  our  na- 
tive land,  and  that  the  true  light  now  shineth.  And,  we 
most  humbly  beseech  thee,  cast  the  bright  beams  of  thy  glo- 
rious gospel  upon  the  nations  that  are  still  sitting  in  dark- 
ness and  the  shadow  of  death.  May  it  please  thee  to  bring 
into  the  way  of  truth  all  such  as  have  erred  and  are  deceived 
Arise,  O  Lord,  and  plead  thine  own  cause.  Jjet  not  the  mai 
of  sin  prevail.  Disappoint  the  efTorts  of  all  who  are  labour- 
ing again  to  entangle  men  in  the  cruel  yoke  of  super- 
stition. Teach  us  ever  to  hold  out  the  right  hand  of  fel- 
lowship to  all  faithful  brethren.  May  we  be  warned  and 
encouraged,  coniibrted  and  edified,  by  the  communications  of 
all  such.  Make  us  all  faithful  to  the  convictions  wherewith 
we  are  visited  ;  and  lead  us  by  the  right  way  to  the  heavenly 
habitation.   And  grant  that  we  may  be  kept  from  every  snare, 


THE  pope's  cave.  223 

delivered  from  every  adversary,  and  preserved  in  every  temp- 
tation, by  taking  heed  to  thy  holy  word.  May  we  know 
what  it  is,  when  we  feel  the  strength  of  indwelling  sin,  and 
when  our  hearf?  accuse  us  of  violating  thy  holy  law,  to  thank 
God  thrc^igh  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Save  us  from  a  dis- 
satisfied, /epining  spirit.  As  we  journey  on  through  this 
worldly  wilderness,  may  we  be  content  with  such  things  as 
we  have,  and  let  not  our  soul  be  discouraged  because  of  the 
way.  Whoever  we  may  offend,  only  do  thou  never  leave  us, 
nor  forsake  us,  and  then  we  will  boldly  say.  The  Lord  is 
my  helper,  I  will  not  fear  what  man  doeth  unto  me.  Turn 
away  the  reproach  which  we  fear.  May  we  never  be  ashamed 
of  Christ,  or  of  his  words,  before  men,  lest  he  should  be 
ashamed  of  us  before  his  Father,  and  before  the  holy  angels. 
Teach  us  to  glory  in  the  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
grant  that  by  its  effectual  power,  the  world  may  be  crucified 
unto  us,  and  we  unto  the  world.  May  we  ever  esteem  the 
reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  treasures  of  the 
world.  Hear  us,  O  Lord  our  God,  and  fulfil  all  our  peti- 
tions, through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour;  to  whom,  with 
thee  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  honour  and  glory  for  ever  and 
ever.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XVI. 

THE    CHARACTER    OF    TALKATIVE. 


In  all  my  vast  concerns  with  thee, 
In  vain  my  soul  would  try 

To  shun  thy  presence,  Lord,  or  flee 
The  notice  of  thine  eye. 

Thy  all-surrounding  sight  surveys 

My  rising  and  my  rest, 
My  public  walks,  my  private  ways, 

The  secrets  of  my  breast. 

My  thoughts  lie  open  to  the  Lord, 
Before  they're  formed  within  ; 

And  ere  my  lips  pronounce  the  word, 
He  knows  the  sense  I  mean. 


Job  xi.  2.  > 

SHOXJLD  A  MAN  FULL  OF   TALK  BE  JUSTIFIED? 

The  pilgrim  to  the  Celestial  City  meets  with 
strange  characters,  as  well  as  passes  through  strange 
scenes,  on  his  way  to  Zion.  A  character  is  now 
introduced  to  us  for  our  warning  and  instruction, 
that  is  drawn  with  singular  wisdom  and  propriety. 
This  is  a  man  whose  religion  consisted  entirely  in 
talk,  and  in  nothing  besides.  With  regard  to  reli- 
gious conversation,  we  are  exposed  to  mistakes  both 
on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left.  Because  we  meet 
with  many  unruly  and  vain  talkers,  unsanctified 

224 


THE   CHAEACTER   OF   TALKATIVE.        225 

professors  of  religion,  we  must  not,  on  that  account, 
resolutely  close  our  lips  on  religious  subjects,  as  if 
it  were  a  sure  mark  of  hypocrisy  to  speak  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord.  A  person  who  has  saving  grace 
in  his  heart  will  have  his  speech  also  seasoned  with 
grace.  "  Out  of  the  abundance  of  the  heart  the 
mouth  speaketh."  Our  first  main  concern  should 
be,  regarding  ourselves,  to  experience  the  power  of 
Divine  truth  in  our  hearts,  and  then  a  suitable  con- 
versation will  follow.  "  We  cannot  but  speak  of  the 
things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard."  If  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  be  within  us,  and  we  have  ex- 
perienced in  our  hearts  the  power  of  God,  we  shall 
speak  of  his  kingdom  and  talk  of  his  power.  In 
judging  of  others,  we  should  be  very  slow  indeed 
to  set  down  any,  who  speak  the  language  of  Zion, 
as  mere  hypocrites  and  dissemblers  before  God. 
The  friends  of  Job  felJ  into  this  mistake,  and  were 
far  too  censorious  in  the  judgment  which  they 
passed  upon  him.  His  religion  consisted  in  some- 
thing more,  far  more  than  talk.  When  Zophar  said 
to  him,  "  Should  not  the  multitude  of  words  be 
answered  ?  and  should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justi- 
fied ?"  it  was  truth  that  he  spoke,  but  it  was  truth 
misapplied.  Had  Job  really  been  such  a  character 
as  the  happy  genius  of  our  author  has  described 
under  the  name  of  Talkative,  (and  such  characters 
are  too  common  in  every  place,)  then  it  would  have 
been  truth  properly  applied,  to  have  asked  him, 
"Should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ?" 

The  consideration  of  a  man  full  of  talk  will  form 
the  subject  of  the  present  Lecture. 

I.  Let  us  notice  what  is  hopeful  and  promising 
about  such  a  man. 


226  LECTURE   XVI. 

II.  The  Christian  testimony  given  concerning 
him  by  one  who  knew  him  ;  and 

III.  The  manner  in  which  his  hypocrisy  is  de- 
tected. 

May  we  every  one  be  warned  and  admonished 
by  the  important  subject. 

I.  What  is  there  fair  and  promising  in  such  a 
character  ?  As  Christian  and  Faithful  went  on,  the 
latter  chanced  to  look  a  little  on  one  side,  and  saw 
a  man  whose  name  was  Talkative  walking  at  a  dis^ 
tance  from  them.  He  was  a  tall  man,  and  more 
comely  at  a  distance  than  near  at  hand.  Faithful 
joined  himself  to  this  man's  company,  entered  into 
conversation  with  him,  and  was  mightily  taken  with 
his  talk.  He  said  that  he  was  going  to  the  same 
place  as  Faithful,  and  that  with  a  very  good  will  he 
would  be  his  companion.  When  Faithful  proposed 
that  they  should  discourse  together  of  things  that 
were  profitable,  his  new  companion  expressed  the 
greatest  delight,  and  said  it  had  been  quite  a  trouble 
to  him,  that  so  very  few  that  he  met  with  had  any 
heart  for  such  employment.  They  agreed  entirely 
that  it  was  the  glory  of  the  tongue  to  be  employed 
in  speaking  of  God  and  the  things  of  God.  Talka- 
tive was  extremely  fluent  in  descanting  particularly 
both  upon  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  such  conversa- 
tion. He  spoke  so  much  to  the  point,  and  so  well, 
on  each  of  these  heads,  that  even  Faithful  could  not 
refrain  from  expressing  his  satisfaction,  and  said, 
"All  this  is  true,  and  I  am  glad  to  hear  these  things 
from  you."  A  slight  doubt,  however,  came  into  his 
mind,  when  his  fluent  companion  seemed  to  inti- 
mate, that  the  want  of  religious  conversation  was 
the  cause  of  all  the  ignorance  and  fearful  mistakes 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  TALKATIVE.   227 

which  so  many  make  in  spiritual  matters.  Faithful 
therefore  ventured  to  say,  but  still  as  if  speaking  to 
one  more  advanced  than  himself,  "  By  your-  leave, 
heavenly  knowledge  of  these  is  the  gift  of  God.  No 
man  attaineth  to  them  by  human  industry,  or  only 
by  the  talk  of  them."  His  ready  companion  not 
only  assented  immediately  to  the  important  de- 
claration, but  he  quoted  a  very  suitable  passage  of 
Scripture  in  confirmation  of  it,  and  said  he  could 
give  a  hundred  more.  Then  said  Faithful,  "What 
is  the  one  thing  upon  which  we  shall  at  this  time 
found  our  discourse  ?"  Talkative's  answer  to  this 
question  is  wonderfully  in  character  with  the  man 
himself.  All  subjects  were  alike  to  him.  He  w^as 
as  much  at  home  upon  one  as  another ;  and  there- 
fore he  said,  "  I  will  talk  of  things  heavenly,  or 
things  earthly  ;  things  moral,  or  things  evangelical; 
things  sacred,  or  things  profane ;  things  past,  or 
things  to  come  :  things  foreign,  or  things  at  home ; 
things  more  essential,  or  things  more  circumstan- 
tial ;  provided  that  all  be  done  to  our  profit."  This 
unexpected  volley,  concluded  in  the  manner  it  was, 
increased  the  wonder  without  exciting  the  suspicion 
of  Faithful ;  and  stepping  up  to  Christian,  whom  he 
had  left  for  a  season,  he  said  to  him  softly,  "What 
a  brave  companion  we  have  got !  Surely  this  man 
wnll  make  a  very  excellent  pilgrim." 

Here  let  us  take  our  breath  for  a  moment,  and 
turn  over  in  our  minds  the  question  of  Zophar, 
Should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ?  Are  we  to 
conclude  that  a  man  is  certainly  on  the  way  to 
heaven,  and  that  he  will  make  an  excellent  pilgrim, 
because  he  has  a  clear  knowledge  of  doctrinal  truths, 
and  can  speak  well  on  religious  subjects  ?  No,  dear 
brethren.    Knowledge  is  one  thing,  and  sanctifying 


228  LECTURE   XVI. 

ofrace  is  another  thing.  A  heart  practically  in* 
fluenced  by  the  power  of  Divine  truth,  and  a  tongue 
very  fluent  in  the  discussion  of  it,  are  not  unfrequent- 
ly  the  most  opposite  things  in  the  world.  A  faithful 
man  may  be  deceived  in  the  opinion  he  forms  of 
another,  when  he  hears  his  excellent  speech,  and 
knows  nothing  of  his  private  hfe  and  character. 
And  this  mistake  is  very  pardonable.  Charity, 
which  hopeth  all  things,  and  thinketh  no  evil,  may 
induce  us  to  make  it.  Greater  experience,  how^ 
ever,  will  teach  us  not  to  be  too  hasty  in  forming 
our  opinion  of  others.  We  shall  for  a  while  with- 
hold our  judgment,  until  we  have  something  more 
than  hopeful  appearance  and  outward  profession 
upon  which  to  found  it.  But  with  regard  to  our- 
selves we  cannot  be  too  severe  in  pronouncing  our 
religion  to  be  nothing  but  a  cheat  and  a  delusion, 
if  we  know  well  in  our  own  conscience  that  it  con 
sists  only  in  empty  breath  and  hollow  sound.  No 
know^ledge,  however  clear,  no  gifts,  however  shining 
or  attractive,  must  pass  for  a  converted  heart.  A  con- 
verted heart,  dear  friends,  alone  can  be  the  dwelling- 
place  of  that  gracious  principle  of  charity,  which 
makes  us  humble  and  little  in  our  own  sight ;  which 
makes  us  strive  against  every  known  sin,  and  follow 
after  every  known  duty  ;  and  which  disposes  us  to 
be  kind  and  courteous,  pitiful,  loving,  and  tender- 
hearted to  all  with  whom  Ave  have  to  do.  If  this 
gracious  principle  be  Avanting,  every  thing  is  want- 
ing ;  and  all  that  we  have,  or  seem  to  have,  is  false 
and  hollow,  and  good  for  nothing.  "Though  I 
speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels,  and 
have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass, 
or  a  tinkling  cymbal.  And  though  I  have  the  gift 
of  prophecy,  and  understand  all  mysteries,  and  all 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  TALKATIVE.    229 

Knowledge  ;  and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I 
could  remove  mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am 
nothing." 

II.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  the  testimony 
given  by  Christian  concerning  this  man  Talkative. 
He  modestly  smiled  at  the  admiration  expressed  by 
his  brother  and  said,  "  This  man  with  whom  you 
are  so  taken  will  beguile,  with  this  tongue  of  his, 
twenty  of  them  that  know  him  not."  Christian 
knew  all  about  him,  and  was  not  to  be  deceived 
with  good  words  and  fair  speeches.  He  had  been, 
as  it  were,  behind  the  scenes,  and  was  not  to  be 
imposed  on  by  the  fair  representation  that  appeared 
upon  the  stage.  He  knew  what  the  man  was  in 
his  dealings  with  others,  and  at  home,  where  he 
was  best  known.  He  had  seen  him  without  his 
mask.  He  was  like  a  miserable  painting,  which, 
viewed  at  a  distance,  may  pass  for  the  work  of  an 
artist,  but  which,  when  you  approach  nearer  and 
begin  to  examine,  you  discover  in  a  moment  to  be 
only  a  most  wretched  daub.  He  was  for  any  com- 
pany, and  for  any  talk.  He  could  be  as  fluent  and 
as  acceptable  to  the  thoughtless,  and  the  gay,  and 
the  vain,  as  he  had  just  been  to  Faithful.  Religion 
had  no  place  in  his  heart,  or  house,  or  daily  conduct. 
It  was  all  only  in  his  tongue ;  it  consisted  in  no- 
thing but  noise  and  talk.  Faithful  was  greatly 
amazed  at  what  he  heard,  and  could  scarcely  credit 
so  evil  a  report  of  one  who  had  spoken  so  fair. 
But  the  testimony  of  Christian  was  too  painfully 
true  to  admit  of  contradiction.  The  cause  of  truth 
clearly  required  the  detection  of  this  man's  hypo- 
crisy ;  and  he  proceeded  in  the  most  decisive  terms 
to  describe  his  real  character.     He  was  clearly  to 

20 


230  LECTURE   XVI. 

be  ranked  among  the  numbers  of  those  who  say 
and  do  not.  He  could  talk  about  prayer  and  re- 
pentance, and  faith,  and  the  new  birth  ;  but  he  had 
no  experience  of  these  things.  He  only  knew  them 
to  talk  about  them.  Christian  had  been  in  his 
family,  and  had  observed  that  every  thing  there  was 
as  destitute  of  religion  as  the  white  of  an  egg  is  des- 
titute of  taste.  No  voice  of  prayer,  nor  mark  of  con- 
trition, was  there  to  be  witnessed.  His  conduct  was 
such  that  he  brought  a  reproach  upon  religion  in 
the  ej^es  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  verified  the 
fearful  saying,  "  A  saint  abroad,  and  a  devil  at 
home."  His  family  found  it  so  to  their  continual 
'-orment.  He  was  such  a  son  of  Belial  that  no  one 
could  speak  to  him.  He  was  ungovernable  in  his 
temper,  and  unreasonable  in  his  demands.  He  was 
hard  and  overreaching  in  his  dealings  with  men; 
tyrannous  and  ungodly  in  the  bringing  up  of  his 
children,  and  absolutely  ridiculed  any  appearance 
of  tenderness  of  conscience  which  he  witnessed  in 
any  of  them.  In  short.  Christian  declared,  "I  am 
of  opinion  that  he  has,  by  his  wicked  life,  caused 
many  to  stumble  and  fall,  and  will  be,  if  God  pre- 
vent not,  the  ruin  of  many  more."  This  painful 
testimony,  and  much  of  the  like  kind,  convmced 
Faithful  of  the  error  in  judgment  into  which  he  had 
fallen,  and  induced  him  to  say,  "Well,  I  see  that 
saying  and  doing  are  two  things :  and  hereafter  I 
shall  better  observe  this  distinction."  After  this, 
very  close  and  instructive  are  the  remarks  made 
by  the  two  real  pilgrims  respecting  the  essential 
difference  between  a  dead  profession  of  the  truth 
and  unreserved  obedience  to  it.  They  agreed  that, 
in  the  day  of  doom,  men  must  be  judged  according 
to  their  works.     It  will  not  be  said  then,  "  Did  you 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  TALKATIVE.        231 

believe  ?"  but,  "  Were  you  doers,  or  talkers  onjy?" 
Not  that  any  thing  can  be  accepted  which  is  not  of 
faith,  but  saving  faith,  in  every  instance,  will  be 
shown  to  have  been  a  fruitful  working  principle, 
and  widely  distinct  from  barren  notions  and  empty 
sound.  Under  the  law,  the  animal  was  not  clean 
that  chewed  the  cud  if  it  did  not  part  the  hoof.  So 
a  man  with  religious  knowledge  may  seem  to  chew 
the  cud  upon  God's  word,  but  that  will  not  number 
him  among  the  generation  of  the  upright,  if  he  be 
destitute  of  that  sanctification»which  distinguishes 
the  people  of  God  from  a  world  that  lieth  in  wick- 
edness. And  as  things  without  life  give  sound, 
a  carnal  professor,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,  how- 
ever eloquently  he  may  discourse  on  religious  sub- 
jects, is  only  like  sounding  brass  or  a  tinkling  cym- 
bal. In  order  to  be  rid  of  so  worthless  a  companion 
as  Talkative,  Christian  suggested,  that  if  Faithful 
would  only  put  to  him  a  few  pointed  home  questions 
about  the  power  and  practical  effects  of  true  reli- 
gion, he  would  soon  retire  from  their  company  of 
his  own  accord.  We  shall  see  presently  how  ex- 
actly this  was  the  case.  But  let  us  first  pause  to 
reflect  for  a  few  moments  upon  the  sad  character  of 
Talkative. 

We  can  now  have  no  difficulty  in  answering  the 
inquiry,  "  Should  a  man  full  of  talk  be  justified  ?" 
If  this  be  his  true  character,  and  these  glaring  in- 
consistencies and  dark  spots  be  found  upon  him, 
how  should  he  be  justified  on  account  of  his  fine 
speeches  and  excellent  sayings  ?  Talkative  is  evi- 
dently an  unconverted  and  a  wicked  man  ;  and  we 
are  by  no  means  to  justify  the  wicked.  True  in- 
deed it  is,  that  the  Judge  himself  has  declared,  "By 
thy  words  thou  shalt  be  justified,  and  by  thy  words 


232  LECTURE   XVI. 

thou  shall  be  condemned."  The  upright  believer 
will  be  justified  by  his  words.  Notwithstanding  all 
his  deeply  lamented  transgressions,  by  thought, 
word,  and  deed,  it  will  be  found,  in  the  great  day 
of  account,  that  the  saving  grace  which  was  in 
his  heart  regulated  his  speech,  as  well  as  in- 
fluenced his  life.  He  is  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  is  no  guile.  He  speaks  to  God  in  secret 
prayer,  as  well  as  speaks  of  the  things  of  God  before 
men.  And  the  words  which  he  has  spoken  in 
secret,  where  no  eye, but  the  eye  of  God  could  be- 
hold, as  well  as  the  good  confession  which  he  has 
made  of  his  faith  before  men,  will  alike  be  produced 
as  the  evidence  of  his  sincerity,  and  the  proof  of 
his  justification  in  that  day.  In  this  sense  the  be- 
liever shall  be  justified  by  his  words.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  barren  professor  will  be  condemned  by 
his  words  in  the  day  of  judgment.  He  has  never 
coirfe  as  a  genuine  penitent,  by  true  faith,  for  an 
interest  in  that  atoning  blood  which  cleanses  from 
all  sin  ;  and  therefore  all  his  sins — the  sins  of  his 
mouth  as  well  as  the  sins  of  his  life — will  be  found 
unpardoned  in  that  day.  He  must  give  account  for 
every  idle  word  which  he  has  ever  spoken.  Al- 
though he  seemed  to  be  religious,  his  religion  will 
then  be  proved  to  be  in  vain,  because  it  will  be 
evident,  when  the  book  of  remembrance  is  opened, 
in  which  all  his  words  are  recorded,  that  he  bridled 
not  his  tongue.  In  addition  to  this,  the  solemn 
truths  which  he  has  spoken  and  professed  before 
others  will  also  be  produced  ;  and  when  the  good 
words  which  he  has  spoken  shall  be  put  in  contrast 
with  the  bad  life  which  he  has  lived,  he  will  hear 
the  affecting  sentence,  "  Out  of  thine  own  mouth  wi' 
I  condemn  thee,  thou  wicked  servant."     Oh  let  us 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  TALKATIVE.    233 

all  beware  of  the  common  error  of  mistaking  know- 
ledge and  talk  and  profession,  for  pure  and  unde- 
filed  religion.  True  religion  is  a  practical  thing; 
and  if  our  religion  does  not  influence  our  conduct,  it 
has  done  nothing  for  us.  There  may  be  light  in 
the  understanding,  and  good  words  on  the  tongue, 
without  any  saving  grace  in  the  heart.  If  the 
heart  be  not  right,  every  thing  will  be  wrong.  "If 
any  one's  head  or  tongue  should  grow  apace,  and 
all  the  rest  stand  at  a  stay,  it  would  certainly  make 
him  a  monster ;  and  they  are  no  other  who  are 
knowing  and  discoursing  Christians,  and  grow  daily 
in  that  respect,  but  not  at  all  in  hohness  of  heart 
and  hfe,  which  is  the  proper  growth  of  the  children 
of  God."  Yes,  dear  brethren,  holiness  of  heart 
and  life,  practical  godliness,  purity  of  heart,  and 
holiness  in  all  manner  of  conversation,  is  the  pro- 
.per  growth  of  the  true  Christian. 

III.  We  have  lastly  to  notice  the  manner  in  which 
the  hypocrisy  of  Talkative  was  detected.  Faith- 
ful followed  the  suggestion  of  his  more  experienced 
companion  ;  and  having  joined  Talkative  again,  he 
proposed  as  the  subject  of  their  discourse,  "  How 
does  the  saving  grace  of  God  discover  itself  when 
it  is  in  the  heart  of  man  ?"  Talkative  was  quite 
ready  to  discuss  this  all-important  question.  He 
mentioned  as  the  first  mark  of  saving  grace,  A 
great  outcry  against  sin.  But  Faithful  corrected 
him,  by  showing  him  he  ought  rather  to  have  said, 
"  i3y  inclining  the  soul  to  loathe  and  abhor  sin  ;  for," 
he  said,  "  there  is  all  the  difference  in  the  world 
between  inwardly  turning  from  the  love  of  sin,  and 
outwardly  making  an  outcry  against  it."  The  next 
sign  he  mentioned  was  great  knowledge  of  gospel 

20* 


234  LECTURE   XVI. 

mysteries.  Here  again  the  unsoundness  of  a  nomi- 
nal professor  was  manifested.  Faithful  very  pro- 
perly showed,  that  as  far  as  knowledge  is  a  sign  of 
grace,  it  should  have  been  mentioned  first,  since  it  is 
by  the  gracious  light  communicated  to  the  heart,  that 
the  penitent  sees  the  true  nature  of  sin,  and  is  pro- 
perly affected  by  his  guilt  and  danger,  as  well  as 
understands  the  way  of  escape.  But  this  is  widely 
different,  as  he  clearly  showed,  from  great  know- 
ledge of  gospel  mysteries.  A  person  may  under- 
stand all  mysteries,  and  be  able  to  speak  of  them  to 
others,  and  yet  be  destitute  of  saving  grace.  He 
ought  to  have  distinguished  this  gracious  know- 
ledge from  the  knowledge  of  barren  speculation. 
One  may  make  a  talker,  but  only  the  other  can 
make  a  Christian.  Gracious  knowledge  is  accom- 
panied with  faith  and  love,  and  puts  a  man  upon 
doing  the  will  of  God  from  the  heart.  It  was  for 
this  that  David  praj'-ed  :  "Give  me  understanding, 
that  I  may  know  thy  testimonies.  These  undeni- 
able truths  pressed  hard  upon  Talkative,  insomuch 
that  when  he  was  requested  to  give  his  third  sign 
of  grace,  he  declined  to  do  so,  saying  he  perceived 
they  should  not  agree.  Upon  this  Faithful  took 
up  the  word,  and  with  great  force  pointed  out  the 
true  manner  in  which  grace  discovers  itself,  both 
to  him  who  has  it,  and  also  to  others.  To  him  who 
has  it,  it  is  discovered  by  his  deep  conviction  of 
sin,  especially  the  sin  of  his  nature  and  the  sin  of 
unbelief;  and  after  this  by  the  revelation  of  Chris; 
in  his  heart,  and  his  actually  closing  with  him  by 
faith,  in  his  saving  office  and  character,  to  be  a 
Saviour  to  him.  To  others,  saving  grace  in  a  be- 
liever shows  itself  by  an  experimental  confesssion 
of  his  faith  in  Christ,  and  by  a  fife  answerable  to 


THE    CHARACTER   OF   TALKATIVE.        235 

that  confession.  After  enlarging  a  little  upon  this 
most  scriptural  definition  of  saving  grace,  Faithful 
then  proceeded,  with  the  boldness  and  plainness  of 
one  who  was  indeed  faithful,  to  press  the  following 
inquiry  upon  his  talkative  companion:  "Do  you 
experience  this  first  part  of  the  description  of  sav 
ing  grace  ?  And  does  your  life  and  conversation 
testify  the  same,  or  standeth  your  religion  in  word 
and  in  tongue,  and  not  in  deed  and  in  truth."  He 
begged  him  to  answer  this  question,  as  in  the  sight 
of  Him  who  knoweth  all  things.  Then  did  Talka- 
tive begin  to  blush,  as  well  as  he  might.  He  posi- 
tively refused  to  answer  any  such  questions,  and 
was  only  anxious  to  know  why  they  were  proposed 
to  him.  Faithful  told  him  why.  He  had  seen  him 
forward  to  talk,  and  knew  not  that  he  had  any  other 
evidence  to  give  of  his  conversion.  In  addition  to 
this,  he  told  him  faithfully  what  a  bad  character  he 
heard  of  him,  as  one  who  brought  only  a  reproach 
and  a  scandal  upon  reliijion,  by  his  profession  of  it. 
and  talking  about  it.  This  was  too  much  for  this 
empty  boaster.  And  therefore,  pretending  that 
Faithful  delighted  to  take  up  evil  reports,  and  to 
judge  rashljs  he  called  him  a  peevish,  melancholy 
man,  not  fit  to  be  discoursed  with;  and  so  he  left 
his  company.  It  was  clear  he  had  rather  leave 
such  company  than  reform  his  life.  When  Faith- 
ful joined  Christian,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  think- 
ing, that  by  his  plain  dealing  with  such  a  character, 
he  had,  at  any  rate,  delivered  his  own  soul.  And 
Christian  said,  "I  wish  that  all  men  would  deal 
with  such,  as  you  have  done." 

Sufl^er  me,  dear  brethren,  in  the  conclusion  of 
this  Lecture,  to  act  the  part  of  Faithful  to  the 
hearts  and  consciences  of  every  individual  here 


236  LECTURE  XVI. 

present.  Do  not  think  me  peevish  or  melancholy, 
or  ready  to  take  up  ill  reports,  and  to  form  rash 
judgments,  if  I  put  a  few  plain  and  pointed  ques- 
tions to  you.  Believe  me  when  I  tell  you,  that  love 
for  your  souls  is  the  secret  spring  of  all  the  home 
questions  which  I  press  upon  you.  Say  then,  have 
none  of  you  fallen  into  the  mistake  of  him  we  have 
been  considering  ?  Are  not  the  only  marks  of  sav- 
ing grace  which  you  have  to  produce — making  a 
great  outcry  about  religion,  and  perhaps  having 
great  knowledge  in  gospel  mysteries  ?  Are  you 
not  mistaking  the  talk  of  the  lips,  which  tendeth 
to  poverty,  for  that  humble,  contrite,  penitent  sense 
of  your  guilt  and  vileness,  without  which  you  are 
nothing  ?  Are  you  not  mistaking  a  barren  and  un- 
fruitful knowledge  of  the  gospel  for  an  experi- 
mental acquaintance  with  it,  and  a  practical  sub- 
mission to  it  ?  Do  you  know  any  thing  of  a  real 
work  of  grace,  manifesting  itself  to  your  heart,  by 
producing  in  you  a  deep  sense  of  your  vileness  and 
depravity,  as  a  ruined,  perishing  sinner  ?  Do  you 
know  any  thing  of  a  personal  apphcation  by  faith 
to  Jesus  Christ,  the  only  Saviour  of  the  ruined  and 
the  lost  ?  Do  you  confess  his  name  before  men  ? 
And  are  you  daily  endeavouring  to  frame  and  to 
fashion  your  own  life,  and  the  lives  of  all  that  ap- 
pertain to  you,  according  to  that  holy  profession  ? 
Is  the  sanctifying  power  of  heavenly  grace  to  be 
seen  in  all  you  do,  in  all  you  say,  and  wherever 
you  go  ?  Or,  while  you  talk  about  religion  and 
profess  it,  do  you  bring  a  reproach  upon  it,  by  a 
violent  temper,  an  unruly  tongue,  and  unchristian 
deportment  ?  To  use  the  emphatic  words  of  Faith- 
ful, "Do  you  experience  this  description  of  true 
grace,  and  doth  your  life  and  conversation  testify 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  TALKATIVE.    237 

the  same  ?  or  standeth  your  religion  in  word  and  in 
tongue,  and  not  in  deed  and  in  truth  ?"  Oh,  let  not 
the  reply  of  your  conscience  be  any  thing  but  what 
the  great  God,  who  knoweth  all  things,  knows  to  be 
true  !  If  our  heart  condemn  us,  God  is  greater 
than  our  heart,  and  knoweth  all  things.  Not  he 
that  commendeth  himself  is  approved,  but  whom 
the  Lord  commendeth.  Let  us  never  think  our- 
selves possessed  of  true  religion,  if  we  have  not  a 
faith  which  purifies  the  heart,  overcomes  the  world, 
bridles  the  tongue,  and  works  by  love.  "  Let  us 
not  love  in  word,  neither  in  tongue,  but  in  deed  and 
in  truth.  And  hereby  we  know  that  we  are  of  the 
truth,  and  shall  assure  our  hearts  before  him." 

THE  HYMN. 

Almighty  God,  thy  piercing  eye 

Strikes  through  the  shades  of  night, 

And  our  most  secret  actions  lie 
All  open  to  thy  sight. 

There's  not  a  sin  that  we  commit, 

Nor  idle  word  we  say, 
But  in  thy  dreadful  book  'tis  writ, 

Against  the  judgment  day. 

And  must  the  crimes  that  I  have  done 

Be  read  and  published  there  ? 
Be  all  exposed  before  the  sun, 

While  men  and  angels  hear  ? 

Lord,  at  thy  feet  ashamjed  I  lie ; 

Upward  I  dare  not  look  ; 
Pardon  my  sins  before  I  die, 

And  blot  them  from  thy  book. 

Remember  all  the  dying  pains 

That  my  Redeemer  felt, 
And  let  his  blood  wash  out  my  stains, 

And  answer  for  my  guilt. 


238  LECTURE   XVI. 


THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  maker  of  all  things,  Judge  of  all  men,  thou 
hast  appointed  a  day  in  which  thou  wilt  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness  ;  we  must  all  appear  before  thy  dreadful  bar, 
and  there  give  an  account  for  every  idle  word  which  we  have 
ever  spoken.  We  prostrate  ourselves  now  before  the  throne 
of  thy  grace,  before  we  are  summoned  to  the  seat  of  thy 
judgment.  We  acknowledge  and  bewail  our  manifold  sins 
and  wickedness,  which  we,  irom  time  to  time,  most  grievously 
have  committed,  by  thought,  word  and  deed,  against  thy 
Divine  majesty,  provoking  most  justly  thy  wrath  and  indig- 
nation against  us.  We  would  especially  confess,  and  be 
deeply  humbled  for  the  sins  of  our  mouths.  How  often  have 
we  offended  with  our  tongue  !  How  often  hast  thou  been  near 
to  our  lips,  and  far  from  our  reins  !  If  thou.  Lord,  shouldst 
be  extreme  to  mark  iniquity,  who  may  abide  ?  Enter  not 
into  judgment  with  us,  for  in  thy  sight  we  can  never  be  jus- 
tified. Oh  may  we  not  be  satisfied  with  knowing  the  truth 
of  thy  holy  gospel,  and  being  able  to  talk  about  it,  without 
receiving  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  that  we  may  be  saved 
by  it.  May  our  whole  life  and  conversation  be  habitually 
regulated  by  the  solemn  truths  which  we  profess.  Deliver 
us  from  the  condemnation  of  those  who  say  and  do  not.  For- 
bid it.  Lord,  that  any  of  us,  after  professing  thy  holy  truth 
before  many  witnesses,  should  ever  cause  thy  good  ways  to 
be  reproached  and  blasphemed,  by  our  unsanctified  tempers, 
and  our  inconsistent  lives.  Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  upon  our 
mouth  ;  keep  the  door  of  our  lips.  Deliver  us,  O  thou  heart- 
searching  God,  from  deceiving  ourselves,  and  thinking  that 
our  state  is  good,  if  in  thy  sight  our  religion  is  vain.  Make 
us  all  the  subjects  of  thy  saving  grace.  May  we  know  our- 
selves that  it  has  indeed  visited  us,  by  the  deep  sense  which 
we  have  of  our  vileness  and  depravity,  the  preciousness  of 
Chri.st  to  our  souls,  and  the  peace  and  rest  which  we  find  in 
looking  unto  Jesus.  And  may  we  prove  to  others  that  we 
are  thy  children,  by  constantly  professing  the  faith  of  Christ 
crucified,  and  manfully  fighting  under  his  banner  against  sin, 
the  world,  and  the  devil,  and  continuing  his  faithful  soldiers 
and  servants  to  our  lives'  end.  Hear  us,  O  Lord,  and  an- 
swer us  according  to  the  multitude  of  thy  mercies,  through 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Saviour  ;  and  let  the  words  of  our  mouth, 
and  the  meditation  of  our  hearts,  be  acceptable  in  thy  sight, 
O  Lord,  our  strength  and  our  Redeemer.    Amen. 


LECTUEE  XYTL 

VANITY   FAIR. 


Far  from  my  thoughts,  vain  world,  begone, 
Let  mj'  religious  hours  alone  : 
From  flesh  and  sense  I  would  be  free. 
And  hold  communion,  Lord,  with  thee. 

My  heart  grows  warm  with  holy  fire. 
And  kindles  with  a  pure  desire. 
To  see  thy  grace,  to  taste  thy  love, 
And  feel  thine  influence  from  above. 

When  I  can  say  that  God  is  mine. 
When  I  can  see  thy  glories  shine, 
I'll  tread  the  world  beneath  my  feet, 
And  all  that  men  call  rich  and  great. 


Psalm  cxix.  37. 

tTJRlS   AM'AT   MUrS  ETES   FROM  BEHOLDING  YANITT;   AND  QUICBOSN  THOU   ME 
IN  THT  WAT. 

What  a  suitable  prayer,  my  brethren,  is  this  for 
the  Christian  pilgrim,  at  every  step  which  he  takes 
in  his  progress  through  this  world  of  sin  and  vanity 
to  the  place  of  his  everlasting  rest !  We  have  already 
had  set  before  us,  in  a  strong  light,  what  the  believer 
may  encounter  from  the  assaults  of  his  adversary 
the  devil ;  and  we  have  now  to  direct  our  thoughts 
to  the  treatment  he  may  expect  from  another  adver- 
sary, even  this  present  evil  world.  This  is  admi- 
rably depicted  by  our  author  in  his  description  of 


240  LECTURE   XVII. 

Christian  and  Faithful  in  Vanity  Fair.  May  we 
all  perceive  and  understand  the  important  truths 
which  this  figurative  representation  is  calculated  to 
convey  !  We  have  to  consider  in  our  present  Lec- 
ture, 

I.  The  interview  which  our  pilgrims  had  with 
Evangelist,  before  they  entered  the  town  of  Va 
nity. 

II.  A  description  of  the  fair  which  was  held  at 
that  place  ;  and 

III.  The  reception  which  the  pilgrims  there  met. 

I.  As  to  their  interview  with  Evangelist.  Soon 
after  Talkative  had  parted  from  them,  they  were 
both  much  overjoyed  at  the  sight  of  Evangelist 
coming  to  them.  They  welcomed  him  with  the 
sincerest  affection,  and  he  breathed  out  for  them  the 
expression  of  his  unfeigned  love  and  good  will.  At 
his  desire  they  each  related  all  the  travail  that  had 
befallen  them  by  the  way,  since  he  last  parted  with 
them.  When  he  heard  of  this,  he  congratulated 
them  both  for  having  continued  in  the  way,  not- 
vi'ithstanding  the  many  infirmities  which  they  had 
betrayed.  And  he  added  a  most  animating  exhor- 
tation to  continue  steadfast  and  unmovable,  even 
unto  the  end.  He  pointed  out  how  necessary  it 
was  for  them,  in  their  further  progress,  to  watch 
and  strive,  as  they  were  stiil  (to  use  his  own  ex- 
pressive termj  within  gunshot  of  Satan.  More- 
over, Evangelist  being  a  prophet,  he  warned  the 
pilgrims  what  they  must  expect  presently  from  this 
evil  world.  The  town  to  which  he  pointed,  and 
which  they  would  soon  have  to  enter,  would  prove 
to  them  a  scene  of  severe  trial  and  sufferins".    There 


VANITY   FAIR.  241 

he  forewarned  them,  one  of  them  would  be  put  to 
death,  and  intimated  that  the  martyr  would  be  m^ore 
favoured  than  his  fellow.  Earnestly  therefore  did 
he  exhort  them  to  be  strong,  to  quit  themselves  like 
men,  and  not  to  be  moved  by  any  of  the  things 
which  they  should  suffer,  but  to  endure  as  seeing 
Him  who  is  invisible. 

We  may  here  briefly  remark,  that  the  Lord  ge- 
nerally prepares  his  believing  people  for  approach- 
ing trials  by  special  privileges  and  special  com- 
munications of  his  grace.  If  you,  dear  brethren, 
are  pursuing  your  way  to  Zion,  and  any  special 
dangers  and  difficulties  are  in  your  path,  wait  only 
upon  God  in  the  diligent  use  of  every  appointed 
means  of  grace,  and  you  shall  be  strengthened  and 
prepared  for  the  approaching  conflict.  While  you 
dihgently  ply  the  throne  of  grace,  prayerfully  study 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  or  faithfully  attend  to  the  mi- 
nistry of  the  Avord,  you  shall  receive  the  light  and 
instruction,  the  warninor  and  encouraoement,  which 
you  need.  Many  things  which  were  too  hard  for 
you  shall  be  made  plain  when  you  go  into  the  sanc- 
tuary of  God.  You  shall  know  from  your  own  ex- 
perience that  a  faithful  ambassador  is  health.  The 
precious  truths  which  he  proclaims  to  you  shall  be 
health  to  your  soul.  When  he  warns  you  of  the 
craft  and  subtilty  of  the  devil,  puts  you  on  your 
guard  against  your  indwelling  foe,  or  sets  before  you 
what  you  have  to  expect  from  the  pleasures  and  the 
cares,  the  business  and  the  amusements  of  the  world, 
you  shall  find  his  exhortations  a  word  in  season. 
And  though  bonds  and  afflictions  may  await  you, 
w^hen  you  hsten  to  the  animating  words  of  the  Cap- 
tain of  your  salvation  :  "  Fear  none  of  those  things 
which  thou  shalt  suffer ;"  and, "  Be  thou  faithful  unto 

21 


242  LECTURE   XVIT. 

death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life,"  your 
courage  and  your  faith  will  alike  revive,  and  you 
will  feel  that  you  "  can  do  all  things  through  Christ 
who  strengthens  you."  The  solemn  admonition  of 
Evangelist  will  sink  deep  into  your  heart,  when  he 
says,  "  Let  the  kingdom  be  always  before  you,  and 
believe  steadfastly  concerning  things  that  are  invi- 
sible. Let  nothing  that  is  on  this  side  the  other 
world  get  within  you.  Look  well  to  your  own 
heart.  Set  your  face  hke  a  flint ;  and  remember 
you  have  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  on  your 
side." 

n.  We  pass  on  now  to  the  description  of  Vanity 
Fair.  When  the  two  pilgrims  had  got  out  of  the 
wilderness,  they  beheld  the  town  of  Vanity  before 
them.  In  this  place  a  fair  is  held  all  the  year  long. 
And  this  is  of  very  ancient  standing.  From  the 
earliest  times  there  were  pilgrims  to  the  Celestial 
City ;  and  the  great  enemy  perceiving  that  they 
passed  through  this  town  of  Vanity,  determined  to 
set  up  a  fair  here,  that  he  might  entice  and  seduce 
them  from  the  narrow  way.  The  merchandise  sold 
at  this  fair  is  of  the  most  various  kinds.  There  is 
something  adapted  to  the  almost  endless  variety  of 
human  tastes  and  inclinations  and  passions.  There 
are  houses  and  lands,  places  and  honours,  titles  and 
preferments,  countries  and  kingdoms,  carnal  delight, 
and  that  of  all  sorts,  set  out  and  displayed  in  the 
most  enticing  form,  silver  and  gold,  pearls  and  pre- 
cious stones.  In  short,  all  sins,  all  follies,  all  vani- 
ties, all  pleasures  and  pursuits,  that  can  ever  entice  - 
the  heart  from  God,  are  here  exhibited.  Here  pre- 
sumptuous sinners  are  seen  to  draw  iniquity  with 
cords  of  vanity,  and  sin  as  it  were  with  a  cart-rope. 


VANITY  FAIR.  243 

Here  the  votaries  of  superstition  are  taken  with 
superstitious  vanities.  Here  the  god  of  this  world 
maintains  his  sway  by  filling-  the  minds  of  men 
with  worldly  objects,  and  bHnding  their  eyes  to  the 
amazing  reahties  of  eternity  !  And  here  the  gene- 
rahty  walk  in  the  vanity  of  their  minds,  too  busy  or 
too  thouo-htless  to  attend  to  the  one  thincr  needful. 
The  peculiar  sins  and  vanities  of  every  separate 
nation  were  exposed  for  sale ;  and  the  wares  of 
Bab3^1on  were  greatly  promoted  by  the  fair.  Our 
pilgrims  were  obliged  to  go  through  the  midst  of 
this  fair.  In  order  to  avoid  it  a  man  must  needs  go 
out  of  the  world.  The  Prince  of  princes  went 
through  it  himself,  in  the  days  of  his  humiliation, 
but  he  had  no  mind  for  any  of  its  merchandise ; 
and  he  passed  through  it  without  casting  so  much 
as  the  slightest  wish  or  thought  after  any  of  the 
glittering  attractions  which  it  spread  before  him. 

Here  let  us  pause  to  commune  for  a  httle  while 
with  our  own  hearts.  Have  we,  my  brethren,  made 
a  proper  estimate  of  things  temporal  and  things 
eternal  ?  In  what  light  do  we  regard  this  present 
evil  world  ?  Do  we  love  it,  and  walk  according  to 
the  course  of  it,  and  are  we  seeking  our  happiness 
in  the  attainment  of  any  of  the  ghttering  and  entic- 
ing objects  which  it  spreads  before  us  ?  Or  are  we 
evidentl}^  people  of  another  spirit,  not  of  the  world, 
even  as  our  Divine  and  glorious  Master  was  not  of 
this  world — having  our  conversation  in  heaven,  and 
setting  our  affections  on  things  above,  not  on  things 
of  the  earth  ?  The  true  Christian,  my  brethren,  as 
he  becomes  spirituall3''-minded,  and  conformable  to 
his  Saviour's  image,  looks  upon  the  world,  with  all 
its  pomps  and  vanities  and  empty  show,  in  some 
uch  hght  as  a  grave  and  wise  person  regards  the 


244  LECTURE   XVII. 

bustle  and  the  baubles,  the  stir  and  excitement,  the 
dissipation  and  the  noise,  of  a  country  fair.  In  the 
believer's  eyes,  the  whole  world  is  the  town  of  Va- 
nity. He  sees  mankind,  in  general,  walking  in  vain 
show  and  disquieting  themselves  in  vain.  All  ranks 
and  deorees  of  men,  as  they  are  uninfluenced  by 
true  religion,  are  walking  in  vanit3^  "  Surely  men 
of  low  degree  are  vanity,  and  men  of  high  degree 
are  a  lie  :  to  be  laid  in  the  balance  they  are  alto- 
gether lighter  than  vanity.  All  the  strivings  of 
ambition,  the  contentions  of  avarice,  the  vices  of  the 
wicked,  the  frivolities  of  the  gay,  and  the  decora- 
tions of  the  vain,  make  up  the  fair  of  vanity.  Ever 
since  our  first  parents  forsook  the  fountain  of  living 
water,  it  has  been  the  fatal  propensity  of  all  their 
descendants  to  hew  out  for  themselves  broken  cis- 
terns, which  can  hold  no  water.  People  try,  in  the 
endless  variety  of  pursuits,  to  fill  up  the  aching  void 
which  they  have  in  their  hearts.  But  their  efforts 
are  in  vain.  They  weary  themselves  in  the  fire  for 
very  vanity.  The  more  they  try,  the  more  they  are 
convinced  that  the  "  bed  is  shorter  than  that  a  man 
can  stretch  himself  on  it,  and  the  covering  narrower 
than  that  a  man  can  wrap  himself  in  it." 

"  In  vain  we  hope  from  earth  to  find 
Some  solid  good  to  fill  the  mind; 
We  try  new  pleasures,  but  we  feel 
The  inward  thirst  and  torment  still." 

All  the  sinful  lusts  and  pleasures  of  the  world,  all 
the  attractive  and  alluring  objects  which  it  has  to 
present,  are  but  the  different  stalls  in  the  fair  of 
vanity.  But  however  largely  we  may  trade  in  any 
of  its  merchandise,  or  with  whatever  variety  of  it 
we  may  load  ourselves,  we  are  sure  to  find,  and 


VANITY  FAIR.  245 

pronounce  in  the  end,  that  all  is  vanity.  Neither 
sin,  nor  pleasure,  nor  business,  nor  riches,  nor 
honours,  nor  all  the  delights  of  sense  combined,  can 
impart  solid  satisfaction  to  the  immortal  soul. 
"Vanity  of  vanities,"  says  one  who  spoke  from  ex- 
perience, "  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit." 
But  this  is  not  all  the  mischief.  This  keen  pursuit 
of  temporal  things  not  only  yields  a  certain  harvest 
of  disappointment  to  all  who  engage  in  it ;  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  it  is  the  grand  device  of  the  Wicked 
One,  to  withdraw  the  attention  of  mankind  from  the 
consideration  of  their  everlasting  interests.  By 
decking  out  temporal  objects  and  pursuits,  and  car- 
nal gratifications,  in  bewitching  array  before  them, 
he  succeeds  in  diverting  them  from  the  things 
which  belong  to  their  eternal  peace.  Oh,  what 
vain  and  empty  objects  are  a  sufficient  bait  to  entice 
the  children  of  men  from  resolutely  pursuing  the 
chief  good !  How  do  they  sin  against  their  own 
mercies  by  following  after  lying  vanities,  empty 
delusions,  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  cannot  profit ! 
The  merchandise  of  Rome,  the  lightest  of  all  vani- 
ties, which  consists  in 

"  Indulgences,  dispenses,  pardons,  bulls," 

was  more  suited  to  a  dark  and  ignorant  age.  Oh, 
if  men  felt  the  preciousness  of  the  vital  truths 
which  burst  forth  so  brightly  at  the  glorious  Re- 
formation ;  if  they  knew  from  experience  the  suffi- 
ciency of  holy  Scripture  to  make  them  wise  unto 
salvation,  how  httle  store  would  they  set  by  the 
wares  of  Babylon  !  There  is  little  danger  that  the 
true  Protestant,  whose  heart  is  established  with 
grace,  should  be  carried  away  with  these  delusions. 
«'  Will  a  man  leave  the  snow  of  Lebanon,  which 

21* 


246  LECTURE  XVII. 

cometh  from  the  rock  of  the  field  ?  Or  shall  the 
cold  flowing  waters  that  come  from  another  place 
be  forsaken  ?"  But  however  it  may  be  with  those 
that  are  naturally  inclined  to  superstitious  vanities, 
we  have  perhaps  more  to  apprehend  from  profane- 
ness  and  ungodhness,  and  the  impious  productions 
and  perverse  reasonings  of  skeptics  and  infidels,  and 
oppositions  of  science,  falsely  so  called.  Let  us 
constantly  recollect,  how  easy  a  thing  it  is  for  our 
light  and  carnal  minds  to  be  drawn  aside  and  en- 
ticed by  the  various  allurements  which  will  be 
presented  to  us  in  this  deceitful  and  ensnaring 
scene.  Whatever  be  our  peculiar  weak  point,  or 
special  infirmity,  we  are  sure  to  meet  with  some 
object  which  will  especially  appeal  to  it.  We  can- 
not doubt  for  a  moment,  that  all  w^ho  are  hving  in 
known  sin,  and  thus  indulging  their  unruly  wills 
and  affections,  are  hfling  up  their  souls  unto  vanity. 
Neither  can  there  be  less  hesitation  in  pronouncing 
the  same  sentence  upon  all  who  are  evidently 
"lovers  of  pleasure  more  than  lovers  of  God."  In 
addition  to  all  this,  let  us  every  one  tremble  to  think 
that  things,  lawful  in  themselves,  when  sought  or 
possessed  in  a  manner  which  is  inconsistent  with 
"seeking  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  right- 
eousness," even  these  become  the  snares  of  Satan, 
to  draw  our  souls  in  the  downward  path.  And  if 
we  are  loving  or  pursuing  any  object,  however  law- 
ful or  innocent  in  itself,  so  as  to  transgress  this  rule, 
we  too  have  been  drawn  aside,  and  we  also  have 
lifted  up  our  soul  unto  vanity.  The  true  Christian 
must  needs  pass  through  Vanity  Fair.  But  while 
in  the  world,  he  must  not  be  of  the  w^orld.  He 
nmst  dare  to  be  singular.  He  must  follow  the 
steps,  and  bear  the  image,  and  breathe  the  spint 


VANITY  FAIR. 


24T 


of  Him  who  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the 
shame.  Oh  !  if  vou  would  know  the  fehcity  of 
communion  with  God,  and  rejoice  with  the  glad- 
ness of  his  people,  "  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world, 
but  be  ye  transforme.d  by  the^  renewmg  of  your . 
minds."     ^l  ■  ■  :  '^    ^^  '  ■■'  '  ^     \' 'i 

III.  The  reception  which  our   pilgrims  met  in 
the  town  of  Vanity  was  to  be  the  last  head  for  our 
present  consideration.     As  they  entered  into  the  ^ 
fair,  all  the  people  were  moved,  and  the  town  it-   ) 
self  was  quite  in  an  uproar  about  them.     There 
w^ere  especially  three  things  which  excited  the  as- 
tonishment of  the  people  with  regard  to  Christian 
and  his  faithful  companion,  viz.,  their  dress,  their  _ 
sneech,  and  their  contempt  for.,  the   merchandise 
that  was  sold  ^Ihe  fair."  Their  dress  was  wholfy 
different  from  the  raiment  worn  by  all  the  people  who 
traded  at  the  fair.     This  caused  them  to  be  people 
wondered  at,  as  if  they  were  outlandish  men.    The 
like  impression  was  also   produced  by  their  lan- 
guap-e.     Very   few    could    understand    what    they 
said!     The  pilgrims  spoke  the  language  of  Canaan, 
but  they  that  kept  the  fair  were  men  of  this  world, 
so  that"  they  seemed  barbarians  each  to  the  other. 
And  what  still  more  struck  all  the  traders  at  the 
fair,  was  thef  indifferent  eyej^with  which  the  pil- 
^ms  viewed  all  the  ifTittenng  and  attractive  objects 


that  surrounded  them  on  every  Side.  1  hose  same 
wares,  which  shone  so  bright  and  looked  so  enticing  j 
in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude,  had  no  attraction  for  / 
our  pilgrims.  They  cared  not  so  much  as  to  look 
upon  them ;  and  when  they  were  called  upon  to 
buy,  as  if  conscious  that  the  avenues  to  temptation 
mu>t  be  closed,  they  would  put  their  fingers  in  their 


r 


248  LECTURE   XVII. 

ears  and  cry,  "  Turn  away  mine  eyes  from  behold 
ing  vanity  !"  Then  they  would  look  upward,  as 
signifying  that  their  trade  and  traffic  was  in  heaven. 
Being  asked  "  what  they  would  buy,"  they  rephed, 
"We  buy  the  truth."  This  strange  answer,  as 
well  as  their  strange  appearance,  and  their  non- 
compliance Avith  the  customs  of  the  fair,  caused 
them  to  be  mocked  and  derided.  They  were  soon 
after  taken  up,  and  had  to  their  examination.  The 
pilgrims  gave  a  plain  and  faithful  account  of  them- 
selves. But  in  spite  of  this,  they  were  considered 
by  their  examiners  as  mad,  or  people  who  came  to 
make  nothing  but  confusion.  Thus  they  were 
shamefully  treated,  and  put  into  a  cage  to  be  re- 
viled ;  while  the  lord  of  the  fair  laughed,  and 
rejoiced  at  what  was  done  to  them.  But  the  per- 
secuted pilgrims  behaved  with  such  meekness  and 
wisdom,  and  patience  and  kindness,  that  they  won 
by  this  conduct  a  party  to  favour  them,  even  from 
some  men  of  the  fair,  who  were  less  prejudiced 
than  the  rest.  When  this  party  ventured  to  speak 
on  their  behalf,  violent  altercations  took  place,  and 
blows  ensued.  All  this  commotion  was  laid  to  the 
charge  of  the  pilgrims,  though  they  had  not  taken 
the  slightest  part  in  it.  Upon  this  they  were  se- 
verely beaten,  and  treated  with  the  utmost  rigour. 
But  in  the  midst  of  this  they  behaved  themselves 
yet  more  wisely,  and  bore  what  they  suffered  in 
such  a  manner,  that  several  others  (though  few  in 
com])arison  to  the  rest)  were  won  to  their  side. 
This  only  increased  the  rage  of  their  adversaries  ; 
and  they  threatened  that  neither  cage  nor  iron 
should  serve  their  turn,  but  that  they  should  die 
for  what  they  had  done,  and  for  deluding  the  men 


# 


e 


VANITY   FAIR.  249 

of  the  fair.     Thus  were  they  thrust  into  the  prison, 
and  their  feet  made  fast  in  the  stocks. 

See  here  a  specimen  of  the  spirit  of  the  world, 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  shows  its  hostihty  to 
the  true-hearted  followers  of  Christ.  The  nominal 
Christian  an^  the  mere  formahst,  whose  faith  is 
dead,  escape  all  this  opposition.  The  world  cannot 
hate  them,  for  they  are  of  the  world,  and  the  world 
will  love  its  own.  But  if  you  are  a  Christian  in- 
deed, and  faithful  to  Him  who  has  called  you  to  be 
his  soldier,  the  reproaches  of  them  that  reproached 
Him  will  come  upon  you.  When  you  pass  through 
Vanity  Fair — I  mean,  when  you  are  necessarily 
brought  in  contact  with  the  thoughtless  triflers  who 
have  no  practical  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes, 
men  of  the  world,  who  have  their  portion  in  this 
life,  and  who  are  spending  their  days  in  vanity, 
and  who  are  expending  all  their  energies  in  pur- 
suing the  honours  or  the  riches,  the  pleasures  or 
amusements  of  life — when,  I  say,  you  come  in  con- 
tact with  these,  if  you  are  true  to  your  principles, 
you  are  sure  to  be  wondered  at  and  reviled.  The 
offence  of  the  cross  is  not  ceased,  yea,  and  "  all 
that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  shall  suffer  per- 
secution." Satan  is  the  lord  of  Vanity  Fair.  He 
is  the  god  of  this  world,  who  Winds  the  eyes  of  them 
that  believe  not.  And  all  who  throng  the  broad 
road  of  destruction,  and  walk  according  to  the  course 
of  this  world,  are  actuated  by  "  the  prince  of  the 
power  of  the  air."  He  it  is  who  works  upon  their 
pride  and  envy,  and  thus  stirs  up  their  opposition 
and  hatred  to  the  people  of  God.  If  they  see  you 
manifesting  the  spirit  of  a  Christian,  and  resolutely 
setting  your  face  as  a  flint  against  all  the  sins  and 
follies,  and  vanities  and  delusions  of  the  age  and 


250  LECTUBE  XVII. 

the  place  where  you  live,  they  will  think  it  strange 
that  you  run  not  with  them  into  the  same  excesses. 
Those  who  know  nothing  of  the  power  of  true  reli- 
gion will  be  especially  amazed  at  your  dress,  your 
speech  and  your  indifference  to  the  things  in  which 
they  so  greatly  delight.  By  your  dress,  I  mean 
that  raiment  which  you  have  put  on  by  faith,  and 
which  you  avow  as  the  only  ground  of  your  accep- 
tance before  God — the  righteousness  and  atonement 
of  your  divine  Saviour.  You  have  given  up  the 
vain  effort  of  estabhshing  your  own  righteousness. 
As  a  self-despairing  sinner,  you  have  fled  for  par- 
don and  acceptance  to  Him  whose  blood  cleanseth 
from  all  sin,  and  whose  obedience  is  a  robe  of 
righteousness  to  all  that  beheve.     You  can  say, 

"  Since  the  dear  hour  that  brought  me  to  thy  foot, 
And  cut  up  all  my  follies  by  the  root, 
I  never  trusted  in  an  arm  but  thine, 
Nor  hoped  but  in  thy  righteousness  divine." 

Now,  this  entire  renouncing  of  our  own  works,  and 
single  dependence  for  justification  on  Christ  alone, 
gives  wonderful  ofllsnce  to  the  self-righteous,  the 
worldly,  and  all  who  have  never  been  thoroughly 
convinced  of  sin.  It  is  an  astonishing  fact,  that 
notwithstanding  their  wicked  lives,  their  habitual 
neglect  of  known  duty,  their  love  of  pleasure  and 
of  amusement,  the  great  bulk  of  unconverted  peo- 
ple are  still  hoping  to  be  saved  by  something  that 
they  do,  and  cannot  entertain  the  notion  of  being 
saved  in  any  other  way.  Again,  when  the  men  of 
this  world  meet  with  a  true  Israelite  coming,  as  it 
were,  out  of  Egypt,  and  delivered  from  the  yoke 
of  Satan  and  the  bondage  of  this  present  evil 
world,  they  "  hear  a  language  which  they  under- 


VANITY   FAIR.  251 

Stand  not."  If  you  speak  the  language  of  Canaan, 
and  have  your  speech  seasoned  with  grace,  when 
you  speak  of  the  things  which  are  known  to  all  the 
children  of  God — the  wickedness  of  the  heart,  the 
preciousness  of  Christ,  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the 
difficulty  of  believing — you  will  appear  to  many  as 
one  that  speaks  a  foreign  language.  But  it  is  espe- 
cially by  your  holy  indifference  and  superiority  to 
the  vain  delights  and  entangling  cares  of  this  pre- 
sent evil  world  that  you  are  to  prove  yourself  to  be 
numbered  among  the  peculiar  people.  You  must 
let  your  moderation  be  known  unto  all  m^en.  You 
must  show  that  you  are  crucified  to  the  world  ;  that 
you  set  very  light  by  the  glittering  and  enticing 
objects  which  others  so  eagerly  pursue ;  that  your 
real  business  is  about  heavenly  things ;  and  that 
you  are  taught 

"  To  scorn  the  trifles  of  a  day 
For  joys  which  none  can  take  away." 

Learn,  however,  a  lesson  of  caution  from  the  con- 
duct of  our  pilgrims.  The  Prince  of  this  world 
has  so  much  in  you,  that  you  cannot  be  exposed, 
without  danger,  to  the  special  temptations  which 
you  will  meet.  Stop  up,  therefore,  the  avenues  of 
temptation.  Shut  your  eye  to  every  sight,  and  stop 
your  ear  to  every  sound,  that  would  allure  you 
from  the  right  way ;  and  cry  earnestly  to  the  God 
of  your  salvation,  "  Turn  away  mine  eyes  from 
beholding  vanity."  Still  look  up,  as  you  proceed 
on  your  way,  for  larger  supplies  of  heavenly  grace, 
and  show  plainly  that  your  citizenship  is  above. 
Remember  that  the  truth  of  God  is  all  that  is  really 
worth  your  possessing.  "  Buy  the  truth  and  sell  it 
not."     Buy  u  at  any  price,  and  sell  it  at  no  price 


252  LECTURE  XVII. 

And  if  you  be  reproached  or  reviled,  and  all  man- 
ner of  evil  spoken  of  you,  falsely,  for  Christ's  sake, 
care  not  for  it.  Only  be  anxious  to  suffer  as  a 
Christian.  Endeavour  to  manifest  the  mee^mess 
and  forbearance  and  forgiveness  of  Him  by  whose 
name  you  are  called,  and  all  shall  be  well.  The 
example  which  you  show  of  patience,  and  of  suffer- 
ing affliction,  shall  stop  the  mouths  of  gainsayer^  ; 
and  by  God's  blessing,  some  who  obeyed  not  the 
word,  shall,  without  the  word,  be  won  by  the  beha- 
viour which  they  witness.  Whatever  reproaches 
may  be  laid  upon  you,  and  whatever  false  charges 
may  be  brought  against  you,  see  that  you  behave 
yourself  wisely  in  a  perfect  way.  "When  you  are 
reviled,  revile  not  again.  When  you  suffer,  do  not 
threaten,  but  commit  yourself  to  Him  who  judgeth 
righteously.  Be  not  overcome  of  evil.  Let  not 
the  evil  treatment  which  you  receive  stir  up  a  re- 
vengeful, angry  spirit  in  you.  "Love  ye  your 
enemies,  and  pray  for  them  which  despitefully  use 
you.  Such  a  testimony  is  sure  to  speak  powerfully 
and  effectually  to  the  consciences  of  some  who  wit- 
ness it.  Satan  may  rage  and  stir  up  his  adherents 
to  greater  violence,  when  he  perceives  that  through 
your  means  his  party  is  weakened ;  and  you  may 
be  brought  into  great  outward  distress.  But  as  Paul 
and  Silas,  when  they  had  been  beaten  and  thrust 
into  an  inner  prison  and  their  feet  made  fast  in  the 
(Stocks,  were  still  joyful  and  happy,  and  were 
enabled  to  make  the  gloomy  cells  of  their  prison 
echo  at  the  midnight  hour  with  the  hymns  of  praise 
\vhich  they  chanted  together ;  so  shall  it  be  with 
you,  in  every  trouble  which  you  encounter  for  con- 
science sake.  If  your  sufferings  abound  for  Christ, 
your  consolations  shall  abound  by  Christ.     And  if 


VANITY   FAIR.  253 

he  bless  you,  and  give  you  inward  peace,  and  cause 
his  face  to  shine  upon  you,  what  have  you  then  to 
fear  from  outward  trouble  ?  You  shall  have  a  song 
in  the  night,  and  you  shall  sweetly  sing, 

"  Let  earth  against  my  soul  engage, 
And  fiery  darts  be  hurled, 
Now  I  can  smile  at  Satan's  rage, 
And  face  a  frowning  world." 

God  grant  that  we  may  all  obtain  this  inward  peace, 
this  sweet  sense  of  our  personal  interest  in  Christ, 
and  then  we  shall  be  no  more  moved  by  any  out- 
ward distress  than  those  who  are  comfortably  sit- 
ting inside  the  house  are  moved  by  the  ratthng  of 
the  hail  upon  the  outside  of  the  tiles  ! 


THE  HYMN. 

Let  worldly  minds  the  world  pursue, 

It  has  no  charms  for  me  ; 
Once  I  admired  its  trifles  too. 

But  grace  has  set  me  free. 

Its  pleasures  now  no  longer  please, 

No  more  content  afford  ; 
Far  from  my  heart  be  joys  like  these. 

Now  I  have  known  the  Lord. 

As  by  the  light  of  opening  day 
The  stars  are  all  concealed  ; 

So  earthly  pleasures  fade  away 
When  Jesus  is  revealed. 

Creatures  no  more  divide  my  choice, 

I  bid  them  all  depart ; 
His  name,  and  love,  and  gracious  voice, 

Have  fixed  my  roving  heart. 

Now,  Lord,  I  would  be  thine  alone, 

And  wholly  live  to  thee  ; 
But  may  I  hope  that  thou  wilt  own 

A  worthless  worm  like  me  ? 


254  LECTURE   XVII. 

Yes  !  though  of  sinners  I'm  the  worst, 
I  cannot  doubt  thy  will ; 

For  if  thou  hadst  not  loved  me  first, 
I  had  refused  thee  still. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  merciful  God  !  We  bless  and  praise  thy  holy  name  for  the 
gift  of  thy  dear  Son,  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  him- 
self for  our  sins,  that  he  might  deliver  us  from  this  present 
evil  world,  according  to  the  will  of  God  and  our  Father. 
Send  thy  Holy  Spirit  into  our  hearts,  and  grant  tiiat  we  may 
all  partake  of  the  precious  benefits  which  the  Redeemer  of 
the  world  has  procured  for  his  people.  We  are  fallen,  guilty, 
and  depraved  sinners,  surrounded  with  objects  on  every  side, 
that  strive  to  entice  us  from  the  narrow  way  of  life.  Turn  away 
our  eyes  from  beholding  vanity  ;  and  quicken  thou  us  in  thy 
way.  Thou  knowest  us  to  be  set  in  the  midst  of  so  many 
and  such  great  dangers,  that  by  reason  of  the  frailty  of  our 
mortal  nature  we  cannot  always  stand  upright ;  give  us,  we 
most  humbly  beseech  thee,  all  needful  instruction,  and  all 
sufficient  supplies  of  grace  and  strength,  to  support  us  in 
every  trying  scene  through  which  we  are  appointed  to  pass. 
We  know  not  what  is  before  us :  but  Thou  knowest.  And 
thou  hast  warned  us  that  in  the  world  we  shall  have  tribula- 
tion, and  that  all  who  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus  must 
suffer  persecution.  May  we  set  our  faces  as  a  iiint,  and  in  thy 
name,  and  in  thy  strength,  may  we  overcome  not  only  all 
the  wiles  of  the  devil,  and  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  but  all  the 
pomps  and  vanities  of  this  wicked  world.  Oh  !  teach  us  to 
make  a  proper  estimate  of  the  life  which  now  is,  and  the  life 
of  the  world  to  come.  While  we  are  in  the  world  may  we 
declare  plainly  that  we  are  not  of  the  world.  May  we  have 
our  conversation  in  heaven,  and  set  our  affections  on  things 
above,  and  not  on  things  on  the  earth.  There  be  many  that 
say,  "  Who  will  show  us  any  good  ?"  but  Lord,  lifl  thou  up  the 
light  of  thy  countenance  upon  us.  Thou  only  art  a  suitable 
portion  for  our  souls.  Thou  only  art  able  to  satisfy  us,  and 
make  us  happy  both  here  and  ibr  ever.  Except  thou  bless  us, 
what  good  will  our  life  do  us  ?  We  shall  but  walk  in  a  vain 
show,  and  disquiet  ourselves  in  vain.  Oh  !  turn  us  Irom  all 
our  idols  and  vanities  ;  and  grant,  Lord,  that  there  may  be 
nothing,  either  in  heaven  above  or  in  the  earth  beneath,  to 
occupy  that  place  in  our  hearts  which  belongs  to  thee.  May 
we  never  be  ashamed  to  confess  the  faith  of  Chrisi  crucified , 


VANITY  FAIR.  255 

and  may  we  declare  plainly  whose  we  are  and  whom  we 
serve.  Grant  that  as  strangers  and  pilgrims  we  may  abstain 
from  fleshly  lusts,  not  fashioning  ourselves  according  to  the 
children  of  this  world ;  but  may  we  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  know  nothing  as  the  ground  of  our  hope  but  his 
atoning  blood  and  his  justifying  righteousness.  May  we 
speak ''the  language  of  the  heavenly  city  to  which  we  are 
tending ;  and  may  our  speech  be  always  with  grace  seasoned 
with  salt.  And  grant,  Lord,  that  we  may  always  manifest  a 
holy  indifference^to  every  thing  which  this  world  has  to  be- 
stow, that  v.-e  may  never  follow  after  any  of  its  carnal  de- 
lights, or  be  led  by  any  of  its  covetous  desires.  Hear  us,  O 
gracious  Father,  and  uphold  us  by  thy  right  hand,  arnid  all 
the  snares  and  temptations  that  we  meet  on  our  pilgrimage, 
until  we  are  brought  to  the  heavenly  Canaan,  to  see  thy  face 
and  sing  thy  praise  for  ever,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XVIII. 

THE   FAITHFUL   MARTYR. 


Why  should  I  shrink  at  pain  and  wo, 

Or  feel  at  death  dismay  ? 
I've  Canaan's  goodly  land  in  view, 

And  realms  of  endless  day. 

Apostles,  martyrs,  prophets,  there 
Around  my  Saviour  stand  ; 

And  soon  my  friends  in  Christ  below 
Will  join  the  glorious  band. 

Jerusalem  !  my  happy  home  ! 

My  soul  still  pants  for  thee  ; 
Then  shall  my  labours  have  an  end, 

When  I  thy  joys  shall  see. 


Revelations  ii.  13, 

I  KNOW  THY  WORKS,  AXD  WHERE  THOU  DWELLEST,  EVEN  WHERE  SAIAN'S 
SEAT  IS :  AND  THOU  HOLDEST  FAST  MY  NAME,  AND  HAST  NOT  DENIED  MY 
FAITH,  EVEN  IN  THOSE  DAYS  WHEREIN  ANTIPAS  WAS  MY  FAITHFUL  MARTYR, 
WHO  WAS  SLAIN   AMONG   YOU,  WHERE  SATAN   DWELLETH. 

It  is  remarkable  that  so  littJe  is  said  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures  concerning  the  noble  army  of  martyrs. 
The  Spirit  of  God  well  knew  the  tendency  there  is 
in  man  unduly  to  exalt  his  fellow-man,  and  to  regard 
with  something  of  superstitious  veneration  those  who 
have  laid  down  their  hves  in  testimony  of  the  truth. 
For  this  reason,  it  is  probable,  a  wise  silence  is 
generally  observed  in  the  Bible  concerning  the 
numbers  that  in  every  age,  and  especially  in  the 
first  age  of  the  gospel,  resisted  unto  blood.     Here 

256 


THE   FAITHFUL   MAKTYR.  257 

and  there,  it  is  true,  this  silence  is  broken  ;  and  as 
a  specimen  of  the  rest,  we  have  the  individual 
martyr  brought  before  us.  The  verse  which  has 
just  been  read  is  an  instance  of  this  kind.  The 
great  and  busy  city  of  Pergamos  was  so  completely 
given  to  sin  and  wickedness,  idolatry  and  secularity, 
that  the  Lord  testifies  concerning  it,  that  it  was 
Satan's  seat.  Here,  however,  he  had  a  faithful 
remnant  of  upright  followers,  who  shone  as  lights 
in  a  dark  place  ;  but  so  violent  was  the  persecution 
excited  by  Satan  and  his  adherents  against  the 
Christians,  that  here  Antipas,  the  Lord's  faithful 
martyr,  was  put  to  death.  His  death,  however,  did 
not  induce  the  rest  of  the  Christians  to  renounce 
their  profession.  "  They  held  fast  their  Saviour's 
name,  and  did  not  deny  his  faith,  even  in  those 
days  v/herein  Antipas  had  been  slain  among  them, 
where  Satan  dwelt." 

You  will  perceive  at  once  how  easily  all  this  may 
bv3  applied  to  our  present  subject — the  martyrdom 
of  Faithful  in  the  town  of  Vanity.  The  trial  to 
which  he  was  brought  clearly  shows  that  he  too 
dwelt  where  Satan's  seat  was  estabhshed.  He,  hke 
Antipas,  suffered  for  the  truth  ;  and  Christian  was 
encouraged,  by  the  martyrdom  of  his  fellow,  to  hold 
fast  his  Saviour's  name,  and  not  to  deny  his  faith. 
We  shall  consider, 

L  The  trial  of  Faithful  in  the  town  of  Vanity. 
IL  The  manner  in  which  he  suffered ;  and, 
in.  The  effects  that  resulted  from  his  sufferings. 

May  the  consideration  of  these  particulars  turn  to 
the  profit  and  edification  of  every  one  of  us  ! 


258  LECTURE  XVIII. 

I.  The  trial  of  Faithful  is  first  to  engag-e  our 
attention.  This  is  described  by  our  author  with 
his  own  peculiar  genius ;  and  the  iniquity  of  the 
whole  proceeding  is  well  calculated  to  impress 
upon  our  minds,  that  the  place  where  it  occurred, 
viz.,  the  town  of  Vanity,  was  indeed  the  seat  of 
Satan. 

When  the  two  pilgrims  were  in  the  prison,  they 
recalled  the  intimation  of  Evangelist,  that  one  of 
them  should  suffer  death  in  this  place ;  and  they 
each  secretly  wished  that  it  might  be  his  lot  here  to 
finish  his  course.  They  left  this,  however,  to  the 
wise  Disposer  of  all  events.  The  judge  that  was 
to  try  them  was  called  Hate-good.  They  were  ac- 
cused of  disturbing  the  fair,  causing  commotions, 
and  making  a  party  in  opposition  to  the  interests 
of  the  lord  of  the  place.  Faithful,  whose  spirit  was 
stirred  within  him,  boldly  answered  in  their  defence, 
and  concluded  by  defying  the  king  of  that  town,  as 
the  eneroy  of  the  Sovereign  whom  they  served. 
The  witnesses  that  appeared  to  testify  against  them 
were  Envy,  Superstition  and  Pickthank.  Envy 
brought  the  most  grievous  things  to  the  charge  of 
Faithful ;  especially  that  he  diffused  certain  disloyal 
notions,  and  that  he  had  heard  him  affirm,  that 
Christianity  and  the  customs  observed  in  the  town 
of  Vanity  were  diametrically  opposite  and  could 
not  be  reconciled.  Superstition  testified  that  he 
knew  little,  and  wished  to  know  less,  of  Faithful ; 
but  that  he  was  a  pestilent  fellow,  who  had  said, 
that  the  religion  of  the  town  was  nought,  and  that 
no  man  by  it  could  please  God  ;  thus  making  all 
their  worship  in  vain,  and  implying  that  the  citizens 
of  that  good  town  were  in  a  state  of  rebellion,  and 
as  such  were  exposed  to  the  vengeance  of  the  great 


THE   FAITHFUL  MARTYR.  259 

King.  Much  to  the  same  purpose  was  the  evidence 
)f  Pickthank.  He  accused  Faithful  of  having  railed 
against  their  sovereign  prince,  and  having  spoken 
contemptuously  of  their  chief  nobles,  Old-Man,  Car- 
nal-Delight, Luxurious,  Vain-Glory,  and  others  of 
the  like  kind,  who  were  great  men,  and  high  in 
authority  in  the  town  of  Vanity.  In  addition  to 
which  he  deposed,  that  his  lordship  himself,  Judge 
Hate-good,  then  presiding  in  court,  had  not  escaped 
the  slanderous  tongue  of  the  prisoner  at  the  bar. 
After  this  evidence  had  been  given,  the  judge  ad- 
dressed Faithful  in  the  most  enraged  manner,  and 
only  permitted  him,  as  a  signal  favour,  to  speak  for 
himself.  Well  was  Faithful  able  to  make  his  own 
defence.  As  to  the  charges  of  Envy,  he  declared 
he  had  only  said :  "  Whatever  customs  were  con- 
trary to  the  word  of  God,  were  contrary  to  Chris- 
tianity." To  the  testimony  of  Superstition  this  was 
his  reply :  he  had  said,  "  Saving  faith  must  rest 
upon  the  Divine  word  ;  and  whatever  is  thrust  into 
the  worship  of  Gcd,  which  is  not  agreeable  to  that 
word,  will  not  be  profitable  to  eternal  life."  The 
evidence  of  the  last  witness  he  treated  in  a  different 
manner ;  boldly  affirming  (not  in  a  raihng  manner, 
but  with  all  gravity)  that  the  prince  and  the  nobles 
and  the  judge  of  that  town,  were  all  the  enemies  of 
his  Sovereign,  and  that  they  deserved  to  be  banished 
from  the  world,  and  shut  up  in  the  Tophet  prepared 
of  old  for  the  king  and  all  his  adherents  !  The 
judge  then  addressing  the  jury,  summed  up  the 
evidence,  and  reminded  them  of  the  confession  of 
the  prisoner.  He  then  instructed  them  concerning 
the  law  in  such  a  case,  and  cited  the  persecuting 
edicts  made  by  tyrants  of  former  times  as  so  many 
precedents  for  the  kind  of  verdict  they  were  bound 


260  LECTURE  XVIII. 

to  give.  The  twelve  jurymen  who  sat  on  this  trial 
were  admirably  adapted  to  receive,  without  a  doubt, 
the  testimony  of  Superstition  and  Envy,  and  to 
bring  in  a  verdict  that  would  be  most  agreeable  to 
such  a  judge  as  Hate-good.  Blindman  was  theii 
foreman,  and  Malice  and  Heady,  Liar  and  Cruelty, 
Hate-light  and  Implacable,  were  very  conspicuous 
in  the  business.  These  gentlemen  of  the  jury  were 
all  agreed  in  their  verdict,  which  was  that  Faithful 
was  guilty,  and  deserving  of  death.  They  mutually 
confirmed  each  other  in  this  sentence  by  every  one 
expressing  his  private  opinion.  Bhndman  said,  "I 
see  clearly  this  man  is  a  heretic  !"  Malice  said, 
"I  hate  the  very  looks  of  him!"  Heady  repeat- 
edly cried  out,  "  Hang  him  !  hang  him  !"  Enmity 
declared,  "  My  heart  riseth  against  him  !"  Cruelty 
thought  hanging  was  too  good  for  him  ;  and  Im- 
placable declared,  that  might  he  have  all  the  world, 
he  could  never  be  reconciled  to  him.  What  chance 
had  poor  Faithful,  when  he  had  fallen  into  such 
hands  ?  He  was  condemned  to  die  a  most  cruel 
death. 

What  an  affecting  view  does  this  trial  afford  of 
the  enmity  of  the  world  to  the  faithful  follower  of 
Christ !  From  the  very  beginning  has  this  been 
evinced.  In  every  age,  he  that  was  born  after  the 
flesh  has  persecuted  him  that  was  born  after  the 
Spirit ;  and  so  is  it  now.  Why  are  children  of  this 
world  so  ready  to  judge  and  condemn  the  harmless 
and  unoffending  followers  of  Christ  ?  Why  do  they 
speak  of  them  so  cruelly,  so  spitefully,  and  so  dis- 
dainfully? And  why  do  they  act  towards  them  in 
the  manner  that  they  do  ?  The  great  root  of  all  this 
lies  in  an  unconverted  heart,  which  is  enmity  against 
God.    All  unconverted  men  are  opposed  to  the  per- 


THE   FAITHFUL   MARTYR.  261 

hct  character  of  God.     His  truth  and  his  justice, 
his  hohness  and  his  sovereignty,  they  cannot  en- 
dure. But  all  faithful  people  bear  some  resemblance, 
however  faintly,  and   reflect    something,  however 
dimly,  of  the  image  of  their  Father  w^ho  is  in  heaven. 
The  sight  of  this  stirs  up  the  secret  enmity  of  their 
hearts.     "  The   wicked  seeth    the  righteous,  and 
gnasheth  upon  him  with  his  teeth."    In  addition  to 
this,  the  daily  life  and  conversation  of  a  true  believer 
is  a  constant  reproof  to  those  who  are  living  in  plea- 
sure and  vanity,  and  w^orldliness  and  sin.     "  He 
that  is  upright  in  the  way  is  abomination  to  the 
wicked."     Those,  my  brethren,  w^ho  are  uninflu- 
enced by  true  religion,  summon  up  the  people  of 
God  to  a  tribunal  of  their  own  erecting.  They  exalt 
their  own  carnal  reason  to  the  judgment-seat.    That 
carnal  reason  which  is  enmity  to  the  law  of  God, 
that  reason  they  make  to  sit  in  judgment,  w^hich 
left  to  itself  can  do  nothing  else  than  hate  every 
thing  that  is  good.     Such  a  judge  as  this  is  deter- 
mined  beforehand   to  condemn  the  faithful.      He 
records  with  pleasure,  and  sums  up  with  emphasis, 
the  testimony  borne  by  envy  and  superstition  and 
men-pleasers,  against  the  people  of  God.     By  wit- 
nesses hke  these,  faithful  men  are  charged  with 
turning  the  world  upside  down,  thinking  nobody 
right  but  themselves,  and  condemning  most  of  the 
noble-minded  people  in  the  world  because  they  do 
not  subscribe  to  their  peculiar  views  and  opinions. 
This  unjust  judge  will  scarcely  suffer  the  voice  of 
truth  to  speak  a  word  in  defence  of  the  accused. 
Or  if  a  faithful  voice  be  raised  in  self-defence,  the 
explanation  that  he  makes  is  unheeded,  w^hile  his 
bold  and  unhesitating  condemnation  of  every  thing 
condemned  by  the  word  of  God  is  hastily  caught 


262  LECTURE  XVIII. 

up  as  a  confession  of  his  guilt.  The  bad  passions 
that  are  called  into  exercise,  when  truth  is  con- 
demned upon  such  evidence,  like  a  corrupt  and 
biassed  jury,  are  all  ready,  from  a  variety  of  mo- 
tives, to  speak  the  fatal  sentence  and  to  condemn 
the  innocent.  Seeing,  my  brethren,  that  we  are  all 
liable,  from  our  depraved  and  fallen  nature,  to  form 
such  a  corrupt  judgment,  to  be  abused  by  such  false 
witnesses,  and  to  be  actuated  b}^  such  unholy  pas- 
sions, ch,  how  earnestly  ought  we  to  pray  for  the 
renewing  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  exerted 
upon  our  soul,  that  we  may  be  renewed  in  every 
part !  Oh,  remember  that  if  we  are  misled  by  a 
wicked  judgment,  perverted  by  false  appearance 
and  false  testimony,  and  corrupted  by  sinful  and 
depraved  affections,  remember,  I  say,  that  this  can- 
not in  the  least  extenuate  our  guilt.  "  Wo  unto 
them  that  call  evil  good,  and  good  evil ;  that  put 
darkness  for  light,  and  light  for  darkness ;  that  put 
bitter  for  sweet,  and  sweet  for  bitter  ;  who  justify 
the  wicked  for  reward,  and  take  away  the  right- 
eousness of  the  righteous  from  him." 

II.  We  proceed  now  from  the  unrighteous  sen- 
tence which  was  pronounced  upon  Faithful,  to 
direct  our  thoughts  to  the  execution  of  it.  No 
sooner  had  the  wicked  judge  pronounced  upon  him 
the  sentence  of  death,  than  the  men  of  the  fair  were 
all  eager  to  have  it  instantly  inflicted,  in  the  most 
cruel  manner  that  could  be  invented.  They  brought 
him  out,  therefore,  to  do  with  him  according  to  their 
law.  He  was  literally  in  his  death  conformable  to 
Him  who  for  our  sake  endured  the  cross  and  de- 
spised the  shame.  "  The  disciple  is  not  above  his 
Master ;  but  every  one  that  is  perfect  shall  be  as 


THE   FAITHFUL    MARTYR.  263 

his  Master.  First  they  scourged  him,  then  they 
buffeted  him,  then  they  lanced  his  flesh  with  knives ; 
after  that,  they  stoned  him  with  stones,  then  they 
thrust  him  with  their  swords,  and  last  of  ^11  they 
burnt  him  to  ashes  at  the  stake.  Thus  came  Faith- 
ful to  his  end.  In  one  sense  only  he  came  to  his 
end,  but  not  in  another.  He  came  indeed  to  the 
end  of  his  painful  pilgrimage,  and  the  end  of  his 
bitter  sufferings  and  persecutions.  But  in  the 
highest  and  noblest  sense  this  was  not  his  end. 
The  end  of  his  earthl}^  trials  was  only  the  begin- 
ning of  his  heavenly  triumphs.  Lo,  there  stood 
behind  the  assembled  multitude,  a  chariot  and  a 
couple  of  horses  waiting  for  him,  and  the  moment 
when  his  adversaries  could  hurt  him  no  longer,  he 
was  taken  into  the  chariot,  and  straightway  was 
carried  up  through  the  clouds  with  the  sound  of  a 
trumpet,  the  nearest  way  to  the  Celestial  Gate. 
Like  Antipas,  the  faithful  martyr  of  Christ,  he  was 
?-lain  among  them  where  Satan  dwelt.  Like  Anti- 
pas,  he  endured  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible, 
and  was  faithful  even  unto  death  ;  and  like  him  he 
received  from  the  gracious  hands  of  his  Saviour  a 
crown  of  hfe. 

How  animating,  my  brethren,  it  is  to  our  faith, 
to  contem.plate  the  abundant  grace  which  has  con- 
stantly been  exhibited  by  the  martyrs  of  Jesus, 
when  they  were  dehvered  up  unto  death  for  Jesus' 
sake  !  They  have  solemnly  appealed  from  the  un- 
righteous judgment  passed  upon  them  by  their 
fellow-men,  to  a  higher  tribunal,  and  they  have 
committed  their  cause  to  Him  who  judgeth  right- 
eously. But  they  have  done  this  without  any  other 
feehng  tov/aids  their  cruel  and  enraged  persecutors 
than  that  cf  jbve  and  eoEr.^passion,  and  pity  and  for- 


264  LECTURE  XVIII. 

giveness.  Because  they  were  abundantly  com 
forted  within,  and  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God 
rested  upon  them,  they  could  smile  at  death  in  its 
most  terrific  form.  They  could  smile  at  death, 
because  their  Saviour  smiled  at  them.  "  They 
were  tortured,  not  accepting  deliverance,  that  they 
might  obtam  a  better  resurrection.  And  others  had 
trial  of  cruel  mockings  and  scourgings,  yea,  more- 
over, of  bonds  and  imprisonment.  They  were 
stoned,  they  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted, 
were  slain  with  the  sword."  The  ancient  church 
has  furnished  her  full  quota  towards  the  formation 
of  the  noble  army  of  martyrs.  It  was  wonderfully 
augmented  in  the  early  ages  of  the  Christian  era, 
when  heathen  emperors  and  pagan  priests,  excited 
by  the  dragon,  which  is  the  devil,  strained  every 
nerve  to  extirpate  the  new  religion  from  the  world. 
And  far  more  largely  were  the  ranks  of  the  army 
increased,  when  the  apostate  church  made  herself 
drunk  with  the  blood  of  saints,  and  of  the  martyrs 
of  Jesus.  The  final  complement  has  yet  to  be 
made.  Are  we  arming  ourselves  with  a  martyr's 
mind  ?  Have  we  been  instructed,  with  the  piercing 
eye  of  a  strong  and  steadfast  faith,  to  look  not  at 
the  things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  ?  Can  we  look  further  than  the  fire 
and  the  fagot,  the  mocking  and  the  scourging,  the 
edge  of  the  sword  and  the  violence  of  the  fire,  and 
all  the  tortures  that  hellish  rage  can  invent,  or  hu- 
man cruelty  can  inflict  ?  Can  we,  I  say,  look 
beyond  all  this,  and  see,  as  it  were,  behind  the 
multitude,  the  chariot  and  the  horses,  waiting  to 
convey,  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet,  the  souls  of 
the  faithful  to  the  Celestial  Gate  ?  Yea,  can  we  see 
heaven  opened,  and  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus 


THE  FAITHFUL   MARTYR.      "  265 

standing  on  the  right  hand  of  God  ?  Can  we  see 
him  ready  to  receive  the  immortal  spirit,  the  moment 
that  it  is  released  ffom  its  fetters  of  clay,  and  wait- 
mg;'  to  crown  it  with  glor}'  and  honour  for  ever  and 
ever  ?  Can  we  see  the  glorious  manner  in  w^hich 
all  sufferings  endured  for  Christ  shall  surely  termi- 
nate— all  believers  come  out  of  their  great  tribula- 
tion, and  forming  so  vast  a  multitude,  that  they  seem, 
with  their  shining  garments,  like  a  cloud  of  glory 
before  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  ?  Say,  my 
brethren,  should  not  a  sight  like  this  reconcile  us  to 
any  present  sufferings  that  we  meet  in  our  way  to 
Zion  ?  "  Wherefore,  seeing  we  also  are  encom- 
passed about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses, 
let  us  lay  aside  every  weight,  and  the  sin  which 
doth  so  easily  beset  ns,  and  let  us  run  with  patience 
the  race  that  is  set  before  us." 

Hi.  The  effects  that  resulted  from  the  death  of 
Faithful  was  the  last  head  for  our  present  consider- 
ation. Christian  was  no  unconcerned  spectator  of 
what  had  befallen  his  faithful  companion  ;  but  he 
held  fast  the  profession  of  his  faith,  and  denied  not 
his  Master.  He  felt  keenly  the  separating  stroke 
which  had  parted  them  asunder.  The  dehghtful 
intercourse  which  these  two  had  long  enjoyed  in 
the  ways  of  Zion,  and  the  sweet  counsel  which 
they  had  taken  together,  was  now  terminated.  One 
was  taken  and  the  other  was  left.  As  for  Christian, 
he  had  some  respite,  and  was  remanded  back  to 
prison.  He  only  remained  there  for  a  little  season. 
He  v/ho  overrules  all  things,  so  restrained  and  con- 
trolled the  rage  of  the  adversary,  that  Christian,  for 
that  time,  escaped  out  of  their  hands  and  pro- 
ceeded on  his  journey.     Deeply  as  he  felt  the  loss 


266  LECTUKE  XVIII. 

of  his  beloved  comrade,  he  could  not  forbear  re- 
joicing greatly  on  his  account.  He  rejoiced  in  the 
noble  profession  which  Faithful  had  witnessed  ;  and 
he  rejoiced  in  thinking  that  he  was  now  far  removed 
beyond  the  reach  of  all  the  rage  and  violence  and 
malice  of  his  adversaries.  And  thus  he  said,  as  he 
parted  from  the  place  w^here  his  brother  had  re- 
sisted unto  blood, 

"  Sing,  Faithful,  sing,  and  let  thy  name  survive  ; 
For,  though  they  killed  thee,  thou  art  yet  alive." 

And  now  observe  the  unexpected  manner  in  which 
the  void  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Faithful  was 
happily  supplied.  Christian  went  not  forth  alone 
from  the  town  of  Vanity.  There  was  a  man  called 
Hopeful,  (so  made  by  the  things  which  he  had  just 
witnessed  in  the  fair,)  who  joined  himself  to  Chris- 
tian's company,  and  entering  into  a  brotherly  cove- 
nant, told  him  he  would  be  his  companion.  Thus 
one  had  died  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth,  and 
another  rises  out  of  his  ashes  to  cast  in  his  lot  with 
Christian,  and  to  be  the  companion  of  his  pilgrim- 
age. Neither  was  the  happy  determination  of 
Hopeful  the  only  good  that  resulted  from  the  mar- 
tyrdom of  Faithful.  An  impression  had  evidently 
been  produced  in  the  town  by  what  had  occurred. 
Hopeful  told  Christian,  "that  there  were  many 
more  of  the  men  in  the  fair  that  would  take  their 
time  and  follow  after." 

See  here,  my  brethren,  an  affecting  view  of  the 
wonderful  manner  in  which  the  Sovereign  of  the 
universe  overrules  all  events,  even  the  most  painful 
and  afflictive,  for  the  good  of  the  real  Christian  and 
the  enlargement  of  his  true  Church.  Without  being 
exposed  exactly  to  the  same  fiery  trial  which  met 


THE   FAITHFUL   MARTYR.  267 

our  pilgrims  and  separated  them  in  the  town  of 
Vanity,  all  who  are  engaged  in  the  Christian  race 
are  tried  continually  by  the  stroke  of  death  removing 
their  beloved  companions  out  of  their  sight.  The 
nearest  and  most  faithful  of  all  Christian  friends 
are  not  suffered  to  continue,  by  reason  of  death. 
One  after  another  they  drop  off,  and  are  carried 
away.like  leaves  in  autumn.  But  how^ever  painful 
may  have  been  their  passage,  and  however  severe 
their  struggle  with  the  last  enemy,  if  only  they 
have  departed  in  the  true  faith  of  Christ,  we  ought 
to  rejoice,  rather  than  to  weep,  on  their  account. 
What  is  death  in  its  most  dreadful  form  to  all  faith- 
ful people  ? 

'Tis  but  the  voice  which  Jesus  sends 
To  call  them  to  his  arms." 

We  should  remember  that  to  die  is  gain  ;  and  know- 
ing surely  that  the  souls  of  the  faithful,  after  they 
are  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh,  are  in 
joy  and  fehcity  with  their  Saviour,  we  ought  to  dry 
up  our  tears,  and  only  be  excited  by  what  w'e  have 
seen,  to  hold  fast  the  beginning  of  our  confidence 
steadfast  unto  the  end,  and  to  be  followers  of  them 
"  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the  pro- 
mises." He  maketh  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him, 
and  the  remainder  of  wrath  he  restraineth.  How" 
continually  are  the  devices  of  the  wicked  one  made 
to  recoil  upon  himself !  He  thinks  to  ruin  the  cause 
of  Christ  by  stirring  up  wicked  men  cruelly  to 
persecute  the  people  of  God,  and  causing  some  of 
them  to  be  put  to  death  by  w^ay  of  intimidating 
others.  But  widely  different  does  the  result  prove. 
If  Faithful  dies.  Hopeful  springs  up,  as  it  were 
from  his  ashes,  to  supply  his  place.  Nay,  so  power 


268  LECTURE   XVIII. 

fully  and  conspicuously  is  the  spirit  of  Christ 
seen  to  rest  upon  his  suffering  saints  and  servants, 
md  such  a  strong  contrast  is  their  meekness  and 
i)atience  and  resignation,  to  the  fury  and  rage  and 
cruelty  of  their  adversaries,  that  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs  has  ever  proved  the  seed  of  the  church. 
Not  only  are  individuals  induced,  from  what  they 
behold,  to  burst  the  cords  which  have  hitherto 
separated  them  from  the  people  of  God,  and  to 
choose  them,  henceforth,  as  their  companions  and' 
associates,  but  the  town  of  Vanity  is  shaken  by  the 
witnessing  of  such  behaviour,  and  numbers  there 
seem  only  waiting  for  a  favourable  moment  to  turn 
their  backs  upon  the  sins  and  follies  and  vanities 
of  the  Vv'orld,  and  to  unite  themselves  to  the  Lord 
and  his  people,  "  in  a  perpetual  covenant  never  to 
be  forgotten."  Oh,  if  you  would  be  eminently 
useful  in  your  day  and  generation — if  you  would 
stop  the  mouths  of  gainsayers,  and  be  the  honoured 
instruments  of  convincing  others  of  the  reality  and 
blessedness  and  excellence  of  true  religion,  en- 
deavour to  suffer  as  a  Christian,  and  exemplify  the 
spirit  of  a  faithful  martyr,  in  all  the  trials  and  per- 
secutions and  contradictions  that  you  meet  with  in 
this  vain  world.  Show  such  a  spirit  as  this  in  your 
daily  walk  and  conversation,  and  in  all  the  little 
trials  and  annoyances  that  you  have  to  encounter, 
as  well  as  in  your  severer  and  more  pressing  calamir 
ties.  Such  a  spirit  as  this  can  neither  be  hid  nor 
lost.  When  you  never  thought  that  any  one  was 
taking  notice,  it  will  afterwards  be  found  to  have 
been  the  happy  means  of  kindling  the  beam  of 
heavenly  hope  in  some  who  witnessed  it,  and 
powerfully  bringing  home  conviction  to  the  hearts 
of  many  beside.     And  be  sure,  every  one  of  you, 


THE   FAITHFUL   MARTYE.  269 

when  good  resolutions  are  put  into  your  hearts,  to 
act  upon  them  immediately.  Imitate  the  prompt- 
ness of  Hopeful,  who  went  out  immediately  to 
Christian,  and  not  the  hesitation  of  those  men  in  the 
fair,  who  would  take  their  time  and  follow  after 
Hopeful,  who  acted  immediately  upon  his  convic 
tions,  accompanied  Christian  all  the  way  to  the 
Celestial  City  ;  the  men  that  waited  for  a  more  con- 
venient season,  for  aught  that  appears  to  the  con- 
trary, continued  to  hnger  in  the  town  of  Vanity, 
and  their  good  resolutions  and  convictions  were 
choked  and  stifled  by  the  hurry  and  bustle  and 
fascinations  of  the  fair.  Act  while  the  impression 
is  strong.  Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot.  Rise  up 
and  walk  on  the  way  to  Zion  while  your  conscience 
is  awake,  and  do  not,  by  delaying,  sufl^er  it  to  slum 
ber  again.     Delays  are  dangerous. 

"  Hasten,  O  sinner,  to  be  wise, 
And  stay  not  for  to-morrow's  sun  !" 

Imitate  him  who  said,  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my 
father."  And  no  sooner  said  this  than  it  was  done; 
he  arose  and  came  to  his  father.  Imitate  Ijim  who 
testified,  "  I  made  haste,  and  delayed  not  to  keep 
thy  commandments 


s. 


THE  HYMN. 

Lo  !  round  the  throne,  at  God's  right  hand, 
The  saints,  in  countless  myriads  stand; 
Of  every  tongue  redeemed  to  God, 
Arrayed  in  garments  washed  in  blood. 

Through  tribulation  great  they  came, 
They  bore  the  cross,  despised  the  shame ; 
From  all  their  labours  now  they  rest, 
In  God's  eternal  glory  blessed. 
23* 


270  LECTURE   XVIII. 

Hunger  and  thirst  they  feel  no  more  ; 
Nor  sin,  nor  pain,  nor  death  deplore ; 
The  tear  is  wiped  from  every  eye, 
And  sorrow  yields  to  endless  joy. 

They  see  their  Saviour  face  to  face', 
And  sing  the  triumphs  of  his  grace; 
Him,  day  and  night,  they  ceaseless  praise, 
And  thus  the  loud  hosannas  raise : 

"  Worthy  the  Lamb  for  sinners  slain, 
Through  endless  years  to  live  and  reign ; 
Thou  hast  redeemed  us  by  thy  blood. 
And  made  us  kings  and  priests  to  God." 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  Lord,  who  hast  prepared  for  them  that  love  thee  such 
good  things  as  pass  man's  understanding,  pour  into  our  hearts 
such  love  towards  thee,  that  we,  loving  thee  above  all  things, 
may  obtain  thy  promises,  which  exceed  all  that  we  can  de- 
sire, or  deserve.  Thou  hast  assured  us,  that  in  the  world  we 
must  have  tribulation  ;  yea,  that  through  much  tribulation  we 
must  enter  into  thy  kingdom.  Grant,  O  Lord,  that  in  all  our 
sufferings  here  upon  earth,  for  the  testimony  of  thy  truth,  we 
may  steadfastly  look  up  to  heaven,  and  by  faith  behold  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed;  and  being  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  may  learn  to  love  and  bless  our  persecutors,  by  the 
example  o^thy  first  martyr  Stephen,  who  prayed  for  his  mur- 
derers to  thee,  O  blessed  Jesus,  who  standest  at  the  right 
hand  of  God  to  succour  all  those  that  suffer  tor  thee.  What- 
ever trials  or  persecutions  we  may  be  called  to  endure,  Lord, 
grant  that  we  may  hold  fast  thy  name,  and  not  deny  thy 
laith,  even  though  we  dwell  in  the  place  where  Satan  retains 
his  seat.  If  it  please  thee,  deliver  us  from  the  persecutions 
of  men.  But  if  we  are  reviled  and  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness' sake,  and  have  all  manner  of  evil  spoken  against  us 
falsely,  enable  us  to  suffer  as  Christians,  and  to  witness  a 
good  confession.  May  we  constantly  speak  the  truth,  boldly 
rebuke  vice,  and  patiently  suffer  for  the  truth's  sake.  Grant 
that  we  may  never  shrink  from  any  sufferings  which  thou 
hast  appointed  for  us  on  our  way  to  heaven.  May  we  endure 
as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible.  Oh  !  may  we  never  accept 
of  deliverance  got  by  sinful  means,  that  we  may  obtain  a 
better  resurrection.     May  we  be  followers  of  thera  who 


THE   FAITHFUL   MARTYR.  271 

through  faith  and  patience  now  inherit  the  promises ;  and 
reckon  that  the  sufferings  of  this  present  time  are  not  worthy 
to  be  compared  with  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed.  Only 
bring  us  at  last  to  the  happy  company,  that  have  come  out 
of  great  tribulation,  and  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lanjb,  and  are  before  the  throne  of 
God,  and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his  temple  ;  and  then 
we  shall  be  abundantly  comforted  for  all  our  sorrows  and 
distresses  in  this  vale  of  tears.  Lord,  arm  us  with  a  mar- 
tyr's spirit,  in  which  to  meet  all  the  trials  and  calamities'of 
life,  whether  great  or  small ;  that  we  may  glorify  thy  holy 
name,  and  not  only  with  well-doing  put  to  silence  the  igno- 
rance of  foolish  men,  but  be  the  honoured  instruments  of  con- 
vincing the  gainsayers,  and  winning  some  to  the  hope  of  the 
gospel  who  have  hitherto  neglected  thy  great  salvation.  And 
oh  !  make  us  all  faithful  to  our  convictions.  When  we  feel 
our  danger,  and  hear  of  the  only  remedy,  may  we  remember 
that  now  is  the  accepted  time,  and  the  day  of  salvation ;  and 
may  we  make  haste  and  delay  not  to  keep  thy  command- 
ments. Hear  us,  O  Lord,  and  bring  us  all  to  thy  blissful 
presence,  where  we  shall  join  the  whole  company  of  the  re- 
deemed, and  say :  "  Unto  Him  that  loved  us,  and  washed  us 
from  our  sins  in  his  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests 
unto  God  and  his  Father,  to  H»n  be  glory  and  dominion  for 
ever  and  ever."    Amen. 


LECTURE  XIX. 

BY-ENDS,    OR   THE   DOUBLE-MINDED   MAN. 


If  once  I  wander  from  thy  path, 

I  think  upon  my  ways  ; 
Then  turn  my  feet  to  thy  commands, 

And  trust  thy  pardoning  grace. 

Now  I  am  thine,  for  ever  thine, 
O  save  thy  servant,  Lord  ! 

Thou  art  my  shield,  my  hiding-place, 
My  hope  is  in  thy  word. 

Thou  hast  inclined  this  heart  of  mine 

Thy  statutes  to  fulfil ; 
And  thus  till  mortal  life  shall  end 

Would  I  perform  thy  will. 


James  i.  8. 

A  DOUBLE-MINDED  MAN  IS  UNSTABLE  IN  ALL  HIS  WATS. 

If  there  be  one  feature  which  more  eminently 
than  the  rest  distinfjuishes  the  true  Christian,  it 
doubtless  is  simphcity  of  purpose,  or  singleness  of 
mind.  The  true  Christian  has  one  great  object  in 
view,  which  is  the  ruling  principle  of  his  life  : — To 
obtain  the  end  of  his  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  his 
soul.  So  to  run  that  he  may  obtain  the  prize  of 
his  high  calling,  is,  in  his  estimation,  the  one  thing 
needful.  This  conviction  is  deeply  wrought  in  his 
mind,  and  he  acts  upon  it.     Thus    x'^  h<5  pursues 

272 


BY-ENDS.  273 

his  way,  he  is  taught  to  turn  from  all  those  things 
which  are  contrary  to  his  profession.  As  a  true 
heliever,  he  has  the  law  of  God  written  in  the 
fleshly  tables  of  his  heart.  This  inward  principle 
regulates  his  habitual  conduct.  It  enables  him  to 
escape  the  snares  and  overcome  the  stumbling- 
blocks  which  are  the  occasion  of  falling  to  others. 
"  The  law  of  his  God  is  in  his  heart,  and  none  of 
his  steps  shall  slide."  He  goes  forward  in  a  consist- 
ent course,  because  he  is  a  man  of  a  single  mind. 
It  is  otherwise,  however,  with  the  hypocrite,  and 
all  such  as  make  a  profession  without  this  simph- 
city  of  purpose,  and  without  any  intention  of  letting 
rehgion  be  the  ruhng  principle  of  their  hves,  and 
making  all  things  else  give  place  to  this  one  grand 
and  all-important  concern.  If  a  person  be  not 
simple  and  sincere  in  the  purpose  of  his  mind,  in- 
consistency is  sure  to  mark  his  steps.  "  A  double- 
minded  man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways."  We  shall 
see  this  most  strikingly  illustrated  in  the  case  of 
By-ends,  whose  character  has  now  to  pass  be- 
fore us. 

I.  We  have  to  notice  how  such  a  character 
cannot  endure  the  company  of  the  true  Christian. 

II.  The  kind  of  company  in  which  he  delights. 

Let  us  all,  my  brethren,  seek  earnestly  for  that 
singleness  of  heart  and  simplicity  of  purpose  with- 
out which  we  can  never  run  with  patience  the 
Christian  race. 

I.  We  have  to  show  that  a  double-minded  man — 
that  is,  such  a  person  as  is  intended  by  By-ends — 
cannot  endure  the  company  of  the  true  Christian, 


274  LECTURE  XIX. 

As  Christian  and  Hopeful  pursued  their  way  from 
the  town  of  Vanity,  they  overtook  one  that  was 
going  before  them,  whose  name  was  By-ends. 
Upon  being  questioned,  he  told  them  he  came 
from  the  town  of  Fair-speech,  and  that  he  was 
going  to  the  Celestial  City ;  but  he  did  not  tell 
them  his  name.  Christian  doubted  whether  any 
good  could  come  from  such  a  place,  but  By-ends 
hoped  there  could.  He  was  ashamed  of  his  name, 
but  boasted  that  the  town  to  which  he  belonged 
was  very  Avealthy,  and  that  he  had  many  rich 
kindred  there.  He  was  connected,  he  said,  with 
all  the  honourable  people  there,  whose  names  inti- 
mated that  outward  show  and  fair  pretence  was 
their  principal  object.  He  spoke  much  of  his 
marriage  alliance  with  Dissimulation,  the  daughter 
of  Feigning.  "  It  is  true,"  he  said,  "  we  some- 
what differ  in  rehgion  from  those  of  the  stricter 
sort,  yet  only  in  two  small  points.  First,  we  never 
strive  against  wind  and  tide.  Secondly,  we  are 
always  most  zealous  when  religion  goes  in  his 
silver  slippers ;  we  love  much  to  walk  with  him 
in  the  streets,  if  the  sun  shines  and  the  people 
applaud  him."  This  was  speaking  out,  and  it  be- 
gan to  open  the  eyes  of  Christian  as  to  the  kind 
of  companion  with  whom  he  was  conversing. 
Therefore,  stepping  aside  a  httle  to  his  fellow,  Hope- 
ful, he  said,  "  It  runs  in  my  head  that  this  is  one 
By-ends ;  and  if  so,  we  have  as  bad  a  man  in  our 
company  as  dwelleth  in  all  these  parts."  It  was 
agreed  between  them  that  Christian  should  return 
to  him  again,  and  ask  him  plainly  if  he  were  not 
By-ends  of  Fair-speech?  When  this  question  was 
proposed  to  him,  he  denied  that  it  was  his  true 
name,  but  only  applied  to  him  by  way  of  reproach. 


BY-ENDS.  275 

Christian  asked  him  if  he  had  not,  by  his  conduct, 
given  occasion  for  men  to  call  him  by  this  name  ? 
To  this  he  replied,  "  Never,  never !"  professing 
that  he  had  always  had  the  good  fortune  to  let  his 
judgment  coincide  Avith  the  times,  whatever  they 
might  be.  And  thus,  whatever  changes  took  place, 
it  was  alwaj^s  his  lot  to  be  a  gainer,  and  on  the 
right  side.  This  declaration  induced  Christian  to 
say,  "  I  fear  that  the  name  of  By-ends  belongs  to 
you  more  properly  than  j^ou  are  willing  that  we 
should  think  it  does."  He  regretted  that  suspi- 
cions should  be  held  towards  him,  and  declared 
that  they  w^ould  find  him  a  fair  companion,  if 
they  would  admit  him  as  their  associate.  This 
induced  Christian  to  propound  the  only  terms 
upon  which  they  could  receive  him.  "If,"  he 
said,  "  you  will  go  with  us,  you  must  go  against 
wind  and  tide.  You  must  own  religion  in  his 
rags,  as  well  as  when  in  his  silver  slippers ;  and 
stand  by  him  when  bound  in  irons,  as  well  as 
when  he  walketh  the  streets  with  applause."  This 
was  coming  to  the  point,  and  making  the  way  far 
too  narrcw  for  such  a  character  as  By-ends  to  walk 
in  it.  "  I'ou  must  not,"  he  replied  to  Christian, 
"  impose,  no;  lord  it  over  my  faith ;  leave  me  to 
my  liberty  ana  'et  me  go  with  you  !"  But  Chris- 
tian could  not  recede  one  jot  nor  one  tittle  from  the 
terms  he  had  menjioned,  which  are  no  other  than 
the  terms  of  the  everlasting  gospel.  "  Not  a  step 
further,"  he  said,  "  can  we  take  together,  unless  you 
will  do,  in  what  I  propound,  as  we  do."  "  Then," 
said  By-ends,  "  I  shall  never  desert  my  old  prin- 
ciples, since  they  are  harmless  and  profitable.  If  I 
may  not  go  with  you,  I  must  do  as  I  did  before  you 
overtook  me,  even  go  by  myself,  until  some  over- 


276  LECTURE   XIX. 

take  me  that  shall  be  glad  of  my  company."  Upon 
this  Christian  and  Hopeful  separated  from  By- 
ends. 

Here  let  us  pause  for  a  few  minutes  to  be  warned 
and  cautioned  against  such  principles  as  these,  and 
such  a  character  as  this.  This  By-ends  was  a 
double-minded  man.  His  principles  were  unsound, 
and  it  was  impossible  for  his  life  to  be  consistent. 
No  man  can  rise  above  his  principles.  "  A  double- 
minded  man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways."  For  a 
little  while  he  may  join  the  company  of  real  Chris- 
tians, but  he  will  not  long  abide  with  them.  His 
sentiments  and  theirs,  on  the  most  important  points, 
are  diametrically  opposite.  How  then,  should  they 
continue  to  walk  in  the  same  narrow  path  ?  "  Can 
two  walk  together  except  they  be  agreed  ?"  The 
true  Christian  seeks  salvation  by  his  religion.  But 
a  person  like  By-ends  only  professes  rehgion  in 
order  to  obtain  by  it  reputation,  or  credit,  or  some 
worldly  advantage.  The  true  Christian  follows  the 
Lord  fully  and  habituall}^,  at  every  risk,  and  at 
every  cost ;  but  the  other  conceals  or  denies  his 
profession  when  it  would  expose  him  to  reproach 
or  persecution.  Remember,  my  brethren,  good 
words  and  fair  speeches  are  not  sufficient  to  make 
a  true  pilgrim  to  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  The  man 
whose  heart  is  not  right  with  God  sees  little  '^.ilier- 
ence  between  outward  profession  and  in''^  cird  con- 
version. He  is  ashamed,  however,  of  his  real  name ; 
and  has  no  objection  to  the  company  of  the  upright, 
if  only  he  may  be  left  to  his  own  principles.  He 
thinks  much  about  great  people  and  great  connec- 
tions, if  he  happens  to  have  any;  and  is  evidently 
most  at  home  among  those  smooth  and  easy  people, 
who,  in  a  very  different  manner  to  what  was  meant 


feY-EKi)S.  27t 

by  the  apostle,  become  all  things  to  all  men  ;  not  that 
by  all  means  they  may  save  some,  but  that  by  any 
means  they  may  keep  fair  with  all.  A  person  who 
has  By-ends  in  view  when  he  professes  religion, 
is  bound  for  life,  as  it  were,  by  the  marriage-tie  to 
Dissimulation.  And  the  artifice  of  his  wife  ap- 
pears in  all  he  does.  They  never  strive  against 
wind  and  tide.  When  religion  is  fashionable  and 
profession  is  cheap,  they  love  then  to  bask  in  its 
sunshine,  and  none  are  more  loud  in  their  plaudits 
of  it  than  they.  But  let  the  weather  change,  and 
they  are  neither  to  be  seen  nor  heard.  And  yea 
still,  the  person  who  can  act  in  such  a  way  as  this 
will  not  own  that  his  name  is  By-ends.  He  calls 
this  a  term  of  reproach  that  is  unjustly  appHed 
to  him.  And  though  his  opinions  can  change  and 
vary  about  in  any  direction,  and  he  is  so  clearly  a 
time-server  that  he  can 

' '  fawn  and  seek  for  power 
By  doctrine  suited  to  the  varying  hour," 

he  will  not  be  convinced  of  his  real  character.  He 
still  thinks  he  can  go  to  Zion,  and,  by  prudent 
management,  avoid  the  cross  and  keep  fair  with  the 
world.  He  counts  it  httle  short  of  madness  to  go 
all  lengths  with  decided  followers  of  Christ. — Will 
our  religion  stand  such  a  test  as  this  ?  Are  we 
ready  to  go  against  wind  and  tide  ;  to  own  rehgion 
in  rags,  as  well  as  in  silver  shppers  ;  and  to  stand 
by  Christ,  and  profess  our  adherence  to  him,  when 
despised  and  reproached  by  the  world,  as  well  as 
when  admired  and  commended  by  the  multitude? 
Do  we  account  this  a  hard  saying,  and  a  grievous 
imposition,  and  quite  an  infringement  upon  our 
liberty  ?     Then  not  a  step  further  need  we  pretend 

2i 


278  LECTURE"  XIX, 

to  go  on  the  way  to  Zion.  Here  we  must  part  with 
the  true  pilgrims.  It  is  all  in  vain  to  pretend  that 
we  will  not  desert  our  old  principles.  These  prin- 
ciples are  utterly  at  variance  with  the  first  principles 
of  the  oracles  of  God.  Instead  of  being  harmless 
and  profitable,  they  are  wicked  and  destructive. 
They  are  wicked,  inasmuch  as  they  prove  plainly 
ithat  we  prefer  the  friendship  of  the  world  to  the 
■favour  of  God.  "  Whosoever  will  be  the  friend  of 
the  world  is  the  enemy  of  God."  And  they  are 
ruinous,  inasmuch  as  they  are  leading  us  down  to 
the  chambers  of  death,  while  they  cheat  us  with 
the  delusive  hope  that  we  are  in  the  way  of  hfe. 
■"  There  is  a  way  that  seemeth  right  to  a  man,  but 
the  end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death."  We  may, 
if  we  please,  part  from  the  company  of  the  upright, 
■as  far  too  narrow-minded  and  strict  for  us,  and  we 
may  find  many  others  that  will  be  glad  of  our 
company ;  but  these  others  will  only  hush  our  con- 
victions, beguile  and  flatter  us  in  a  false  way,  and 
increase  our  prejudices  against  the  upright. 

II.  We  now  proceed  to  consider  the  kind  of  com- 
pany in  which  such  a  person  as  By-ends  can  take 
delight,  and  the  characters  that  are  glad  to  have  him 
for  their  companion.  Christian  and  Hopeful  straight- 
way forsook  him,  after  what  they  had  heard,  and 
kept  at  a  distance  before  him.  But  three  notorious 
characters,  with  whom  he  had  long  been  on  the 
most  intimate  terms,  came  up  to  By-ends,  and  they 
mutually  saluted  each  other  in  the  most  friendly 
manner.  These  three  persons  were  Hold-the- World, 
Money-Love,  and  Save-all.  By-ends  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  same  school  as  these  men,  and 
"the  great  lesson  which  they  had  all  learned  mos* 


BY-ENBS.  279 

effectually  was  this — to  get  and  retain  whatever 
they  could,  without  being  over-scrupulous  as  to  the 
means.  None  of  them  thought  it  wrong  to  put  on 
the  guise  of  religion,  for  the  sake  of  securing  pre- 
sent gain.  All  the  four,  therefore,  were  meet  com- 
panions well  met.  As  Christian  and  Hopeful  were 
still  in  sight,  walking  on  before,  the  men  who  had 
just  joined  By-ends  naturally  inquired  who  those 
two  persons  were.  The  description  he  gives  of 
them  is  very  striking,  and  clearly  puts  before  us 
the  light  in  which  double-minded  men  and  worldly 
professors,  for  the  most  part,  regard  true  Christians. 
He  said  they  were  two  far  countrymen,  that,  after 
their  own  pecuhar  mode,  were  going  on  pilgrimage. 
Money-Love  thought  it  was  a  pity  they  did  not 
wait  until  they  all  got  up  to  them,  as  he  hoped  they 
were  all  alike,  making  the  same  journey.  But 
By-ends  declared,  "  The  men  before  us  are  so  rigid, 
and  love  so  much  their  own  notions,  and  so  lightly 
esteem  the  opinions  of  others,  that  let  a  man  be 
ever  so  godly,  yet  if  he  squares  not  with  them  in 
all  things,  they  thrust  him  quite  out  of  their  com- 
pany." Save-all  thought  that  very  bad  ;  but  re- 
minded his  friends  that  some  people  are  righteous 
overmuch  ;  and  wished  to  know  more  particularly 
what  were  the  things  in  which  By-ends  had  differed 
from  those  two  men.  To  this  he  answered  in  full  : 
"  After  their  head-strong  manner,"  he  said,  "  they 
conclude  that  it  is  their  duty  to  rush  on  their  jour- 
ney all  weathers,  but  I  am  for  waiting  for  wind  and 
tide.  They  are  for  hazarding  all  for  their  prince  at 
a  stroke,  and  I  am  for  taking  all  advantages  to  secure 
my  life  and  estate.  They  are  for  holding  their 
notions,  though  all  other  men  be  against  them  ;  but 
I  am  for  rehgion  in  what,  and  so  far  as,  the  times 


280  LECTURE  XIX. 

and  my  safety  will  bear  it.  In  short,  they  are  for 
religion  when  in  rags  and  contempt ;  but  I  am  for 
him  when  he  walks  in  his  silver  slippers,  in  the 
sunshine  and  with  applause."  Here  this  hollow 
pretender  had  uttered  all  that  was  in  his  heart,  and 
mightily  was  his  doctrine  approved  of  by  all  the 
rest.  Hold-the- World,  in  a  kind  of  transport,  be- 
sought him  still  to  adhere  to  this  doctrine,  and  de- 
clared that  for  his  part  he  counted  that  man  for  a 
fool,  who,  having  liberty  to  keep  what  he  has, 
should  be  so  unwise  as  to  lose  it.  Much  he  added  to 
the  same  purpose,  perverting  and  misapplying  the 
words  of  Scripture,  to  varnish  over  his  base  idolatry. 
Save-all  thought  they  Avere  all  perfectly  agreed  in 
this  point,  and  that  no  more  words  were  necessary 
about  it :  while  Money-Love  did  not  scruple  to  as- 
sert, that  both  Scripture  and  reason  were  clearly  in 
favour  of  their  principles.  By-ends  then  proposed 
this  question  for  their  discussion  ;  "  Suppose  a  man 
can  only  secure  some  great  temporal  advantage  by 
appearing  to  be  more  zealous  in  rehgion  than  he  had 
ever  been  before,  may  he  not  use  this  means  to  at- 
tain his  end,  and  yet  be  a  right  honest  man  ?" 
Money-Love  undertook  to  give  the  reply  to  this 
question.  After  a  long  train  of  ingenious  and  plausi- 
ble arguments  (just  what  might  be  expected  from  a 
man  who  wished  to  be  thought  religious,  while  love 
of  money  was  the  ruling  principle  within)  he  arrived 
at  the  conclusion  that  it  was  lawful  for  a  man,  with- 
out any  impeachment  of  his  honesty,  to  assume 
such  an  appearance  of  sanctity  or  zeal,  for  the  sake 
of  the  proffered  advantage.  So  thoroughly  satisfied 
were  all  his  three  friends  with  the  soundness  of  his 
conclusion  and  the  strength  of  his  argument,  that 
they  were  quite  anxious  for  the  conviction  of  Chris- 


BY-ENDS.  281 

tian  and  Hopeful,  who  were  still  within  call,  that 
the  same  question  should  be  proposed  to  them. 
They  called,  therefore,  to  Christian  and  his  fellow; 
and  Hold-the- World  proposed  the  question  to  them, 
oidding  them  to  answer  it,  if  they  could.  And 
now  mark  what  a  different  solution  they  heard  to 
their  question  from  the  Hps  of  Christian  !  He  put 
before  them,  in  its  true  light,  the  dreadful  sin  of 
making  religion  a  mere  stalking-horse  to  prefer- 
ment. This  he  declared  to  be  the  very  practice  of 
heathens  and  hypocrites,  devils  and  sorcerers.  And 
he  instanced  a  clear  proof  of  what  he  said  from  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  The  heathen  Shechemites  were 
wilhng  to  submit  to  a  religious  rite,  that  the  cattle 
of  the  Israehtes  might  be  theirs.  The  hypocritical 
Pharisees,  for  a  pretence,  made  long  prayers,  that 
they  might  devour  widows'  houses,  and  only 
secured  greater  damnation.  Judas  the  traitor  ap- 
peared to  be  rehgious,  that  he  might  get  money, 
when,  in  reality,  he  was  a  thief  and  a  robber  and 
a  devil.  And  Simon  the  sorcerer  only  desired  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  he  might  get  money  by 
working  miracles.  Thus  came  Christian  to  this 
unanswerable  conclusion :  "  The  man  who  takes 
up  religion  for  the  world  will  throw  down  religion 
for  the  world.  As  surely  as  Judas,  for  the  love  of 
money,  associated  with  Christ  and  his  disciples,  so 
surely  did  he  sell  religion  and  his  Master  for  the 
same.  To  answer,  therefore,  the  question,  as  you 
have  done,  is  heathenish,  hypocritical  and  devil- 
ish ;  and  your  reward  will  be  according  to  your 
work."  Hopeful  approved  entirely  of  Christian's 
reply,  but  the  others  stood  staring  one  at  the  other, 
and  had  not  a  word  to  answer.  At  length  By-ends 
and  his  company  lingered  and  kept  behind,  that 

21* 


282  LECTURE   XIX. 

Christian  and  his  comrade  might  pass  on  before. 
Then  said  Christian,  "  If  these  men  cannot  stand 
before  the  sentence  of  men,  what  will  they  do  with 
the  sentence  of  God  ?  And  if  they  are  mute  when 
dealt  with  by  vessels  of  clay,  w^hat  will  they  do 
when  they  shall  be  rebuked  by  flames  of  devour- 
ing fire  ?" 

How  much  there  is  in  all  this  for  our  warning 
and  instruction  and  direction  !  People  w^ho  can- 
not endure  sound  doctrine,  and  who  think  those 
that  make  conscience  of  vital  godliness  far  too  pre- 
cise and  particular,  are  ready  to  associate  in  the 
most  familiar  manner  with  men  of  the  world,  and 
to  choose  for  their  companions  those  whose  first  and 
leading  object  evidently  is  to  get  and  retain  all  that 
they  can.  Never  let  us  be  so  foolish  as  to  think, 
with  By-ends,  that  there  are  different  modes  of 
going  on  pilgrimage.  We  must  either  cast  in  our 
lot  with  the  true-hearted  disciples  of  Christ,  and 
follow  him  fully,  or  else  it  will  be  in  vain  to  sup- 
pose that  we  are  in  the  way  to  heaven,  while  we 
are  walking  by  a  widely  different  rule.  We  should 
be  fully  sensible  of  the  blinding  influence  of  de- 
ceitful and  uncertain  riches.  Poor  Money-Love 
was  so  bhnd  and  infatuated  as  confidently  to  hope 
that  he  and  his  companions  were  all  in  the  right 
way  !  And  so,  dear  friends,  it  is  now  with  num- 
bers who  make  haste  to  be  rich,  and  who  are  evi- 
dently setting  their  affections  on  things  below,  and 
addicted  to  that  "  covetousness  which  is  idolatry." 
Notwithstanding  their  idolatrous  attachment  to  the 
world,  they  still  presume  that  they  are  in  the  way 
to  heaven.  When  faithful  ministers  and  true 
Christians  insist  upon  the  absolute  necessity  of  sit- 
ting- loose  to  the  things  of  the  vvoWd,  and  making 


BY-ENDS.  283 

<jvery  thing  else  give  place  to  Christ  and  his  salva- 
tion, we  must  not  think  that  these  are  the  peculiar 
views  of  narrow-minded  men,  who  think  nobody 
right  but  themselves.  We  must  remember  these 
are  the  true  sayings  of  God  ;  and  that  the  Lord 
himself  has  assured  us,  "  strait  is  the  gate  and  nar- 
row is  the  way  that  leadeth  unto  hfe."  There  is, 
indeed,  such  a  thing  as  being  righteous  overmuch. 
But  this  favourite  text  is  wrested  by  ungodly 
men,  as  also  are  the  other  Scriptures,  to  their 
own  destruction.  The  true  design  of  it  seems  to 
be,  to  caution  us  against  excessive  zeal  for  some 
detached  parts  of  religion,  to  the  neglect  of  others ; 
and  to  warn  us  from  unrequired  austerities  and 
fanciful  delusions,  which  invariably  divert  the  mind 
from  the  essentials  of  vital  godliness.  The  parti- 
culars in  which  the  single-hearted  follower  of  Christ 
and  a  double-minded  man  differ  from  each  other, 
are  the  same  in  every  age.  The  one  has  his  trea- 
sure in  heaven,  and  is  prepared  to  suffer  the  loss 
of  all  things  that  interfere  with  his  salvation,  and 
the  allegiance  which  he  owes  to  Christ ;  and  all 
these  things  he  counts  but  dross  and  dung,  so  that 
he  may  win  Christ  and  be  found  in  him.  The  other 
has  his  treasure  upon  earth ;  and  in  his  opinion,  it 
is  madness  and  folly,  and  directly  contrary  to  his 
principles,  to  profess  religion  or  attachment  to  Christ, 
when  shame  and  reproach,  or  any  temporal  loss 
and  disadvantage,  would  certainly  result  from  doing 
so.  People  of  the  world,  who  have  their  portion 
in  this  life,  with  the  most  unanimous  consent  will 
Approve  of  such  sayings.  "  Men  will  praise  thee 
when  thou  doest  good  to  thine  own  self."  Men 
whose  hearts  are  glued  to  the  world,  and  who  hold 
it  fast  in  their  covetous  grasp — men  who  are  fox 


284  LECTURE   XIX. 

saving  all  they  can,  and  who  look  upon  every  thing 
as  entirely  lost,  that  is  not  hoarded  up  for  them- 
selves or  their  families — men  who  are  evidently 
lovers  of  money, — all  these,  with  one  consent,  will 
consider  him  a  wise  and  happy  man  who  never  lets 
his  religion  interfere  with  his  temporal  interest. 
They  determine  to  keep  what  they  have,  at  any 
rate,  and  to  get  more  if  they  can,  without  open 
scandal.  They  never  consider  that  they  are  stew- 
ards of  all  the  advantages  which  they  possess ; 
and  that  the  day  is  coming  when  they  must  give  a 
solemn  and  strict  account  of  the  use  or  abuse  which 
they  have  made  of  these.  We  have  all  reason  to 
watch  and  pray  against  a  covetous  and  worldly 
spirit  manifesting  itself  in  one  way  or  another.  Who 
has  not  need  of  the  prayer,  "  Incline  my  heart  unto 
thy  testimonies,  and  not  unto  covetousness  ?"  But 
though  such  a  spirit,  when  we  see  it  walking  forth 
in  open  day,  without  any  concealment  or  disguise — 
though,  I  say,  such  a  spirit  is  very  painful  to  wit- 
ness, it  is  still  more  odious  when  it  assumes  the 
garb  of  superior  piety  and  sanctity,  and  men  make 
profession  of  it  merely  to  gain  credit  among  reli- 
gious people,  or  to  advance  their  temporal  interests. 
Let  us,  dear  friends,  diligently  consider  the  integrity 
and  uprightness  which  ought  to  characterize  all  our 
goings,  as  professing  subjection  to  the  gospel  of 
Christ.  Let  us  abhor  from  our  hearts  the  detestable 
and  crooked  doctrine  of  By-ends,  however  it  may 
be  applauded  and  admired  by  those  who  would 
make  a  gain  of  godliness.  Let  us  remember  that 
all  outward  profession  of  religion,  for  any  temporal 
advantage,  is  heathenish,  hypocritical  and  diabolical. 
Let  us  seek  to  have  our  hearts  right,  and  our  mo- 
tives pure,  in  the  sight  of  God.     Let  all  our  views 


BY-ENDS.  285 

of  right  and  wrong  be  drawn,  clear  as  crystal,  from 
the  fountain-head  of  eternal  truth.  Then  we  shall 
learn  to  approve  what  is  excellent,  and  abhor  what 
is  evil.  '*  Through  thy  precepts  I  get  understand- 
ing, therefore  I  hate  every  false  way.  And  if 
hypocrites  and  dissemblers  are  often  put  to  silence, 
now,  by  the  plain  declarations  of  their  fellow-men, 
how  speechless  must  they  be,  and  how  utterly 
unable  to  lift  up  their  heads,  when  they  appear  be- 
fore the  dreadful  tribunal  of  God,  the  Judge  of  all ! 
Oh !  let  us  prove  the  reality  of  our  faith  in  Christ, 
by  walking  even  as  he  walked,  and  becoming  more 
and  more,  by  the  sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  conformable  to  his  image.  So  shall  "  we 
abide  in  him,  and  when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall 
Kive  confidence,  and  not  be  ashamed  before  him  at 
I  s  coming." 

THE  HYMN. 

Lo  !  on  a  narrow  neck  of  land, 
*Twixt  two  unbounded  seas,  I  stand 

Secure,  insensible  ! 
A  point  of  time,  a  moment's  space, 
Removes  me  to  that  heavenly  place, 

Or  shuts  me  up  in  hell. 

O  God  !  mine  inmost  soul  convert, 
And  deeply  on  my  thoughtful  heart 

Eternal  things  impress  : 
Give  me  to  feel  their  solemn  weight, 
And  tremble  at  my  lifeless  state, 

And  wake  to  righteousness. 

Before  me  place  in  dread  array 
The  pomp  of  that  tremendous  day, 

When  thou  with  clouds  shalt  come 
To  judge  the  nations  at  thy  bar  ; 
And  tell  me,  Lord,  shall  I  be  there 

To  meet  a  joyful  doom  ! 


286  LECTURE   XIX. 

Be  this  my  one  great  business  here, 
With  serious  industry  and  fear, 

Eternal  bliss  t'  insure  : 
Thine  utmost  counsel  to  fulfil, 
And  suffer  all  thy  righteous  will. 

And  to  the  end  endure. 

Then,  Saviour,  then  my  soul  receive, 
Transported  from  this  vale  to  live, 

And  reign  with  thee  above  ; 
Where  faith  is  sweetly  lost  in  sight, 
And  hope  in  full  supreme  delight 

And  everlasting  love. 

THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  unto  whom  all  hearts  be  open,  all  desires 
known,  and  from  whom  no  secrets  are  hid,  cleanse  the 
thoughts  of  our  hearts  by  the  inspiration  of  thy  Holy  Spirit, 
that  we  may  perfectly  love  thee,  and  worthily  magnify  thy 
holy  name.  Search  us,  O  God,  and  know  our  hearts  ;  try 
us,  and  know  our  thoughts  ;  and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked 
way  in  us,  and  lead  us  in  the  way  everlasting.  May  ouj 
hearts  be  right  with  thee.  May  we  none  of  us  be  double 
minded  persons,  appearing  with  a  character  before  men  that 
we  do  not  really  possess.  May  we  have  no  by-ends  in  view, 
in  professing  subjection  to  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Oh,  grant 
that  integrity  and  uprightness  may  always  preserve  us,  and 
that  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity  may  appear  in  all  we  do. 
May  we  approve  things  that  are  excellent,  and  be  sincere  and 
without  offence  till  the  day  of  Christ,  being  filled  with  the 
fruits  of  righteousness,  which  are  by  Jesus  Christ,  unto  the 
glory  and  praise  of  God.  May  we  never  be  offended  in 
Christ,  or  induced  to  separate  ourselves  from  such  as  are  of 
a  true  heart.  May  we  count  the  cost  of  professing  ourselves 
the  soldiers  and  servants  of  Jesus  Christ.  And  oh  !  grant 
that  we  may  have  such  a  realizuig  sense  of  the  nearness  and 
importance  of  eternal  things,  of  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the  abso- 
lute necessity  of  obtaining  salvation,  that  we  may  be  ready 
to  part  with  all,  to  bear  any  reproach,  and  to  endure  any 
present  loss,  rather  than  kindle  thy  displeasure,  and  be  cast 
into  that  fearful  place  where  the  worm  dieth  not,  and  the  fire 
is  not  quenched.  May  we  have  all  our  delight  in  the  saints 
that  are  in  the  earth,  and  such  as  excel  in  virtue,  and  go  not 
into  the  way  of  evil  men.  Deliver  our  souls  from  the  wicked 
— from  men  of  the  world,  which  have  their  portion  in  thi« 


BY-ENDS.  287 

fife.  Deliver  us  from  that  love  of  money  which  is  the  root 
of  all  evil ;  and  keep  us,  we  beseech  thee,  from  covetous- 
ness,  which  is  idolatry.  May  we  have  no  fellowship  with 
the  unfruitful  works  of  darkness,  but  rather  reprove  them. 
Lord,  keep  us  from  ever  joining  with  those  who  speak  griev- 
ous things  and  contemptuously  of  the  righteous.  May  we 
never  approve  of  the  maxims  and  sayings  of  men  of  corrupt 
minds,  supposing  that  gain  is  godliness.  Forbid  it.  Lord, 
that  we  should  ever  be  so  blinded  by  the  god  of  this  world, 
as  to  think  that  we  may  assume  an  appearance  of  religious 
zeal  or  sanctity,  for  the  sake  of  advantage.  Oh,  may  we 
keep  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  constantly  before  us,  and 
the  solemn  account  we  must  then  give.  In  that  day  may  we 
be  found  among  the  generation  of  the  upright,  and  be  ad- 
mitted to  those  unspeakable  joys  which  thou  hast  prepared 
for  thy  faithful  people.  These  things  we  ask  in  the  name 
and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  Mediator  and  Re- 
deemer.   Amen. 


LECTUKE  XX. 

THE    CHARACTER    OF   DEMAS. 


My  God,  permit  me  not  to  be 
A  stranger  to  myself  and  thee  ; 
Amid  a  thousand  thoughts  I  rove, 
Forgetful  of  my  highest  love. 

Why  should  my  passions  mix  with  earth, 
And  thus  debase  my  heavenly  birth  ! 
Why  should  I  cleave  to  things  below, 
And  let  my  God,  my  Saviour,  go  ? 

Call  me  away  from  flesh  and  sense  ; 
One  sovereign  word  can  draw  me  thence ; 
I  would  obey  the  voice  divine. 
And  all  inferior  joys  resign. 

Be  earth,  with  all  her  scenes  withdrawn; 

Let  noise  and  vanity  be  gone  ; 

In  secret  silence  of  the  mind. 

My  heaven,  and  there  my  God,  I  find. 


2  Tim.  iv.  10. 

DmiAS  HATH  FORSAKEX  ME,   DATING  LOVED   TUI3   PRESENT    /TOBID. 

How  various  are  the  temptations  and  the  ensnac 
Jig  objects  that  unite  their  influence  to  draw  tb 
Christian  pilgrim  from  the  narrow  way  of  life 
Demas  appeared  to  have  set  out  on  pilgrimage 
From  the  manner  in  which  the  Apostle  mentions 
him,  it  is  evident  that  he  had  made  a  profession  of 
rehgion,  and  outwardly,  at  least,  cast   in   his  lot 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  DEMAS.     289 

ISLmong  the  true  disciples  of  Christ.  But  love  of  the 
world  proved  a  fatal  snare  to  him.  When  the 
apostle  Paul  was  in  very  trying  circumstances,  and 
was  about  to  struggle  with  the  difficulties  and  per- 
secutions that  beset  the  end  of  his  well-run  course, 
just  before  he  attained  his  crown  of  righteousness, 
Demas,  who  had  been  his  companion,  forsook  him 
in  his  perilous  situation.  He  had  not  courage  to 
venture  his  hfe,  by  continuing  with  the  Apostle 
under  his  persecutions.  He  loved  the  world  too 
well  to  give  up  all  for  Christ ;  and  it  is  most  likely, 
that  vv'hile  he  was  seeking  for  an  opportunity  tOt 
avoid  the  cross,  some  prospect  of  worldly  gain  vvras^ 
presented  to  him.  With  this  bait  he  was  caught,, 
and  departed,  in  pursuit  of  it,  to  Thessalouica.  The- 
character  of  Demas  will  form  the  subj;ect  of  the 
pre.sent  lecture. 

].  We  have  to  notice  the  meetirig  and  conversa- 
tion of  our  pilgrims  with  him. 

II.  His  successful  efforts  against  By-ends  and  his 
fellows ;  and 

III.  The  reflections  of  Christian  and  HopeM 
upon  the  character  of  Demas. 

May  the  solemn  admonition  be  deeply  engraved 
upon  all  our  hearts  :  "Love  not  the  world,  neith^ 
the  things  of  the  world  !" 

I.  Where  did  our  pilgrims  meet  with  Demas  t 
Having  left  By-ends  and  his  company,  they  cam© 
to  a  delicate  plain  called  Ease.  They  went  ovef 
this  with  much  content ;  but  as  the  plain  was  only 
narrow,  in  a  short  time  they  had  to  leave  it  behind 
them.     At  the  farther  side  of  the  plain  was  the  hill 


290  LECTtJRE   XX, 

of  Lucre  ;  and  in  the  hill,  a  silver  mine.  This  was 
so  strange  a  sight  to  such  as  were  on  the  way  to 
Zion,  that  many  in  former  times  had  turned  aside 
to  see  it.  But  for  the  most  part  they  had  paid  dear 
for  doing  so.  Going  too  near  the  mouth  of  the  pit, 
the  ground  being  deceitful  under  them,  it  gave  way, 
and  many  of  them  were  slain  ;  while  others  were 
so  wounded,  that  they  went  maimed  ever  after. 
This  was  the  place  where  Demas  dwelt.  Here  he 
.stood,  a  little  off  the  road,  calling  passengers  from 
the  way,  to  turn  aside,  and  come  and  see.  Such 
an  invitation  he  addressed  to  Christian  and  his  com- 
panion. Christian  inquired  what  thing  was  so 
deserving  as  to  be  worth  their  while  turning  out  of 
the  road  to  see  it  ?  Demas  replied,  "  Here  is  a  sil- 
ver mine,  and  some  digging  in  it  for  treasure ;  if 
you  will  come,  with  a  little  pains,  you  may  richly 
provide  for  yourselves."  Then  was  Hopeful  in- 
chned  to  comply  with  this  invitation  ;  but  his  more 
experienced  companion  rejected  it,  and  said  he 
li:new  well  what  a  fatal  place  this  had  proved  to 
pilgrims,  and  asked  Demas  if.it  were  not  dangerous 
ground,  and  if  it  had  not  hindered  many  in  their 
pilgrimage.  The  unhappy  man  rephed,  "  Not  very 
dangerous,  except  to  those  that  are  careless."  But 
he  blushed  as  he  spoke.  Then  did  the  pilgrims 
resolve  not  to  stir  a  step  out  of  the  road,  but  to  keep 
still  in  the  way.  Demas,  however,  repeated  his 
invitation.  But  Christian  addressed  him  as  an 
enemy  to  the  right  ways  of  the  Lord.  He  told 
him  also  that  he  had  been  condemned  already  by 
one  of  the  King's  judges,  and  that  he  was  now  try- 
ing to  make  others  apostates  like  himself.  This 
frightened  him,  for  the  man  was  not  quite  past 
feeling,  and  he  said  that  he  was  one  of  their  frater 


THE   CHARACTEP.   OE   DEMAS.  291 

nity,  and  that  if  they  would  tarry  a  httle,  he  also 
would  walk  with  them.  He  was  obliged  to  confess 
that  his  name  was  Demas,  but  withal  he  added  he 
was  a  son  of  Abraham.  Christian,  however,  knew 
the  man  better  than  he  knew  himself,  and  classed 
him  with  Judas  and  Gehazi.  Suspecting,  too,  that 
what  he  said  was  a  mere  pretence  to  entice  them 
into  the  dangerous  ground,  he  said,  "  Assure  thy- 
self that  when  we  come  to  the  King,  we  will  tell 
him  of  this  thy  behaviour."  Thus  they  went  their 
way.     Here  let  us  pause  to  receive  instruction. 

As  the  delicate  plain  of  Ease  was  narrow  and 
soon  passed,  so  is  it,  for  the  most  part,  with  those 
intervals  in  the  Christian  course  that  are  free  from 
trials  and  annoyances.  The  hill  Lucre,  with  its 
silver  mine,  will  try  to  entice  us  before  we  have 
quite  left  the  dehcate  plain.  But  oh,  let  us  remem- 
ber, however  near  it  may  seem  to  us  in  times  of 
peace  and  prosperity,  that  at  the  very  best  it  is  a 
little  out  of  the  pilgrim's  path.  Why  should  a  pil- 
grim to  the  heavenly  city  lade  himself  with  the  clay 
of  earth  ?  How  can  he  retain  his  integrity,  if  he  is 
at  all  attracted  by  the  glittering  hill  ?  Oh,  remem- 
ber, that  having  food  and  raiment,  the  traveller  to 
Zion  should  be  therewith  content.  We  cannot  in- 
dulge the  desire  for  riches,  without  deviating  from 
the  narrow  path  of  the  Divine  commandments.  "He 
that  maketh  haste  to  be  rich  shall  not  be  innocent." 
W^e  should  seriously  consider,  that  the  ground  all 
about  the  hill  is  deceitful  and  uncertain.  If  Ave 
once  venture  near,  before  ever  we  are  av/are,  we 
may  be  drowned  in  perdition  and  destruction,  or 
find  to  our  cost  that  we  have  erred  from  the  faith. 
Let  us  shut  our  ears  to  the  false  and  flattering  invi- 
tations of  such  men  as  Dumas.     Why  should  we 


( 


292  LECTURE  XX. 

have  any  desire,  or  any  curiosity,  about  aught  which 
he  can  show  us  ?  "  What  thing  is  so  deserving,  as 
to  turn  us  out  of  the  way  to  see  it  ?"  What  is  sil- 
ver and  all  earthly  treasure,  in  the  estimation  of 
one  acquainted  with  the  true  riches,  and  aspiring 
after  the  heavenly  treasure  ?  Let  no  Denias  per- 
suade the  hopeful  disciple,  that  with  a  httJe  pains, 
he  may  richly  provide  for  himself  without  injury  to 
his  soul.  But  let  him  receive  counsel  from  more 
experienced  Christians,  and  attend  diligently  to  the 
solemn  admonitions  contained  in  the  Bible  concern- 
ing the  danger  and  deceitfulness  of  riches.  How 
many,  who  once  seemed  really  on  the  road  to  hea- 
ven, have  made  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good  con- 
science, by  following  after  them  !  What  a  snare 
have  they  proved  to  others,  and  how  fearfiilly  have 
they  been  hindered  by  them  on  their  heavenly  way ! 
What  numbers,  who  had  once  deep  convictions  of 
sin,  and  strong  desires  after  the  salvation  of  Christ, 
by  the  cares  of  life  and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches 
have  choked  all  their  religious  impressions  and 
feelings,  and  sunk  down  again  into  worldliness  and 
indifference  to  spiritual  enjoyments  !  What  deep 
blushes  would  cover  the  face  of  many  a  former  pro- 
fessor of  godliness,  were  he  to  say  that  riches  are 
only  dangerous  to  those  that  are  careless  !  To  say 
nothing  of  the  temporal  losses  and  sad  disappoint- 
ments which  many  have  suffered  by  running  to  the 
hill  Lucre,  how  many  have  lost,  by  catching  at  this 
seducing  bait  of  Satan,  what  is  far  worse,  their  peace 
of  conscience  and  their  spiritual  desires  !  When 
these  glittering  delusions  are  spread  in  our  path,  let 
us  not  stir  aside  an  inch,  but  still  keep  on  our  way. 
"Thou,  O  man  of  God,  flee  these  things."  Every 
Demas  is  condemned  already,  and  we  cannot  follow 


THE  CHARAOTER  OF  DEMAS.     293 

their  pernicious  ways  without  involving  ourselves 
in  the  like  condemnation.  If  covetous  men,  and 
lovers  of  this  present  evil  world,  beg  us  to  tarry  a 
little,  and  promise  that  they  will  then  go  with  us, 
let  us  consider  that  by  tarrying  in  such  a  place  w^e 
are  sure  to  injure  ourselves,  without  doing  the  least 
good  to  them.  If  they  are  sincere,  it  is  their  duty 
immediately  to  come  after  us,  and  by  no  means  is  it 
ours  to  attend  to  their  vain  pretences  and  their  in- 
famous delay.  We  see  at  once  the  presumption 
of  a  wicked  and  covetous  Jew,  resting  in  his  descent 
from  Abraham,  while  he  is  clearly  destitute  both 
of  the  faith  and  the  w^orks  of  Abraham.  Equally 
absurd  it  is  for  any  of  us  to  rest  upon  our  Christian 
name  and  baptismal  profession,  if  we  are  clearly 
violating  our  baptismal  vow,  which  requires  us  to 
renounce  the  world,  with  all  covetous  and  carnal 
desires.  Remember  how  much  is  comprised  in  the 
solemn  declaration  :  "  The  love  of  money  is  the  root 
of  all  evil."  And  let  the  leprosy  of  Gehazi,  and  the 
despair  and  the  dreadful  end  of  Judas,  deeply  imprint 
upon  our  minds   the   solemn  admonition,  "  Take 

HEED    AND    BEWARE    OF    CoVETOUSNESS  !"  J 

II.  We  now  pass  on  to  consider  the  more  suc- 
cessful attempts  of  Demas  against  By-ends  and  his 
company.  The  two  pilgrims  had  expressed  to  each 
other  their  undoubted  conviction  that  By-ends 
would  turn  in  to  the  invitations  of  Demas,  as  his 
principles  led  him  that  way ;  and  they  thougnt  it 
by  far  most  probable,  that  in  these  regions  he  would 
end  his  days.  Their  suspicions  were  too  well 
founded.  No  sooner  had  By-ends  and  his  com- 
panions approached  to  the  place,  than  at  the  very 
first  appearance  of  an  invitation,  they  ran  eagerly 

25* 


294  LECTURE  XX. 

out  of  the  path  to  go  over  to  Demas.  Their  end 
was  involved  in  some  uncertainty.  Whether  they 
fell  into  the  pit  by  looking  over  its  brink ;  or 
whether  they  went  down  to  dig  in  the  mine,  and 
continued  toiling  there  for  many  years  ;  or  whether 
they  were  smothered  in  the  bottom  by  the  noxious 
damps  that  usually  arise  from  so  great  a  depth  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth, — which  of  these  three 
events  befell  them  is  unknown.  Certain,  however, 
it  is,  that  this  place  was  the  end  of  them  all.  They 
got  not  a  step  beyond  the  hill  Lucre,  on  the  way  to 
Zion.  Christian  and  Hopeful  never  saw  them 
again  in  the  way  ! 

All  this  is  deeply  affecting,  and  full  of  meaning. 
If  our  principles  are  unsound,  and  we  regard  ini- 
quity in  our  hearts,  a  time  is  sure  to  come,  when 
a  suitable  bait  will  be  presented  to  us,  to  develope 
that  unsoundness,  and  to  make  manifest  that  hidden 
iniquity.  If  we  are  double-minded  men,  and  have 
taken  up  a  profession  of  religion,  not  to  obtain  the 
salvation  of  our  souls,  but  to  make  a  fair  show  in 
the  flesh  ;  if  we  are  vainly  attempting  to  serve  God 
and  Mammon,  while  we  hold  to  this  present  evil 
world  ;  if  we  are  addicted  to  the  love  of  money  ;  or 
if  the  principal  object  we  have  in  our  view  be  to 
save  all  we  can  ; — if,  I  say,  this  be  our  real  char- 
acter, we  are  sure  to  be  drawn  aside  and  enticed 
to  the  glittering  hill  of  Lucre.  Our  principles  will 
lead  us  that  way.  Some  fair  prospect  of  becoming 
rich,  or  attaining  to  easy  and  comfortable  circum- 
stances, will  induce  us  to  turn  aside  quick  out  of  the 
narrow  way.  We  shall  be  situated  as  Demas  was, 
before  he  departed  from  St.  Paul.  That  is,  we  shall 
be  placed  in  such  circumstances  as  will  compel  us 
to  show  whether  Christ  or  the  world  be  the  supreme 


THE    CHARACTER    OF   DEMAS.  295 

object  of  attraction  to  us.     And  if  our  principles  be 
like  his,  our  behaviour  Avill  be  the  same,  and  our 
end  the  same.     Consider  for  a  moment  what  a  fear- 
ful end  that  must  be.     If  you  profess  godliness,  and 
determine  to  be  rich,  your  end  will  be  like  the  end 
of  a  man  who  falls  headlong  into  a  burnino-  volcano, 
by  approaching  too  near   the  mouth   of  the   pit. 
You  will  not  believe,  although"  j^ou  have  been  as- 
sured, that  the  ground  upon  which  you   stand  is 
deceitful  and  uncertain.     "  They  that  will  be  rich 
fall   into  temptation  and  a  snare,  and  into  many 
foohsh  and  hurtful  lusts,  which  drown  men  in  de- 
struction and  perdition."    Or  else  you  have  doomed 
yourself  to  a  life  of  innumerable  evils  and  piercing 
disappointments  and   bitter  sorrows,  like  to  those 
who  spend  their  days  without  hope,  while  toiling. 
in  a  mine.     "The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all\ 
evil,  which  while  some  coveted  after,  they  have    1 
erred  from  the  faith,  and  pierced  themselves  through    J 
with  many  sorrows."     If  neither  of  these  events  ' 
befall  the  professor  of  godliness  who  makes  haste 
to  be  rich,  there  is  but  another  akernative.     All 
his  religious  impressions,  and  hopes,  and  desires  are 
doomed  to  certain  death.     The  fatal  damps  that  rise 
out  of  the  most  poisonous  mine  are  not  more  injuri- 
ous to  the  natural  life  than  the  intoxicating  fumes 
of  deceitful  and  uncertain  riches  are  destructive  to 
wavering  and  unestablished  Christians.     "  The  de-^ 
ceitfulness  of  riches  choke   the  word,  and  he  be-  ' 
Cometh  unfruitful."     Again  let  the  prayer  ascend 
from  our  hearts  individually  :  "  Inchne  my  heart  to  J 
thy  testimonies,  and  not  unto  covetousness." 

III.  The  last  head  for  our  consideration  is  the  re- 
flections of  Christian  and  Hopeful  upon  the  charac- 


296  LECTURE   XX. 

ter  of  Demas.  Not  far  from  the  residence  of  Demas, 
our  pilgrims  discovered  an  ancient  monument,  as  it 
had  been  of  a  woman  transformed  into  a  pillar,  and 
upon  it  were  the  words  written.  Remember  Lot's 
Wife  !  What  a  seasonable  admonition  was  this, 
just  after  leaving  the  hill  Lucre  !  They  confessed, 
that  had  they  complied  with  the  invitation  they  had 
just  refused,  they,  too,  might  have  been  made  a 
spectacle  to  those  who  should  come  after.  Hopeful 
especially  was  deeply  humbled  for  his  inclination 
to  comply.  They  determined  to  take  warning  from 
the  monument  before  them,  and  to  recollect,  that  hav- 
ing escaped  one  judgment,  they  might  fall  into 
another.  But  what  especially  moved  the  wonder 
of  Hopeful  was  this.  "Above  all,"  he  said,  "I 
muse  how  Demas  and  his  fellows  can  stand  so  con- 
fidently yonder  looking  for  treasure,  when  this 
woman,  for  but  looking  behind  her,  was  turned  into 
a  pillar  of  salt.  How  can  they  act  in  the  way  they 
do,  with  such  an  example  before  them  !  for  they 
cannot  help  seeing  it,  if  only  they  lift  up  their 
eyes."  Christian  acknowledged  this  to  be  a  won- 
der, and  to  argue  the  desperate  hardness  of  their 
hearts  ;  he  likened  them  to  those  incurable  and  dar- 
ing offenders,  who  pick  pockets  in  the  presence  of 
the  judge,  or  steal  under  the  very  gallows  itself. 
*'  Those,"  he  said,  "  who  sin  in  sight,  and,  as  it 
were,  in  despite  of  terrible  examples  of  judgment, 
bring  upon  themselves  the  most  aggravated  con- 
demnation." Hopeful  acknowledged  it  to  be  a 
signal  mercy  that  he  had  not  been  made  a  monu- 
ment similar  to  the  one  before  them,  confessing  that 
his  sin  had  been  very  similar.  Lot's  wife  had  only 
looked  behind  her,  and  he  had  a  desire  to  go  and 
see.     He  felt  now,  more  deeply  than  ever,  that  the 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  DEMAS.      297 

going  out  of  the  heart  after  forbidden  objects  is  sin- 
ful and  displeasing  in  the  sight  of  God,  even  though 
the  outward  sin  be  not  actually  committed. 

We  may  all  pause  to  reflect,  with  profit,  Avithin 
sight  of  the  hill  Lucre  and  the  mine  of  silver.  How 
many  affecting  monuments  do  we  continually  meet, 
which  stand  like  so  many  beacons,  to  warn  us  of 
the  fearful  consequences  of  incHning  to  any  evil 
thing,  or  regarding  iniquity  even  in  our  heart ! 
The  love  of  money,  manifesting  itself  in  a  longing, 
lingering  look  towards  the  hill  Lucre,  has  had  in 
realit}^  the  same  blasting  effect  upon  many  a  flou- 
rishing professor  of  religion,  that  the  backward  look 
of  Lot's  wife  to  the  cities  of  the  plain  had  upon 
her.  There  is  many  a  man,  and  many  a  woman, 
Avho  appeared  to  have  left,  for  ever,  the  city  of  De- 
struction, that  afterwards  were  involved,  by  a  worldly 
heart,  and  by  covetous  desires,  in  the  most  fearful 
destruction.  At  one  time  they  seemed  to  be  re- 
hgious  ;  their  faces  were  set  to  the  heavenly  city  ; 
their  places  were  never  empty  in  the  sanctuary  of 
God ;  they  were  deeply  affected  by  the  solemn 
truths  which  they  there  heard ;  they  came  to  the 
communion ;  and,  to  judge  from  outward  appear- 
ance, all  was  fair  and  flourishing  as  a  green  bay- 
tree,  that  strikes  its  deep  roots  into  the  ground,  and 
spreads  out  its  green  boughs  to  the  sky.  But  they 
felt  the  attraction  of  the  glittering  hill.  They  de- 
sired to  be  rich.  They  cast  an  eager,  longing  eye 
after  the  distinctions,  and  luxuries,  and  elegancies 
of  life,  and  then  their  religion  was  over.  Their 
leaf  withered,  their  branches  fell,  and  they  remained, 
hke  an  oak  blasted  by  the  lightning,  a  melancholy 
wreck  of  their  former  selves,  a  touching  monument 
to   record   the   effects   of   covetousness.     Oh,  my 


298  LECTURE  XX. 

friends,  let  us  be  deeply  humbled  for  the  sins  of 
our  hearts,  as  well  as  for  those  which  have  actually 
appeared  in  our  lives  !  The  commandment  which 
forbids  us  to  covet,  is  enough  to  fasten  conviction 
upon  every  soul  of  man,  and  to  close  in  silence 
every  mouth  that  would  open  in  self-justification. 
The  sincerest  Christian  and  the  most  hopeful  char- 
acters must  here  ahke  plead  guilty.  Oh,  Avhen 
we  think  that  "the  thought  of  foohshness  is  sin," 
and  the  roving  of  the  desire  after  any  thing  forbid- 
den is  a  violation  of  the  divine  commandment,  w^ho 
must  not  put  his  hand  upon  his  mouth,  and  his 
mouth  in  the  dust,  and  cry  out,  Unclean  !  Who 
must  not  say,  "  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  thy 
servant,  O  Lord,  for  in  thy  sight  shall  no  man  living 
be  justified  !"  Surely,  had  any  of  us  been  dealt 
with  according  to  strict  justice,  and  had  the  Lord 
been  extreme  to  mark  what  we  have  done  and  said 
and  thought  amiss,  we  every  one  might  have  been 
made  monuments  of  his  righteous  displeasure 
against  sin  !  Let  us  seriously  lay  to  heart  all  the 
instances  that  are  recorded  in  the  Bible,  of  the 
divine  vengeance  overtaking  sinners,  considering 
"that  these  things  were  our  examples,  to  the  intent 
we  should  not  lust  after  evil  things,  as  they  also 
lusted."  Let  us  make  also  the  same  use  of  every 
similar  instance  that  we  have  met  with  in  our  pro- 
gress through  the  world.  These,  too,  are  intended 
for  our  admonition.  It  arsfues  cfreat  hardness  of 
heart,  and  obduracy  in  sin,  to  persist  in  any  evil 
way,  when  we  have  many  sad  examples  before  us 
of  the  fatal  consequences  of  pursuing  that  way. 
The  money-loving,  scheming,  speculating  age  in 
which  we  hve,  affords  us  many  affecting  examples 
of  the  sad  effects  of  hastening  to  be  rich.     Let  us 


THE  CHAEACTER  OP  DEMAS.     299 

be  warned  by  them,  and  not  blindly  rush  on  in  the 
same  steps,  until  we  are  involved  in  the  same  ruin. 
Nay,  let  us  watch  very  diligently  against  the  first 
rise  of  covetous,  worldly,  and  aspiring  thoughts 
and  wishes  in  our  hearts.  Whenever  we  feel  dis- 
posed to  indulge  a  wish  after  carnal  objects,  or  pos- 
sessions, or  pleasures,  let  us  remember  Lofs  wife. 
Are  we  really  the  true  subjects  of  Him  who  was 
crucified  ? 

"  And  shall  we,  then,  with  fond  affection  cling 
To  the  vile  earth,  which  crucified  our  King  ?" 

Have  we  felt  any  thing — yea,  but  a  little — of  the  at- 
tractive power  of  the  Saviour's  cross,  and  is  not  the 
world  crucified  unto  us,  and  we  unto  the  world  ? 
Why  should  an  heir  of  eternal  glory  be  anxious 
about  any  thing  which  this  poor  world  can  bestow  ? 
What  do  you  want  more  for  the  days  of  your  pil- 
grimage than  food  and  raiment  ?  "  Let  your  con- 
versation be  w^ithout  covetousness,  and  be  content 
with  such  things  as  you  have ;  for  He  hath  said,  I 
will  never  leave  thee,  nor  forsake  thee ;"  so  that 
we  may  boldly  say,  "  The  Lord  is  my  helper,  I  wiii 
not  fear  what  man  shall  do  unto  me." 


THE  HYMN. 

Thou  hidden  love  of  God,  whose  height. 
Whose  depth  unfathomed,  no  man  knows ; 
I  see  from  far  thy  beauteous  light, 
And  inly  sigh  fotthy  repose : 
My  heart  is  pained,  nor  can  it  be 
At  rest,  till  it  find  rest  in  thee. 

Is  there  a  thing  beneath  the  sun 
That  strives  with  thee  my  heart  to  share  ? 
Ah  !  tear  it  thence,  and  reign  alone 
The  Lord  of  every  motion  there. 


300  LECTURE   XX. 

Then  shall  my  heart  from  earth  be  free, 
When  it  has  found  its  all  in  thee. 

Oh  !  crucify  this  self,  that  I 

No  more,  but  Christ  in  me,  may  live  ; 

Bid  all  my  vile  affections  die. 

Nor  let  one  hateful  lust  survive  : 

In  all  things,  nothing  may  I  see, 

Or  aught  desire,  or  seek,  but  thee. 

Lord,  drav/  my  heart  from  earth  away, 
And  make  it  only  know  thy  call ; 
Speak  to  my  inmost  soul,  and  say, 
"I  am  thy  Saviour,  God,  thine  all:" 
Oh  !  dwell  in  me,  fill  all  my  soul. 
And  all  my  powers  by  grace  control. 


THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  Father,  who  of  thy  tender  love  hast  given  thine 
only  Son,  our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  to  suffer  death  upon  the 
cross  for  our  redemption,  that  he  might  deliver  us  from  this 
present  evil  world,  mercifully  look  down  upon  us,  and  bless 
us,  for  his  sake.  Give  us,  we  beseech  thee,  such  a  spiritual 
apprehension  of  the  surpassing  glory  of  the  cross  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  that  we  may  be  crucified  unto  the  world,  and  the 
world  unto  us.  There  be  many  that  say,  "  Who  will  show  us 
any  good  ?"  but.  Lord,  lift  thou  up  the  light  of  thy  countenance 
upon  us,  and  thereby  put  joy  and  gladness  into  our  hearts. 
We  feel  and  bewail  the  sad  propensity  of  our  corrupt  nature, 
to  put  the  creature  in  the  place  of  the  Creator,  and  to  seek 
from  those  things  which  perish  in  the  using,  that  satisfaction 
which  is  only  to  be  found  in  thee.  Our  soul  cleaveth  unto 
the  dust  ;  quicken  thou  us  according  to  thy  word.  We  would 
be  deeply  humbled  for  the  lusting  spirit  that  is  within  us, 
and  confess  with  shame  and  sorrow  that  we  have  offended 
against  thy  holy  laws.  Oh  let  all  our  guilt  be  purged  and 
done  away,  by  the  effectual  application  of  the  blood  of  sprink- 
ling to  our  hearts.  And  save  us,  we  beseech  thee,  by  the 
power  of  thy  Holy  Spirit,  from  the  dominion  of  sin.  Incline 
our  hearts  unto  thy  testimonies,  and  not  unto  covetousness. 
May  we  never  be  drawn  aside  from  the  narrow  way  of  life, 
to  seek  after  deceitful  and  uncertain  riches.  Save  us  from 
the  temptations  and  snares,  and  the  many  foolish  and  hurt- 
ful lusts,  which  drown  men  in  destruction  and  perdition. 


THE    CHAKACTER   OF   DEMAS.  301 

Deliver  us  from  loving  this  present  w^orld,  lest  we  be  found 
among  the  enemies  of  God.  Deliver  us  from  that  love  of 
money  which  is  the  root  of  all  evil,  lest  we  should  err  from 
the  faith,  and  pierce  ourselves  through  with  many  sorrows. 
May  we  often  consider  how  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  O  Lord  our  God,  may 
our  hearts  be  sound  in  thy  statutes,  that  we  be  not  ashamed. 
Grant,  Lord,  that  we  may  never  look  back,  with  lingering 
desire,  after  any  of  the  vain  things  which  we  profess  to  have 
renounced.  May  we  remember  Lot's  v.^ife.  Let  none  of  the 
mournful  monuments  which  record  the  effects  of  covetous- 
ness  be  lost  upon  us.  Listead  of  lusting  after  any  thing  that 
is  evil,  may  we  only  love  what  thou  commandest,  and  desire 
nothing  but  what  thou  dost  promise.  Oh  grant,  that  as  ge- 
nuine pilgrims  to  a  better  country,  we  may  be  satisfied  with 
pilgrim's  fare.  Gracious  Father,  may  our  conversation  be 
without  covetousness,  and  make  us  content  with  such  things 
as  we  have.  Only  do  thou  give  us  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment 
to  put  on,  until  the  days  of  our  pilgrimage  are  accomplished, 
and  we  are  brought  in  peace  and  safety  to  our  Father's  house 
in  heaven.  Grant  this,  O  heavenly  Father,  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Saviour,  to  whom,  with  thee  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  might,  majesty,  dominion  and  glory,  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen. 


LECTUEE  XXL 

DOUBTING   CASTLE. 


Soldiers  of  Christ,  arise,  I 

And  put  your  armour  on,  ' 

Strong  in  the  strength  which  God  supplies  ; 

Through  his  eternal  Son;  j 

}. 

Strong  in  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  \ 

And  in  his  mighty  power,  i 

Who  in  the  strength  that  Jesus  trusts  j 

Is  more  than  conqueror. 

Stand  then  in  his  great  might,  '. 

With  all  his  strength  endued;  ■ 

But  take,  to  arm  you  for  the  fight,  \ 

The  panoply  of  God.  ' 

That  having  all  things  done,  , 

And  all  your  conflicts  past, 
Ye  may  o'ercome  through  Christ  alone 

And  stand  entire  at  last. 


Jer.  ii.  17. 


HAST  THOU  NOT  PROCURED  TmS  UNTO  THYSELF,  IN  THAT  THOU  HAST    FOR- 
SAKEN  THE  LORD  THY  GOD  WHEN  HE  LED  THEE  BY  THE  VTAY? 

We  shall  find  this  affecting  passage  of  Scripture 
strikingly  illustrated  by  that  portion  of  the  Pilgrim's 
Progress  which  comes  now  under  our  considera- 
tion. We  cannot  shun  our  allotted  cross,  or  swerve 
from  the  right  ways  of  the  Lord,  without  procuring 
to  ourselves  darkness  and  doubt,  and  perhaps,  for  a 

302 


DOUBTING  CASTLE.  303 

season  shutting  ourselves  up  in  a  prison-house  of 
despair.  We  are  sure  to  smart  for  what  we  have 
done.  In  the  bitter  effects  of  our  transgression, 
our  own  wickedness  will  correct  us,  and  our  back- 
sHdings  will  reprove  us,  and  we  shall  learn  by  pain 
ful  experience  what  an  evil  and  bitter  thing-  it  is  to 
have  forsaken  the  Lord  our  God.  There  are  tw( 
particulars  for  our  present  consideration. 

I.  How  Christian  and  his  companion  forsook 
the  Lord  their  God,  when  he  led  them  in  the  way  ; 
and 

n.  The  bitter  sufferings  that  they  procured  to 
themselves  by  doing  so. 

May  this  affecting  subject  be  made  really  profit- 
able to  all  present. 

L  The  transgression  of  the  pilgrims  has  to  be 
considered.  For  some  time  after  they  had  left 
Demas,  their  way  lay  through  a  most  delightful 
country.  A  peaceful  river  ghded  all  along  the 
path  ;  and  trees,  with  the  most  grateful  shade,  and 
delicious  fruit,  were  growing  on  every  side.  They 
drank  of  the  stream,  ate  of  the  fruit,  and  rested 
under  its  shade  ;  and  all  was  safe  and  pleasant  and 
well.  But  they  were  not  yet  at  their  journey's  end. 
Very  soon  the  river  and  the  way  parted.  This  was 
a  great  trial  to  them.  And  when  the  road  became 
rough  and  hurt  their  feet,  "  their  souls  were  dis- 
couraged because  of  the  way."  At  length,  to  the 
left  hand,  they  espied  a  stile  and  a  by-path  across 
the  adjoining  meadow.  Christian  hastily  concluded 
that  the  path  went  all  along  by  the  appointed  road  ; 
and  as  it  was  the  easiest  way,  he  invited  his  com- 


304  LECTURl.  XXI. 

rade  to  go  with  him  over  the  stile.  Hopeful  mo- 
destly suggested,  "  What  if  this  path  should  lead 
us  out  of  the  way  ?"  But  Christian  overruled  his 
objection,  and  over  they  both  went  into  By-path 
Meadow.  They  found  it  much  easier  for  their 
feet ;  and  seeing  a  man  w^alk  before  them,  whose 
name  was  Vain-Confidence,  and  who  assured  them 
that  was  the  way  to  the  Celestial  Gate,  they  fol- 
lowed him  without  fear,  and  Christian  regarded 
this  as  a  certain  proof  that  they  were  right.  Soon, 
however,  it  grew  dark,  and  they  lost  sight  of  the 
man  who  went  before.  Not  seeing  his  way,  but 
urging  on,  he  fell  into  a  deep  pit,  and  was  dashed 
in  pieces  with  his  fall.  The  pilgrims  heard  him 
fall,  and  called  to  know  what  was  the  matter.  But 
there  was  no  voice,  and  none  to  answer.  Only  they 
heard  a  groan.  It  w^as  the  dying  groan  of  Vain- 
Confidence  !  Now  did  Christian  begin  to  suspect 
the  fatal  error  w^hich  he  had  committed.  The  ter- 
rible scene  which  he  had  formerly  witnessed  at 
Mount  Sinai  was  renewed.  It  began  to  rain  and 
thunder  in  the  most  dreadful  manner,  and  the 
swelling  floods  hfted  up  their  voice.  Hopeful  him- 
self w^as  cast  down,  but  not  in  despair.  He  told 
his  companion  that  from  the  first  he  was  jealous  of 
that  by-path,  but  gave  way  to  the  counsel  of  one 
older  than  himself.  He  did  not,  however,  say  this 
in  an  angry  or  reproachful  spirit.  For  when  Chris- 
tian candidly  acknowledged  his  fault,  and  craved 
forgiveness,  in  the  most  beautiful  manner,  and  in 
the  true  spirit  of  his  character.  Hopeful  said,  "Be 
comforted,  my  brother,  for  I  forgive  thee,  and  be- 
lieve, too,  that  this  shall  be  for  good."  Then  did 
they  resolve  immediately  to  retrace  their  steps,  and 
a  loving  and  a  most  afl^ecting  controversy  rose  be- 


DOUBTINa  CASTLE.  305 

tween  them,  which  of  them  should  lead  the  way. 
Christian  thought  that,  as  he  had  been  the  means 
of  their  getting  out  of  the  way,  he  ought  to  be  the 
first  in  facing  any  danger  they  might  incur  in  get- 
ting into  it  again.  But  Hopeful  was  determined  to 
go  before,  and  said,  that  the  troubled  and  anxious 
state  of  Christian's  mind  rendered  him,  for  the  pre- 
sent, not  so  good  a  guide.  Thus  they  began  to 
return.  But  it  was  a  far  more  difficult  thing  to  get 
into  the  road  when  they  were  out  of  it,  than  it  had 
been  to  get  out  of  it  when  they  were  in  it.  The 
night  was  so  dark,  and  the  waters  were  so  high, 
that  in  going  back  they  only  very  narrowly  escaped 
being  drowned  several  times.  With  all  their  efforts, 
they  could  not  get  to  the  stile  that  night.  Finding, 
therefore,  a  little  shelter,  they  sat  down  there,  in- 
tending to  watch  and  wait  until  the  break  of  day. 
But  instead  of  watching,  being  wearied  and  fatigued, 
they  both  fell  asleep.  It  was  in  the  grounds  of 
Giant  Despair  that  the  pilgrims  now  lay  sleeping. 
He  found  them  in  this  situation  early  in  the  morn- 
ing. With  a  grim  look  and  a  surly  voice,  he  called 
them  to  awake,  accused  them  of  trespassing  on  his 
grounds,  and  told  them  that  they  were  his  prisoners. 
The  pilgrims  could  make  no  resistance,  for  the  giant 
was  much  stronger  than  they.  So  he  drove  them 
before  him  to  Doubting  Castle,  his  gloomy  habita- 
tion, and  there  he  thrust  them  into  a  dark  and 
dismal  dungeon. 

All  this,  dear  friends,  is  very  instructive,  and  full 
of  the  most  important  meaning.  When  true  Chris- 
tians act  uprightly,  and  withstand  temptations,  (as 
Christian  and  Hopeful  withstood  the  temptations 
of  Demas,)  their  consolations  sometimes  greatly 
abound.     They  lie  down  in  green  pastures  and  are 


306  LECTURE   XXI. 

led  beside  the  waters  of  comfort.  They  are  favoured 
with  the  special  presence  and  cheering  communi- 
cations of  the  true  Comforter.  The  Holy  Spirit,  as 
a  river  of  living  water,  refreshes  and  consoles  them 
on  the  way  to  Zion.  They  find  Christ,  the  tree 
of  Hfe,  in  all  the  ordinances  and  means  of  grace  to 
which  they  resort ;  and  they  are  able  to  testify,  "  I 
sat  down  under  his  shadow  with  great  delight  and 
his  fruit  was  sweet  to  my  taste."  Such  happy 
spots  as  these,  however,  are  for  the  most  part  seldom 
met  with  in  the  pilgrim's  progress.  The  Christian 
has  not  yet  come  to  the  end  of  his  journey.  The 
gladdening  river  and  the  way  to  Zion  soon  part. 
We  cannot  perceive  and  feel  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  all  the  way  to  heaven.  Sensible  com- 
fort is  withdrawn,  and  the  road  becomes  rough  and 
discouraging  as  before.  But  however  rough  or 
painful  the  appointed  path  may  be,  oh  !  let  us  be- 
ware of  turning  aside  into  by-paths.  When  we 
want  to  shun  the  cross,  and  to  seek  a  smoother  and 
an  easier  way,  our  wishes  wonderfully  warp  our 
judgment,  and  we  are  easily  induced  to  believe 
what  we  greatly  desire.  It  is  by  no  means  certain 
that  the  easiest  road  is  the  right  one ;  and  we  should 
thoughtfully  ponder  the  suspicion,  whoever  may 
suggest  it,  that  the  smooth  path  we  have  selected 
may  lead  us  wrong.  Nothing  can  be  more  danger- 
ous than  to  follow  either  the  advice  or  the  steps  of 
Vain-Confidence.  W"e  cannot  have  a  worse  in- 
structor, or  a  worse  guide.  We  shall  lose  sight  of 
him  as  soon  as  ever  the  shadows  of  evening  are 
stretched  out,  and  it  begins  to  be  dark ;  and  the 
only  real  benefit  we  can  derive  from  such  a  charac- 
ter is  this,  to  learn  from  his  awful  end,  and  the 
sudden  destruction  that  comes  upon  him  una  kvares, 


DOUBTING   CASTLE.  307 

to  ponder  the  path  of  our  feet,  and  be  convinced 
that  in  following  his  steps  we  have  wandered  out 
of  the  way.  How  painful  is  the  situation  of  the 
backslider,  when  thus  convinced  !  He  is  often  led 
to  fear  that  his  faith  is  dead — that  he  is  still  in 
bondage  to  the  covenant  of  works,  exposed  to  the 
condemnation  of  a  broken  law;  and  thus  he  is 
again  brought  back,  as  it  were,  to  the  blackness  and 
darkness,  and  tempest  and  thunder,  of  the  mount 
that  burned  with  fire.  In  this  condition,  those  who 
have  transgressed  together  should  not  upbraid  or 
criminate  each  other,  but  bear  one  another's  bur- 
dens, and  use  their  best  endeavours  to  return  into 
the  right  way.  Transgressors  find  how  hard  is 
their  way  when  they  begin  to  retrace  their  back- 
sliding steps.  It  is  easier,  oh  !  much  easier,  going 
out  of  the  way,  w^hen  we  were  in  it,  than  going  in 
when  we  are  out.  Nothing,  however,  can  be  done, 
and  peace  can  never  be  restored,  until  we  return,  as 
genuine  penitents,  by  true  faith,  unto  Him  from 
whom  we  have  deeply  revolted.  In  order  to  this, 
all  difficulties  must  be  braved,  and  all  dangers  must 
be  faced.  But  especially  must  the  returning  back- 
slider beware  of  settling  down  wherever  he  can  find 
a  little  shelter,  and  giving  way  to  slumber  and 
sleep,  when  he  ought  to  be  watching  and  praying, 
and  letting  his  heart  be  to  the  highway,  even  the 
way  which  he  went.  We  must  not  be  satisfied 
with  any  thing  short  of  a  full  and  complete  restora- 
tion. Had  Christian  and  his  fellow  continued  toiling 
their  way  back,  without  first  lingering,  and  then 
sleeping  in  the  httle  shelter  they  found  in  the 
grounds  of  the  giant,  all  their  bitter  sufferings,  and 
the  cruel  treatment  they  were  about  to  undergo  in 
Doubting  Castle,  would  have  been  avoided,  and  in 


308  LECTURE  XXI. 

due  time  they  would  have  safely  reached  the  high- 
way. Their  stay  and  their  sloth  in  this  place  was 
unseasonable  and  wrong  in  the  extreme,  and  very 
dearly  had  they  to  pay  for  it.  Thus,  dear  friends, 
it  will  be  with  us,  if  we  linger  in  all  the  plain,  be- 
fore we  have  returned  right  humbly  to  the  God  of 
our  salvation,  and  had  our  peace  restored  through 
faith  in  the  blood  of  the  cross.  Be  not  satisfied 
with  a  httle  shelter  from  your  present  distress,  if 
conscience  testifies  you  are  out  of  the  way.  Do 
not  mistake  a  slumbering  colhscience  for  a  peaceful 
conscience.  Though  your  way  be  dark  and  rugged, 
still  resolutely  pursue  it.  Wait  and  pray  for  a  re- 
turning sense  of  your  pardon  and  acceptance.  The 
proper  language  for  a  returning  wanderer  is,  "  I 
wait  for  the  Lord,  my  soul  doth  wait,  and  in  his 
word  do  I  hope.  My  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord 
more  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning ;  I  say, 
more  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning."  If, 
instead  of  this,  yoa  settle  down  in  carnal  security, 
while  yet  you  are  upon  forbidden  ground,  terrible 
indeed  will  be  the  result.  Very  soon  Despair,  like 
a  giant,  will  rouse  you  out  of  your  slumber  ;  you 
will  have  no  power  to  resist  him,  but  be  wholly  in 
his  hands  ;  and  find,  to  your  dismaj^  that  you  must 
go  with  him,  and  remain  his  prisoner.  Remember 
Peter  slept  for  sorrow,  when  he  had  been  solemnly 
warned  to  watch  and  pray  ;  and  how  fearful  was 
the  fall,  and  how  bitter  was  the  distress  which  soon 
succeeded  !  What  the  Lord  said  unto  him  and  the 
rest  of  the  disciples,  he  says  to  us  and  to  all- 
Watch  ! 

n.  We  now  proceed  to  consider  the  cruel  treat- 
ment which  our  pilgrims  found  from  the  giant  into 


DOUBTING  CASTLE.  309 

whose  hands  they  had  fallen,  and  in  whose  castle 
they  were  confined.  Very  sorrowful  was  their 
habitation  in  the  miserable  dungeon  where  they 
were  thrust.  They  were  kept,  as  long  as  life  could 
endure,  without  food,  or  water,  or  light;  and  what 
was  worse  than  all  this,  their  inward  comfort  and 
peace  had  vanished  like  a  dream.  Christian  espe- 
cially had  sorrow  upon  sorrow,  for  he  regarded  him- 
self as  the  cause  of  their  being  brought  into  this 
distress.  Giant  Despair  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Diffidence,  and  they  conversed  together  about  the 
pilgrims.  Diffidence  counselled  that  they  should 
be  beaten  without  mercy  ;  and  fiercely  did  the  grim 
giant  execute  upon  the  poor  pilgrims  the  cruel 
counsel  of  his  wife.  Finding,  however,  that  they 
still  survived,  she  next  desired  him  to  use  every 
argument  he  could,  to  induce  them  to  destroy  them- 
selves. He  came,  therefore,  and  represented  to 
them,  as  they  were  certain  to  remain  his  prisoners 
for  life,  nothing  was  better  for  them  than  at  once  to 
put  a  period  to  their  sufferings  with  their  own  hands. 
Instead  of  complying  with  his  advice,  they  desired 
him  to  let  them  go.  This  so  excited  his  rage,  that 
he  rushed  upon  them  with  violence,  as  if  determined 
to  kill  them  himself.  But  he  was  not  permitted  to 
do  so.  Being  subject  to  certain  fits  at  particular 
seasons,  just  as  he  was  about  to  wreak  his  vengeance 
upon  the  pilgrims,  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  one 
of  these,  and  lost  for  a  time  the  use  of  his  hands. 
Thus  was  he  obliged  to  retire,  and  left  his  prisoners 
to  consult  between  themselves  as  to  what  they 
should  do.  Christian  felt,  more  keenly  than  Hope- 
ful, the  horrors  of  their  situation,  and  the  tyranny 
of  Despair.  He  was  even  tempted  for  a  moment  to 
adopt  the  dreadful  counsel  of  the  giant,  and  said 


310  LECTURE   XXI. 

with  Job,  "  My  sou]  chooseth  strangling  rather  than 
life."  But  his  younger  and  more  buoyant  com- 
panion, Hopeful,  pointed  out,  in  the  most  forcible 
manner,  the  awful  sin  and  fearful  consequences  of 
such  a  step,  and  rejected  it  with  instinctive  horror. 
It  was  evident  from  his  words,  that  the  giant  had 
not  been  able  to  lay  his  hands  so  heavily  upon  him. 
He  suggested  to  his  fellow  several  distinct  grounds 
for  encouragement,  notwithstanding  their  present 
forlorn  and  distressing  condition.  "  Others,"  he 
said,  "  have  been  prisoners  here,  and  yet  have  by 
some  means  contrived  to  escape.  Why  may  not 
we?  The  giant  may  die:  we  have  just  seen  that 
he  is  subject  to  fits,  and  why  not  also  to  death? 
He  may  forget  to  lock  us  up,  or  he  may  become  so 
infirm  and  paralyzed  that  we  may  easily  effect  our 
escape.  Why  did  we  not  make  the  attempt  the 
last  time,  when  he  lost  the  use  of  his  hands,  and 
could  scarcely  have  retained  us,  had  we  acted  with 
vigour  and  courage  ?"  Thus  did  the  happy  spirit 
of  Hopeful  rise  superior  alike  to  the  suggestions  of 
Despair  and  the  cruelties  of  Diffidence,  and  could 
even  find  ground  for  future  encouragement  by  what 
he  witnessed  amid  the  chilling  damps  and  the 
gloomy  darkness  of  Doubting  Castle.  Again  did 
the  giant  visit  them  in  the  evening,  and  told  them, 
in  a  grievous  rage,  that,  seeing  they  had  disobeyed 
his  counsel,  it  should  .be  worse  with  them  than  if 
they  had  never  been  born.  Then  was  Christian 
again  well  nigh  overcome,  and  on  the  eve  of  yield- 
ing implicitly  to  the  bidding  of  Despair  ;  and  again 
he  was  indebted  to  the  representations  of  Hopeful, 
who  reminded  him  how  nobly  he  had  played  the 
man  on  former  occasions,  and  exhorted  him  still  to 
bear  up  with  patience  under  their  present  suffer- 


DOUBTING   CASTLE.    ^  311 

ings.  The  next  expedient  for  driving  the  pilgrims 
to  desperation  was,  to  show  them  the  bones  and 
skulls  of  those  who  had  been  destroyed  by  Despair. 
But  this,  Hke  every  thing  else,  faihng  of  the  desired 
effect,  it  was  thought  that  they  lived  in  expectation 
of  some  one  coming  to  their  rescue,  or  else  that  they 
had  pick-locks  about  them,  by  means  of  which  they 
were  hoping  to  effect  their  escape.  The  suspicion 
of  this  made  the  giant  resolve  that  next  morning  he 
would  search  them.  But  before  the  morning 
dawned  the  pilgrims  had  clean  escaped  from  his 
horrible  castle,  and,  safe  beyond  his  hated  dominions, 
were  proceeding  together  over  the  King's  highway 
to  Zion. 

Reserving  the  consideration  of  their  happy  and 
unexpected  deliverance  to  a  future  opportunity,  let 
us  now  endeavour  to  derive  some  improvement  and 
instruction  from  the  things  which  they  suffered  in 
Doubting  Castle. 

The  imprisonment  of  our  pilgrims  in  Doubting 
Castle,  and  what  they  suffered  in  it  from  the  cruelty 
of  Despair  and  the  machinations  of  Diffidence,  is 
intended  to  instruct  us  in  several  important  truths. 
It  represents  to  us  the  sad  and  distressing  situation 
of  a  real  Christian,  when,  having  deviated  from  the 
right  path,  and  having  sunk  for  a  while  into  sloth- 
ful neghgence,  at  length  he  awakens  out  of  it,  only 
to  become  the  prey  of  despair.  Then  is  he  driven, 
as  it  were,  by  a  stern  tyrant,  and  made  to  dwell  in 
desolate  places,  as  those  that  have  been  long  dead. 
He  is  oppressed  with  the  most  dismal  and  gloomy 
doubts.  He  can  derive  no  benefit  nor  advantage 
now  from  the  remembrance  of  his  past  experience. 
He  is  in  the  region  of  Doubting,  and  he  doubts 
every  thing.     He  doubts  that  his  past  experience 


312  LECTURE   XXI. 

was  all  a  delusion ;  doubts  that  he  ever  prayea  in 
earnest,  or  ever  received  an  answer  to  prayer  in  his 
life.  He  doubts  whether  he  ever  possessed  a  single 
grain  of  saving  faith ;  and  fears  that  he  was  de- 
ceiving his  soul,  when  he  imagined  that  he  was  a 
child  of  God  and  a  partaker  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Or 
else,  what  is  still  more  painful  and  distressing,  he 
fears  that  he  has  sinned  against  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  he  has  committed  the  unpardonable  sin,  that 
his  doom  is  sealed,  and  that  there  is  no  help  for  him 
in  his  God.  As  long  as  he  remains  in  this  desolate 
place,  his  soul  is  deprived  alike  of  meat  and  drink 
and  light.  Doubt  deprives  him  of  the  spiritual  food 
and  sustenance  which  heretofore  he  derived  from 
the  word  of  God.  Doubt  robs  him  of  the  precious 
promises  of  the  gospel,  Avhich  so  often  had  been  to 
his  thirsty  soul  as  rivers  of  water  in  a  dry  land. 
Doubt  extinguishes  the  cheerful  light  that  springs 
up  from  a  sense  of  reconciliation  with  God,  and 
clothes  every  object  around  in  gloom.  But  this  is 
not  all.  Though  the  prisoners  of  Despair  are  in- 
volved in  darkness,  and  excluded  from  comfort  all 
the  days  of  their  captivity,  at  certain  seasons  they 
feel  more  severely  than  at  others  the  power  of  their 
tormentor.  He  pays  them,  as  it  were,  continual 
visits,  and  compels  them  to  feel  and  tremble  at  his 
gigantic  strength  ai?d  malicious  wickedness.  At 
one  time  he  upbraids  them  with  the  repetition  of 
all  their  past  sins,  and  makes  them  smart  under  the 
lashes  of  an  accusing  conscience.  At  another  time 
he  sets  before  them,  in  the  most  frightful  colours, 
the  hopelessness  of  their  state,  and  the  utter  impos- 
sibihty  of  their  dehverance,  leaving  no  effort  untried 
to  make  them  destroyers  of  themselves.  Then  is 
the  poor  Christian  brought  low  indeed.     While  he 


DOUBTINa   CASTLE.  313 

suffers  these  terrors,  he  is  distracted  and  ready  to 
die.  He  is  a  burden  to  himself  and  weary  of  hfe, 
and  his  painful  language  is,  "  My  way  is  hid,  and 
my  hope  has  perished." 

"  The  lying  tempter  would  persuade 
There's  no  relief  in  heaven  ; 
And  all  my  swelling  sins  appear 
Too  great  to  be  forgiven." 

If  the  power  of  Despair  be  limited,  and  he  is  unable 
to  prevail  against  the  trembling  and  afflicted  Chris- 
tian, still  does  he  breathe  out  threatenings,  and 
intimate  to  those  whom  he  has  seized  that  it  had 
been  good  for  them  had  they  never  been  born.  How 
well  is  it  for  the  Christian,  when  sorely  tempted,  to 
have  for  his  companion  and  counsellor  one  of  a  more 
hopeful  spirit  than  himself!  The  full  benefit  of 
Christian  fellowship  is  only  learnt  in  seasons  of  trial 
and  temptation.  Then  it  is  that  the  sovereignty  of 
Divine  grace  is  often  seen  in  making  the  younger 
and  less  experienced  behever  the  supporter  and 
helper  of  his  elder  brother.  Then  we  are  shown 
that  no  member  in  the  mystical  body  of  Christ  can 
say  to  other  members,  "I  have  no  need  of  you ;  and 
that  those  members  which  seem  to  be  more  feeble 
are  necessary."  God  often  comforts  and  strengthens 
his  desponding  servants  by  the  instrumentality  of 
those  who,  in  many  respects,  are  inferior  to  them- 
selves. Oh,  let  us  all,  in  our  deepest  spiritual  dis- 
tresses, dihgently  che-rish  a  beheving,  hopeful  frame 
of  mind,  and  repel  with  all  our  might  the  gloomy 
suggestions  and  dark  forebodings  of  despair.  Re- 
member that  "  to  him  that  is  joined  to  all  the  hving 
there  is  hope,"  and  it  is  the  enemy  who  says, 
"Persecute  him  and  take  him,  for  there  is  none  to 
deliver  him  !"     If  you  are  unable  at  present  to  rise 

27 


314  LECTURE  XXI. 

superior  to  your  painful  situation,  and  your  soul  is 
in  prison  and  in  darkness,  instead  of  conferring  with 
your  painful  doubts,  or  yielding  to  diffidence  and 
tamely  submitting  to  the  bidding  of  despair,  listen 
to  the  more  hopeful  language  of  those  whose  faith 
is  not  so  utterly  cast  down  as  your  own.  Consider 
that  others,  as  well  as  you,  have  been  for  a  season 
the  prisoners  of  Despair,  and  as  sorely  handled  by 
him,  and  yet  at  length  have  burst  their  chains  and 
regained  their  liberty.  Consider  that  despair  in  this 
world  is  not  immortal.  Like  every  other  adversary, 
it  has  bounds  which  it  cannot  pass.  It  sickens 
and  grows  feeble  with  reviving  faith ;  and  when 
faith  increases,  and  becomes  lively  and  strong, 
despair  expires,  and  his  prisoners  are  set  free. 
Terrible  indeed  may  be  the  end  of  apostates  and 
hypocrites,  and  such  as  return  again  to  wilful  sin 
and  persist  in  it,  after  they  have  professed  subjec- 
tion to  the  gospel.  These  may  be  the  victims  and 
the  trophies  of  despair ;  but  no  true  penitent,  who 
humbly  applies  to  Christ,  shall  ever  be  numbered 
among  them.  And  oh  !  remember  that  when  your 
trial  has  come  to  its  extremity — when  the  help  of 
man  is  vain,  and  Despair  is  plotting  against  you  his 
last  and  most  desperate  effort — remember,  I  say, 
that  such  an  alarming  crisis  is  often  found  to  be  the 
eve  of  the  trembhng  Christian's  deliverance.  It 
will  be  so,  it  must  be  so,  if  you  give  yourself  unto 
prayer,  and  earnestly  renew  your  application  to  the 
throne  of  grace.  Think  of  Peter,  sleeping  in  the 
prison,  and  bound  between  the  soldiers,  and  how  he 
was  delivered  from  Herod  and  the  expectation  of 
the  Jews.  Wait  therefore  on  the  Lord,  be  of  good 
courage,  and  he  will  strengthen  your  heart,  and 
break  your  bands,  and  bring  you  out  of  prison,  and 


DOUBTING   CASTLE.  315 

deliver  you  out  of  all  your  fears.  Say,  as  others 
have  said  before  you,  "Why  art  thou  cast  down,  O 
my  soul?  and  why  art  thou  disquieted  within  me? 
Hope  in  God  ;  for  I  shall  yet  praise  him,  who  is  the 
health  of  my  countenance  and  my  God." 

THE  HYMN. 

Look  down  in  pity,  Lord,  and  see 
The  doubts  and  fears  that  burden  me ; 
Among  the  wounded  and  the  slain, 
Far  from  thy  presence  I  remain. 

This  I  procured  when  from  thy  way 
My  roving  footsteps  dared  to  stray; 
The  path  of  peace  I  once  forsook. 
And  now  I  feel  thy  just  rebuke. 

In  crooked  paths  no  peace  is  found. 
No  pleasure  on  forbidden  ground  ; 
What  bitter  pains  transgressors  meet ! 
What  sorrows  find  backsliding  feet ! 

Now  former  comforts  all  have  fled, 
While  hope  no  more  exalts  his  head. 
And  sweet  experience,  once  enjoyed, 
Is  all  like  blighted  bloom  destroyed. 

Lo,  stern  Despair,  with  gloomy  brow, 
Detains  me  fast  his  prisoner  now  ; 
And  Satan,  from  his  dark  abode, 
Whispers,  "  There  is  no  help  in  God  !' 

But,  Lord,  how  long?     Oh,  bring  my  soul 
Safe  from  the  tempter's  fierce  control; 
Unloose  my  bonds,  and  set  me  firee. 
Let  thy  salvation  visit  me. 

THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  and  ever-living  God,  in  knowledge  of  whom 
standeth  our  eternal  life,  whose  service  is  perfect  freedom, 
look  upon  us  in  great  mercy,  for  the  sake  of  thy  dear  Son, 
our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  and  through  him  communicate  to 
our  souls,  not  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear,  but  the  spi- 
rit of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.     Though  we 


316  LECTURE   XXI. 

be  tied  and  bound  with  the  chain  of  our  sins,  let  the  pitiful- 
ness  of  thy  great  mercy  loose  us.  O  God  the  Son,  Re- 
deemer of  the  world,  do  thou  set  us  free,  and  then  we  shall 
be  free  indeed.  O  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  do  thou  dwell  in 
our  hearts,  and  constantly  abide  with  us,  and  then  we  shall 
know  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God  ;  for  where 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty.  Keep  us,  we  be- 
seech thee,  in  the  good  and  the  right  way;  so  shall  we  not 
go  back  from  thee.  Suffer  us  not  to  forsake  the  Lord  our 
God,  who  leadeth  us  in  the  way  wherein  we  should  go,  lest 
our  own  wickedness  should  correct  us,  and  our  backslidings 
should  reprove  us,  and  we  should  know  and  see,  from  sad 
experience,  that  it  is  an  evil  thing  and  bitter  that  we  have 
forsaken  the  Lord  our  God,  and  that  thy  fear  is  not  in  us. 
Oh  keep  us  from  turning  aside  into  any  by-path,  or  making 
to  ourselves  crooked  paths,  in  which  they  who  go  can  find  no 
peace.  May  we  never  be  misled  by  vain  confidence,  lest  we 
should  suddenly  perish  and  come  to  a  fearful  end.  And  if  we 
have  wandered  out  of  the  way,  and  our  soul  has  forgot  pros- 
perity, cast  us  not  away  from  thy  presence,  and  take  not  thy 
Holy  Spirit  from  us.  Restore  unto  us  the  joy  of  thy  salva- 
tion, and  uphold  us  with  thy  free  Spirit.  May  we  not  be 
satisfied  with  a  little  shelter,  or  any  thing  short  of  a  full  re- 
turn to  thy  favour.  Deliver  us  not  over  to  the  will  of  our 
enemies,  nor  leave  us  in  the  hand  of  such  as  breathe  out  cru- 
elty. Lord,  save  us  from  the  power  of  despair.  However 
grievously  we  may  have  wandered  from  thee,  may  we  never 
say.  There  is  no  hope.  Though  our  strong  adversaries  may 
lay  in  wait  for  our  souls,  and  take  counsel  together,  saying, 
God  hath  forsaken  him.  persecute  and  take  him,  for  there  is 
none  to  deliver  him,  0  Lord,  be  not  far  from  us;  O  our 
God,  make  haste  for  our  help.  May  we  remember  the  works 
of  the  Lord,  and  call  to  mind  thy  wonders  of  old.  May  we 
hope  still  in  our  God,  and  believe  verily  to  see  the  goodness 
of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living.  Thou  which  hast 
showed  us  great  and  sore  troubles,  quicken  us  again,  and 
bring  us  up  again  from  the  depths  of  the  earth.  Bring  our 
souls  out  of  prison,  that  we  may  praise  thy  name.  We  wait 
for  the  Lord,  our  soul  doth  wait,  and  in  his  word  do  we  hope. 
Our  soul  waiteth  for  the  Lord,  as  those  that  watch  for  the 
morning;  yea,  more  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning. 
Oh  satisfy  us  with  thy  mercy,  and  that  soon,  that  we  may 
rejoice  and  be  glad  all  our  days.  And  now  the  God  of  hope 
fill  us  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  that  we  may 
abound  in  hope  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  to 
whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  be  honour  and  glory  for 
ever  and  ever.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XXII. 

THE   DELECTABLE    MOUNTAINS    GAINED 


Children  of  the  heavenly  King, 

As  we  journey  sweetly  sing; 
Sing  our  Saviour's  worthy  praise, 
Glorious  in  his  works  and  ways. 

We  are  travelling  home  to  God, 
In  the  way  the  fathers  trod; 

They  are  happy  now,  and  we 
Soon  their  happiness  shall  see. 

Fear  not,  brethren,  joyful  stand 
On  the  borders  of  our  land, 

Jesus  Christ,  our  Father's  Son 
Bids  us  undismayed  go  on. 

Lord  !  obediently  we  go. 
Gladly  leaving  all  below  ; 

Only  thou  our  leader  be, 
And  we  still  will  follow  thee. 


Isaiah  xlix.  8,  11. 

THUS  SAIYH  THE  LORD,  IN  AN  ACCEPTABLE  TISrE  HAVE  I  HEARD  THEE,  AND 
IN  A  DAY  OF  SALTATION  HAVE  I  HELPED  THEE:  AND  I  WILL  PRESERVE 
THEE,  AND  GIVE  THEE  FOR  A  COVENANT  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  TO  ESTABLISH 
THE  EARTH,  TO  CAUSE  TO  INHERIT  THE  DESOLATE  HERITAGES  ;  THAT  THOU 
MATEST  SAY  TO  THE  PRISONERS,  GO  FORTH ;  TO  THEM  THAT  ARE  IN  DARK- 
NESS, SHOW  YOURSELVES.  THEY  SHALL  FEED  IN  THE  WAYS,  AND  THEIR 
PASTURES  SHALL  BE  IN  ALL  HIGH  PLACES.  THEY  SHALL  NOT  HUNGER 
NOR  THIRST  ;  NEITHER  SHALL  THE  HEAT  NOR  SUN  S3UTE  THEM :  FOR  HE 
THAT  HATH  MERCY  ON  THEM  SHALL  LEAD  THEJI,  EVEN  BY  THE  SPRINGS 
OF  WATER  SHALL  HE  GUIDE  THEM.  AND  I  WILL  MAKE  ALL  MY  MOUNTAINS 
A  WAY,   AND   MY  HIGHWAYS   SHALL  BE  EXALTED. 

This  is  one  of  the  precious  promises  made  by  the 
eternal  Father  to  the  Lord  our  Redeemer.  He  is 
heard  at  all  times,  whenever  he  intercedes  on  be- 
half of  his  people  ;  and  for  his  sake,  wanderers  of 

27*  317 


318  LECTURE    XXII. 

every  description,  when  they  come  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  are  heard  and  answered,  obtain  mercy, 
and  find  grace  to  help  in  every  season  of  need. 
Christ  is  the  surety  of  the  new  covenant  for  the 
benefit  of  sinners  in  every  part  of  the  world  ;  and 
when  those  that  were  sitting  in  darkness  are  truly 
converted  unto  God,  he  "  inherits  the  desolate  heri- 
tages." He  says  to  poor  sinners  and  grievous  back- 
sliders, that  were  tied  and  bound  in  the  gloomy 
prison  of  sin  and  despair,  Go  forth,  and  show  your- 
selves. And  when  he  has  set  them  at  liberty  he 
deals  with  them  in  the  most  bountiful  manner.  By 
the  means  cf  grace,  the  ministrations  of  faithful  shep- 
herds, and  the  supply  of  his  Holy  Spirit,  he  feeds 
them  and  satisfies  them,  guides  them  and  instructs 
them,  and  leads  them  on  in  the  way  everlasting. 
They  are  raised  above  the  petty  concerns  of  this 
fleeting  scene,  brought,  as  it  were,  to  the  delectable 
mountains,  where  they  breathe  a  purer  air  and  get 
a  clearer  view  of  heaven  itself,  as  well  as  learn  very 
excellent  things  which  are  needful  for  their  future 
progress. 

We  have  to  consider 

I.  The  manner  in  which  our  pilgrims  escaped 
out  of  Doubting  Castle. 

II.  Their  approach  to  the  Delectable  Mountains, 
and 

III.  The  excellent  lessons  which  were  taught 
them  by  the  shepherds  there. 

I.  As  to  the  manner  of  their  release.  Whilst 
the  Giant  was  meditating  against  them  further  se- 
verities, they  began  to  pray,  and  continued  instant 
in  prayer  for  some  time.    Then,  in  the  most  sudden 


THE   DETECTABLE   MOUNTAINS.  319 

manner,  Christian  broke  out  and  expressed  amaze- 
ment at  his  folly  in  remaining  so  long  in  that 
wretched  dungeon,  as  he  had  just  discovered  he  had 
within  his  bosom  a  key  which  would  open  every  lock 
of  their  prison,  and  thus  would  certainly  restore 
them  to  liberty.  The  name  of  this  key  was  Pro- 
mise. Hopeful  was  overjoyed  at  this  intelligence, 
and  begged  his  companion  immediatel}''  to  pluck  it 
out  of  his  bosom  and  try.  He  did  so ;  and  as  he 
applied  the  key  to  the  dungeon-door,  the  bolt  im- 
mediately turned  back  and  the  door  flew  open. 
Then  did  they  both  go  forth ;  and  though  they  had 
more  difficulty  in  opening  the  outer  door,  and  its 
bolt  went  more  hardly,  yet  Christian's  key  unlocked 
that  door  also.  The  creaking  noise  made  by  the 
opening  of  this  door  awakened  the  owner  of  the 
Castle  ;  but  he  was  unable  to  overtake  them,  or 
even  to  pursue  after  them.  Thus  they  went  on, 
and  came  to  the  King's  highway,  and  so  were  safe, 
because  they  were  out  of  the  Giant's  dominions. 
They  were  very  anxious  to  save  all  succeeding  pil- 
grims the  distressing  experience  which  they  had 
just  undergone.  With  this  intent,  as  soon  as  ever 
they  had  re-crossed  the  fatal  stile  that  brought  them 
out  of  By-path  Meadow  into  the  high  road,  there 
they  put  up  a  notice  signifying  the  gloomy  regions 
to  which  that  by-path  would  lead. 

Learn,  dear  brethren,  from  all  this,  the  only 
means  by  which  we  can  be  effectually  delivered 
from  all  our  gloomy  fears,  and  all  the  despairing 
and  painful  thoughts  that  have  lodged  within  us, 
and  which  have  for  a  season  shut  us  up  in  the  prison 
of  despair.  We  must  give  ourselves  unto  prayer; 
we  must  lay  hold  of  the  key  of  promise,  and  use  it 
aright ;  and  we  must  retrace  our  backshding  steps 


320  LECTURE   XXII. 

until  we  have  returned  into  the  way  of  righteous- 
ness. If  any  one  of  these  be  neglected,  we  can 
never  be  brought  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the 
children  of  God.  It  is  by  disposing  us  earnestly  to 
pray  for  the  blessings  he  is  about  to  bestow,  that 
the  Lord  graciously  prepares  us  to  receive  them. 
As  long  as  we  keep  silence,  and  restrain  prayer, 
we  cannot  expect  any  mitigation  to  our  distresses, 
however  painful  or  severe  they  may  be.  But  when 
we  begin  humbly  and  earnestly  to  cry  unto  God, 
and  say  as  the  Psalmist  did,  *'  Bring  my  soul  out 
of  prison,"  we  shall  soon  find  that  we  have  not 
prayed  in  vain. 

"Prayer  makes  the  darkened  cloud  withdraw, 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw." 

And  sometimes,  in  the  most  unexpected  way,  our 
humble  petitions  will  be  abundantly  answered. 

Before,  however,  this  answer  can  be  received,  ou 
slumbering  faith  must  be  awakened.  We  must 
find,  as  it  were,  the  key  of  promise  in  our  breasts, 
and  pluck  it  forth,  and  use  it,  and  apply  it  to  the 
relief  of  our  necessities.  There  is  no  sorrow,  nor 
doubt,  nor  fear,  nor  trouble,  into  which  we  can  pos- 
sibly be  plunged,  for  which  there  is  not  a  promise, 
as  exactly  adapted  to  it  as  the  key  is  adapted  to  the 
lock  for  which  it  was  made.  Select  some  precious 
promise  which  is  best  adapted  to  your  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances. Embrace  it  and  hold  it  fast,  and  be- 
lieve firmly  with  all  your  heart,  and  with  all  your 
soul,  that  as  a  penitent  sinner,  looking  unto  Jesus, 
this  promise  belongs  to  you,  and  is  intended  for  you; 
and  the  door  of  your  prison  will  fly  open,  you  will 
behold  the  cheerful  light,  every  difficulty  will  give 
way,  and  the  fiercest  of  all  your  adversaries  shall 


THE    DETECTABLE    MOUNTAINS.  321 

be  unable  to  harm  5^ou,  or  to  bring  you  back  again 
under  bondage. 

But  oh,  remember  also  the  part  that  is  ever  acted 
by  one  whom  the  truth  makes  free.  The  liberty 
of  the  believer  is  not  the  liberty  of  wantonness. 
Being  dehvered  from  the  hand  of  the  enem}^,  and 
from  those  that  hate  him,  he  returns  straightway 
into  the  path  of  obedience,  and  longs  and  strives  to 
walk  before  the  Lord  in  righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness all  his  days.  Cheerful  and  unreserved  obe- 
dience to  all  the  Divine  law,  is  the  liberty  after  which 
he  aspires.  '•  I  shall  walk,"  he  says,  "  at  liberty, 
when  I  have  respect  to  all  thy  commandments." 
He  retraces  his  backsliding  steps,  without  any  more 
complaints  about  the  roughness  of  the  road  ;  and 
he  never  feels  himself  secure,  until  he  is  humbly 
walking  again  in  the  good  paths.  Having  learned 
from  painful  experience,  that  the  way  of  trans- 
gressors is  hard,  he  does  all  that  lies  in  his  power 
to  deter  others  from  venturing  into  those  crooked 
and  by-paths,  which  can  only  lead  them  into  dark- 
ness and  sorrow,  if  not  to  despair  and  death. 

II.  We  proceed  now  to  consider  the  pleasanter 
path  pursued  by  our  pilgrims,  after  their  escape 
from  the  hand  of  Despair,  and  their  return  to  the 
ways  of  Zion.  They  went  straight  forward  until 
they  came  to  the  Delectable  Mountains.  They  as- 
cended these  exalted  heights,  and  found  themselves 
in  a  new  and  most  delightful  climate.  There  were 
gardens,  and  vineyards,  and  orchards,  and  foun- 
tains of  water;  and  they  drank  and  washed,  and 
freely  ate  of  the  vineyards.  The  glowing  language 
of  the  prophet,  which  we  have  selected  for  our  text, 
was   fulfilled   in  their   experience :    "  They    shall 


822  LECTURE   XXII. 

feed  in  the  ways,  and  their  pastures  shai;  be  in  all 
high  places.  They  shall  not  hunger  nor  thirst ; 
neither  shall  the  heat  nor  sun  smite  them  :  for  he 
hath  that  mercy  on  them  shall  lead  them,  even  by  the 
springs  of  waters  shall  he  guide  them.  And  I  will 
make  all  my  mountains  a  way,  and  my  highways 
shall  be  exalted."  In  these  delightful  regions  there 
were  shepherds  feeding  their  flocks  ;  and  our  pil- 
grims, leaning  each  upon  his  staff,  entered  into  con- 
versation with  them.  These  mountains,  tney  were 
informed,  were  Emmanuel's  land ;  his  city  was 
within  sight ;  and  the  sheep  before  them  were  his, 
for  whom  he  had  laid  down  his  life.  «v  hen  the 
travellers  inquired  of  the  shepherds  about  the  way 
before  them,  they  were  told  that  they  were  now  in 
the  right  road  to  the  Celestial  City,  but  xhat  it  was 
still  too  far  for  any  but  those  who  should  get  thither 
indeed ;  and  that  it  was  only  safe  for  the  upright, 
but  transgressors  would  fall  therein.  When  the 
shepherds  learned  that  our  pilgrims  were  weary, 
not  being  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers,  and  soon 
perceiving  that  they  were  wayfaring  men,  whose 
faces  were  steadily  set  towards  Zion,  they  invited 
them  to  stay  and  refresh  themselves,  Dnd  welcomed 
them  very  lovingly  to  the  Delectable  Mountains. 
The  names  of  the  four  shepherds  were  Knowledge, 
Experience,  Watchful,  and  Sincere.  How  safe 
were  the  pilgrims  in  such  company  as  this  !  The 
shepherds  said,  "  We  would  that  you  should  stay 
here  awhile,  to  be  acquainted  with  us,  and  yet 
more  to  solace  yourselves  in  theye  mountains. " 
And  the  pilgrims  were  content  to  stay  ;  so  they 
went  to  their  rest  that  night,  becauL<e  it  was  late. 

What,  dear  brethren,  is  signified  by  this  arrival 
at  the  Delectable  Mountains  ?     It  occms  to  repre- 


THE   DELECTABLE  MOUNTAINS.  323 

sent  that  state  of  calm  enjoyment  and  established 
peace  which  the  mature  and  consistent  Christian  is 
permitted  to  attain.  He  has  learned  now  to  distin- 
guish between  natural  excitement  and  spiritual  en- 
joyment. He  is  established  by  reason  of  use  in 
the  simplicity  of  faith,  and  habitual  endeavours  after 
unreserved  obedience.  The  life  which  he  lives  in 
the  flesh  is  a  Hfe  of  faith  in  the  Son  of  God.  He 
depends  unreservedly  for  pardon  and  acceptance  on 
the  atoning  blood  and  justifying  righteousness  of 
the  Divine  Redeemer.  He  washes  every  day,  by 
renewed  acts  of  faith,  in  the  fountain  opened  for 
sin  and  for  uncleanness,  and  he  goes  on  in  the 
strength  of  the  Lord  God,  making  mention  of  his 
righteousness,  even  his  only.  At  the  same  time  he 
cries  earnestly  for  the  renewing  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  be  more  and  more  exerted  upon  his  heart. 
He  pleads  the  promise  that  sin  shall  not  have  do- 
minion over  the  believer,  and  that  the  law  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  written  in  his  inward  parts,  and  that 
he  shall  keep  the  statutes  and  the  commandments 
and  the  judgments  of  the  Lord,  and  do  them. 
Nothing  but  universal  obedience,  inward  dehght  in 
communion  with  God,  and  a  walk  and  conversation 
ruled  by  his  blessed  word,  can  satisfy  him.  Habi- 
tual obedience  and  increasing  conformity  to  the 
Divine  image,  he  knows  to  be  the  only  satisfactory 
proof  of  saving  faith,  the  proper  expression  of  love, 
and  the  true  progress  of  a  pilgrim  to  the  Celestial 
City.  Thus,  as  he  hearkens  to  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  his  God  and  walks  in  his  way,  his  peace  flows 
sometimes  as  a  river,  and  his  salvation  as  the  waves 
of  the  sea.  He  climbs,  as  it  were,  into  higher  skies, 
and  breathes  a  purer  air.  He  hves  above  the  world, 
and  has  his  conversation  in  heaven.     He  finds  froia 


324  LECTUKE  XXII. 

sweet  experience,  that  the  nearer  he  lives  to  God, 
and  the  closer  he  Avalks  with  God,  the  more  he 
knows  of  the  delight  of  his  service  and  the  joy  of 
his  salvation.  He  whom  his  soul  loveth  has  brought 
him  to  the  place  "  where  he  feeds,  and  where  he 
makes  his  flocks  to  rest  at  noon."  His  acquaintance 
enlarges  with  other  Christians,  whom  he  had  not 
hitherto  known.  He  sees  now  that  the  Redeemer 
of  the  world  has  other  sheep,  which  are  not  of  this 
or  that  fold,  nor  of  the  particular  fold  to  which  he 
belongs.  When  he  considers  that  they  were  pur- 
chased with  the  same  precious  price  as  himself,  that 
they  are  equally  dear  to  the  Chief  Shepherd,  and 
that  they  love  him  in  sincerity,  and  follow  him  un- 
reservedly, how  can  he  fail  to  acknowledge  them 
as  the  Lord's,  or  hesitate  to  say,  from  the  bottom  of 
his  heart,  "  Grace  be  with  all  them  that  love  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity  ?"  When  the  be- 
liever attains  to  such  a  state,  he  is  not  only  in  the 
way  to  heaven,  but  he  is,  as  it  were,  in  sight  of  it. 
Still,  however,  he  can  by  no  means  dispense  with 
godly  fear ;  for  whatever  attainments  in  rehgion  a 
man  may  have  made,  or  appear  to  have  made,  he 
only  will  be  saved  by  enduring  to  the  end ;  and  it 
is  only  by  walking  uprightly  in  the  path  of  obe- 
dience, that  he  avoids  the  stumbling-blocks  ovei 
which  transgressors  fall.  It  is  painful  to  think  what 
nunibers  are  offended  and  stumble  and  fall  long 
before  they  give  any  evidence  of  being  consistent 
and  established  Christians.  So  true  it  is,  what  the 
shepherds  told  the  pilgrims,  "  But  few  of  them  that 
set  out  on  pilgrimage  ever  show  their  faces  on  this 
mountain."  Dear  brethren,  be  not  content  with 
setting  out  on  pilgrimage,  but  be  fired  with  a  hoi}?- 
ambition  to  "  show  your  faces  on  the  Delectable 


1:he  delectable  mountains.        825 

Mountains."  Seek  not  only  to  be  real  Christians,  but 
eminent  and  exemplary  Christians.  Be  not  content 
to  go  doubting  and  hesitating  all  your  days  ;  but 
seek  earnestly  to  have  the  witness  in  yourself,  and 
the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  your  heart,  that  you 
may  know  that  you  are  of  God,  that  the  hope  of 
glory  may  be  full  in  your  view,  and  that  you  may 
be  rooted  and  established  and  built  up  in  the  faith, 
even  as  you  have  been  taught.  We  must  observe, 
too,  that  the  names  given  to  the  shepherds  upon 
these  mountains  are  full  of  instruction,  both  to 
ministers  and  people.  If  those  whose  office  it  is 
to  feed  the  flock  of  Christ  have  no  knowledge  of  the 
gospel  of  the  grace  of  God,  if  they  have  no  expe- 
rience of  the  Spirit's  work  upon  their  heart,  if  they 
make  it  no  part  of  their  business  to  watch  for  souls 
as  those  that  must  give  account,  and  if  they  do  not 
manifest  sincerity  both  in  hfe  and  doctrine,  they 
cannot  be  true  shepherds  of  Christ.  In  that  case 
they  cannot  search  out  for  his  sheep  that  are  dis- 
persed abroad  in  this  naughty  world,  that  they  may 
be  saved  for  ever  by  Christ.  They  cannot  lead 
them  to  the  blessed  heights  of  sanctification  and 
spirituality,  and  so  prepare  them  for  the  heavenly 
fold.  Pray,  my  brethren,  for  those  that  have  the 
oversight  of  your  souls,  that  they  may  be  distin- 
guished by  knowledge  and  experience,  by  watch- 
fulness and  sincerity :  so  shall  your  prayers  for 
them  return  with  blessings  upon  your  ovv'n  head, 
and  you  shall  never  attend  their  ministrations  with- 
out being  instructed  or  edified,  warned  or  admon- 
ished, by  what  you  hear. 

III.  Let  us  now  proceed  to  notice  the  important 


326  LECTURE  xxir. 

lessons  wliich  our   pilgrims    received  from   tKese 
faithful  shepherds. 

(1.)  First  of  all,  they  were  shown  an  affecting 
example  to  instruct  them  in  the  fearful  consequences 
of  erring  from  the  truth.  This  was  especially  the 
lesson  of  Knowledge.  They  were  led  by  the 
shepherds  to  the  top  of  a  hill  called  Error.  It  Avas 
very  steep  on  the  furthest  side  ;  and  when  Chris- 
tian and  Hopeful  looked  down,  they  saw  at  the 
bottom  the  remains  of  several  men  who  had  been 
dashed  to  pieces  by  a  fall  from  that  dizzy  height. 
These,  they  were  informed,  were  the  bones  of  men 
who  had  presumptuously  wandered  into  the  paths 
of  error,  following  their  own  fancies  and  their  own 
notions,  instead  of  walking  by  the  hght  and  being 
directed  by  the  lantern,  which  the  Lord  of  the  way 
has  hung  up  for  the  guidance  of  his  pilgrims. 
These  victims  to  their  own  presumption  were  left 
unburied,  for  an  example  to  others,  to  take  heed  how 
they  cHmb  too  high  or  approach  too  near  the  brink 
of  Error.  We  should  all,  dear  brethren,  be 
solemnly  warned  by  such  examples.  It  is  a  false 
and  wicked  notion  to  suppose  that  it  matters  little 
what  we  believe,  provided  our  life  be  right.  No 
man's  life  can  be  right  whose  belief  is  essentially 
wrong.  To  disbelieve  any  thing  which  God  has 
plainly  revealed  in  his  Holy  Word,  evidently  be- 
trays a  wrong  state  of  heart ;  and  to  prefer  the  dim 
twinkling  of  our  reason  or  fancy  to  the  clear  shin- 
ing of  Scripture  truth,  is  sinful  and  presumptuous 
in  the  extreme.  Believers  are  sanctified  through 
the  word  and  belief  of  the  truth.  Some  errors,  in- 
deed, may  consist  with  saving  faith  ;  but  no  devia 
tion  from  the  revealed  truth  of  God  is  harmless, 
and  some   deviations  are   absolutely   incompatible 


THE   DELECTABLE   MOUNTAINS.  "S2T 

with  a  state  of  salvation.  If  once  we  presume,  in 
any  particular,  to  diverge  from  the  plain  declara- 
tions of  Scripture,  there  is  no  knowing  where  it 
will  lead.  It  ma}^  soon  bring  us  to  the  edge  of  the 
dreadful  precipice  of  Error,  and  there  we  may  be 
dashed  to  pieces  by  a  fall.  To  avoid  such  a  fear- 
ful end,  take  warning  from  the  sad  example  of  others, 
and  cry  earnestly,  "  Oh !  send  out  thy  light  and 
thy  truth,  and  let  them  lead  me." 

(2.)  A  solemn  caution  was  next  given  to  the  pil- 
grims, to  deter  them  in  future  from  turning  aside  to 
any  by-path.  They  were  led  to  the  top  of  another 
mountain  called  Caution.  From  this  they  beheld 
several  men  that  were  blind,  walking  up  and  down 
among  the  tombs,  and  beheld  them  continually 
stumbling  among  the  stones,  and  quite  unable  to 
get  out  from  among  them.  Those  poor  unhappy 
men,  they  were  informed,  (the  shepherd  whose 
name  vras  Experience  being  evidently  the  speaker,) 
those  men  among  the  tombs  once  set  out  on  pil- 
grimage, and  proceeded  a  good  way ;  but  when  the 
road  became  rough,  they  turned  aside  from  the  right 
way  into  a  by-path,  which  was  easier  for  their  feet. 
By  this  means  they  were  taken  prisoners  by  De- 
spair, who  very  cruelly  treated  them,  and  at  length 
put  out  their  eyes,  and  left  them  to  wander  in  that 
forlorn  and  bewildered  manner  among  the  tombs, 
according  to  the  saying  that  is  written,  "  He  that 
wandereth  out  of  the  way  of  understanding,  shall 
remain  in  the  congregation  of  the  dead."  When 
Christian  and  Hopeful  had  seen  and  heard  this, 
they  looked  upon  each  other  with  gushing  eyes ; 
but  they  held  their  peace,  and  said  nothing  to  the 
shepherds.  See  here,  my  brethren,  a  most  happy 
illustration    of    what   is   meant    by    experimentaJ 


328  LECTURE   XXII. 

preaching.  Christian  and  Hopeful  had  not  told 
their  experience  to  these  shepherds,  and  yet,  in  this 
affectino-  manner,  their  own  transgressions,  their 
own  sufferings,  and  their  own  narrow  escape,  were 
vividly  set  before  them.  Thus  it  is  when  an  ex- 
perienced minister  rightly  divides  the  word  of  truth, 
describes  the  various  devices  of  Satan,  the  different 
sins  and  errors  to  which  men  are  liable,  and  the 
painfu]  consequences  of  deviating  from  the  right 
path.  The  hearts  and  consciences  of  some  that 
are  present  are  made  bare  and  disclosed.  It  seems 
as  if  the  preacher  were  fulJy  acquainted  with  their 
whole  past  history.  "As  face  answereth  to  face  in 
a  glass,  so  doth  the  heart  of  man  to  man."  They 
are  compelled  to  acknowledge  their  own  likeness  in 
the  picture  that  is  held  up  to  their  view ;  and  with 
a  beating  heart  and  a  gushing  eye,  they  are  ready 
to  say,  "  Come,  see  a  man  which  told  me  all  things 
that  ever  I  did." 

(3.)  The  next  affecting  lesson  shown  to  the  pil- 
grims was  to  inculcate  the  necessity  of  sincerity. 
This  was  evidently  the  instruction  of  Sincere.  They 
were  bid  to  look  through  a  door  in  the  side  of  the 
hill.  It  was  very  dark,  and  they  heard  a  doleful 
cry,  as  of  some  tormented.  This,  they  were  in- 
formed, was  a  by-way  to  hell,  the  way  trodden  by 
hypocrites.  People  who  professed  to  be  pilgrims, 
and  who  held  on  their  way  for  a  long  time,  without 
ever  having  their  hearts  properly  affected  towards 
the  Lord  of  the  country,  went  in  a  quiet  way 
through  this  secret  door  to  the  world  of  punish- 
ment. Several  had  passed  through  this  door  that 
were  considered  to  have  reached  the  Celestial  Gate. 
This,  as  well  as  the  other  lessons,  made  a  powerful 
impression  upon  the  pilgrims.     And  they  said  one 


THE   DELECTABLE   MOUNTAINS.  329 

to  the  other,  "  We  have  need  to  cry  to  the  Strong 
for  strength."  They  were  told  that  they  would 
have  to  use  that  strength  when  they  had  obtained 
it.  Oh,  my  brethren,  what  a  solemn  thought  it  is, 
that  hypocrites  and  dissemblers  with  God  must 
certainly  sink  into  the  regions  of  eternal  wo,  though 
numbers,  who  judge  only  from  outward  appear- 
ance, confidently  believe  that  they  are  gone  to  hea- 
ven !  How  earnestly  we  ought  to  seek  that  our 
hearts  may  be  right  with  God,  and  that  integrity 
and  uprightness  may  always  preserve  us  !  For 
this  end  let  us  often  pray  with  the  Psalmist,  "  Oh, 
let  my  heart  be  sound  in  thy  statutes,  that  I  be  not 
ashamed." 

(4.)  One  sight  more  was  only  shown  to  the  pil- 
grims, and  then  they  proceeded  on  their  journey. 
Watchful  wished  them  to  have  a  glimpse  of  the 
regions  of  eternal  day.  They  were  taken  to  the 
top  of  the  hill  Clear,  and  a  prospective  glass  was 
put  into  their  hands  by  the  shepherds,  that  by 
looking  through  this  they  might  get  a  sight  of  the 
gates  of  the  Celestial  City.  But  w^hen  they  at- 
tempted to  do  this,  the  remembrance  of  the  last 
thing  they  had  seen  (viz.  the  hypocrite's  doom,) 
made  their  hands  to  shake  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  could  not  look  steadily  through  the  glass. 
They  thought,  however,  they  saw  something  like 
the  gate,  and  some  of  the  glory  of  the  place. 
Then  they  went  on  their  way.  How  difficult,  dear 
brethren,  it  is,  even  for  real  Christians,  to  keep  their 
eye  steadily  fixed  on  the  invisible  land,  and  to  re- 
joice in  hope  of  the  glory  to  be  revealed  !  We  are 
prone  to  make  mistakes,  both  on  the  right  hand  and 
on  the  left.  When  we  rejoice  in  hope,  we  are  apt 
to  be  deficient  in  reverence  and  godly  fear.     And 

28* 


330  LECTURE   XXIT. 

when  we  tremble  with  godly  jealousy  at  the  proba- 
bility of  our  coming  short  at  the  last,  and  receiving 
the  hypocrite's  doom,  this  weakens  our  confidence, 
and  dims  our  prospect  of  the  heavenly  inheritance. 
The  union  of  the  two,  lively  faith  and  godly  fear, 
form  the  safest  state  for  the  Christian.  If  you  can- 
not get  a  full  sight  of  the  heavenly  gate,  and  a 
clear  view  of  the  glory  of  God,  be  content  to  dis- 
cern something  like  the  gate,  and  some  of  the  glory 
of  the  place.  If  only  you  are  excited  by  your 
godly  fear  to  tremble  at  the  hypocrite's  doom,  more 
dihgently  to  search  your  heart,  and  to  try  your 
ways,  and  to  be  afraid  of  every  thing  that  is  dis- 
pleasing to  God  and  contrary  to  your  profession, 
this  is  well.  "  Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth 
always." 


THE  HYMN. 


From  cruel  bondage  come, 
Where  death  and  darkness  reign ; 
We  seek  our  new,  our  better  home, 
Where  we  our  rest  shall  gain. 

Hallelujah  !  we  are  on  our  way  to  God. 

To  Canaan's  sacred  ground. 
With  joyful  songs  we  haste. 
Where  light  and  love  and  peace  abound. 
And  everlasting  rest. 
Hallelujah  !  we  are  on  our  way  to  God. 

There  sin  and  sorrow  cease. 
And  every  conflict  's  o'er  ; 
There  we  shall  dwell  in  endless  peace, 
And  never  hunger  more. 
Hallelujah  '  we  are  on  our  way  to  God. 


THE   DELECTABLE   MOUNTAINS.  331 

We  soon  shall  join  the  throng : 
Their  pleasures  we  shall  share  ; 
And  sing  the  everlasting  song 
With  all  the  ransomed  there. 

Hallelujah  !  we  are  on  our  way  to  God. 

How  sweet  the  prospect  is  ! 
It  cheers  the  pilgrim's  breast; 
We're  journeying  through  the  wilderness, 
But  soon  shall  gain  our  rest. 
Hallelujah  !  we  are  on  our  way  to  God. 


THE  PRAYER. 

0  thou  that  hearest  prayer,  unto  thee  shall  all  flesh  come. 
We  come  before  thee  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  we  desire  to 
pray  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thou  hast  said  in  thy  Holy  Word, 
"  I  have  heard  thee  in  a  time  accepted,  and  in  a  day  of  sal- 
vation have  I  succoured  thee;"  and  thou  hast  graciously 
assured  us,  "Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time;  behold, 
now  is  the  day  of  salvation:"  now,  therefore,  let  our  prayer 
be  acceptable  in  thy  sight ;  now  let  thy  tender  mercies  come 
unto  us,  even  thy  salvation,  according  to  thy  word.  We 
humbly  beseech  thee,  0  Father,  for  the  sake  of  thy  dear 
Son,  deliver  us  from  all  our  gloomy  fears,  and  all  the  spiritual 
bondage  wherewith  we  are  enthralled.  Say  to  the  prisoners, 
Go  forth  ;  and  to  them  that  are  in  darkness.  Show  yourselves. 
Bring  our  soul  out  of  prison,  that  we  may  praise  thy  name  ; 
turn  us  from  darkness  to  light, ^  and  make  us  to  know  the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  Oh,  grant  that  in  all 
our  troubles  and  adversities,  whensoever  they  oppress  us,  we 
may  give  ourselves  unto  prayer,  apply  by  true  faith  thy  pre- 
cious promises  to  our  own  individual  case,  and  humbly  return 
to  thee  in  the  way  of  obedience.  Give  us  pastors  according 
to  thine  own  heart,  to  feed  and  direct  us  in  the  heavenly- 
way  ;  shepherds  that  have  knowledge  of  the  gospel  mys- 
tery ;  who  have  experience  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  work  upon 
the  heart ;  who  watch  for  souls  as  those  that  must  give  ac- 
count, and  who  manifest,  in  doctrine,  uncorruptness  and 
sincerity.  And  give  us  grace,  with  all  readiness  of  mind  to 
receive  the  important  lessons  which  they  urge  upon  us  in  thy 
name  and  from  thy  blessed  word.  May  we  learn  the  danger 
of  erring  from  the  faith  ;  and  do  thou  mercifully  keep  us 
irum  all  false  doctrine,  heresy  and  schism.    May  we  have 


332  LECTURE   XXII. 

constantly  before  us  the  sad  effects  of  being  sp<iuc(>.  n  U 
by-paths,  and  grant  that  we  may  hate  every  lalse  way.  May 
the  awful  doom  of  the  hypocrite  till  us  with  godly  fear,  an:^ 
cause  us  diligently  to  look  to  ourselves,  that  we  may  be 
found  at  last  among  the  generation  of  the  upright.  Finally, 
do  thou  give  us  a  cheering  prospect  of  the  glory  that  awaits 
us  at  the  end  of  our  pilgrimage,  that  we  may  be  steadfast, 
unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  thy  work,  for  as  much  as 
we  know  that  our  labour  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 
These  prayers  and  supplications  we  humbly  offer  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  in  the  name  and  rpcdiation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
our  most  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour.     Amen. 


LECTURE  XXIII. 

IGNOUANCE,    TURN-AWAY,    AND    LITTLE-PAITH. 


Alas  !  what  hourly  dangers  rise  ! 

What  snares  beset  my  way  ! 
To  heaven,  oh  let  me  lift  my  eyes, 

And  hourly  watch  and  pray. 

How  oft  my  mournful  thoughts  complain, 

And  melt  in  flowing  tears  ! 
My  weak  resistance,  ah  I  how  vain! 

How  strong  my  foes  and  fears  ! 

O  gracious  God,  in  v/hom  I  live, 

My  feeble  efforts  aid  ; 
Help  me  to  watch  and  pray  and  strive, 

Though  trembling  and  afraid. 


Hebrews  x.  38,  39. 

NOW  THE  JUST  SHALL  LITE  BY  FAITH  :  BUT  IF  AXY  MAX  DRAW  BACK  MY 
SOUL  SHALL  HAVE  NO  PLEASURE  IN  HQf.  BUT  VTE.  ARE  NOT  OP  THEII  'WHO 
DRAW  BACK  UNTO  PERDITION;  BUT  OF  THEM  THAT  BELIEVE,  TO  THE 
SAVING   OF   THE   SOUL. 

The  possession  or  the  absence  of  simple  faith  in 
the  Son  of  God  makes  all  the  difference  between 
the  heirs  of  everlasting  salvation  and  the  rest  of  the 
world.  Every  true  believer  is  a  justified  person, 
and  he  lives  by  his  faith.  But  every  one  destitute 
of  true  faith,  if  he  make  a  profession  of  rehgion,  is 
sure  to  draw  back,  and  that  unto  perdition.  And 
as  the  true  believer  is  distinguished  by  the  reahty 


334  LECTURE   XXIII. 

of  his  faith  from  all  others,  so  the  degree  of  his 
faith  makes  all  the  difference  between  one  beHever 
and  another.  The  person  whose  faith  is  strong 
will  rise  superior  to  all  the  trials  and  temptations 
that  beset  him,  and,  for  the  most  part,  will  be  enabled 
to  go  on  his  way  rejoicing.  But  he  whose  faith, 
though  real,  is  feeble,  will  often  be  plunged  in 
doubt  and  fear  ;  at  times  he  will  be  ready  to  halt, 
and  sore  let  and  hindered  in  running  the  race  that 
is  set  before  him.  But  even  he,  because  his  faith 
is  real,  will  eventually  be  found  not  to  be  of  them 
that  draw  back.  All  this  will  be  affectingly  evi- 
dent in  the  course  of  the  present  Lecture.  There 
are  three  distinct  characters  for  our  consideration — 
Ignorance,  Turn-away,  and  Little-faith. 

L  We  begin  with  Ignorance.  When  Christian 
and  Hopeful  parted  from  the  shepherds  at  the  De- 
lectable Mountains,  very  instructive  was  the  parting 
salutation  which  they  received  from  those  four  ex- 
cellent instructors.  Knowledge  gave  them  a  note 
or  map  of  the  way.  "  Experience  bid  them  beware 
of  the  Flatterer.  Watchful  told  them  to  take  heed 
that  they  slept  not  on  the  Enchanted  Ground.  Sin- 
cere very  heartily  bade  them  good  speed.  Thus 
the  pilgrims  went  down  the  mountain,  along  the 
highway,  towards  the  city.  Not  far  down  the 
mountain,  at  the  left  hand,  there  came  into  the  way 
a  crooked  little  lane,  from  the  country  of  Conceit. 
Here  our  pilgrims  met  with  one  Ignorance.  He 
said  he  was  born  in  the  country  to  the  left ;  that  he 
was  going  to  the  Celestial  City  ;  and  that  he  hoped 
to  get  in  at  the  gate,  as  other  good  people  do. 
Being  asked  what  he  had  to  show,  at  the  gate,  to 
gain    him  admittance,  he  replied,   "I  know  my 


IGNORANCE,  335 

Lord's  will,  and  have  been  a  good  liver.  I  pay 
every  man  his  own.  I  pray,  fast,  pay  tithes, 
give  alms,  and  have  left  my  country  for  whither  I 
am  going."  When  it  was  intimated  to  him,  that  he 
had  not  come  into  the  way  by  the  narrow  gate,  and 
a  fear  was  expressed  that  he  would  be  disappointed 
at  the  last,  he  said  he  v/ould  follow  the  rehgion  of 
his  country,  and  hoped  that  all  would  be  well.  As 
for  the  wicket-gate,  he  said  it  was  so  far  off,  that 
few  in  those  parts  knew  the  way  to  it ;  and  that  it 
was  quite  unnecessary  to  them,  since  the  lane  by 
which  he  had  come  Vv'as  so  much  readier.  Then 
did  our  pilgrims  judge  it  best  to  pass  on  and  leave 
him  for  the  present,  hoping  at  another  time  to  renew 
their  conversation  with  him. 

True  Christians  and  the  most  hopeful  characters 
have  reason  to  rejoice  that  their  great  High  Priest 
can  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant  and  them  that 
are  out  of  the  way.  This  is  the  state  of  us  all  until, 
through  grace,  we  obey  the  heavenly  calhng. 

"  Buried  in  ignorance  and  sin, 
At  hell's  dark  door  we  lay." 

If  the  true  light  has  dawned  upon  us,  we  should  be 
compassionate  to  those  who  are  now  in  the  condi- 
tion from  which  we  have  been  delivered,  and  we 
should  use  every  micans  in  our  power  for  their 
benefit.  It  is  painful  to  think  what  numbers  are 
confident  they  are  in  the  right  road,  who  are  igno- 
rant of  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God. 
The}'-  have  been  born,  as  it  were,  in  the  country  of 
Conceit,  and  they  are  Avise  in  their  own  conceits. 
They  hope  to  go  to  heaven,  as  other  people  do, 
trusting  in  outward  forms,  harmless  lives  and  good 
intentions.     They  are  quite  satisfied  with  the  reli- 


336  LECTURE  xxiir. 

gion  of  the  generality.  As  for  true  conversion  of 
heart,  a  sense  of  sin  produced  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  a  personal  application  by  faith  to  Him  who  is 
the  door  and  the  way,  this  is  a  religion  that  they 
know  nothing  about  ;  and  none  of  their  worldly  or 
self-righteous  neighbours  can  give  them  any  in- 
formation respecting  it.  We  should  do  all  we  can 
to  instruct  and  undeceive  such  persons,  showing 
them  the  utter  impossibility  of  entering  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  without  a  title  to  it  and  a  meet- 
ness  for  it.  But  we  should  observe  time  and  judg- 
ment in  the  instruction  that  we  impart ;  neither 
overdoing  nor  underdoing,  but  here  a  little  and 
there  a  little,  waiting  for  the  best  opportunity  to 
speak  a  word  in  season,  and  speaking  to  men  as 
they  are  able  to  bear  it. 

II.  We  proceed  now  to  speak  of  the  character  of 
Turn-aw^ay.  Very  fearful  was  the  manner  in  Avhich 
he  was  forced  upon  the  notice  of  our  pilgrims.  Not 
far  from  the  place  where  they  left  Ignorance,  they 
entered  into  a  very  dark  lane.  Amid  the  gloom  of 
this  passage  they  met  seven  wicked  spirits  in  charge 
of  a  prisoner,  whom  they  had  tied  and  bound  with 
seven  strong  cords.  They  were  carrying  him  back 
to  the  door  which  Christian  and  Hopeful  had  seen 
on  the  side  of  the  hill,  and  which  they  had  been 
informed  was  the  by-way  to  Tophet.  Deeply  were 
they  affected  at  this  spectacle.  They  had  some 
difliculty  in  discovering  who  the  unhappy  man 
was,  as  they  could  not  perfectly  see  his  face,  his 
head  being  hung  down  as  they  passed.  But  after- 
ward, when  they  had  a  little  recovered  from  their 
dismay,  as  they  looked  back,  they  discovered  him 
to  be  Turn-away,  from  the  town  of  Apostasy.  Hope- 


TURN-AWAY.  337 

fill  espied  his  real  character  inscribed  upon  him. 
He  was  a  ^Yanton  professor  of  godhness,  a  dreadful 
apostate  from  the  holy  commandment  delivered  to 
him. 

Instances,  my  hrethren,  Hke  these,  are  very 
alarming,  and  they  are  not  unfrequently  witnessed 
by  true  pilgrims  to  the  Celestial  City.  Their  effect 
ono-ht  to  be  salutary  and  lasting.  True  Christians 
in  their  way  to  Zion  have  to  pass  through  many  a 
dark  lane.  When  they  live  in  those  times,  or  pass 
through  those  places  where  iniquity  abounds,  or 
tribulation  or  persecution  ariseth  because  of  the 
word,  their  way  is  dark.  Then  what  distressing 
instances  do  they  often  see  of  once-flourishing  pro- 
fessors drawing  back  unto  perdition  and  being  con- 
veyed to  their  own  place  !  Many  a  person  makes 
a  fair  profession  of  religion,  and  forsakes  his  open 
and  gross  vices,  who  never  possessed  a  single  grain 
of  saving  faith.  The  unclean  spirit  goes  out  of  him 
for  a  season.  His  life  is  decent  and  respectable,  he 
learns  the  language  of  piety,  he  mixes  among  the 
people  of  God,  he  frequents  the  ordinances  of  God, 
and  in  the  judgment  of  charity  he  is  taken  for  what 
he  professes  to  be.  All  the  while,  however,  his 
heart  was  never  right  with  God.  He  was  still  in 
his  natural,  unconverted  stat^.  When  a  convenient 
timiO  has  come,  the  evil  spirit  Avhich  had  left  him 
for  a  season  returns  with  seven-fold  power  and  vio- 
lence, to  his  former  habitation,  as  if  he  were  now  in 
league  with  seven  spirits  more  wicked  than  himself. 
The  hypocrite's  heart  being  never  changed,  and 
destitute  of  all  saving  grace,  there  is  nothing  there 
to  prevent  the  re-entrance  of  the  evil  spirit  in  this 
terrific  manner.  Nay,  it  seems  swept  and  gar- 
nished, as  if  prepared  for  his  reception.     He  enters 

29 


838  LECTURE  XXIII. 

m  and  dwells  there,  and  the  last  state  of  that  man 
is  worse  than  the  first.     And  noAV  he  is  prepared 
to  commit  all  iniquity  with  greediness.     A  suitable 
occasion  is  soon  presented  for  developing  his  true 
principles.     Iniquity  abounds,  religion  becomes  un- 
fashionable, or  cannot  be  professed  without  danger, 
and  he  openly  abjures  his  profession,  and  acts  in 
such  a  way  as  plainly  to  show  that  he  is  in  the 
power  of  the  Wicked  One,  and  going  to  his  own 
place.     Oh,  let  us  ever  remember  that  nothing  but 
a  living  faith,  forming  a  vital  union  between  our 
souls  and  Christ,  can  surely  preserve  us  from  the 
awful  doom  of  the  apostate  !    If  we  are  of  those  that 
beheve  to  the  saving  of  the  soul,  we  shall  not  be  of 
them  that  draw  back  unto  perdition.     Wherever 
there  is  true  faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  given  to  sanctify  and  renew  the  nature. 
But  where  there   is  no  such  faith,  the  nature  re- 
mains still  unchanged,  still  in  love  with  sin.     And,     '•■ 
in  due  time,  this  sinful  nature  will  show"  itself,  how-     ' 
ever  it  may  be  hid  or  adorned  for  a  season.    When 
professors  turn  from  the  holy  commandment,  and 
are  again  entangled  and  overcome  by  their  sinful     ' 
lusts,  their  latter  end  is  worse  than  their  beginning, 
and  it  has  happened  unto  them  according  to  the 
true  proverb,  "  The  dog  is  returned  to  his  own  vomit 
again,  and  the  sow  that  was  washed  to  her  wallow- 
ing in  the  mire."     Oh,  my  brethren,  if  you  would     j 
not  prove  a  base  apostate,  stand  in  awe  and  sin  not !     ' 
Say  unto  God,  "Hold  thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  be     i 
safe  ;  and  keep  me  by  thy  power  through  faith  unto     , 
salvation." 

III.  The  character  of  Little-faith  has  next  to  en-     | 
gage  our  attention.     It  is  introduced  here  because 


LITTLE-FAITH.  339 

the  adventure  recorded  of  him  occurred  in  this  part 
of  the  road,  and  here  it  was  told  by  Christian  to  his 
fellow.  This  Little-faith  was  a  good  man,  and 
from  the  town  of  Sincere.  Proceeding  on  his  pil- 
grimage, when  he  came  to  that  dark  lane,  he  had 
chanced  to  sleep.  And  here,  just  as  he  was  awak- 
ing, three  robbers — Faint-heart,  Mistrust,  and  Guilt 
— had  set  upon  him.  Great  was  the  alarm  of 
Little-faith  at  the  appearance  of  these  three  evil 
brothers.  Faint-heart  called  him  to  give  up  his 
money  ;  Mistrust  pulled  a  bag  of  silver  out  of  his 
pocket ;  and  Guilt  struck  him  on  the  head,  and  left 
him  bleeding  on  the  ground.  As  the  thieves  stood 
by  their  prey,  they  heard  the  footsteps  of  some  one 
on  the  road.  They  thought  it  was  Great-grace, 
and  instantly  fled.  After  a  while  the  wounded  man 
revived,  and  getting  up,  he  contrived  to  scramble 
on  his  way. 

The  two  pilgrims  entered  upon  an  interesting 
conversation  respecting  this  history  of  Little-faith. 
Hopeful  inquired  if  the  thieves  had  taken  from  him 
all  that  ever  he  had.  To  this  it  was  replied,  No : 
the  place  where  his  jewels  were  they  never  ran- 
sacked; so  those  he  kept  still.  He  retained  also  his 
certificate,  by  which  he  was  to  receive  his  admit- 
tance at  the  celestial  gate.  It  was,  however,  en- 
tirely owing  to  the  care  of  Providence,  and  not  to 
any  skill  of  his  own,  that  the  thieves  missed  any 
thing  that  was  good.  In  the  state  he  was  in,  he 
had  neither  skill  nor  power  to  hide  any  thing.  But 
though  he  kept  these,  his  state  ever  after  was  very 
uncomfortable.  All  his  ready  money  being  gone 
(as  he  might  not  sell  his  jewels)  he  went  hungry, 
and  was  often  in  great  straits  as  he  proceeded  on 
his  journey.     Neither  could  he  derive  the  comfort 


340  LECTURE   XXIII. 

he  might  from  the  possession  of  his  certificate.  He 
made  but  little  use  of  it,  because  of  the  dismay  he 
felt  at  the  loss  of  his  money.  He  forgot  it  entirely 
a  great  part  of  his  way  ;  and  if  now  and  then  a  ray 
of  comfort  beamed  upon  him  by  the  recollection  of 
it,  it  was  soon  dispelled  by  the  painful  thought  of 
his  loss.  He  breathed  out  his  sorrowful  complaints 
as  he  proceeded,  and  told  what  had  befallen  him  to 
all  he  met ;  minutely  recounting  where  he  was 
robbed,  and  how ;  who  they  were  that  did  it,  and 
what  he  had  lost ;  how  he  was  wounded,  and  had 
hardly  escaped  with  his  life. 

Hopeful  next  expressed  his  wonder  that  poor 
Little-faith  had  not  been  induced  by  his  necessities 
to  sell  or  to  pawn  some  of  his  jewels  for  his  present 
rehef.  But  this  supposition  was  sharply  condemned 
by  Christian  as  childish  in  the  extreme.  He  pointed 
out  that  his  jewels  were  disregarded,  their  value 
being  unknown  in  all  that  country ;  hence  no  ready 
money  would  be  advanced  upon  them.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  poor  man  himself  knew  well  enough, 
that  if  these  should  not  be  forthcoming  at  the  celes- 
tial gate,  he  would  be  undone  for  ever.  Notwith- 
standing his  infirmity.  Little-faith  was  not  a  man 
like  Esau,  to  sell  spiritual  blessings  for  a  morsel  of 
meat.  He  was  a  man  of  another  spirit.  He  was  a 
spiritual,  not  a  carnal  or  profane  person.  His  faith, 
though  little,  was  real.  His  mind  was  on  high  and 
heavenly  things,  and  nothing  but  things  of  this 
nature  could  satisfy  his  soul  or  reheve  his  necessi- 
ties. How,  then,  could  he  even  think  of  selling 
his  jewels  to  fill  his  mind  with  empty  vanities  ? 

Hopeful  confessed  his  mistake,  and  next  inti- 
mated his  belief  that  the  thieves  which  set  upon 
Little-faith  were  only  three  cowards,  as  they  had  so 


LITTLE-FAITH.  341 

hastily  taken  alarm ;  and  he  conceived  that  if  only 
they  had  been  manfully  resisted,  they  would  have 
fled  at  the  first.  Christian  replied  that  Little-faith 
was  not  the  man  to  act  a  valiant  part.  At  the  same 
time,  he  reminded  his  fellow  how  much  easier  it  is 
to  be  vahant  when  danger  is  at  a  distance  than  when 
it  is  actually  present.  He  bade  him  also  consider 
that  these  thieves  have  for  their  captain  the  king 
of  the  bottomless  pit,  who  comes  to  their  aid  as  oc- 
casion requires.  He  spoke  from  experience  when 
he  said,  "No  man  knows  the  dreadful  nature  of  a 
spiritual  conflict,  but  he  who  has  himself  been  in 
the  battle."  They  fled,  indeed,  at  the  sound  of 
footsteps ;  but  then  they  supposed  they  were  the 
footsteps  of  Great-grace,  the  King's  Champion,  that 
they  heard.  Little-faith  loved  the  King,  and  de- 
sired with  a  true  heart  to  keep  his  laws,  but  then 
he  was  not  the  King's  champion.  "Every  true 
subject  of  the  King  is  not  the  King's  champion." 
Some  are  strong,  some  are  weak  ;  some  have  great 
faith,  some  have  little.  This  was  one  of  the  weak. 
The  adversary  knew  his  man,  and  practised  upon 
him  what  he  durst  not  even  attempt  against  an- 
other. 

Then  said  Hopeful,  "  I  would  it  had  been  Great- 
Grace,  for  Little-Faith's  sake.  To  this  benevolent 
aspiration  Christian  rephed  in  the  fullest  manner. 
He  showed  that  there  are  times  when  Great-Grace 
himself  is  sorely  handled  by  these  villains.  As 
long  as  he  keeps  them  at  sword's  point,  all  is  well ; 
he  waxes  valiant  in  the  fight,  and  easily  repels  them. 
But  if  Faint-Heart,  or  Mistrust,  or  Guilt,  any  one 
of  them,  succeed  in  getting  within  him,  the  other 
two  are  immediately  admitted,  and  then  does  it  go 
hardly  with  this  valiant  champion.     Like  the  ma- 

29* 


342  LECTURE   XXIII. 

riner  in  a  storm,  his  soul  is  melted  because  of  trou- 
ble, and  he  is  even  at  his  wit's  end.  Christian 
instanced,  too,  the  example  of  several  eminent 
saints,  especially  David  and  Peter,  who  had  been 
in  such  a  case.  Faint-Heart  and  Mistrust  and 
Guilt  succeeded  for  a  while  in  gaining  entrance  into 
both  these.  Their. success  was  mainly  owing  to 
the  craft  and  power  and  activity  of  their  invisible 
captain.  Though  out  of  sight,  he  is  always  at 
their  whistle  ;  and  when  at  any  time  they  be  put 
to  the  worst,  he  comes,  if  not  restrained  by  the  hand 
of  the  Almighty,  to  accomphsh  what  his  emissaries 
failed  to  effect.  This  being  the  case,  and  such 
mighty  champions  being  sometimes  foiled,  Christian 
pointed  out  very  forcibly  that  such  footmen  as  him- 
self and  his  comrade  should  never  wish  for  an  ad- 
versary or  boast  of  their  strength.  Two  things 
rather,  he  said,  were  much  more  befitting  for  them. 
In  the  first  place,  when  they  heard  of  such  robberies 
being  committed  on  the  King's  highway,  they 
should  go  harnessed  and  prepared  for  an  attack ; 
above  all  things  taking  the  shield  of  faith,  for  want 
of  which  Little-Faith  had  been  so  sorely  handled, 
and  by  the  use  of  which  they  would  be  able  to 
quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked.  In  the 
second  place,  they  should  earnestly  desire  of  the 
King  a  convoy,  that  he  would  go  with  them  him- 
self. This  had  supported  David  in  the  shadow  of 
death ;  and  without  this  Moses  would  not  stir  a 
step  in  the  way  to  the  land  of  promise  itself.  "  Oh, 
my  brother,"  he  continued,  "  if  he  will  but  go  along 
with  us,  what  need  we  be  afraid  of  ten  thousand 
that  shall  set  themselves  against  us  ?  But  without 
him,  the  proud  helpers  fall  under  the  slain."  "  I. 
for  my  part,"  he  concluded,  "  have  been  in  the 


LITTLE-FAITH.  343 

fray  before  now ;  and  though,  through  the  goodness 
of  Him  that  is  best,  I  am,  as  you  see,  ahve,  yet  I 
cannot  boast  of  my  manhood.  Glad  shall  I  be  if  I 
meet  with  no  more  such  conflicts,  though  I  fear  we 
are  not  got  beyond  all  danger.  Since,  however,  the 
lion  and  the  bear  have  not  as  yet  devoured  me,  I 
hope  God  will  deliver  us  from  the  next  adversary." 
There  is  much,  my  brethren,  very  much,  for  our 
instruction  ana  encouragement  in  this  history  of 
Little-Faith,  with  the  remarks  of  Christian  upon  it. 
How  many  members  in  the  household  of  faith  are 
brought  into  lear  and  trouble  and  danger,  by  reason 
of  the  smaihiess  ol  their  faith  !  They  are  some- 
times betrayed  into  sinful  compliance  or  slothful 
negligence,  when  luey  ought  to  have  been  espe- 
cially watchlul  and  war}^  In  time  of  danger  they 
betray  the  smaflness  of  their  faith.  If  iniquity 
abound,  they  are  drawn  into  a  snare  by  the  fear  of 
man.  They  conceal  or  deny  their  profession,  are 
slothful  in  duty,  or  in  some  way  contract  guilt  upon 
their  conscience.  Then  comes  the  fatal  attack.  A 
faint  heart  assaults  them ;  mistrust  robs  them  of 
their  present  peace  and  comfort ;  and  conscious 
guilt  beats  them  down,  and  renders  them  for  a  sea- 
son unable  to  rise  or  to  lift  up  their  head.  Very 
painful  and  apparently  desperate  is  the  situation  of 
the  fallen  believer  in  such  a  case.  Like  him  who 
really  fell  among  thieves,  he  is  stripped  of  his  rai- 
ment and  wounded,  and  left  on  the  wayside  half 
dead.  But  though  he  cannot  help  himself,  he  shall 
not  be  entirely  deserted  in  his  necessity.  Some 
established  behever,  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in 
Christ  Jesus,  shall  mercifully  be  sent  to  restore  him 
in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  and  cause,  by  his  season- 
able counsels,  the  robbers  of  his  peace  to  fly  before 


344  LECTURE   XXIII. 

they  have  proceeded  to  the  last  extremities.  How 
pleasant  it  is  to  perform  the  part  of  the  good  Sa- 
maritan to  a  fallen  and  wounded  brother ;  to  raise 
him  from  the  low  ground  of  despair ;  to  pour  into 
his  bleeding  wounds  the  precious  balms  of  heavenly 
consolation ;  to  chase  away  faintness  and  mistrust 
from  his  mind,  and  the  painful  sense  of  guilt  from 
his  conscience  ;  to  strengthen  the  things  which  re- 
main that  were  ready  to  die  ;  and  to  enable  him 
again  to  proceed  on  his  way  to  the  new  Jerusalem ! 
You  see  at  once  that  the  Holy  Spirit  alone  is  suffi- 
cient for  this ;  but  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  most 
part,  does  it  by  blessing  a  wise  and  seasonable  ap- 
plication of  the  promises  and  invitations  and  exam- 
ples of  his  own  most  holy  word. 

The  true  behever,  however  small  his  faith,  how- 
ever severely  assaulted,  and  however  entirely 
stripped  of  present  comfort,  has  still  hidden  jewels 
and  a  heavenly  document  about  him  which  no  man 
can  take  away  from  him.  His  union  with  Christ 
secures  to  him  unsearchable  riches ;  and  the  gra- 
cious work  of  sanctification  commenced  in  his  heart 
is  the  gracious  certificate  of  his  meetness  for  heaven, 
which  no  hypocrite  can  forge,  and  of  which  no  ad- 
versary can  ever  rob  him.  He  may  go  mourning 
for  many  days,  because  of  the  spiritual  joy  which 
he  has  lost,  or  the  assurance  of  his  acceptance. 
Through  the  smallness  of  his  faith,  he  may  be  for- 
getful of  the  living  union  that  exists  between  him 
and  his  Saviour,  and  by  virtue  of  which  his  soul  is 
bound  up  in  the  bundle  of  life.  Through  the  pre- 
valence of  fear,  or  the  remains  of  a  legal  spirit,  he 
may  have  no  comforting  sense  of  the  Spirit's  work 
upon  his  heart.  But  notwithstanding  all  this,  in 
his  inward  thought  and  estimation,  the  salvation  ot 


LITTLE-FAITH.  345 

Christ  and  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  dearer 
to  him  than  thousands  of  gold  and  silver.  Amid 
all  his  sorrowful  complaints,  he  can  sometimes  en- 
tertain a  secret  hope  of  pardon  and  acceptance, 
which  he  would  not  part  w^ith  for  all  the  gHttering 
toys  which  the  wide  world  can  afford.  He  hungers 
and  thirsts  after  righteousness,  and  with  any  thing 
short  of  righteousness  he  refuses  to  be  satisfied. 
Oh,  my  friends,  have  a  true  faith  in  the  only  Sa- 
viour of  sinners,  and  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  your 
mind,  if  you  would  not  be  of  them  that  draw  back 
unto  perdition !  And  never  boast  of  your  own 
strength,  for  by  strength  shall  no  man  prevail.  It 
is  our  wisdom  to  pray  to  be  kept  from  temptation. 
We,  none  of  us,  know  how  we  should  act  in  the 
time  of  conflict.  Great  grace  alone  can  make  us 
champions  of  our  King.  And  should  a  faint  heart 
and  its  consequences  once  get  within  us,  how  sorely 
we  shall  be  put  to  it !  Think  of  Peter,  and  learn  to 
be  humble.  Think  of  Satan's  power,  and  take 
unto  you  the  w^hole  armour  of  God  ;  above  all,  the 
shield  of  faith.  Desire  of  the  King  a  convoy. 
Pray  earnestly  that  the  Lord  himself  w^ill  be  your 
keeper.  Say  not  with  Peter,  *'  I  never  will  deny 
thee  ;"  but  rather  say,  O  Lord,  grant  me  grace  that 
I  never  may.  If  the  Lord  himself  be  on  our  side, 
and  go  with  us,  to  uphold  and  strengthen  us  at 
every  step,  we  have  nothing  to  fear.  He  who  has 
been  with  us  in  six  troubles  will  not  leave  us  in  the 
seventh.  We  may  sing  at  every  stage  of  our  pil- 
grimage : 

"  Here  I  raise  my  Ebenezer, 
Hither  by  thy  help  I'm  come  ; 
And  I  hope,  in  thy  good  pleasure, 
Safely  to  arrive  at  home." 


346  LECTURE   XXIII. 


THE  HYMN.  : 

^ 

Jesus  !  lover  of  my  soul,  i 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 

While  the  raging  billows  roll — 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high  ! 

Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour !  hide,  | 

Till  the  storm  of  liie  is  past ; 

Safe  imo  the  haven  guide  ; 

Oh,  receive  my  soul  at  last !  | 

Other  refuge  have  I  none, — 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee  I  | 

Leave,  ah  !  leave  me  not  alone  !  i 

Still  support  and  comfort  me  !  1 

All  my  trust  on  thee  is  stayed ;  '< 

All  my  help  from  thee  I  bring : 
Cover  my  defenceless  head 
With  the  shadow  of  thy  wing. 

Thou,  0  Christ !  art  all  I  want ; 
All  in  All  in  thee  I  find : 
Raise  the  fallen,  cheer  the  faint, 
Heal  the  sick,  and  lead  the  blind : 
Just  and  holy  is  thy  name, 
I  am  all  unrighteousness. 
Vile  and  full  of  sin  I  am — 
Thou  art  full  of  truth  and  grace. 

Plenteous  grace  with  Thee  is  found — 

Grace  to  pardon  all  my  sin :  'j 

Let  the  healing  streams  abound  ; 

Make  and  keep  me  pure  whhin  : 

Thou  of  Life  the  fountain  art ! 

Freely  let  me  take  of  Thee  ! 

Spring  thou  up  within  my  heart, — 

Rise  to  all  eternity  ! 

THE  PRAYER. 

Lord  of  all  power  and  might,  who  art  the  auihor  and  giver 
of  all  good  things,  we  are  taught  in  thy  holy  word  that  the  ; 
just  shall  live  by  faith,  and  that  if  any  man  draw  back  thou  | 
wilt  have  no  pleasure  of  him ;  mercifully  grant  that  being 
justified  by  faith,  we  may  have  peace  with  God  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord ;  that  we  may  not  be  of  them  who  draw  back 
unto  perdition,  but  of  them  that  believe  to  the  saving  of  the 


LITTLE-FAITH.  347 

soul.  Give  us  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  revelation  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christ.  May  the  eyes  of  our  understanding  be 
enlightened,  that  we  may  no  longer  be  alienated  from  the  life 
of  God  through  the  ignorance  that  is  in  us,  because  of  the 
blindness  of  our  hearts.  O  that  we  may  all  be  taught  of  thee, 
and  become  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.  May  we  never  turn  away  from  the  holy  com- 
mandments deUvered  to  us.  Save  us,  we  most  humbly  be- 
seech thee,  from  making  profession  of  thy  holy  truth  while 
we  are  destitute  of  saving  faith,  lest  we  should  again  be  en- 
tangled and  overcome  by  our  besetting  sin,  and  our  last  state 
shall  be  worse  than  our  first.  Lord,  increase  our  faith.  We 
are  far,  very  far,  from  resting  upon  thee  by  a  firm  and  stead- 
fast faith,  as  we  ought  to  do.  Thou  mightest  justly  reprove 
the  very  best  among  us,  as  being  possessed  only  of  little  faith. 
We  have  often  been  exposed  by  the  weakness  of  our  fahh  to 
faintness  of  heart,  to  sinful  mistrust,  and  to  all  the  darkness 
and  sorrow  of  guilt.  Oh  grant  that  if  our  faith  be  little,  it  may 
still  be  real.  Strengthen  that  which  thou  hast  wrought  in  us. 
Though  stripped  in  comfort,  and  peace,  and  joy,  may  we  still 
cling,  by  fixed  believing,  to  the  rock  of  our  salvation ;  count- 
ing all  things  but  dross,  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge 
of  Christ.  Hear  us  when  we  call,  0  King  of  Heaven;  and 
if  we  may  not  be  ranked  among  thy  valiant  champions,  oh 
grant  that  we  may  indeed  be  found  among  thy  true  subjects. 
May  we  watch  and  pray,  that  we  enter  not  into  temptation. 
When  we  think  of  the  dreadful  falls  of  many  of  thy  precious 
saints,  and  the  power  and  craft  of  our  adversary  the  devil, 
and  our  own  frailty  and  weakness,  our  hearts  are  ready  to 
faint.  But  we  humbly  look  up  unto  thee,  to  strengthen  us  with 
might  by  thy  Holy  Spirit  in  the  inner  man.  and  to  keep  us  by 
thy  power  through  faith  unto  salvation.  AuJ  Lord,  we  pray 
thee,  go  thou  with  us,  to  guard  and  direct  us  u.  ••ough  every 
part  of  our  journey  in  the  wilderness,  until  we  ai*.  brought 
to  the  place  of  our  everlasting  rest.  Make  us  meet,  by  the 
sanctifying  power  of  thy  Holy  Spirit,  for  the  heavenly  inhe- 
ritanrfi  ;  and  oh,  grant  that  an  abundant  entrance  mav  be  ad- 
minkiered  unto  us  into  thy  everlasting  kingdom.  Sear  us, 
O  Lo?d,  and  answer  us  for  his  sake  in  whom  we  have  be- 
lievj"  ,  thy  Son  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XXIV. 


THE   FLATTERER,  ATHEIST,  AND    HOPEFUL  S   EX' 
PERIENCE. 

Increase  my  faith,  increase  my  hope, 

When  foes  and  fears  prevail ; 
And  bear  my  fainting  spirit  up, 

Or  soon  my  strength  will  fail. 

Whene'er  temptations  fright  my  heart, 

Or  lure  my  feet  aside, 
My  God,  thy  powerful  aid  impart, 

My  guardian  and  my  guide. 

Oh  keep  me  in  thy  heavenly  way, 

And  bid  the  tempter  flee  ; 
And  let  me  never,  never  stray. 

From  happiness  and  thee. 


1  Thess.  v.  11.  I 

WHEREFORE     COMFORT    TOtTRSELVES    TOGETHER    AND    EDIFY    ONE    ANOTHER,  I 

EVEN  A3  ALSO  YE  DO. 

The  edifying  conversation  that  took  place   be- 
tween Christian  and  Hopeful,  as  they  walked  over 
the  enchanted  ground,  wnll  be  the  principal  subject       , 
of  our  present  Lecture.    This  conversation  will  form  % 
a  pleasing  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  the       '• 
Thessalonians  edified  one  another,  and  of  the  profit-       j 
able  kind  of  discourse  in  which  the  apostle  required 

3i8 


THE   FLATTERER.  349 

them  still  to  persevere.  Before  they  came  to  the 
Enchanted  Ground  we  have  to  notice  their  inter- 
view first  with  the  Flatterer  and  then  with  Atheist. 

I.  We  begin  first  with  the  Flatterer.  When 
they  had  finished  their  reflections  upon  the  history 
of  Little-Faith,  they  went  on  till  they  came  to  a 
place  where  the  road  before  them  branched  into 
two,  and  one  seemed  as  straight  as  the  other.  Here, 
therefore,  they  were  at  a  loss  which  way  to  take, 
and  they  stood  for  a  w^hile  to  consider.  As  they 
were  standing,  a  person  really  dark,  but  covered 
over  with  a  white  garment,  came  to  them.  They 
told  him  their  perplexity.  Upon  which  the  stranger 
said  immediately,  "  Follow  me  ;  I  am  going  to  the 
Celestial  City."  Then  they  followed  him  into  the 
way  that  now  came  into  the  road.  They  had  not 
proceeded  far  upon  it,  before  it  began  gradually  to 
turn  and  wind,  and  in  a  short  time  they  were  walk- 
ing with  their  backs  to  the  city,  quite  away  from  it. 
Still,  however,  they  followed  their  deceitful  guide. 
He  allured  them  on  until  he  had  completely  entan- 
gled them  in  a  net.  Then  his  white  garment  fell 
off',  and  they  beheld  his  true  features,  while  they 
were  left  crying  out  in  distress.  Upon  this  Chris- 
tian bewailed  his  folly  in  so  soon  forgetting  the 
admonition  of  the  shepherd,  who  had  bade  them 
beware  of  the  Flatterer.  Now  he  found  by  painful 
experience  the  truth  of  the  declaration  :  "  A  man 
that  flattereth  his  neighbour  spreadeth  a  net  for  his 
feet."  Hopeful,  too,  acknowledged  their  strange 
infatuation,  in  following  the  advice  of  the  deceiver, 
instead  of  consulting  their  map.  Had  they  done 
this,  they  w^ould  have  been  kept  from  the  path  of 
the  destroyer.     They  were  only  reheved  from  their 


850  LECTURE   XXIV. 

bondage  by  a  shining  Visitor,  who  appeared  to  them 
with  a  scourge  in  iiis  hand.  Having  questioned 
them,  and  told  them  the  true  character  of  their  de- 
ceiver, he  broke  the  net,  and  led  them  back  into  the 
right  way.  But  while  doing  this,  he  made  them 
blush  at  the  remembrance  of  the  httle  use  they  had 
made  of  the  shepherd's  directions.  And  before  he 
departed  from  them,  he  corrected  them  with  the 
scourge  that  he  had  in  his  hand,  saying  to  them,  as 
they  smarted  under  the  stroke,  "  As  many  as  I  love, 
I  rebuke  and  chasten."  The  humbled  pilgrims  ac- 
cepted the  punishment  of  their  transgression, 
thanked  their  corrector  for  his  kindness,  and  then 
proceeded  on  their  way. 

Let  the  true  Christian,  as  he  proceeds  on  his  way 
to  Zion,  constantly  beware  of  the  Flatterer.  If  at 
any  time  you  are  really  in  perplexity  as  to  the  right 
path  for  you  to  take,  oh,  consult  your  map,  and  give 
no  heed  to  flattering  words  that  are  addressed  to 
you.  The  word  of  God  is  a  perfect  map  of  the 
way  to  heaven.  Let  this  be  used  and  studied  and 
acted  upon,  at  every  turn  and  in  every  doubt,  and 
you  are  sure  to  be  directed  right.  But  do  you  ask 
how  you  are  to  know  the  Flatterer  when  he  comes 
to  you  ?  You  must  not  be  carried  away  by  good 
words  and  fair  speeches  and  a  plausible  outside. 
Satan  himself  is  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light. 
You  may  know  the  Flatterer  by  his  high  pretences 
to  knowledge,  and  his  confident  promise  to  lead  you 
right,  without  any  reference  to  the  law  and  the  tes- 
timony. Be  sure  of  this,  that  whoever  undertakes 
to  lead  you,  and  cannot  refer  you  to  the  words  of 
Holy  Scripture  for  all  that  he  advances,  is  a  flat- 
terer and  a  deceiver.  If  unhappily  you  have 
followed  such  a  treacherous  guide,  you  are  sure  to 


ATHEIST.  351 

smart  for  it,  soon  or  late.  If  you  are  destitute  of 
the  root  of  the  matter,  and  in  love  with  error,  you 
will  be  entangled  in  some  pernicious  doctrine,  or 
some  sinful  practice,  and  there  you  may  remain 
until  you  are  summoned,  all  unprepared  and  un- 
pardoned, into  the  eternal  world.  And  even  if,  upon 
the  whole,  your  heart  be  upright,  and  you  have 
been  beguiled  from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ 
— not  until  you  have  been  deeply  humbled  and 
sorry  for  your  faults,  can  you  expect  the  Lord  to 
appear  for  your  help,  and  pluck  you  out  of  the  net 
that  has  been  privily  laid  for  you.  When  you  have 
acknowledged  your  transgressions,  and  cried  ear- 
nestly for  deliverance,  in  due  time  he  will  set  you 
at  liberty ;  but  he  will  visit  your  transgression  with 
the  rod  and  your  iniquity  with  stripes.  Oh,  sub- 
mit to  his  fatherly  correction,  and  think  how  much 
better  it  is  to  be  driven,  even  with  many  stripes,  in 
the  way  everlasting,  than  to  be  let  alone,  and  to  go 
on  uncorrected  in  the  road  to  ruin! 

II.  We  have  next  to  consider  the  pilgrims'  in- 
terview with  Atheist.  They  saw  a  man  coming  to 
meet  them,  with  his  back  directly  turned  towards 
the  city.  After  the  things  they  had  suffered, 
Christian  and  his  comrade  were  now  on  their 
guard.  The  man  came  up  to  them,  and  asked 
whither  they  were  going.  As  soon  as  they  told 
him,  "  To  Mount  Zion,"  he  burst  into  a  fit  of  laughter, 
derided  them^  for  their  pains,  and  assured  them  there 
was  no  such  place  as  the  city  to  which  they  said  they 
were  journeying.  He  said,  moreover,  that  he  once 
thought  even  as  they,  and  that  none  had  been  more 
zealous  that  way  than  himself:  but  after  twenty 
years'  seeking  it  in  vain,  he  was  now  convinced  it 


352  LECTURE    XXIV. 

was  all  a  delusion.  Therefore  he  was  now  going 
back,  and  was  resolved  to  refresh  himself  with 
those  substantial  things  which  he  had  once  been  so 
foolish  as  to  cast  away,  in  hope  of  that  which  he 
now  found  to  be  unreal.  Then  said  Christian,  (to 
prove  his  companion.)  "  Is  it  true  which  this  man 
hath  said  ?"  But  Hopeful  most  nobly  bore  the 
proof.  "  What !"  he  cried  out,  "  No  Mount  Zion  ! 
Did  we  not  see,  from  the  Delectable  Mountains,  the 
gate  of  the  city  ?  Are  we  not  now  to  walk  by 
faith  ?  Oh,  let  us  cease  to  hear  the  instruction  that 
causeth  to  err !  Let  us  reject  this  man  as  a  flatter- 
er and  a  liar;  and,  in  spite  of  his  wicked  report, 
let  us  beheve  to  the  saving  of  the  soul."  Chris- 
tian applauded  the  honest  and  holy  zeal  of  his 
brother.  He  knew  well  that  the  wretched  man  be- 
fore them  was  blinded  by  the  god  of  this  world. 
And  his  buoyant  companion,  feeling  his  spirit  won- 
derfully refreshed  by  the  good  confession  of  his 
faith  which  he  had  made,  was  enabled  to  add : 
"Now  do  I  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God." 
So  they  turned  away  from  the  man,  and  he,  laugh- 
ing at  them,  went  his  way. 

Oh,  my  brethren,  what  a  deplorable  character  is 
Atheist !  A  man  who  has  actually  believed  the  lie 
which  the  father  of  lies  has  hatched  for  the  ruin  of 
sinners,  but  which  he  cannot  swallow  himself:  such 
a  man  is  the  astonishment  of  the  universe  !  Angels 
in  heaven  believe  and  adore  ;  devils  in  hell  believe 
and  tremble.  None  but  fools  in  this  ruined  world 
say  in  their  heart,  "There  is  no  God."  Have  we, 
my  brethren,  never  met  with  such  a  character — a 
man  who  actually  laughs  at  the  true  Christian's 
hope  of  heaven  and  fear  of  hell  ?  How  is  such  a 
desperate   character   generally  formed  ?     He  sets 


ATHEIST.  353 

out  with  a  dead  faith  and  a  worldly  heart,  and  at 
length  occupies  the  seat  of  the  scorner.  The  man 
was  always  a  hypocrite,  even  when  he  professed  to 
be  seeking  after  God.  He  never  sought,  sincerely 
and  truly,  the  renewing  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  be  exerted  upon  him.  Thus  he  has  never  ex- 
perienced those  effects  from  the  truth  which  the 
Holy  Scriptures  assign  to  it.  He  knows  nothing  of 
a  sense  of  sin,  a  lively  hope  in  Christ,  and  supreme 
longing  for  spiritual  blessings.  If  every  syllable 
of  the  Bible  be  true,  he  knows  that  he  is  in  an  evil 
case.  Fie  has  seen  much  folly  and  wickedness 
and  delusion  among  many  who  have  professed  high, 
and  talked  much  about  religion  and  experience. 
Leading  the  life  that  he  leads,  he  feels  it  would  be 
well  for  him  if  there  were  no  day  of  account,  no 
place  of  torment,  no  righteous  Judge  to  reward  his 
people  and  to  punish  his  adversaries.  His  secret 
wish  prepares  him  to  receive  the  lie  of  Satan.  He 
loved  not  the  truth,  but  had  pleasure  in  unrighteous- 
ness ;  and  therefore  he  is  left,  in  righteous  judg- 
ment, to  beheve  a  lie.  And  now — like  his  father 
the  devil,  who  was  first  an  apostate  and  then  a 
seducer — he  tries  earnestly  to  corrupt  others,  and 
tells  those  whom  he  meets  that  all  religion  is  only 
a  cunningly  devised  fable.  The  young  and  un- 
estabhshed  may  be  turned  aside  or  injured  by  this 
deadly  poison.  But  the  experienced  Christian,  who 
knows  in  whom  he  has  beheved,  cannot  be  hurt  by 
it.  There  is  no  argoring  against  experience.  If 
we  have  the  witness  within  us — if  we  feel  the 
preciousness  of  Christ  to  our  souls — if  we  have 
cast  our  burden  of  sin  upon  his  cross,  and  have  ob- 
tained a  good  hope  of  pardon  and  acceptance,  even 
though  we  have  never  seen  the  celestial  gate — how 

30* 


354  LECTURE    XXIV. 

can  we  be  stumbled  or  turned  aside  by  the  evil  re- 
port of  apostates,  or  suffer  any  injury  from  the 
cunning  craftiness  whereby  they  he  in  wait  to  de- 
ceive ? 

III.  We  come  next  to  the  edifying  conversation 
of  Christian  and  Hopeful  over  the  Enchanted 
Ground.  As  they  journeyed  onward,  they  came 
into  a  country  where  the  air  naturally  tended  to 
drowsiness.  This  was  the  Enchanted  Ground.  Here 
the  eyes  of  Hopeful  became  so  heavy  that  he  could 
scarcely  keep  them  open,  and  he  proposed  to  his 
brother  that  they  should  take  a  little  rest.  But  now 
Christian  acted  the  part  of  a  faithful  friend.  He 
reminded  Hopeful  how  the  watchful  shepherd  had 
warned  them  to  beware  of  sleeping  in  the  Enchanted 
Ground  ;  and  by  way  of  keeping  off  drowsiness,  he 
proposed  that  they  should  enter  into  some  profitable 
discourse.  Hopeful  acknowledged  the  faithfulness 
and  the  wisdom  of  his  companion's  rebuke,  and 
agreed  to  his  proposal  with  all  his  heart.  Then 
did  Christian  begin  with  a  deeply  interesting  ques- 
tion, and  asked  his  fellow  "  how  he  came  at  first  to 
look  after  the  good  of  his  soul."  Hopeful  answered, 
that  he  continued  a  great  while  delighted  with 
those  things  which  were  sold  in  Vanity  Fair,  and 
enumerated  the  sins  and  follies  to  which  he  had 
been  addicted.  But  at  length,  from  what  he  heard 
from  Christian  and  Faithful,  he  began  to  think  that 
the  end  of  these  things  is  death,  and  that  they  ex- 
posed him  to  the  wrath  of  God.  He  owned,  how- 
ever, in  repl}'  to  another  question  of  Christian,  that 
he  had  struggled  hard  against  conviction.  He  was 
unwilling  to  know  all  his  guilt  and  danger,  and 
endeavoured,  when  shaken  a  little  by  the  word,  tc 


hopeful's  experience.  355 

shut  his  eyes  to  the  hght.  A  variety  of  causes 
united  to  make  him  act  in  such  a  manner.  He 
knew  not  at  first  that  these  awakening  fears  were 
produced  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  was  loth  to  part 
with  sin.  He  could  not  break  with  ungodly  com- 
panions. The  pangs  of  conviction  were  so  painful 
that  he  would  gladly  escape  them  by  any  means. 
For  these  reasons,  he  had  sought  a  little  relief 
wherever  he  could,  but  again  and  again  his  distress 
had  returned  upon  him.  When  Christian  inquired 
what  it  was  especially  that  had  brought  his  sins 
again  to  mind,  very  affecting  was  the  reply:  The 
sight  of  a  good  man  in  the  street,  the  feeling  of 
bodily  pain,  the  sound  of  the  toUing  bell,  hearing 
of  a  sudden  death,  or  the  thought  of  dying  and 
coming  to  judgment  himself,  any  one  of  these  was 
sufficient  to  give  him  the  alarm,  and  recall  his  dis- 
tress. Upon  these  occasions  he  had  great  difficulty 
in  removing  the  uneasiness  that  weighed  upon  his 
conscience.  He  thought  that  he  must  mend  his 
fife,  or  else  perish  for  ever.  "  And  did  he  endea- 
vour to  amend  ?"  Yes,  truly.  He  fled  from  his  sin 
and  sinful  company,  and  betook  to  rehgious  duties, 
and  for  a  while  began  to  think  well  of  himself.  But 
all  would  not  do ;  iniquities  still  prevailed  against 
him,  and  trouble  and  distress  increased  upon  him. 

Christian  asked.  How  was  this,  since  his  life 
was  now  reformed  ?  To  this  he  replied,  as  every 
deeply  experienced  person  must  reply.  The  solemn 
passages  of  Scripture,  which  declare  the  sinfulness 
and  worthlessness  of  all  we  do,  sank  deep  into  his 
neart.  Thus  he  argued  :  If  a  man  runs  a  hundred 
pounds  into  debt,  and  after  that  shall  pay  for  every 
thing  that  he  gets,  while  the  old  debt  is  uncrossed 
out,  he  may  still  be  sued  and  cast  into  prison  till  he 


356  LECTURE   XXIV. 

shall  pay  the  debt.  Thus  he  considered,  that  by 
his  sins  he  had  run  a  great  way  into  tlie  book  Oj 
God,  and  that  his  present  amendment  could  makf 
no  satisfaction  for  sins  that  are  passed.  In  additiou 
to  this,  with  his  increasing  light,  he  began  to  dis- 
cover the  iniquity  that  defiled  his  best  perform- 
ances, so  that  he  was  obliged  to  conclude,  that, 
without  any  reference  to  his  well-remembered  sins, 
there  was  enough  sin  in  any  one  duty  to  send  him 
to  hell,  even  though  his  former  life  had  been  fault- 
less. 

"  And  what  did  he  do  then  ?"  In  this  dilemma 
he  broke  his  mind  to  Faithful,  who  told  him  plainly 
that  unless  he  was  saved  by  the  righteousness  of 
another,  and  not  by  his  own,  he  could  never  be 
saved  at  all.  Had  this  been  told  him  before  he  had 
been  convinced  of  sin,  he  would  have  laughed  at 
it;  and  though  now,  at  the  first,  it  sounded  strangely 
to  him,  he  was  soon  convinced  that  such  a  right- 
eousness must  be  found  for  him,  or  else  he  must 
perish.  He  was  directed  where  such  a  righteous- 
ness was  to  be  found,  and  shown  how  it  was  made 
available  for  the  sinner's  justification.  He  was  as- 
sured that  the  atoning  blood  and  perfect  obedience 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  alone  could  meet  his  ne- 
cessities ;  and  that  if  only  he  would  believe  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  he  should  be  saved,  all  his  sins 
should  be  freely  forgiven,  and  he  would  then  have 
a  perfect  righteousness,  even  the  righteousness  ol 
Christ,  in  which  to  stand  before  God. 

Hopeful  had  many  scruples  and  many  objec- 
tions before  he  could  avail  himself  of  this  wonderful 
and  glorious  plan  of  salvation.  But  he  had  a  wise 
adviser  in  Faithful,  who  well  replied  to  his  objec- 
tions.    Moreover,  he  set  before  him  the  free  pro- 


hopeful's  experience.     357 

mises  and  the  gracious  invitations  of  the  gospel, 
and  earnestly  besought  him  to  apply  to  Christ  in 
heartfelt  prayer,  and  to  cast  himself  unreservedly 
upon  what  he  had  done  for  the  salvation  of  sinners. 

Christian  next  inquired,  "  And  did  you  do  as  you 
were  bidden  ?"  Hopeful  rephed,  "  Yes,  over,  and 
over,  and  over."  Christ  was  not  revealed  to  him 
in  his  saving  office  and  character  upon  the  first  ap- 
plication. No ;  he  had  very  repeatedly  to  ply  the 
throne  of  grace  before  any  light  or  comfort  broke  in 
upon  him ;  and  very  often  had  he  serious  thoughts 
of  desisting,  and  giving  up  in  despair.  But  a  deep 
persuasion,  that  nothing  but  an  interest  in  the  right- 
eousness of  Christ  could  save  him,  convinced  him 
that  to  leave  oft^was  to  die,  and  that  he  could  but 
die  at  the  throne  of  grace.  In  addition  to  this,  a 
secret  hope  would  now  and  then  spring  up  in  his 
mind,  that  though  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
might  tarry  long,  in  due  time  it  would  come,  if  he 
continued  to  wait  for  it.  And  he  was  not  disap- 
pointed. 

Christian  then  asked,  how  at  length  Christ  was 
revealed  to  him.  And  deeply  afl^ecting,  as  well  as 
very  scriptural,  was  the  reply  of  Hopeful.  It  was 
by  no  voice  or  vision,  but  by  the  opening  of  the 
eyes  of  his  understanding,  and  the  apprehension 
of  Christ  by  faith,  that  Hopeful  at  length  found 
peace  and  rest  to  his  soul.  One  day,  as  he  was 
very  sad,  and  the  remembrance  of  his  sins  sat 
heavily  upon  him,  and  he  was  looking  for  eternal 
damnation,  he  thought  of  the  glorious  Redeemer 
saying  to  him,  "  Beheve  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  thou  shalt  be  saved.  When  he  objected  the 
greatness  of  his  sin,  the  cheering  assurance  was 
given,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee."     When 


358  LECTURE   XXIV. 

he  asked  what  it  was  to  believe,  he  was  made  to 
understand  that  coming  and  believing  are  all 
ONE  ;  and  that  whoever  ran  out  in  his  heart 

AND  affection  TO  ChRIST,  AND  RESTED  ON  HIM  FOR 
SALVATION,  DID  REALLY  BELIEVE  ON  HIM.      Then  did 

the  water  stand  in  his  eyes,  and  he  asked  again, 
if  indeed  such  a  wretched  sinner  as  himself  would 
be  accepted.  The  gracious  reply  was  given,  "Him 
that  Cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out ;" 
and  he  was  taught  how  to  regard  the  Lord  .Tesus 
Christ,  that  he  might  rightly  believe  in  him.  He 
saw  that  he  must  look  for  righteousness  in  his  per- 
son, and  satisfaction  for  his  sins  in  his  blood  ;  that 
what  Christ  did  and  suffered  in  our  nature  was  not 
for  himself,  but  for  him  that  will  accept  it  for  his 
salvation,  and  be  thankful.  This  was  sufficient 
for  Hopeful.  He  set  to  his  seal  that  God  was  true. 
And  now  was  his  heart  full  of  joy,  his  eyes  full  of 
tears,  and  his  affections  running  over  with  love  to 
the  name,  and  people,  and  ways  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Christian  acknowledged  (and  what  Christian  can 
do  less  ?)  that  this  indeed  was  a  revelation  of  Christ 
to  the  soul.  And  only  once  more  did  he  ask  his 
comrade  what  effect  this  revelation  of  Christ  had 
upon  him.  Hopeful  rephed,  "  It  made  me  see  that 
all  the  world,  with  all  the  righteousness  of  it,  is  in 
a  state  of  condemnation  ;  it  made  me  see  that  God 
the  Father,  though  he  be  just,  can  justly  justify  the 
coming  sinner  ;  it  made  me  greatly  ashamed  of  the 
vileness  of  my  former  life,  and  confounded  me  with 
the  sense  of  my  own  ignorance.  Never  before  had 
I  such  a  view  of  the  beauty  of  Jesus  Christ ;  it 
made  me  love  a  holy  life,  and  long  to  do  something 
for  the  honour  and  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus ;  yea,  I 
thought  that  had  I  now  a  thousand  gallons  of  blood 


hopeful's  experience.    359 

in  my  body,  I  could  spill  it  all  for  the  sake  of  the 
Lord  Jesus." 

This  was  the  conversation  with  which  our  pil- 
grims edified  one  another,  and  kept  off  drowsiness, 
as  they  walked  together  over  the  enchanted  ground. 
The  use  to  be  made  of  all  this  is  very  apparent. 
Let  true  Christians  copy  this  example  to  keep 
themselves  watchful  in  seasons  of  drowsiness  ;  and 
let  us  all  carefully  examine  ourselves  by  the  expe- 
rience of  Hopeful,  and  seriously  put  the  question  to 
our  heart,  if  we  have  ever  had  a  revelation  of  Christ 
to  our  souls. 

(1.)  In  the  first  place,  then,  let  the  believer  seek, 
by  Christian  fellowship  and  communion,  to  keep 
himself  awake  over  the  enchanted  ground.  When 
the  church  has  rest,  and  the  rod  of  God  is  removed 
from  us,  and  we  can  profess  our  religion  without 
any  cross  or  reproach ;  or  when  we  are  obliged  to 
dwell  among  those  who  are  not  alive  to  eternal 
things,  who  have  perhaps  a  great  deal  of  natural 
kindness,  but  who  are  not  spiritually-minded  ;  then 
we  are  passing,  as  it  were,  over  the  enchanted 
ground.  The  very  air  disposes  to  drowsiness. 
Then,  it  is  probable,  we  shall  feel  a  strong  pro- 
pensity to  slumber  and  sleep,  to  relax  in  our  zeal 
and  diligence  and  activity,  and  to  engage  in  spi- 
ritual exercises  in  a  listless  manner,  without  any 
life  or  fervent  affection.  To  keep  off  so  unbecom- 
ing a  frame  in  this  dangerous  ground,  "  they  that 
fear  the  Lord  should  speak  often  one  to  another." 
Have  any  of  you,  my  brethren,  felt  the  fatal  influ- 
ence of  the  enchanted  ground,  so  that  you  have  lost 
your  first  love,  and  feel  extreme  difiiculty  in  keep- 
ing your  spiiitual  affections  at  all  awake  ?  Call  to 
remembrance  the  former  days,  when  you  were  first 


360  LECTURE   XXIV. 

enlightened.  Say  with  the  Psalmist,  "  I  will  re- 
member the  works  of  the  Lord ;  surely  I  will 
remember  thy  wonders  of  old."  Begin  where  God 
began  with  you.  Consider  yourself,  or  recite  to  a 
pious  friend,  what  made  you  first  think  about  the 
salvation  of  your  soul.  And  as  you  recal  to  mind 
how  you  went  mourning  when  the  burden  of  your 
sin  pressed  heavily  upon  you,  and  how  the  tear  of 
joy  gushed  from  your  eye,  and  the  beam  of  hope 
dawned  in  your  breast,  as  you  were  enabled  to  look 
unto  Jesus,  try  if  this  will  not  cause  your  heart  to 
burn  within  you,  and  carry  you  safe,  and  keep  you 
awake,  over  the  enchanted  ground. 

(2.)  But  are  there  not  many  here  who  have  never 
had  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  revealed  to  their  hearts  ? 
Oh,  I  am  afraid  that  very  many  are  still  loitering  in 
Vanity  Fair,  and  know  nothing  of  bringing  a  poor 
perishing  soul  by  faith  to  Christ,  to  be  saved  by  him 
for  ever  !  Remember  that  the  end  of  a  sinful,  un- 
godly life  is  everlasting  ruin.  Think  of  death  and 
judgment,  and  the  terrible  consequences  of  dying 
in  an  unpardoned  state.  Break  off  your  sins  by 
repentance,  and  set  yourself  in  earnest  to  seek  after 
God.  But  trust  not  in  aught  you  do.  Think  not 
by  present  amendment  to  make  restitution  for  past 
offences.  Christ  alone  can  take  away  your  guilt. 
Christ  alone  must  be  your  righteousness.  If  you 
are  not  saved  by  Christ,  you  cannot  be  saved  at  all. 
But  to  be  saved  by  him,  you  must  apply  to  him. 
Humbly  and  earnestly,  heartily  and  repeatedly, 
upon  your  bended  knees,  you  must  cry  for  an  in 
terest  in  his  great  salvation.  Go,  therefore,  to  him 
as  a  perishing  sinner,  and  cry  for  mercy.  And  be 
not  discouraged  if  your  request  is  not  granted  at 
the  first.     Go  orer  and  over  and  over  ao^ain.   Your 


hopeful's  experience.  361 

everlasting  all  is  at  stake.  If  you  succeed  not,  you 
are  undone  for  ever.  If  you  do  perish,  resolve  to 
perish  at  mercy's  gate,  and  in  the  act  of  knocking 
for  admittance  at  it.  Form  this  resolution  and  act 
upon  it,  and  the  business  is  done.  Whatever  he 
may  have  been,  Jesus  will  in  nowise  cast  out  a  poor 
sinner  who  thus  continues  to  apply  to  him.  "  Look," 
he  says,  "  unto  me,  and  be  ye  saved."  All  that  he 
has  done,  and  all  that  he  has  suffered,  is  yours,  if 
only  you  will  accept  it  for  your  salvation  and  be 
thankful.  Will  you  accept  it  ?  Then  will  your 
heart  be  full  of  joy,  and  your  eyes  of  tears,  and 
your  affections  will  run  over  with  love  to  the  name 
and  people  and  ways  of  Jesus  Christ. 

THE  HYMN. 

Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  wretched, 

Come  in  mercy's  gracious  hour  ; 
Jesus  ready  stands  to  save  you, 
Full  of  pity,  love  and  power  : 
He  is  able,  he  is  willing,  doubt  no  more. 

Let  not  conscience  make  you  linger,. 

Nor  of  fitness  fondly  dream  ; 
All  the  fitness  he  requireth, 

Is  to  feel  your  need  of  him. 
This  he  gives  you:  'tis  the  Spirit's  rising  beam. 

Come,  ye  weary,  heavy-laden, 

Lost  and  ruined  by  the  fall ; 

If  you  wait  till  you  are  better, 

You  will  never  come  at  all : 

Not  the  righteous, — sinners  Jesus  came  to  call. 

Saints  and  angels,  jomed  m  concert, 

Sing  the  praises  of  the  Lamb  ; 
While  the  blissful  seats  of  heaven 
Sweetly  echo  with  his  name  : 
Hallelujah  !  sinners  here  may  sing  the  same. 
31 


362  LECTURE  xxrv. 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  God,  the  strength  of  them  that  put  their  trust  in  thee, 
who  dost  never  fail  to  help  and  govern  them  whom  thou  dost 
bring  up  in  thy  steadfast  fear  and  love,  we  prostrate  ourselves 
at  thy  footstool,  humbly  to  implore  thy  blessing  upon  what 
we  have  heard.  We  ask  for  thy  heavenly  blessing  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  and  we  pray  that  thy  Holy  Spirit  may  help 
our  infirmities,  and  seal  to  our  souls  the  instruction  M-hich 
has  been  set  before  us.  Oh  that  we  may  all  be  comforted" 
and  edified  together,  and  that  we  may  be  able  also  to  exhort 
and  admonish  one  another.  Keep  us,  gracious  Father,  from 
all  the  snares  and  adversaries  to  which  we  are  exposed  in 
this  sinful  world.  May  we  never  be  enticed  from  the  narrow 
way  by  deceitful  lips  or  a  flattering  tongue.  Mercifully 
grant  that  we  may  be  preserved  from  every  net  which  the 
flatterer  may  spread  for  our  feet.  And  if  we  have  been  be- 
guiled and  entangled  therein,  do  thou,  by  thy  gracioua 
rebukes,  and  thy  loving  correction,  deliver  our  souls  and  set 
us  free.  May  we  know  how  to  answer  the  wicked  falsehood 
of  infidelity,  and  be  able  to  put  to  silence  the  scorners, 
whose  words  are  stout  against  thee,  and  who  have  presumed 
to  say,  "  It  is  in  vain  to  serve  God ;  and  what  profit  is  it  that 
we  have  kept  his  ordinance  ;  and  that  we  have  walked 
mournfully  before  the  Lord  of  hosts  ?"  May  we  know  the 
certainty  of  those  things  which  are  most  surely  believed 
among  all  thy  people.  May  we  have  the  witness  in  our- 
selves, and  be  able,  through  the  Spirit  which  dwelleth  in  us, 
to  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  Oh  give  us  the  ear- 
nest of  the  Spirit,in  our  hearts,  that  we  may  be  always  con- 
fident, and  declare  unto  others  what  we  have  seen  with  our 
eyes,  what  we  have  looked  upon,  and  our  hands  have  handled, 
of  the  word  of  life.  Merciful  Lord,  be  pleased  to  grant,  that 
like  thy  people  of  old,  who  feared  thy  name,  we  may  speak 
often  one  to  another,  and  be  able  to  tell  what  thou  hast  done 
for  our  souls.  When  we  cleave  unto  the  dust,  and  when 
spiritual  drowsiness  is  stealing  over  us.  and  we  arc  walking, 
as  it  were,  upon  enchanted  ground,  may  we  shake  ourselves 
trom  the  dust,  and  be  preserved  from  slumber  and  sleep,  by 
recalling  thy  wonders  of  old,  and  talking  of  all  thy  marvel- 
lous acts,  thy  long  suflering,  and  thy  great  goodness  to  our 
guilty  souls.  And  if  any  of  us  have  hitherto  neglected  the 
one  thing  needful,  oh,  make  us  willing,  now  in  the  day  of  thy 
power  and  of  thy  grace,  to  seek  after  God,  that  our  souls 
may  live.  May  wc  be  thoroughly  convinced  of  our  guilt 
and  danger.  May  wc  break  loose  from  all  the  cords  of  vanity 


hopeful's  experience.     863 

which  bind  us  to  the  world.  May  we  cease  at  once  from  the 
vain  attempt  of  establishing  our  own  righteousness.  May 
the  only  Saviour  of  perishing  sinners  be  spiritually  revealed 
to  our  hearts  ;  and  may  we  receive  him  by  faith,  to  be  all  our 
salvation  and  all  our  desire.  To  him,  with  thyself,  in  the 
unity  of  the  Holy  Ghost^  be  honour  and  glory,  for  ever  and 
ever.     Ameu. 


LECTURE  XXV. 

IGNORANCE   QUESTIONED   AND   ADMONISHED. 


And  what  am  I  ?     My  soul  awake, 
And  an  impartial  survey  take  : 
Does  no  dark  sign,  no  ground  of  fear, 
In  practice  or  in  heart  appear  ? 

What  image  does  my  spirit  bear  ? 

Is  Jesus  formed  and  living  there  ? 

Say,  do  his  lineaments  divine 

In  thought,  and  word,  and  action  shine  ? 

Searcher  of  hearts,  O  search  me  still ; 
The  secrets  of  my  soul  reveal ; 
My  fears  remove  ;  let  me  appear 
To  God  and  my  own  conscience  clear. 


Romans  x.  2,  4. 

FOR  I  BEAR  THEM  RECORD  THAT  THET  HAVE  A  ZEAL  OF  GOD,  BUT  NOT  AO- 
CORDIN'O  TO  KNOWLEDGE.  FOR  THET  BEING  IGNORANT  OF  GOD'S  RIGHT- 
EOUSNESS, AND  GOING  ABOUT  TO  ESTABLISH  THEIR  OVTN  RIGHTEOUSNESS, 
HAVE  NOT  SUBMITTED  THEMSELA^ES  TO  THE  RIGHTEOUSNESS  OF  GOD.  FOR 
CHRIST  IS  THE  END  OF  THE  LAW  FOR  RIGHTEOUSNESS  TO  EVERY  ONE  THAT 
BELIEVETH. 

The  instructive  conversation  of  our  pilgrims 
with  Ignorance,  and  their  reflections  upon  such  a 
character,  will  form  the  subject  of  the  present  Lec- 
ture. The  persons  here  described  by  the  apostle 
would  have  argued  exactly  in  the  same  way  as 
Ignorance.  It  mignt  have  been  supposed  that  Self- 
Righteousness,  and  not  Ignorance,  was  the  person 
here  speaking  ;  but  the   characters  belong  to  the 

S64 


IGNORANCE   QUESTIONED.  865 

game  family.  Ignorance  is  the  parent  of  Self- 
Righteousness.  It  was  so  with  the  blinded  Jews, 
spoken  of  by  St.  Paul.  Ignorance  of  God  and  of 
themselves — ignorance  of  the  divinely-appointed 
method  for  a  sinner's  acceptance  with  God,  and  of 
the  means  by  Avhich  we  are  actually  admitted  into 
his  favour,  induced  them  to  reject  the  gospel  plan 
of  salvation.  We  shall  find  that  it  led  virtually  to 
the  same  unhappy  result  in  the  character  now  to 
be  considered. 

I.  We  have  to  consider  the  manner  in  which  our 
pilgrims  questioned  Ignorance  ;  and 

II.  Their  reflections  upon  such  a  character. 

I.  We  begin  with  the  questions  which  they  put 
to  him.  When  Hopeful  had  finished  the  affecting 
relation  of  his  experience  to  Christian,  they  looked 
back  and  saw  Ignorance  behind.  As  they  intended 
to  renew  the  conversation  with  him  which  they  had 
formerly  commenced,  they  determined  now  to  wait 
for  him.  He  did  not,  as  they  expected,  manifest 
much  desire  for  intercourse  with  them,  and  plainly 
said  that  he  preferred  solitude  to  company  that  he 
did  not  hke.  But  when  Christian  had  given  him  a 
friendly  greeting,  and  asked,  "  How  stands  it  be- 
tween God  and  your  soul  now  ?"  he  replied,  "  I 
hope  Avell,  for  I  am  always  full  of  good  notions  that 
come  into  my  mind  to  comfort  me."  By  these  good 
notions  he  meant  that  he  thought  of  God  and  of 
heaven  ;  that  he  thought  of  them  with  desire  ;  and 
he  even  went  so  far  as  to  say,  that  he  left  all  for 
the  sake  of  them.  Christian  told  him  that  evil 
spirits  and  the  lost  think  about  God  and  heaven ; 
that  the  sluggard  desires,  and  has  nothing;    but 

31* 


366  LECTURE   XXV. 

greatly  doubted  that  he  gave  up  all  for  God.     Igno- 
rance, however,  was  so  foolish  as  to  trust  in  his  own 
heart,  and  declared  that  this  assured  him  he  had 
left  all  for  God.     He  thought  he  had  no  reason  to 
mistrust  his  heart,  because  it  was  a  good  one,  and 
he  knew  that   his  heart  was   good  because  it  com- 
forted him   with  hopes  of   heaven.     In   vain    did 
Christian  suggest,  that  this  might  be  owing  to  no- 
thing but  its  extreme  deceitfulness,  and  that  those 
who  have  the  least  ground  for  confidence  are  often 
the  most   confident.     Ignorance  still  asserted  that 
his  confidence  was  well  grounded,  because  his  heart 
and  life  agreed  ;  but  he  had  no  better  evidence  to 
furnish,  that  this  was  the  case,  than  the  testimony  of 
his  own  deceitful  heart.     Christian  very  properly 
pointed  out  how  vain  is  the  testimony  of  our  heart, 
unless  it  coincide  with  the  word  of  God.     Igno- 
rance,   however,   would   not   be   driven   from  the 
opinion  which  he  had  of  his  own  goodness,  and 
asked  if  that  Avere  not  a  good  heart  which  has  good 
thoughts,  and  that  a  good  hfe  which  is  ruled  by  the 
Divine  law?     This  Christian  freely  admitted  ;  but 
remarked  pointedly,  what  a  different  thing  it  is  to 
have  these, from  only  thinking  we  have  them.  Really 
to  have  good  thoughts,  he  showed,  was  to  think  of 
ourselves,  of  God,  and  of  Christ,  as  God  has  de- 
clared in  his  holy  word.     For  instance,  he  said,  we 
have  good  thoughts  of  ourselves  when  we  think 
and  feel  that  we  are  depraved  and  sinful  both  by 
nature  and  practice.     Such  thoughts  as  these  are 
good,  because  they  accord  with  the  word   of  God, 
which  assures  us  that  the  heart  is  deceitful  above 
all   things,   and   desperately   wicked.      Ignorance 
could  not  receive  this  humiliating  statement,  and 
replied,  "  I  will  never  believe  that  my  heart  is  thus 


IGNORANCE    QUESTIONED.  367 

bad."  Then  said  Christian,  it  is  plain  he  had  never 
had  one  good  or  right  thought  concerning  himself 
in  his  life.  He  thought  differently,  both  of  his 
heart  and  ways,  from  what  God  declared  in  his  holy 
word ;  how,  then,  could  his  thoughts  be  right  ?  He 
then  proceeded,  in  like  manner,  to  show  Avhat  it 
was  to  have  right  thoughts  of  God  :  "  It  is  to  think 
of  him  as  he  has  revealed  himself  in  his  holy  word, 
as  knowing  us  far  better  than  we  know  ourselves, 
seeing  sin  where  we  cannot  see  it,  and  being  so  holy 
that  he  abhors,  as  filthy  rags,  the  best  performances 
that  we  can  produce  for  our  acceptance  in  his 
sight." 

Upon  this,  even  Ignorance  declared  that  he  was 
not  depending  for  his  acceptance  upon  his  own  per- 
formances, and  that  he  knew  he  must  believe  in 
Christ  for  justification.  But  when  Christian  re- 
minded him  that  this  was  impossible,  as  he  had  no 
feeling  sense  of  his  need  of  Christ,  Ignorance  de- 
clared what  he  meant  b}^  beheving  in  Christ.  "  I 
believe,"  he  said,  "  that  Christ  died  for  sinners,  and 
that  I  shall  be  justified  before  God  from  the  curse, 
through  his  gracious  acceptance  of  my  obedience  to 
his  laws.  In  other  words,  Christ  makes  my  reli- 
gious duties  acceptable  to  his  Father  by  virtue  of 
his  merits,  and  so  shall  I  be  justified."  This  was 
speaking  out,  and  fully  developed  the  ignorance 
and  self-righteousness  that  were  in  this  man. 
Christian  well  declared  that  such  a  faith  was  fanci- 
ful and  false,  confused  and  deceitful.  It  was  fanciful, 
as  having  no  warrant  from  the  word  of  God.  It 
was  false,  inasmuch  as  it  was  virtually  resting  in 
his  own  obedience,  instead  of  the  obedience  of 
Christ,  for  justification.  It  was  confused,  as  it  made 
Christ  not  the  justifier  of  his  person,  but  of  his 


368  LECTURE   XXV. 

actions  ;  whereas  the  believer's  person  is  justified 
by  Christ,  and  then  his  actions  accepted  for  his 
sake.  And  finally,  this  faith  was  deceitful,  for  it 
buoyed  him  up  with  a  false  hope.  He  would  find 
himself,  m  the  day  of  doom,  destitute  of  the  true 
weddinfT  garment.  He  was  confident  of  his  salva- 
tion, although  he  had  never  come  as  an  undone 
sinner  to  the  only  Saviour  of  the  lost,  to  answer  for 
him.  Christian  went  on  to  show  that  God  the 
Father  has  accepted  at  the  hands  of  the  Divine 
Surety  all  the  satisfaction  and  all  the  obedience 
which  his  law  demands ;  so  that  what  the  sinner 
has  to  do  is  humbly  to  accept  what  Christ  has 
done  and  suffered  in  his  stead,  and  to  rely  upon  this 
as  all  his  salvation  and  all  his  desire.  The  obe- 
dience paid  by  Christ  is  the  robe  of  righteousness 
for  the  complete  justification  of  his  people.  Faith 
accepts  this  righteousness,  puts  it  on,  and  so  arrayed, 
the  soul  is  not  only  acquitted  from  condemnation, 
but  accepted  and  presented  as  spotless  before  God. 
To  this  statement,  as  might  be  expected.  Ignorance 
strongly  objected.  He  urged  the  old  objection,  that 
such  a  doctrine  must  necessarily  lead  to  careless 
and  profane  living.  "  For  what  does  it  matter,"  he 
said,  "how  we  live,  if  we  may  be  justified  by 
Christ's  personal  righteousness  from  all  things, 
when  we  believe  it  ?"  Christian  gave  the  true  an- 
swer to  this  objection.  He  showed  that  it  resulted 
entirely  from  the  gross  darkness  in  which  he  was 
enveloped.  He  was  grossly  ignorant  alike  of  the 
nature  of  this  justifying  righteousness,  and  the 
means  by  which  it  is  secured  to  us,  as  well  as  the 
sanctifying  effects  which  invariably  result  from  its 
apprehension.  When  did  a  sinner  ever  depend  by 
faith  upon  Christ  for  justification,  without  his  heart 


IGNORANCE   QUESTIONED.  369 

being  won  to  God  in  Christ,  to  love  his  name  and 
his  word,  his  ways  and  his  people  ?  Then  Hopeful 
suggested  the  inquiry,  whether  or  not  Ignorance 
had  ever  had  Christ  revealed  to  him ;  and  said  that 
we  can  have  no  true  knowledge  of  the  Saviour, 
unless  God  the  Father  reveal  him  to  us  by  his  Holy 
Spirit.  But  Ignorance  derided  such  a  notion,  as 
only  springing  from  a  disordered  brain,  and  still 
persisted  in  declaring  that  his  faith  was  right. 
Christian,  however,  entirely  vindicated  what  his 
brother  had  stated,  and  then  earnestly  called  upon 
Ignorance  to  awake  to  a  sense  of  his  wretchedness, 
and  to  flee  by  faith  to  Christ,  that  being  interested 
in  his  righteousness,  which  is  the  righteousness  of 
God,  he  might  be  delivered  from  condemnation. 
Upon  this  Ignorance  declared  that  they  both  got  on 
far  too  fast  for  him,  and  that,  as  for  him,  he  must 
stay  a  while  behind.     So  they  left  him. 

Dear  brethren,  how  painful  it  is  to  think,  what 
numbers  are  puffed  up  with  the  confidence  of  igno- 
rance !  Self-righteousness,  springing  from  igno- 
rance, is  one  of  the  most  common  and  the  most 
determined  enemies  to  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God.  No  real  Christian  has  gone  at  all  among  such 
as  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians,  and  con- 
versed with  them  as  to  the  ground  of  their  hopes, 
witbout  finding  how  awfully  common  are  such 
characters  as  the  one  here  described.  When  you 
have  taken  away  such  as  are  openly  vicious,  or 
evidently  careless,  the  great  bulk  of  the  remainder 
will  generally  consist  of  persons  who  think  and 
speak  exactly  like  Ignorance.  They  hope  their 
soul  is  prospering,  because  they  have  good  thoughts. 
They  have  desires  and  wishes  after  heaven,  and 
many  things  they  are  willing  to  do  and  renounce 


370  LECTURE   XXV. 

for  the  sake  of  it.  Bi :  whatever  they  give  up,  one 
thing  they  have  no  intention  whatever  of  giving  up, 
I  mean,  their  seJf-righteousness.  They  can  speak 
much  of  impressions  and  comforts  ;  and  influenced 
by  these,  they  pass  the  most  favourable  judgment 
upon  their  state  and  their  doings.  But  they  do  not 
see  through  the  proper  medium.  They  do  not 
weigh  themselves  in  an  even  balance.  The  veil 
that  is  upon  their  eyes  prevents  their  seeing  sin 
where  God  sees  it.  The  pride  and  self-love  that 
fill  their  hearts,  induce  them  to  thank  God  that 
they  are  not  as  other  men,  when  they  ought  to  be 
crying  for  mercy  as  miserable  sinners.  They  will 
by  no  means  own  that  their  hearts  are  deceitful  and 
wicked,  or  that  their  ways  have  been  crooked  and 
perverse.  Whoever  such  charges  may  refer  to, 
they  cannot  believe  that  they  refer  to  them.  They 
have  never  had  such  a  view  of  their  guilt  and 
misery,  as  to  despair  for  ever  of  being  saved  by 
their  own  works  and  deservings.  They  think  verily 
that  the  great  and  glorious  God  is  altogether  such 
an  one  as  themselves.  Their  eyes  have  never  seen 
the  King,  and  consequently  they  have  never  said, 
"I  am  undone!"  They  have  never  had  such  a 
sight  of  the  greatness  and  justice,  the  hohness  and 
the  omniscience  of  God,  as  to  make  them  loathe 
themselves  in  their  own  eyes,  and  perceive  "  that 
they  are  altogether  as  an  unclean  thing,  and  all 
their  righteousnesses  as  filthy  rags."  And  yet  while 
their  eyes  are  thus  darkened,  they  imagine  that 
they  are  depending  on  Christ  to  save  them.  Though 
they  never  had  any  feeling  sense  of  their  spiritual 
necessities,  they  still  think  that  they  believe  Avell 
enough  for  all  that.  If  they  think  at  all  about 
Christ,  it  ij  merely  to  make  up  their  deficiencies. 


IGNORANCE   QUESTIONED.  371 

vVithout  any  vital  union  existing  between  their 
souls  and  Christ,  they  presume  to  think  that  for  his 
sake  their  works  will  save  them.  Thus,  while  they 
profess  to  believe  in  Christ,  they  are  really  seeking- 
to  be  their  own  saviours.  They  are  going  about  to 
establish  their  own  righteousness,  and  have  not 
submitted  to  the  righteousness  of  God.  To  transfer 
all  their  guilt  to  Chris>,  and  have  his  righteousness 
imputed  to  them,  and  laid  to  their  account  by  faith, 
and  to  be  accepted  in  this  without  any  reference 
whatever  to  their  own  works  and  ways,  this  is  a 
doctrine  that  they  can  neither  relish  nor  understand. 
And  ia  the  blindness  of  their  hearts,  they  imagine 
that  this  is  a  doctrine  which  makes  men  indifferent 
to  good  works.  They  know  not  the  invariable  con- 
nection that  exists  between  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth.  The  notion  of  Christ 
being  revealed  to  the  soul,  by  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  they  conceive  to  be  visionary  and  de- 
lusive, although  it  be  the  special  office  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  glorify  Christ,  and  to  reveal  him  in  his 
saving  office  and  character  to  the  souls  of  men  ; 
and  although  we  are  expressly  assured  that  no  man 
can  say,  that  "  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  We  should  be  very  faithful,  very  plain, 
and  very  solemn,  when  called  to  address  such 
characters  as  Ignorance.  We  should  labour  to 
convince  them  that  they  are  building  upon  a  wrong 
foundation  ;  that  their  faith  is  fantastical  and  false, 
delasive  and  ruinous ;  and  that  as  sure  as  God  is 
true  to  his  word,  unless  they  obtain  a  better  hope 
than  this  before  they  die,  they  will  be  miserably 
disappointed  and  entirely  speechless,  when  they 
appear  in  judgment  before  God,  the  Judge  of  all. 
Then  they  will  find  that  no  righteousness  but  what 


372  LECTURE  XXV. 

is  absolutely  perfect,  and  in  every  particular  what 
His  law  demands,  can  stand  the  scrutiny  of  His 
piercing  eye.  Is  there  no  ignorant  person,  turned 
aside  by  a  deceived  heart,  here  present  ?  Oh  that 
you  would  be  awakened  to  a  sense  of  your  true 
character  and  your  real  danger  !  What  must  be- 
come of  you,  if  you  remain  in  that  bHnd  and 
benighted  state  much  longer?  "He  that  walketh 
in  darkness  knoweth  not  whither  he  goeth."  But 
God's  word  tells  you  whither.  The  end  of  such  a 
course  is  everlasting  ruin.  Consider  and  av\'ake  ! 
and  fly  for  refuge,  before  it  is  too  late,  to  the  only 
Saviour,  whose  precious  death  and  everlasting 
righteousness  are  now  freely  held  out  for  your  ac- 
ceptance. His  death  has  made  reconciliation  for 
all  your  past  offences.     He  has  paid 

"The  rigid  satisfaction— death  for  death  !" 

His  obedience  is  perfect,  everlasting,  divine  ;  and 
it  is  provided  and  set  forth  as  the  only  robe  in 
which  you  can  be  accepted  and  be  faultless  before 
God.  Only  believe,  and  all  things  are  yours.  He 
who  knew  no  sin  has  become  sin  for  us,  that  we 
might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him, 

II.  The  reflection  of  the  two  pilgrims  upon  such 
a  character  as  Ignorance  w^as  to  form  the  second 
branch  of  our  present  consideration.  As  they  pro- 
ceeded onward,  while  Ignorance  was  left  behind. 
Christian  said  to  his  companion,  "  I  am  much  con- 
cerned for  this  poor  man.  It  will  certainly  go  ill  with 
him  at  the  last."  Hopeful  regretted,  that  in  h's  own 
town  of  Vanity,  whole  families,  nay  streets  of  them, 
were  to  be  found,  even  among  such  as  professed  to 
be  pilgrims.     Hence  he  inferred,  the  vast  numbers 


IGNORANCE   QUESTIONED.  373 

of  them  that  must  be  congregated  together  within 
the  crowded  city  of  Conceit,  the  native  place  of 
Ignorance.  Then  they  entered  upon  an  interesting 
discussion,  respecting  the  inward  experience  of  such 
men.  Have  they,  at  any  time,  true  conviction  of  sin, 
and  consequently  any  fear  that  their  state  is  danger- 
ous ?  Christian  thought  decidedly,  that  at  times 
they  were  a  httle  shaken  out  of  their  presumptuous 
confidence  ;  but  not  understanding  the  benefit  of 
such  convictions,  they  desperately  stifle  them,  and 
continue  to  flatter  themselves  in  their  own  eyes. 
Hopeful  knew  well  the  vast  importance  of  fear,  and 
its  influence  in  causing  men,  at  first,  to  set  out  on 
pilgrimage.  Then  he  begged  his  companion  to 
describe  right  or  godly  fear.  Christian  well  des- 
cribed it  by  its  rise,  its  use,  and  its  effects.  It  rises 
from  the  Holy  Spirit,  showing  both  the  evil  and 
danger  of  sin.  Its  principal  use  is  to  drive  the 
convinced  sinner  for  pardon  and  acceptance  to 
Christ.  While  its  invariable  effect  is,  to  produce 
in  the  conscience,  great  reverence  for  God,  submis- 
sion to  his  holy  word  and  ways ;  separation  from 
every  known  sin,  and  constant  jealousy  of  every 
thing  which  may  be  displeasing  in  his  sight. 

The  pilgrims  had  still  above  two  miles  further  to 
journey,  before  they  came  to  the  end  of  the  En- 
chanted Ground.  For  their  mutual  edification  they 
continued  the  discussion  upon  which  they  had 
entered.  At  the  request  of  Hopeful,  Christian  re- 
lated how  he  conceived  the  ignorant  and  self-righte- 
ous- stifle  the  fears  and  convictions,  which,  if  duly 
cherished  and  followed  out,  would  certainly  have 
led  to  a  different  result.  Many  fight  against  them, 
because  instead  of  considering  that  they  are  pro- 
duced by  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  they  regard  them  as 


374  LECTURE   XXV. 

coming  from  the  enemy  of  their  souls.  They  think 
such  fear  overthrows  their  faith,  and,  therefore,  they 
wiil  not  be  moved  by  it.  They  vainly  think  that 
they  ouo-ht  not  to  fear,  and  thus  desperately  deter- 
mine that  they  will  not  fear.  Above  all,  they  per- 
ceive clearly  that  the  admittance  of  these  fears 
would  entirely  demolish  that  self-righteousness 
which  they  so  dearly  love,  and,  therefore,  they 
oppose  them  with  all  their  might.  All  this  Hope- 
ful understood  well  by  painful  experience.  "  As 
face  answereth  to  face  in  a  glass,  so  does  the  heart 
of  man  to  man."  He  freely  admitted,  "  Before  I 
knew  myself  it  was  so  with  me."  Then  did  they 
leave  the  subject  of  poor  Ignorance,  and  entered 
upon  another  profitable  topic  of  conversation,  which 
engaged  their  attention  all  the  way  to  the  end  of 
the  plain. 

Let  us  review,  for  our  profit,  these  weighty  and 
important  reflections  upon  such  a  character  as 
Ignorance.  Have  we  been  truly  enlightened  and 
taught  by  the  word  and  Spirit  of  God  ?  Then 
surely  our  tenderest  sympathy  must  be  excited 
towards  every  individual  that  we  meet,  who  is  evi- 
dently walking  in  darkness,  ignorant,  and  out  of  the 
way.  The  true  Christian  will  ever  be  ready  deeply 
to  pity  all  such.  But  true  Christian  pity  must  flow 
from  a  pardoned  sinner,  who  has  tasted  that  the 
Lord  is  gracious,  and  who  is  yearning  for  the  same 
blessings  to  be  diffused  on  every  side.  It  must  flow 
from  one  who  has  done,  or  who  is  longing  to  do, 
whatever  he  can,  for  the  benefit  of  those  over  whom 
he  laments.  How  zealously  had  Christian  laboured 
for  the  benefit  of  Ignorance  !  In  the  same  way  St. 
Paul  acted  to  similar  characters.  While  he  had 
continual  sorrow  and  heaviness  on  their  account, 


IGNORANCE   QUESTIONED.  375 

his  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God,  and  his  un- 
wearied efforts,  were  all  united  that  they  might  be 
saved.  When  prayer  and  effort  unite  with  pity, 
then  is  it  really  Christian  and  genuine.  The  most 
hopeful  spirit  cannot  fail  to  discover  objects  on  every 
side  to  call  forth  this  tender  feehng.  What  numbers 
in  every  place  and  in  every  direction  are  blinded 
by  the  god  of  this  world,  and  have  never  b^en 
turned  from  darkness  to  light !  To  say  nothing  of 
those  whose  life  and  conduct  plainly  declare  that 
they  are  in  the  broad  road  to  destruction,  how 
extremely  painful  it  is  to  think  that  multitudes  who 
profess  and  call  themselves  Christians,  who  think 
well  of  themselves,  and  who  make  a  fair  show  to 
others,  are  tied  and  bound  with  the  chain  of  dark- 
ness. Remember,  O  self-confident  professor,  to 
boast  of  your  knowledge,  while  you  neither  feel  thn 
power  of  the  gospel  in  your  heart,  nor  exemphfy  it 
in  your  life,  is  only  a  fearful  aggravation  of  your 
guilt.  Did  not  the  Lord  say  to  the  Pharisees,  "  h 
ye  were  blind  ye  should  not  have  sin,  but  now  yt- 
say.  We  see,  therefore  your  sin  remaineth."  Be^ 
ware  of  a  misplaced  confidence.  A  surer  mark  o» 
natural  ignorance  can  scarcely  be  given,  than  a  sel^ 
satisfied  and  boastful  spirit.  "If  any  man  thinl 
that  he  knoweth  any  thing,  he  knoweth  nothing.'' 
We  cannot  be  too  suspicious  of  our  own  deceitftt 
hearts.  Be  not  wise  in  your  own  conceits.  Con 
ceit  is  the  native  place  of  ignorance,  and  until  you 
come  forth  from  this  place — I  mean,  until  you  leave 
your  own  wisdom,  and  are  content  to  receive  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  as  a  httle  child — you  cannot 
take  one  step  on  the  road  to  Zion. 

Again,  let  every  ignorant  and  self-confident  per- 
son receive  the  word  of  instruction.     There  are 


376  LECTURE   XXV. 

seascna,  (your  own  conscience  tells  you  it  is  so,) 
when  you  are  shaken  a  little  out  of  the  fatal  security 
in  which  you  generally  indulge.  You  cannot  al- 
ways maintain  unbroken  the  deep  sleep  in  which 
you  are  cast.  By  night,  on  your  bed,  when  you 
could  not  sleep,  your  thoughts  have  troubled  you. 
When  you  have  had  some  affecting  instance  brought 
before  you  of  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  life  ; 
or  else  when  a  ihrili  of  sudden  pain  has  darted 
through  your  frame,  and  you  had  a  solemn  thought 
of  your  own  appioaching  dissolution,  a  secret  fear 
and  perhaps  a  painful  dread  has  crept  over  you,  in 
spite  of  your  boasted  confidence,  and  has  taken 
possession  of  your  heart.  Then  you  felt  that  you 
were  not  prepared  to  die.  As  the  solemnities  of 
death  and  judgment  and  eternity  passed  before 
you,  fear  came  upon  you  and  trembling,  which 
completely  dispelled  for  a  while  your  presumptuous 
confidence  and  made  all  your  bones  to  shake.  Oh, 
why  did  you  strive  against  the  salutary  conviction  ? 
Why  did  you  not  cherish  it  ?  Why  did  you  resist, 
as  a  dreadful  enemy,  what  came  to  do  for  you  the 
office  of  the  kindest  friend  ?  It  came  to  you,  indeed, 
in  a  startling  form,  and  addressed  you  in  a  rough 
voice  ;  it  took  hold  of  you  with  a  violent  hand,  but 
kindness  was  in  its  heart ;  and  it  was  a  visit  of 
mercy  that  was  paid  to  you.  It  might  have  proved 
to  you  that  fear  of  the  Lord  which  is  the  beginning 
of  wisdom,  and  have  effectually  induced  you  to  set 
out  in  the  way  everlasting.  How  do  you  know, 
if  you  have  properly  cultivated  that  secret  convic- 
tion, that  it  would  not  have  stripped  you  of  your 
false  confidence,  moved  you  to  fly  to  the  only  sure 
refuge,  and  made  you  afraid  of  sin  all  the  days  of 
your  life  ?     Oh,  remember  that  genuine  conviction 


IGNORANCE    QUESTIONED.  3 

of  sin  is  produced  by  the  Spirit  of  Truth.  Do  not 
resist  this,  as  if  it  came  from  the  enemy  of  your 
soul.  Do  not  think  that  the  destruction  of  false 
confidence  is  the  overthrow  of  faith.  The  sooner 
false  confidence  is  overthrown  the  better.  Sav 
not,  I  have  no  need  to  fear  and  therefore  I  will  nor 
fear.  Our  danger  is  often  the  greatest  where  our 
fear  is  the  least.  Self-righteousness,  it  is  true,  can- 
not stand,  if  you  grant  admittance  to  godly  fear. 
It  will  soon  undermine  it,  and  lay  it  prostrate  in  the 
dust.  But  let  that  go  too.  Nothing  that  is  valua- 
ble or  enduring  can  be  built  upon  it.  It  is  a  founda- 
tion of  sand,  and  the  higher  you  build  upon  it  the 
greater  will  be  your  fall.  However  humbling  to 
your  pride,  if  you  have  never  come  as  a  helpless 
sinner  for  an  interest  in  Christ,  oh,  admit  the  secret 
whisper  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  your  conscience,  that 
you  are  still  an  unpardoned  and  unconverted  sin- 
ner !  Endeavour  to  deepen,  rather  than  to  stifle, 
this  salutary  conviction.  You  cannot  be  too  deeply 
conscious  of  your  guilt  and  danger.  But  then  re- 
member, your  utmost  necessities  can  all  be  supplied, 
and  abundantly  relieved,  from  the  all-sufficiency 
and  the  fulness  of  Christ.  Despair  of  yourself,  and 
put  your  trust  in  Him.  For  sinners  of  every  des- 
cription, who  no  longer  go  about  to  establish  their 
own  righteousness,  but  apply  by  faith  to  Christ  for 
all  they  need,  a  full,  a  free,  a  finished,  a  present,  an 
everlasting  righteousness  is  provided.  Only  re- 
ceive it,  and  it  is  actually  your  own,  both  now  and 
for  ever. 


32* 


378  LECTURE   XXV. 


THE  HYMN. 

Rock  of  ages  !  cleft  for  me, 

Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee  ; 

Let  the  water  and  the  blood, 

From  thy  wounded  side  which  flowed, 

Be  of  sin  the  double  cure, 

Save  from  wrath  and  make  me  pure. 

Not  the  labours  of  my  hands 
Can  fulfil  thy  law's  demands  ; 
Could  my  tears  for  ever  flow. 
Could  my  zeal  no  languor  know. 
That  for  sin  could  not  atone, 
Christ  must  save,  and  Christ  alone. 

Nothing  in  my  hands  I  bring; 
Simply  to  the  cross  I  cling; 
Naked,  come  to  thee  for  dress; 
Helpless,  look  to  thee  for  grace  ; 
Vile,  I  to  the  fountain  fly  : 
Wash  me,  Saviour,  or  1  die. 

While  1  draw  this  fleeting  breath, 
When  mine  eyelids  close  in  death, 
When  I  rise  to  worlds  unknown, 
And  appear  before  thy  throne — 
Rock  of  ages  !  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee. 


THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  and  most  merciful  Father,  who  of  thy  tender 
love  hast  given  thine  incarnate  Son,  to  be  smitten  for  us,  that 
a  cleansing  fountain  might  flow  from  his  wounded  side,  and 
that  perishing  sinners  might  find  in  him  a  sure  refuge,  and  a 
safe  hiding-place  ;  mercifully  look  upon  us,  who  desire  to  flee 
to  Christ,  as  our  rock  and  our  fortress  and  our  only  de- 
liverer. We  are  naturally  blind  and  dark,  foolish  and  deceived. 
But,  Lord,  thou  canst  have  compassion  on  the  ignorant,  and 
such  as  are  out  of  the  way.  Send  us,  we  beseech  thee,  the 
light  of  thy  Holy  Spirit,  and  give  us  the  true  knowledge  and 
understanding  of  thy  blessed  word.     Oh  do  thou  effectually 


IGNORANCE   QUESTIONED.  379 

deliver  us  from  self-righteousness.  Give  us  such  an  affecting 
sight  of  our  true  character,  and  natural  depravity,  that  we 
may  no  longer  go  about  to  establish  our  own  righteousness. 
Make  us  to  know  that  our  hearts  are  deceitful  above  all 
things,  and  desperately  wicked.  Show  us  that  we  are  alto- 
gether as  an  unclean  thing,  and  that  all  our  righteousnesses 
are  as  filthy  rags.  We  know  that  we  shall  never  heartily  apply 
to  the  great  Physician  of  souls,  until  we  perceive  our  spi- 
ritual sickness.  Lord,  make  this  needful  discovery  to  us, 
however  we  may  be  pained  or  humbled  by  it.  Show  us  that 
we  are  unholy,  unclean,  and  undone  ;  without  strength,  with- 
out righteousness,  without  any  good  thing.  And,  oh  grant, 
that  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  may  be  revealed  to  our  hearts, 
by  the  special  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  made  unto  us 
of  God,  wisdom  and  righteousness  and  sanctification  and 
redemption.  May  we  seek  above  all  things  to  know  Christ, 
and  to  be  found  in  him :  not  having  our  own  righteousness, 
which  is  by  the  law,  but  that  which  is  through  the  faith  of 
Christ,  the  righteousness  which  is  of  God  by  faith.  And 
may  it  please  thee,  gracious  Lord,  to  enlighten  and  convert 
all  those  who  are  walking  in  darkness,  and  not  knowing 
whither  they  are  going.  Oh,  do  thou  bring  into  the  way  of 
truth  all  such  as  have  erred  and  are  deceived.  Show  them 
their  guilt  and  their  danger,  and  direct  them  to  the  only  sure 
refuge,  before  their  feet  stumble  upon  the  dark  mountains, 
and  they  perish  whhout  remedy.  Let  not  the  god  of  this 
world  blind  their  eyes,  but  let  their  eyes  be  opened,  and  let 
them  be  turned  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power 
of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins, 
and  an  inheritance  among  them  that  are  sanctified  by  faith  that 
is  in  thee.  And  grant,  O  Lord,  that  none  of  us  may  quench 
or  resist  the  motions  of  thy  good  Spirit  within  us.  May  we 
all  be  effectually  convinced  of  sin  ;  may  we  plead  guilty  ;  and 
not  be  satisfied  to  have  our  hurt  slightly  healed.  But  may 
we  come  as  genuine  penitents,  by  true  faith,  to  Him  who 
alone  can  thoroughly  heal  and  restore  our  sin-sick  souls  ;  and 
bring  us,  we  beseech  thee,  to  that  happy  land,  where  the  in- 
habitants shall  no  more  say,  "I  am  sick:"  where  the  Lord 
shall  be  our  everlasting  light,  and  the  days  of  our  mourning 
shall  be  ended ;  through  Jesus  Christ  our  only  Mediator  and 
Redeemer.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XXYI. 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  TEMPORARY. 


Born  by  a  new  celestial  birth, 
Why  should  we  grovel  here  on  earth  ? 
Why  grasp  at  transitory  toys, 
So  near  to  heaven's  eternal  joys! 

Shall  aught  beguile  us  on  the  road, 
When  we  are  walking  back  to  God ; 
For  strangers  into  life  we  come, 
And  dying  is  but  going  home. 

Welcome,  sweet  hour  of  full  discharge, 
That  sets  our  longing  souls  at  large. 
Unbinds  our  chains,  breaks  up  our  cell, 
And  gives  us  with  our  God  to  dwell. 


Luke  viii.  13. 

THEY  ON  THE  ROCK  ARE  THEY,  'WHICH,  'WHEN  THEY  HEAR,  RECErVE  THE 
WORD  WITH  joy;  and  THESE  HAVE  NO  ROOT,  WHICH  FOR  A  WHILE  BE- 
LIEVE,  AND  IN   TIME   OP   TEMPTATION   FALL   AWAY. 

The  character  of  Temporary  will  form  the  sub- 
ject of  the  present  Lecture.  He  is  evidently  to  be 
classed  with  the  stony-ground  hearers.  It  is  plain, 
both  from  the  parable  of  the  sower  and  other  parts 
of  Scripture,  that  there  is  a  kind  of  belief  wholly 
different  from  saving  faith,  which  appears  to  take 
men  a  great  way  in  religion.  It  is  said,  indeed,  of 
those  represented  by  the  seed  sown  upon  the  rock, 
that  "  for  a  while  they  beheve  ;"  but  this  is  clearly 

380 


THE  CHARACTER  OE  TEMPORARY.   381 

a  superiicial  and  unsound  faith,  because  they  are 
described  as  having  no  root.  So,  also,  Avas  the  case 
of  Simon  Magus.  Of  him  it  is  written,  "  Simon  him- 
self believed  also,  and  was  baptized ;"  but  in  the 
sight  of  God  he  was  never  a  partaker  of  true  and 
saving  faith,  whatever  he  might  appear  to  the  eyes 
of  men.  Thus,  when  his  hypocrisy  was  detected, 
the  Apostle  assured  him,  that  he  had  neither  part 
nor  lot  in  the  matter,  and  that  his  heart  was  not 
right  in  the  sight  of  God.  Saving  faith  is  especially 
distinguished  by  its  endurance.  The  true  believer 
holds  fast  the  begfinninsf  of  his  confidence  steadfast 
unto  the  end.  He  is  faithful  unto  death  ;  he  endures 
to  the  end;  and  thus  he  believes  to  the  saving  of  his 
soul.  But  the  dissembler  with  God  is  only  a  tem- 
porary professor,  and  having  no  root,  he  only  for 
a  while  beheves,  and  in  time  of  temptation  falls 
away. 

We  have  to  consider — 

I.  The  description  of  the  temporary  believer. 
II.  The  reason  of  his  falling  away. 
III.  Lastly,  the  manner  in  which  he  actually 
falls  away. 

Let  us  pray  earnestly  that  none  of  us  may  be 
numbered  among  such  characters  as  the  one  for  our 
present  consideration.  Instead  of  beheving  only 
for  a  while,  and  then  making  shipwreck  of  faith 
and  a  good  conscience,  let  us  be  satisfied  with  no- 
thing short  of  a  vital  union  between  our  souls  and 
Christ.  Then,  being  steadfast  in  faith,  joyful 
through  hope  and  rooted  in  charity,  we  shall  so 
pass  the  waves  of  this  troublesome  world,  that  at 
the  last  we  shall  come  to  the  heavenly  kingdom. 


382  LECTURE   XXVI. 

I.  The  character  of  Temporary  is  brought  before 
us  in  the  conversation  of  the  pilgrims  as  they  jour- 
neyed over  the  last  part  of  the  Enchanted  Ground. 
Christian  asked  his  companion  if  he  knew  any 
thing  of  one  Temporary,  who  about  ten  years  ago 
was  a  great  professor  of  religion.  Hopeful  remem- 
bered him  well.  He  had  dwelt  in  the  town  of 
Graceless,  which  is  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
Honesty ;  and  his  next  door  neighbour  was  Turn- 
back. Christian  at  one  time  had  dwelt  under  the 
same  roof  with  him  ;  and  had  no  doubt,  from  what 
he  then  witnessed,  that  the  man  was  much  awaken- 
ed at  that  time.  He  believed  he  had  then  both  a 
sight  of  his  sins,  and  some  sense  of  the  wages  due 
to  them.  Hopeful  had  thought  the  same  respecting 
Temporary.  He,  too,  had  several  opportunities  of 
seeing  him.  When  under  his  convictions.  Tem- 
porary had  several  times  found  his  way  to  Hope- 
ful's house,  although  it  was  by  no  means  near.  He 
had  come  to  him  with  many  tears,  as  one  in  great 
distress  about  his  soul.  What  wonder  that  Hope- 
ful not  only  pitied  him,  but  was  quite  inclined  to 
judge  favourably  of  his  case  ?  The  result,  however, 
of  this  beginning  had  painfull)^  reminded  him,  that 
not  every  one  that  says,  Lord,  Lord,  is  certainly 
journeying  to  the  celestial  city.  In  addition  to 
this,  Christian  declared  that  Temporary  told  him 
once,  that  his  resolution  was  formed ;  and  that  he 
had  actually  resolved  to  set  out  on  pilgrimage. 
And  what  prevented  the  fulfilment  of  his  resolu- 
tion ?  Why  did  he  not  leave  for  ever  his  native 
place,  the  town  of  Graceless,  and  cast  in  his  lot 
among  such  as  were  journeying  to  the  city  of  the 
living  God?  This  was  the  reason:  he  suddenly 
became  acquainted  with  one  Save-self.     And  then 


THE   CHARACTER   OF  TEMPORARY.       383 

farewell  Christian  !  Farewell  Hopeful !  He  had  no 
rehsh  for  their  conversation  after  that.  So  infatu- 
ating was  the  influence  of  his  new  acquaintance, 
that  all  at  once  he  became  entirely  a  stranger  to 
Christian,  and  he  never  paid  Hopeful  another 
visit. 

Let  us  look,  my  brethren,  for  our  warning  and 
instruction,  a  little  more  closely  at  the  features  of 
Temporary.  How  little  dependence  is  to  be  placed 
on  conviction  and  knowledge,  stronor  feelins^s  and 
good  resolutions  !  All  this  we  may  have,  and  still 
be  destitute  of  the  root  of  the  matter.  What  num- 
bers have  their  breasts  wrung  with  remorse,  feel 
the  weight  and  see  the  desert  of  their  sins,  who 
never  effectually  close  with  Christ !  How  many 
understand  clearly  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  who 
continue  strangers  all  their  hfetime  to  its  sanctify- 
ing power  !  How  many  have  their  warm  affections 
excited,  receiving  the  word  with  joy,  who  have  no 
root  in  themselves  !  And  how  many  resolve  and 
re-resolve  to  give  up  their  sins,  to  serve  the  Lord, 
and  to  seek  their  happiness  in  his  favour,  who 
never  live  to  fulfil  their  intentions,  and  who  show 
that  their  goodness  is  only  as  the  morning  cloud 
and  the  early  dew  !  One  very  common  reason  why 
so  many  are  satisfied  with  their  state,  before  they 
have  experienced  the  great  change,  is  this :  they 
think  to  do  for  themselves  what  none  but  Christ  can 
do  for  them.  They  become  acquainted  with  one 
Save-self.  They  listen  to  the  false  and  flattering 
representations  of  physicians  of  no  value.  They 
ground  their  confidence  upon  impressions,  or  duties, 
or  penances,  or  sacraments,  and  not  upon  Christ. 
They  have  never  thoroughly  ceased  from  their  own 
wisdom.      They  have  never  absolutely  despaired 


384  LECTURE   XXVI. 

of  their  own  resources.  They  have  never  heartily 
renounced  their  own  righteousness  and  their  own 
strength.  In  short,  emptied  entirely  and  stripped 
completely  of  self,  they  have  never  gone  by  simple 
faith,  as  perishing  sinners,  to  the  only  Saviour  of 
the  guilty  and  the  lost,  with  the  humble  petition, 
"Lord,  save,  or  I  perish."  Resting  short  of  this, 
they  have  no  root  in  themselves.  Their  hurt  is 
only  sHghtly  healed.  They  speak  to  themselves 
peace,  when  there  is  no  peace.  And  now  they  have 
no  relish  for  the  searching  conversation  of  the  real 
Christian,  or  the  humiliating  truths  declared  by  such 
as  would  direct  them  to  the  only  true  ground  of  hope. 
If  you  would  not  be  deceived  by  a  false  hope,  and 
disappointed  of  salvation  at  the  last,  oh,  beware  of 
concluding  your  state  to  be  good  before  you  have 
fled  as  a  self-despairer  to  Christ,  and  obtained  an 
humble  hope  of  your  personal  interest  in  the  free 
pardon  and  plenteous  redemption  which  he  bestows 
upon  all  who  truly  turn  to  him.  No  flesh  must 
glory  in  his  presence.  Christ  must  be  all  in  all. 
You  must  look  to  him  for  wisdom  to  instruct  you, 
for  righteousness  to  justify  you,  for  sanctification  to 
renew  you,  and  for  redemption  to  save  you. 

II.  We  proceed  now  to  the.  next  topic  djscussed 
by  our  pilgrims.  They  conceived  it  would  be  very 
profitable  to  inquire  into  the  reason  of  the  sudden 
backsliding  of  such  characters  as  the  one  they  had 
been  considering.  At  the  request  of  Christian, 
Hopeful  stated  his  views  on  this  subject.  There 
were  four  reasons,  he  conceived,  which  induced 
them  to  act  in  such  a  way.  An  unconverted  heart, 
slavish  fear,  sinful  shame,  and  love  of  ease. 

(1.)  An  unconverted  heart  is  the  first  reason  of 


THE    CHARACTER    OF   TEMPORARY.        385 

turning-  away.  Thoug-h  the  conscience  of  such 
persons  is  awakened,  their  heart  is  unchanged.  As 
long  as  their  alarm  lasts,  they  are  anxious  about 
religion  ;  but  when  that  subsides,  and  the  cause  of 
it  is  removed,  they  relapse  again  into  their  formei 
ways.  Like  Pharaoh,  they  seem  to  relent,  and 
submit  and  promise,  while  smarting  under  the 
plague  ;  but,  hke  him.,  as  soon  as  they  see  there  is 
respite,  they  harden  their  heart  and  repent  of  theii 
repentance.  The  dog  that  is  sick  and  the  sow  that 
is  washed,  remain  still,  the  one  a  ravenous  and  the 
other  a  filthy  animal.  Neither  the  sickness  of  the 
former  nor  the  washing  of  the  latter  has  changed 
its  nature.  The  one  has  received  only  an  incidental 
check  to  his  greedy  propensity ;  the  other  has  un- 
dergone an  outward  process,  which  has  altered  its 
appearance  without  changing  its  habits.  In  both, 
nature  will  be  nature  still.  The  sickness  subsides ; 
the  washing  is  forgotten.  The  dog  returns  to  his 
greedy  ways,  and  the  sow  that  was  washed  to  her 
wallowing  in  the  mire.  Thus  it  is  with  convinced 
but  unconverted  sinners.  They  only  abstain  from 
sin  while  their  conscience  is  sick  with  the  appre- 
hension of  approaching  WTath.  The  reformation 
which  they  have  made  is  only  outward  ;  it  reaches 
not  to  the  heart.  Thus  their  strong  feelings  soon 
subside.  Their  desires  of  heaven  and  happiness 
vanish  with  vanished  fears,  and  then  they  return 
again  to  folly. 

(2.)  Slavish  fear  is  another  reason  that  induces 
temporary  believers  to  apostatize.  The)"  cannot 
break  through  the  snare  that  comes  from  the  fear 
of  man.  Having  never  set  their  faces  as  a  flint  to 
the  Celestial  City,  nor  resolutely  determined  to  give 
up  all  for  invisible  objects,  when  their  terror  has 


386  LECTURE    XXVI.  i 

subsided,  and  they  count  the  cost  of  a  pilgrim's  life, 

"  by  and  by  they  are  offended."     They  begin  to  ] 

think  that  it  is  good  to  be  wise,  and  not  to  run  the  | 

hazard  of  losing  all.     Why  should  they  displease  ■ 
their  best  friends  ?     Why  should  they  bring  them-, 

selves  into  unavoidable  and  unnecessary  trouble?  . 

Thus,  conferring  with  flesh  and  blood,  they  fall  in  | 

again  with  the  world.  . 

(3.)  Intimately  connected  with  this  slavish  fear  j 

is   carnal  shame.     When  a  man  no  longer  feels  ; 

vividly  the  power  of  the  world  to  come,  and  his  '. 

heart  has  never  been  changed,  he  cannot  brook  the  ; 

reproach  and  contempt  that  is  inseparable  from  a  ' 

pilgrim's  life.     When  this  comes  in  his  way,  he  ; 

turns  aside  to  avoid  it,  and  ere  long  he  is  seen  again  ] 

in  the  broad  road.  '■ 

(4.)  Love  of  ease  was  the  last  reason  of  apostasy  ; 

mentioned  by  Hopeful.     It  is  a  grievous  thing  to  ; 

have  before   us  the  sight  and  sense  of  our  sins,  i 

Many,  therefore,  are  more  anxious  for  ease  than  for  , 

holiness.     They  try,  no  matter  by  what  means,  to  ' 

hush  their  conscience,  and  are  only  anxious  to  say  ] 

to  themselves,  Peace  and  safety.     If  they  contem-  \ 

plated  their  guilt  aright,  it  might  make  them  flee  to  ' 
Him  who  would  give  them  peace,  and  make  them 

safe  indeed.     This  is  the  only  way  effectually  to  ■ 

ease  a  burdened  conscience.     But  this  is  a  way  ; 

that  they  do  not  like.     They  seek  ease  by  drown-  | 

ing  reflection,  and  shutting  out  thought,  mixing  in  ' 

company,  or  launching  out  into  amusement.     By  , 

these  means,  they  soon  get  rid  of  their  serious  im-  i 

pressions,  and  walk  no  more  with  the  pilgrims  of  | 

Zion.  [ 

Christian  fully  acceded  to  what  his  companion  | 

had  advanced.     He  knew  well  that  an  unconyerted  ; 


THE   CHARACTER   OF   TEMPORARY.        387 

heart  is  the  principal  reason  of  declension  and 
apostasy.  While  this  remains,  any  of  the  things 
which  Hopeful  had  mentioned  were  amply  suffi- 
cient to  turn  the  professor  aside.  A  man  whose 
heart  is  wrung  with  remorse,  while  it  is  yet  un- 
changed, is  only  hke  a  criminal  trembling  and  pro- 
mising before  the  judge  that  passes  upon  him  the 
sentence  of  death.  Were  he  set  at  hberty,  the 
shghtest  temptation  would  be  sufficient  to  draw  him 
again  to  his  former  crimes.  Thus  the  terrified  and 
excited  sinner,  who  promised  and  vowed  every 
thing  while  he  apprehended  punishment  near,  is 
soon  after,  by  the  influence  of  fear,  or  shame,  or 
love  of  ease,  enticed  back  into  his  ungodly  ways. 

Let  these  important  truths,  my  brethren,  have 
their  due  weight  upon  every  one  of  us.  Remem- 
ber, if  your  heart  be  not  right  with  God,  there  will 
be  no  steadfastness  in  your  goings.  Let  it  be  youf 
first  care  to  have  the  heart  of  stone  exchanged  for 
the  heart  of  flesh ;  and  then  keep  your  heart  with 
all  dihgence,  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life.  If 
you  profess  rehgion  with  an  unconverted  heart,  you 
may  for  a  while  deceive  both  yourself  and  others. 
Because  of  the  strong  emotion  which  you  have  oc- 
casionally felt,  or  the  decent  attention  which  you 
have  paid  to  the  forms  and  ordinances  of  the  gos- 
pel, fou  may  take  for  granted  that  all  is  well,  and, 
aftei  1  certain  manner,  you  may  for  a  while  believe. 
But  if  there  be  no  true  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin 
within  you — if  there  be  no  vital  union  between  your 
soul  and  Christ — if  the  law  of  the  Lord  be  not 
written,  by  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God,  upon  the 
fleshy  tables  of  your  heart,  inchning  you  to  love 
holiness  and  to  dehght  in  the  law  of  God  after  the 
inner  man — if  this  be  wanting,  all  is  false  and  hoi- 


388  LECTURE   XXVI. 

low  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  it  may  be,  ere  long, 
that  the  unsoundness  of  your  profession  will  be 
manifest  to  all.  The  heart-searching  God  cannot 
be  deceived  with  strong  language,  fair  speech,  or 
outward  appearance.  He  knows  the  very  secrets 
of  the  heart.  Many  who  pass  for  righteous  or 
truly  converted  people  before  men,  are  seen  and 
known  as  being  far  otherwise  by  his  unerring  glance. 
And  that  all  the  churches  may  know  that  he 
searches  the  heart  and  tries  the  reins,  he  is  some- 
times pleased  to  make  manifest  the  hidden  wicked- 
ness of  a  fair  pretender  to  rehgion.  In  his  provi- 
dential dealings,  he  sets  a  stumbling-block  before 
that  man ;  that  is,  he  places  him  in  such  circum- 
stances, and  exposes  him  to  such  temptations,  as 
tend  to  draw  forth  the  insincerity  of  his  heart,  and 
to  manifest  his  true  character.  He  is  exposed  to 
the  scorching  heat  of  tribulation  or  persecution  be- 
cause of  the  word,  and  he  cannot  stand  the  fiery 
trial.  Like  a  green  herb  without  any  root,  exposed 
to  the  noonday's  sun,  he  dries  up  and  withers 
away.  He  cannot  brook  the  fear  of  man  ;  he  can- 
not bear  the  reproach  of  the  cross  :  he  cannot  sub- 
mit to  the  self-denial  to  which  he  is  called.  He 
turns  aside  from  the  holy  commandment  delivered 
to  him  ;  and  separating  himself  from  the  true  peo- 
ple of  God,  he  declares  plainly  that  he  was  never 
really  and  truly  united  to  them.  "  For  if  he  had 
been  of  them,  he  would  no  doubt  have  continued 
with  them."  How  deeply  important  to  every  one 
of  us  is  the  fervent  petition,  "  Oh,  let  my  heart  be 
sound  in  thy  statutes,  that  I  be  not  ashamed  !" 
Sooner  or  later  we  are  sure  to  be  ashamed,  if  our 
heart  be  not  sound  in  the  Divine  statutes.  Nothing 
but  the  implantation  of  the  law  of  God  within  us, 


THE  CHARACTER  OF  TEMPORARY.   389 

by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  can  preserve  us  in 
peace,  and  deliver  us  from  all  the  stumbhng-blocks 
by  which  others  are  offended.  "  Great  peace  have 
they  who  love  thy  law,  and  nothing  shall  offend 
them."  None  but  the  upright  will  pass  unhurt 
through  all  the  snares  and  temptations  that  beset 
the  path  of  the  traveller  to  Zion.  "  The  law  of  his 
God  is  in  his  heart,  and  none  of  his  steps  shall 
slide." 

III.  We  have  lastly  to  advert  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  temporary  believer  draws  back  unto  per- 
dition. As  Hopeful  had  so  fully  described  the 
reason  of  this,  it  was  the  turn  of  Christian  to  de- 
scribe the  way  in  which  it  is  done.  He  did  this  in 
short  and  simple  terms,  and  well  described  the 
downward  path  by  which  a  man  passes  from  false 
profession  to  open  apostasy.  He  begins  by  draw- 
ing off  his  attention  from  serious  thoughts  of  death, 
judgment  and  eternity.  He  neglects  prayer,  pri- 
vate prayer  and  private  duties.  Then  he  begins 
to  avoid  the  company  of  lively  and  zealous  Chris- 
tians. Pubhc  duty  then  becomes  a  burden.  After 
this  he  proceeds  to  find  fault  with  professors,  as  if 
there  was  no  sincerity  or  uprightness  among  them. 
Then  he  goes  into  the  way  of  the  wicked  and  pro- 
fane, begins  to  trifle  and  play  with  little  sins  openly; 
presumptuous  offences  soon  follow,  which  clearly 
show  his  real  character ;  and  unless  a  miracle  of 
mercy  prevent,  he  perishes  everlastingly  in  his  own 
deceivings. 

Oh,  fatal  and  desperate  process !  Growing  blacker 
and  blacker,  until  at  last  it  terminates  in  the  regions 
of  blackness  and  darkness  and  despair,  for  ever 
and  ever  !     Beware  of  the  first  entrance  upon  such 

S3* 


390  LECTURE   XXVI. 

a  path !  If  you  are  a  true  believer,  your  course 
will  be  the  complete  opposite  of  the  one  just  de- 
scribed. The  way  of  the  wicked  is  as  darkness; 
they  know  not  at  what  they  stumble.  But  "  the 
path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light,  which 
shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 
The  hypocrite,  notwithstanding  his  profession,  does 
not  like  to  retain  God  in  his  knowledge,  and  often 
strives  to  banish  solemn  thoughts  from  his  mind. 
The  upright  soul  does  what  he  can  to  cherish  and 
deepen  his  impression  of  eternal  things.  He  is 
often  amazed  and  distressed  at  his  insensibility  to 
the  awful  reahty  of  what  he  believes  and  hopes  for; 
and  he  cries  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart — 

"  O  Lord,  my  inmost  soul  convert, 
And  deeply  on  my  trifling  heart 
Eternal  things  impress." 

The  hypocrite  will  not  always  call  upon  God. 
With  true  prayer  he  was  never  acquainted.  True 
it  is,  that  after  some  sort,  he  poured  out  a  prayer 
when  the  chastening  of  God  was  upon  him  ;  but 
when  the  cause  of  his  distress  is  removed,  it  seems 
from  his  conduct  ks  if  he  had  no  further  need  for 
prayer.  The  believer,  though  often  hindered  and 
humbled  beyond  measure  on  account  of  the  defile- 
ment and  distraction  of  his  praj^ers,  still  perseveres 
in  pra3'er.  He  dare  not  give  up  secret  prayer. 
Though  he  often  draws  it  feebly,  and,  as  it  appears 
to  himself,  in  a  very  languid  manner,  he  feels  that 
prayer  is  his  vital  breath,  and  that  to  give  up  pray- 
ing would  be  to  give  up  all.  While  the  hypocrite 
cannot  bear  the  company  and  the  conversation  of 
zealous  and  lively  Christians,  the  upright  believer, 
notwithstanding  his  languor  and  lamented  dulness, 
rejoices  greatly  in  their  society ;  he  finds  it  both 


THE   CHAKACTER   OF   TEMPORARY.        391 

pleasant  and  profitable  to  be  with  them,  and  he  can 
say  with  sincerity,  "My  dehght  is  in  the  saints 
that  are  on  earth."  While  the  hypocrite  takes 
pleasure  in  speaking  of  the  falls  and  infirmities  of 
the  godly,  this  is  a  subject  of  real  pain  to  the  up- 
right. He  considers  himself;  his  own  liability  to 
fall,  and  his  grievous  infirmities ;  and  he  makes 
every  possible  allowance  for  the  falls  of  others, 
exercising  that  charity  which  covereth  a  multitude 
of  sins.  While  the  hypocrite  goes  to  associate  with 
the  profane  and  the  worldh^  the  behever  goes  not 
into  the  way  of  the  wicked,  but  avoids  it,  turns  from 
it  and  passes  away.  And  instead  of  trifling  and  play- 
ing with  little  sins  until  his  heart  is  hardened,  and 
he  is  led  on  to  the  most  daring  offences,  and  he 
becomes  a  vessel  of  wrath  fitted  for  destruction,  the 
true  believer  hates  every  approach  to  sin.  He  re- 
colleqts  that  whosoever  despiseth  small  things,  shall 
fall  by  httle  and  little  ;  and  that  the  only  way  to  be 
certainly  kept  from  presumptuous  sins  getting  the 
dominion  over  him,  is  to  watch  and  pray  against  his 
secret  faults.  Thus  watching  and  praying  and 
striving  against  sin,  he  grows  in  grace  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  his  Saviour.  He  goes  from  strength 
unto  strength.  He  holds  on  his  way,  and  waxes 
stronger  and  stronger ;  and  as  he  approaches  his 
journey's  end,  he  becomes  more  and  more  meet  for 
the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  fight.  May  our 
course  be  the  course  of  the  upright,  the  complete 
opposite  of  that  of  the  hypocrite's.  And  that  this 
may  be  so,  first  let  us  seek,  before  all  things,  the 
renewal  of  our  hearts,  that  our  feet  may  be  directed 
in  the  way  everlasting;  and  then  let  us  cry  at 
everv  step  :  "  Hold  thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  be 
safe  !" 


392  LECTUKE  XXVI. 

THE  HYMN. 

When  any  turn  from  Zion's  way, 

(Alas,  what  numbers  do!) 
Methinks  I  hear  my  Saviour  say, 

"  Wilt  thou  forsake  me  too  ?" 

0  Lord,  with  such  a  heart  as  mine. 
Unless  thou  hold  me  fast, 

1  feel  I  shall,  I  must  decline, 
And  prove  like  them  at  last. 

Yet  thou  alone,  O  Lord,  I  know. 

Canst  save  a  wretch  like  me  ; 
To  whom,  my  Saviour,  shall  I  go. 

If  I  should  turn  from  thee  ? 

Lord,  I  believe,  and  rest  assured 

Thou  art  the  Christ  of  God, 
Who  hast  eternal  life  secured 

By  promise  and  by  blood. 

The  help  of  men  and  angels  joined 

Could  never  reach  my  case  ; 
And  refuge  nowhere  can  I  find. 

But  in  thy  boundless  grace. 

No  voice  but  thine  can  give  me  rest. 

And  bid  my  fears  depart ; 
No  love  but  thine  can  make  me  blessed. 

And  satisfy  my  heart. 

What  anguish  has  that  question  stirred, 

"If  I  will  also  go?" 
Yet,  Lord,  relying  on  thy  word, 

I  humbly  answer,  No. 

THE  PRAYER. 

O  merciful  Lord  God,  who  dost  never  fail  to  help  and  go- 
vern them  whom  thou  dost  bring  up  in  thy  steadfast  fear  and 
love,  look  down  from  thy  holy  habitation  upon  us,  and  have 
compassion  upon  us  and  save  us.  Gracious  Lord,  we  are 
taught  in  thy  holy  word,  that  there  are  those  who  hear  the 
word,  and  with  joy  receive  it,  but  have  no  root  in  themselves, 
and  in  time  of  temptation  fall  away.  Save  us,  we  most  hum- 
bly beseech  thee,  from  being  numbered  with  such.  Oh,  rnay 
a  vital  union  indeed  be  formed  between  our  souls  and  Christ, 
the  true  and  the  living  Vine.  May  we  be  grafted  into  his 
mystical  body  by  a  true  and  living  faith,  wrought  in  our  hearts 


THE    CHARACTER   OF   TEMPORARY.        393 

by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  May  we  abide  in  him,  and 
partake  of  his  Spirit,  and  Jive  by  him,  as  living  and  fruitful 
branches,  which  are  never  to  be  cast  off.  May  we  prove  that 
we  are  partakers  of  Christ,  by  holding  fast  the  beginning  of 
our  confidence  steadfast  unto  the  end;  and  show  that  we  are 
indeed  alive  unto  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  by  bringing 
forth  all  the  fruits  of  righteousness,  which  are  by  him,  to  the 
glory  and  praise  of  thee,  our  God.  Oh  grant  that  as  we  have 
received  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  so  we  may  walk  in  him, 
rooted  and  built  up  and  established  in  the  faith,  even  as  we  have 
been  taught.  INlay  we  none  of  us  be  satisfied  with  convic- 
tion and  terror  and  joy,  if  we  have  not  become  new  crea- 
tures in  Christ  Jesus.  May  we  despair  of  ourselves,  have  no 
confidence  in  the  flesh,  and  put  not  our  trust  in  any  thing 
that  we  do.  Deliver  us  from  applying  anywhere,  or  going 
to  any  one,  for  help  and  salvation,  save  only  to  Christ.  Lord, 
to  whom  shall  we  go !  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life  ; 
and  we  believe  and  are  sure  that  thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God.  Save  us,  we  beseech  thee,  from  all  the 
causes  which  induce  others  to  be  offended  and  turn  away, 
and  make  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good  conscience.  Save 
us  from  an  unconverted  heart ;  and  grant  that  we  may  be 
truly  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  mind.  Save  us  from  the 
fear  of  man,  which  bringeih  a  snare ;  and  put  thy  fear  in  our 
hearts,  that  we  may  not  depart  from  thee.  Save  us  from  the 
power  of  carnal  shame,  and  make  us  true  followers  of  Him 
who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  endured  the  cross 
and  despised  the  shame.  And  oh,  save  us  from  the  love  of 
present  ease ;  enabling  us  to  endure  as  seeing  Him  that  is 
invisible,  and  making  us  heartily  willing  to  deny  ourselves, 
and  to  suffer  affliction  now,  that  we  may  be  comforted  and 
exalted  hereafter.  Mercifully  grant,  0  Lord  our  God,  that 
we  may  dread  every  approach  to  the  path  by  which  hypo- 
crites and  dissemblers  depart  from  thee.  May  we  never  seek 
to  banish  from  our  minds  a  realizing  sense  of  death,  judg- 
ment and  eternity.  May  we  never  cease  calling  upon  thy 
name,  in  earnest  prayer,  either  secretly  or  in  the  congrega- 
tion. May  we  never  be  offended  at  any  of  thy  faithful  fol- 
lowers, or  decline  from  any  of  those  means  of  grace  which 
thou  hast  graciously  appointed  for  the  benefit  of  thy  people. 
Cleanse  thou  us  from  secret  faults  ;  keep  back  thy  servants 
also  from  presumptuous  sins  ;  let  them  not  have  dominion 
over  us,  that  we  may  be  upright  and  innocent  from  the  great 
transgression.  Hear  us,  gracious  Father,  and  support  and 
uphold  us  in  all  our  dangers  and  necessities,  until  we  are 
brought  to  thy  heavenly  kingdom,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour.    Amen. 


LECTUKE   XXVII. 

THE   LAND    OF   BEULAH. 


Shout !  for  the  blessed  Jesus  reigns  ! 

Through  distant  lands  his  triumphs  spread; 
And  sinners,  freed  from  endless  pains, 

Own  him  their  Saviour  and  their  head. 

His  sons  and  daughters  from  afar, 

Daily  at  Zion's  gate  arrive  ; 
Those  who  were  dead  in  sin  before, 

By  sovereign  grace  are  made  alive. 

Oh  may  his  conquests  still  increase, 
And  every  foe  his  power  subdue  ; 

While  angels  celebrate  his  praise, 
And  saints  his  growing  glory  show. 


Isaiah  Ixii.  4. 

THOU  SHALT  NO  MORE  BE  TERMED  FORSAKEN;  NEITHER  SHALL  THY  LAND 
ANT  MORE  BE  TERMED  DESOLATE:  BUT  THOU  SHALT  BE  CALLED  HEPHZI- 
BAH,  AND  THY  LAND  BEULAH:  FOR  THE  LORD  DEUGHTETH  IN  THEE,  AND 
THY  LAND  SHALL  BE   MARRIED. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  glowing  descriptions 
contained  in  the  Bible,  of  the  glory  and  prosperity 
of  the  church  in  the  latter  days.  In  its  literal  and 
full  meaning  it  has  not  yet  been  accomplished. 
The  conversion  and  return  of  the  Jews  to  their  own 
land,  with  the  endless  train  of  blessings  that  are  to 
flow  through  them  to  the  Gentile  nations,  when 
they  shall  be  grafted  again  into  their  own  ohve-tree, 

394 


THE   LAND   OF  BEULAH.  395 

is  most  clearly  foretold,  and  stands  very  prominent 
in  the  sure  word  of  prophecy.  At  that  happy  con- 
summation, the  verse  which  we  have  read  will 
receive  its  full  accomphshment.  Then  the  Lord's 
ancient  people,  who  have  been  so  long  dispersed  to 
the  four  winds,  and  outcasts  upon  the  earth,  shall 
no  more  be  termed  forsaken ;  neither  shall  their 
land,  which  for  so  many  generations  has  been  trod- 
den down  of  the  Gentiles,  and  bringing  forth  thorns 
and  briers,  any  more  be  termed  desolate.  Again 
they  shall  be  admitted  into  the  covenant  and  the 
favour  of  their  God  ;  and  the  children  of  Abraham 
shall  be  bound  by  a  new  and  happy  tie  to  the  land 
which  was  given  to  Abraham.  The  Lord  will  de- 
hght  in  them,  and  their  land  shall  be  married.  We 
must  never  overlook  the  real  meaning  of  Scripture, 
in  any  application,  however  happy  or  ingenious, 
that  may  be  made  of  it.  But  while  we  do  not  in- 
terfere with  the  true  meaning,  it  is  quite  allowable 
to  apply  Scripture  in  a  figurative  sense.  In  such 
a  sense  as  this,  the  glory  which  is  promised  to  the 
church  in  the  latter  day  very  happily  illustrates 
the  established  peace  and  abundant  consolations 
which  eminent  Christians  often  enjoy  as  they  ap- 
proach the  end  of  their  pilgrimage.  Our  two  pil- 
grims are  now  rapidly  advancing  to  their  journey's 
end.     We  have  in  the  present  Lecture  to  consider, 

L  Their  arrival  in  the  land  of  Beulah. 
IL  Their  experience  there. 

May  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Comforter,  who  alone 
can  effectually  do  it,  give  each  of  us  to  know  from 
%weet  experience  what  these  things  mean. 

I.  We  consider  first  their  arrival  in  this  delight- 


396  LECTURE  XXVII. 

ful  land.  At  length  Christian  and  Hopeful  ap- 
proached the  extreme  border  of  the  enchanted 
ground.  By  edifying  conversation,  and  the  sweet 
counsel  which  they  took  together,  they  had  be- 
guiled the  weariness  of  the  way,  and  kept  off  the 
drowsiness  which  otherwise  would  have  over- 
powered them  in  that  dangerous  place.  Beauti- 
fully fair  and  very  pleasant  was  the  region  w^hich 
now  opened  out  upon  their  view.  They  entered 
the  land  of  Beulah.  The  air  was  most  dehcious 
and  refreshing ;  and  as  the  way  to  Zion  lay  directly 
across  this  happy  country,  all  their  past  fatigues 
were  forg'otten  in  the  enjoyment  which  they  here 
found.  They  were  gratified  continually  with  the 
singing  of  birds  ;  every  day  the  flowers  sprung  up  in 
their  path  ;  and  without  intermission,  the  voice  of 
the  turtle  was  heard  in  the  land.  "  There  was  no 
night  there."  They  seemed  to  be  journeying 
through  those  happy  regions  to  which  the  pro- 
mise belongs,  "Thy  sun  shall  no  more  go  down." 
They  were  now  far  distant  from  the  land  of  dark- 
ness and  shadows.  Into  these  sweet  fields  Giant 
Despair  can  never  come,  neither  can  an  arrow 
from  Doubting  Castle  be  shot  there.  The  Celestial 
City  to  which  they  were  going  was  full  in  their 
view.  They  had  entered  its  suburbs,  and  occa- 
sionally they  met  some  of  its  shining  inhabitants, 
who  walked  thus  far  to  the  borders  of  their  happy 
home.  The  marriage  contract  between  the  faith- 
ful bride  and  the  celestial  Bridegroom  is  delight- 
fully renewed  in  this  place.  It  is  the  land  of  Beulah, 
or  married,  because  pilgrims  here  know  and  are 
sure  that  they  are  one  with  Him  whom  their  soul 
loveth ;  and  here,  as  the  bridegroom  rejoiceth  over 
the  bride,  so  does  the  King  of  the  heavenly  Jeru- 


THE   LAND   OF   BEULAH.  39T 

salem  rejoice  over  his  people.  The  two  pilgrims 
found  themselves  now  in  a  good  land  and  a  large — 
a  land  that  abounded  with  corn  and  wine — a  land 
in  which  they  could  eat  bread  without  scarceness ; 
neither  did  they  lack  any  thing  in  it.  As  they 
journeyed  still  forward,  they  heard  the  proclamation 
made,  "  Say  ye  to  the  daughter  of  Zion,  Behold  thy 
salvation  cometh  !  behold  his  reward  is  with  him  !" 
The  inhabitants  of  that  land  were  all  righteous ;  it 
is  not  the  place  of  the  uncircumcised  or  the  unclean  ; 
it  is  only  trode  by  the  holy  people,  the  redeemed 
of  the  Lord. 

Here  let  us  pause  for  a  few  moments,  (it  is  sweet 
to  hnger  in  such  a  place,)  and  let  me  put  to  you 
the  question  of  our  Divine  Master  to  his  disciples^ 
after  he  had  been  speaking  in  parables :  "  Have 
ye  understood  all  these  things  ?"  Alas  !  how  few 
among  us  can  answer  with  them.  Yea,  Lord.  But 
have  we  not  made  a  mistake  ?  Surely  it  must  be 
the  saints'  everlasting  rest,  and  not  the  Pilgrim's 
progress,  about  w^hich  we  have  been  now  speaking. 
Is  there  so  much  of  heaven  to  be  enjoyed  on  earth  ? 
Can  a  poor  pilgrim,  yet  an  inhabitant  of  this  sinful 
world,  and  bearing  about  a  body  of  sin  and  death, 
really  attain  to  a  state  at  all  corresponding  to  this 
glowing  description  ?  Now  listen  to  the  testimony 
of  the  eminently  holy  and  excellent  Dr.  Payson, 
and  the  experience  which  he  had,  as  he  lingered 
for  a  few  weeks  on  this  side  of  Jordan.  "  When 
I  used  to  read,"  he  said,  "  Bunyan's  description  of 
the  land  of  Beulah,  where  the  sun  shines,  and  the 
birds  sing  day  and  night,  I  used  to  doubt  whether 
there  were  such  a  place.  But  now  my  own  ex- 
perience has  convinced  me  of  it,  and  it  infinitely 
surpasses  all  my  previous  conceptions.     I  think  the 

31 


898  LECTURE  XKTLI, 

happiness  I  enjoy  is  similar  to  that  enjoyed  by  glori- 
fied spirits  before  the  resurrection.  I  am  going  '  to 
Mount  Zion,  to  the  city  of  the  living  God,  to  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  to  an  innumerable  company 
of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of 
the  First  Born,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all.'  I  can 
fmd  no  words  to  express  my  happiness.  I  seem  to 
be  swimming  in  a  river  of  pleasure,  which  is  car- 
rying me  on  to  the  great  fountain.^'  When  one  of 
his  congregation  came  to  him,  as  he  lay  upon  his 
sick-bed,  he  said  to  his  dying  pastor,  "  Watchman, 
what  of  the  night  ?"  To  this  he  replied,  with  won- 
derful quickness  and  cheerfulness,  "I  should  think 
it  is  about  noonday."  There  was  no  night  there. 
Upon  another  occasion  he  said,  "  It  has  often  been 
remarked,  that  people  who  have  been  in  the  other 
world,  cannot  come  back  to  tell  us  what  they  have 
seen  ;  but  I  am  so  near  the  eternal  world,  that  I 
€an  see  almost  as  clearly  as  if  I  were  there  ;  and 
see  enough  to  satisfy  myself  at  least  of  the  truth  of 
the  doctrines  which  I  have  preached.  I  do  not 
know  that  I  should  feel  at  all  surer,  had  I  been 
really  there."  A  short  time  before  his  departure, 
he  dictated  the  following  letter  to  his  sister : — 

"  W"ere  I  to  adopt  the  figurative  language  of  Bun 
yan,  I  might  date  this  letter  from  the  land  of  Beulah, 
of  which  I  have  been  for  some  weeks  a  happy  in- 
habitant. The  Celestial  City  is  full  in  my  view. 
Its  glories  beam  upon  me  ;  its  breezes  fan  me ;  its 
odours  are  wafted  to  me;  its  sounds  strike  upon 
my  ear,  and  its  spirit  is  breathed  into  my  heart. 
Nothing  separates  me  from  it  but  the  river  of  death, 
which  now  appears  but  an  insignificant  rill,  that 
may  be  crossed  at  a  single  st!;p,  whenever  God 


THE   LAND    OF   BEULAH.  399 

shall  give  permission.  The  Sun  of  Righteousness 
has  gradually  been  drawing  nearer  and  nearer,  ap- 
pearing larger  and  brighter  as  he  approached  ;  and^ 
now  he  fills  the  whole  hemisphere,  pouring  forth  a 
flood  of  glory,  in  which  I  seem  to  float  hke  an  in- 
sect in  the  beams  of  the  sun,  exulting,  yet  almost 
trembhng,  while  I  gaze  on  this  excessive  bright- 
ness, and  wondering  with  unutterable  wonder, 
why  God  should  deign  thus  to  shine  upon  a  sinful 
worm. 

"  But  why  do  I  speak  thus  of  myself  and  my 
feelings  ;  why  not  speak  only  of  our  God  and  Re- 
deemer ?  It  is  because  I  know  not  what  to  say. 
When  I  would  speak  of  them,  my  words  are  all 
swallowed  up.  I  can  only  tell  you  what  effects 
their  presence  produces,  and  even  of  these  I  can 
tell  you  but  very  little.  Oh,  my  sister,  my  sister, 
could  you  but  know  what  awaits  the  Christian, 
could  you  only  know  so  much  as  I  know,  you  could 
not  refrain  from  rejoicing,  and  even  leaping  for  joy. 
Labours,  trials,  troubles,  would  be  nothing:  you 
would  rejoice  in  afflictions,  and  glory  in  tribulations  ; 
and,  like  Paul  and  Silas,  sing  God's  praises  in  the 
darkest  night  and  in  the  deepest  dungeon.  You 
have  known  a  little  of  my  trials  and  conflicts,  and 
know  that  they  have  been  neither  few  nor  small ; 
and  I  hope  this  glorious  termination  of  them  will 
serve  to  strengthen  your  faith  and  elevate  your 
hope.  And  now,  my  dear,  dear  sister,  farewell.  Hold 
on  your  Christian  course  but  a  few  days  longer, 
and  you  will  meet  in  heaven,  your  happy  and  af- 
fectionate brother,  Edward  Payson." 

Few  of  us,  dear  brethren,  could  give  such  an  ex- 
planation as  this  of  the  land  of  Beulah,  and  its  happy 


400  LECTURE   XXVII. 

inhabitants.  We  have  just  observed,  some  descrip- 
tions of  the  church  are  so  glowing,  that  we  can 
scarcely  tell  whether  they  apply  to  its  militant  or 
triumphant  state.  In  the  same  way,  the  experience 
of  real  and  eminent  Christians  is  sometimes  so  ex- 
ceedingly bright  and  happy,  that  it  seems  to  par- 
take of  glory  as  much  as  of  grace.  While  yet  on 
earth,  like  the  early  Christians,  and  indeed,  like 
him  whose  letter  I  have  quoted,  "they  rejoice  with 
joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  receiving  the  end 
of  their  faith,  even  the  salvation  of  their  souls."  In 
experience  like  this,  we  have  the  key  to  the  lan- 
guage now  under  our  consideration.  When  per- 
mitted to  enjoy  this  state  of  exalted  privilege,  the 
established  behever  knows  from  sweet  experience, 
that  the  Redeemer's  ways  are  ways  of  pleasant- 
ness, and  all  His  paths  are  peace.  In  the  joy  of 
his  heart,  the  liveliness  of  his  graces,  and  the  pre- 
cious communications  of  the  Heavenly  Dove,  he 
seems  to  be  passing  through  a  country  where  birds 
are  singing,  and  flowers  are  blooming,  and  the 
voice  of  the  turtle  is  continually  heard.  "  Joy  and 
gladness  are  found  therein,  thanksgiving  and  the 
voice  of  melody."  While  lingering  there,  the  re- 
conciled countenance  of  his  heavenly  Father  makes 
a  perpetual  sunshine.  The  dark  and  distressing 
clouds  that  have  so  often  hung  over  him  have  all 
dispersed.  He  is  safe  at  once  from  the  cruelty  of 
despair,  and  the  misery  of  doubt.  He  seems  on 
the  very  threshold  of  heaven.  He  has  come  to  an 
innumerable  company  of  angels.  He  can  now  say, 
without  any  hesitation,  "My  beloved  is  mine,  and 
[  am  His."  Here  it  is  said  to  the  happy  soul,  after 
all  its  afflictions,  great  and  sore  :  Thy  Maker  is  thy 
Husband  ;  Jehovah  is  thy  shepherd ;  the  Eternal 


THE    LAND    OF   BEULAH.  401 

Spirit  is  thy  Comforter.  "  Thou  shalt  no  more  be 
termed  Forsaken ;  neither  shall  thy  land  any  more 
be  termed  Desolate :  but  thou  shalt  be  called  Heph- 
zi-bah,  and  thy  land  Beulah :  for  the  Lord  dehght- 
eth  in  thee,  and  thy  land  shall  be  married."  Why, 
my  brethren,  do  not  all  real  Christians  more  earnest- 
ly aspire  after  experience  like  this?  How  inexpres- 
sibly delightful  it  must  be  thus  to  live  the  days  of 
heaven  upon  earth  !  Oh,  let  us  give  all  diligence 
to  make  our  calhng  and  election  sure.  Let  us  not 
be  satisfied  to  go  doubting  all  our  days,  but  let  us 
diligently  use  the  appointed  means  for  obtaining  the 
full  assurance  of  faith,  that  we  may  see  the  good- 
ness of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  living.     * 

IL  Let  us  now  proceed  to  consider  more  particu- 
larly the  deportment  of  the  pilgrims  in  this  delight- 
ful country.  As  they  walked  through  this  land, 
their  joy  was  more  abundant  than  it  had  ever  been 
before.  They  had  now  too  a  distinct  view  of  the 
Celestial  City.  They  could  discern  the  pearls  and 
precious  stones  of  which  it  was  built,  and  the  pure 
gold  with  which  the  streets  of  it  were  paved.  What 
with  the  natural  glory  of  the  city,  and  the  reflec- 
tion of  the  sunbeams  upon  it,  the  two  pilgrims, 
though  in  a  somewhat  different  degree,  each  fell 
sick  with  very  fervent  desire  and  ardent  longing. 
Now  it  was  the  language  of  their  heart,  to  all  whom 
they  met,  "  If  you  see  my  Beloved,  tell  him  I  am 
sick  of  love."  Still  advancing,  they  came  to  orchards 
and  gardens  and  vineyards,  with  gates  that  opened 
to  the  highway  by  which  they  went.  When  they 
inquired  of  the  gardener  respecting  these,  he  told 
them  that  they  belonged  to  the  King,  and  that  they 
were  planted  there  for  his  own  dehght,  and  rlso  for 

34* 


402  LECTURE   XXVII. 

the  solace  of  pilgrims.  Upon  this,  they  entered 
without  fear  into  the  vineyards  and  refreshed  them- 
selves with  the  various  productions  which  there 
abounded.  Then  the  gardener  showed  them  the 
King's  walks  and  arbours,  where  he  delights  to  be. 
Here,  in  perfect  peace  and  safety,  they  tarried  and 
slept.  They  were  observed  to  talk  much  in  their 
sleep,  and  this  was  the  reason  :  It  Avas  the  nature 
of  the  grapes  which  they  had  eaten  from  those 
vineyards,  "  to  go  down  sweetly,  and  to  cause  the 
lips  of  them  that  are  asleep  to  speak."  When  they 
awoke  in  the  morning,  they  proceeded  forward  in 
the  direction  of  the  city.  But  the  reflection  of  il 
was  so*extremely  glorious  that  they  could  not  bear 
to  gaze  upon  it  with  open  face.  They  had  to  view 
it  through  a  glass,  with  w^hich  they  were  furnished 
for  that  purpose.  Here  they  were  met  by  two 
men  in  shining  apparel.  To  these  our  pilgrims  re- 
counted all  the  deliverances  they  had  experienced, 
and  all  the  travail  that  had  befallen  them  by  the 
way.  Then  did  the  shining  strangers  say  to  Chris- 
tian and  his  comrade,  "  You  have  but  two  difficul- 
ties more  to  meet  with,  and  then  you  are  in  the 
city."  Our  pilgrims  then  earnestly  invited  the 
men  to  go  with  them,  and  they  consented  to  do  so. 
But  withal,  they  said,  "  You  must  obtain  it  by  your 
own  faith."  Then  did  they  all  go  on  together, 
until  they  came  in  sight  of  the  gate. 

Here,  again,  we  pause  for  the  present.  Let  us 
try  to  be  animated  and  quickened  in  our  Christian 
course  by  a  realizing  view  of  the  glorious  things 
which  are  here  described.  "  Very  excellent  things 
are  spoken  of  thee,  thou  city  of  God."  Had  the 
pilgrims  more  abundant  and  abiding  joy,  now  that 
they  were  approaching  nearer  to  their  journey's 


THE    LAND    OF   BEULAH.  403 

end  ?  Holy  joy  and  absorbing-  delight  in  God,  is 
one  evident  mark  of  advancing  sanctification  and 
meetness  for  heaven.  "  It  seems,"  said  the  happy 
saint  to  whom  we  have  just  referred,  "  as  if  the 
promise,  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their 
eyes,  was  ah-eady  fulfilled  to  me,  as  it  respects  tears 
of  sorrow.  I  have  no  tears  to  shed  now  but  those 
of  love  and  joy  and  thankfulness."  We  lay  no 
stress,  indeed,  upon  joy  as  evidence  of  acceptance, 
if  it  be  alone.  They  who  have  no  root  in  them- 
selves may  be  carried  away  with  even  a  rhapsody 
of  joy.  "  There  is  nothing  that  deserves  severer 
examination,  when  proposed  as  a  test  of  holy  sin- 
cerity, than  joy  ;  because  it  may  be  conceived  to 
spring  from  so  many  delusive  causes,  as  well  as 
from  a  genuine  work  of  grace."  But  if  joy  be 
attended  with  the  other  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  and 
especially  if  it  be  chastened  with  godly  fear  and 
self-loathing,  then  it  is  clearly  the  joy  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  the  foretaste  of  heaven.  Did  the  city 
now  in  all  its  glory  shine  before  our  pilgrims  ?  As 
the  upright  followers  of  the  Lamb  are  finishing 
their  course,  God  is  sometimes  pleased,  by  his  Holy 
Spirit,  to  make  a  special  revelation  to  their  hearts 
of  those  good  things  which  he  has  prepared  for 
them  that  love  him.  Then  they  are  favoured  with 
a  vivid  and  realizing  survey  of  what  eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  entered  into  the 
heart  of  man  to  conceive.  "I  seem,"  said  the 
same  witness,  "  to  swim  in  a  flood  of  glory,  which 
God  pours  down  upon  me.  I  do  not  merely  know 
that  I  shall  enjoy  all  this — I  enjoy  it  now."  Did 
the  happy  travellers  grow  sick  with  fervent  long- 
ing for  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  glory  that  awaited 
them  ?     A  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ, 


404  LECTURE   XXVII. 

to  see  him  and  be  with  him  and  like  him  for  ever 
and  ever,  can  only  exist  in  a  heart  that  is  truly 
sanctified;  and  the.  strength  of  these  longings  will 
generally  be  just  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in 
which  the  world  is  crucified,  and  the  earnest  of  the 
Spirit  is  possessed  within.  Having  testified  the 
dehght  and  joy  which  he  had  in  God  his  Saviour, 
the  dying  Hallyburton  said,  "  I  long  for  his  salva- 
tion !  I  bless  his  name  that  I  have  found  him,  and 
I  die  rejoicing  in  him !  Blessed  be  God  that  ever 
I  was  born  !  Oh  that  I  were  where  he  is  !  If  there 
be  such  a  glory  in  his  conduct  towards  me  now, 
what  will  it  be  to  see  the  Lamb  in  the  midst  of  the 
throne  !"  Did  Christian  and  Hopeful  regale  them- 
selves in  the  vineyards,  and  linger  with  delight  in 
the  walks  which  are  frequented  by  the  King  him- 
self? Oh  happy  picture  of  what  divine  ordinances 
would  ever  be  to  the  true  believer,  were  faith 
always  in  lively  exercise,  and  heavenly  affections 
vigorous  and  strong  !  Were  this  the  case,  w^hat 
would  the  courts  of  the  Lord's  house,  and  every 
other  appointed  means  of  grace,  be  to  us,  but  a 
continual  feast  of  most  exquisite  dainties,  and  de- 
lightful communion  with  the  King  of  heaven? — 
Here  did  our  pilgrims  talk  in  their  sleep?  How 
wonderfull}'"  quickening  is  the  effect  of  communion 
with  God  !  The  estabh'shed  believer,  by  waiting 
on  the  Lord,  is  spiritually  refreshed  and  quickened 
as  with  heavenly  wine.  He  cannot  now  sleep  like 
others.  If  he  at  all  slumber,  his  heart  waketh  ;  and 
even  in  his  most  inactive  moments,  his  lips  are 
ready  abundantly  to  declare  the  loving-kindness  of 
the  Lord.  Was  the  glory  of  the  city  so  exceeding 
bright,  that  those  who  approached  could  only  be- 
hold it  throujTfh  the  medium  of  a  glass  ?     However 


THE   LAXD    OF   BEULAH.  405 

near  the  true  believer  may  have  approached  to  the 
confines  of  heaven,  however  strong  may  be  his 
faith,  and  whatever  bright  discoveries  may  be  re- 
vealed to  him,  still  faith  is  not  sight.  In  his  present 
state  he  could  not  endure  the  full  blaze  of  the 
world  to  come.  He  must  be  content  to  view  these 
things  with  the  eye  of  faith,  and  through  the  glass 
of  Scripture,  until  he  is  delivered  from  the  burden 
of  the  flesh.  "  Now  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly, 
but  then  face  to  face." — Finally,  did  the  pilgrims 
m.eet  with  celestial  strangers  who  rejoiced  to  do 
them  service,  and  accompanied  them  to  the  very 
sig-ht  of  the  gate  ?  The  anorel  of  the  Lord  en- 
campeth  round  about  them  that  fear  him.  As  the 
true  Christian  is  finishing  his  testimony,  and  is  fast 
advancing  to  his  conflict  with  the  last  enemy  that 
has  to  be  destroyed,  who  can  tell  what  dangers  m.ay 
be  averted  from  him,  or  what  friendly  offices  may 
be  performed  for  him,  by  the  ministration  of  angels  ! 
"Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to 
minister  to  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?" 
Still,  however,  it  is  only  by  his  own  individual  faith 
that  the  behever  can  at  last  receive  the  prize  of  his 
high  calling.  Nothing  but  our  own  personal  in- 
terest by  faith  in  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  can 
give  us  the  victory  over  the  last  enemy,  and  bring 
us  safe  through  the  gates  of  the  city  to  the  joy  and 
the  glory  of  the  New  Jerusalem  !  Oh,  be  sure  that 
you  are  building  upon  the  true  foundation ;  that 
you  are  seeking  salvation  and  admittance  into 
heaven  by  the  right  way.  Men  cannot  save  you  ; 
angels  cannot  save  you ;  you  cannot  save  yourself. 
Christ,  none  but  Christ,  can  save  you  to  the  utter- 
most, and  give  you  an  abundant  entrance  into  the 
everlasting  kingdom.    He  has  the  keys  of  death  and 


406  LECTURE    XXVII. 

of  hell  and  of  heaven.  He  opens  and  no  man 
can  shut;  he  shuts  and  no  man  can  open.  Stay 
your  soul  upon  him  now ;  follow  him  fully  to  the 
very  gates  of  the  city,  and  then  you  need  fear  no 
disappointment.  If  you  believe  in  Jesus,  you  may 
say  to  the  ^nonster  Death,  Where  is  thy  sting;  ?  And 
you  may  lell  him  where — "  In  the  dead  body  of 
Christ  iii  whom  you  believe."  It  has  therefore  no 
sting  for  you,  neither  can  it  by  any  means  hurt  you. 
He  has  not  only  disarmed  death  and  shut  the  gates 
of  hell,  but  he  has  opened  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  all  behevers. 


THE  HYMN. 

There  are  some  hours  to  mortals  given, 
Bright  as  the  glowing  face  of  heaven  ; 
Sweet  as  the  weary  traveller's  rest, 
And  peaceful  as  an  angel's  breast ; 

When  Hope  lifts  up  her  longing  eyes, 
And  spreads  her  pinions  to  the  skies  ; 
When  earth's  dark  shadows  backward  ro' 
And  freedom  dawns  upon  the  soul. 


Why  are  those  golden  hours  so  few? 
Why  fades  the  vision  from  our  view  ? 
What  envious  power  bids  earth  again 
Enfold  us  in  its  iron  chain  ? 

O  Saviour  !  with  one  smile  of  thine, 
Dispel  our  gloom,  our  hearts  refine  ; 
And  on  the  wings  of  faith  and  love, 
Waft  us  to  brighter  scenes  above. 

With  joy  we  hail  that  coming  day. 
When,  cheered  with  heaven's  reviving  ray 
We  shall  be  called  to  rest  with  thee, 
From  earth's  dark  clouds  lor  ever  free. 


THE    LAXD    OF   BEULAH.  407 


THE  PRAYER. 

O  God,  who  hast  prepared  for  them  that  love  thee,  such 
good  things  as  pass  man's  understanding, pour  into  our  hearts 
such  love  towards  thee,  that  v^^e, loving  thee  above  all  things, 
maj'  obtain  thy  promises,  which  exceed  all  that  we  can  desire 
or  deserve,  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour.  We  confess, 
with  shame  and  sorrow,  how  little  we  know  of  the  joy  of 
thy  salvation  and  the  felicity  of  thy  chosen.  Our  mind  is 
dark  ;  our  heart  is  hard  ;  our  faith  is  weak  ;  our  hope  is 
dim  ;  our  love  is  cold  ;  and  we  are  far,  very  far,  from  having 
attained  the  rich  experience  of  those  who  walk  in  the  light 
of  thy  reconciled  countenance,  and  rejoice  with  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory.  We  beseech  thee,  show  us  thy  glory. 
Leave  us  not  comfortless,  but  send  thy  Holy  Ghost  to  en- 
lighten our  minds,  to  soften  our  hearts,  to  increase  our  faith, 
to  brighten  our  hope,  to  confirm  our  love,  and  to  give  us  the 
earnest  and  the  pledge  of  the  purchased  inheritance,  and 
to  bear  witness  with  our  spirits  that  we  are  thy  children.  Oh 
that  we  may  no  more  be  forsaken  or  desolate  ;  but  that  we 
may  know  that  thou.  Lord,  delightest  in  us,  and  hast  be- 
trothed us  to  thyself  for  ever.  May  we  live  nearer  to  thee, 
and  walk  closer  with  thee  than  we  have  ever  yet  done.  May 
our  last  days  be  our  best  days,  our  last  comforts  our  sweet- 
est comforts,  and  our  last  experience  our  richest  expe- 
rience. Bring  us,  we  beseech  thee,  into  that  hnppy  country 
which  is  trod  by  thy  precious  saints  on  this  side  Jordan. 
Save  us  from  all  our  gloomy  doubts  and  distressmg  fears. 
May  we  not  only  be  thine,  but  may  we  knov/  we  are  thine. 
Give  us  grace,  O  heavenly  Father,  so  to  walk,  and  to  have 
our  conversation  in  the  world,  as  the  children  of  thy  cove- 
nant and  the  heirs  of  everlasting  salvation  ought  to  do.  May 
all  our  rejoicing  be  coupled  with  filial  and  reverential  fear. 
Reveal  to  our  hearts  more  clearly  the  glorious  inheritance 
which  is  reserved  for  us  in  heaven,  as  believers  in  Christ. 
I\Iay  we  feel  thy  Holy  Spirit  drawing  our  minds  continually 
to  high  and  heavenly  things.  Give  us  such  a  realizing  sense 
of  the  supreme  excellency  of  Christ,  that  we  may  have  a 
desire  to  depart  and  be  with  him  for  ever.  3Iay  we  see  thy 
face,  and  find  thy  presence,  and  taste  thy  love,  in  every  ordi- 
nance to  which  we  resort,  for  the  strengthening  and  refresh- 
ing of  our  souls.  And  as  we  journey  forward  to  the  place 
of  our  everlasting  rest,  may  we  still  be  growing  in  conformity 
to  thine  image,  and  be  made  more  and  more  meet  for  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  Give  thine  angels  charge 
concerning  us,  to  keep  us  in  all  our  ways,  until  our  course 


408  LECTURE  xxvir. 

is  finished.  And  when  we  come  to  the  brink  of  Jordan,  may 
we  pass  over  dryshod  to  the  heavenly  Canaan,  and  have  an 
abundant  entrance  administered  unto  us  into  the  everlasting 
kingdom  of  our  God  and  Saviour.  To  him,  with  the  Father 
and^'eternal  Spirit,  be  praise  and  dominion  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen 


LECTUKE  XXYIII. 

THE    PASSAGE    OVER   JORDAN. 


While  on  the  verge  of  life  I  stand, 
And  view  the  scene  on  either  hand, 
My  spirit  struggles  with  my  clay, 
And  longs  to  wing  its  flight  away. 

Where  Jesus  dwells  my  soul  would  be ; 
xAnd  faints  my  much-loved  Lord  to  see, 
Earth,  twine  no  more  about  my  heart  I 
For  'tis  far  better  to  depart. 

Come,  ye  angelic  envoys!  come, 
And  lead  the  willing  pilgrim  home! 
Ye  know  the  way  to  Jesus'  throne, — 
Source  of  my  joys,  and  of  your  own. 


Jer.  xii.  5, 

HOW  V;n,T    THOU  DO  IN"  THE   SWELLING  OF  JORDAN? 

By  a  natural  and  most  beautiful  figure,  we  have 
all  been  accustomed  to  consider  the  act  of  dying  as 
represented  to  us  by  the  crossing  of  a  river.  The 
prophet  Jeremiah  had  been  giving  way  to  discou- 
ragement and  despondency.  He  was  unable  to  bear 
up  amid  the  trials  and  calamities  that  pressed  upon 
him.  But  he  was  shamed  out  of  his  unbecoming 
fear  by  the  representation  of  the  still  greater  trial 
which  his  faith  and  patience  would  have  to  un- 
dergo. What  he  had  already  suffered  bore  the 
same  proportion  to  what  was  yet  behind,  as  the 

35  409 


410  LECTURE   XXVIII. 

contest  with  footmen  bears  to  the  contest  with  hors 
men,  or  the  exertion  of  walking  through  a  peaceful 
country  bears  to  the  exertion  required  for  crossing 
a  rapid  and  impetuous  stream.  "If,"  it  was  said  to 
him,  "thou  hast  run  with  the  footmen,  and  they 
have  wer.ried  thee,  then  how  canst  thou  contend 
with  horses  ?  and  if  in  the  land  of  peace,  wherein 
thou  trustedst,  they  wearied  thee,  then  how  wilt 
thou  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jordan  ?" 

In  our  last  Lecture  we  were  considering  the 
delightful  experience  of  the  two  pilgrims  in  the 
land  of  Beulah  ;  we  have  now  to  consider, 

I.  Their  approach  to  the  river's  brink. 

II.  The  manner  of  their  crossing  over  it ;  and, 

III.  Their  reception  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river. 

I.  We  begin  with  their  approach  to  the  river's 
brink.  Very  sweet  and  pleasant  was  their  journey 
through  the  land  of  Beulah,  as  they  approached  the 
end  of  their  pilgrimage.  The  climate  through 
which  they  were  passing  appeared  to  breathe  the 
fragrance  and  waft  the  odours  of  the  better  country 
to  which  they  were  fast  hastening.  As  the  tribes 
who  had  wandered  so  many  years  in  the  wilderness 
obtained  a  part  of  the  land  of  promise,  before  they 
had  crossed  over  Jordan  and  obtained  the  full  pos- 
session of  the  whole,  so  it  was  with  these  two  pil- 
grims. They  had  tasted  the  celestial  fruit  on  earthly 
ground.  They  obtained  a  part  of  the  promised  in- 
heritance, before  they  were  admitted  to  the  full 
enjoyment  of  the  whole.  In  the  joys  and  comforts 
of  that  rich  and  fertile  country  which  bordered  on 
Jordan,  they  had  a  dehghtful  earnest  and  foretaste 


THE   PASSAGE   OVER  JORDAN.  411 

of  those  satisfying  and  never-ending  delights  which 
they  expected  to  receive  when  all  their  toils  and 
trials  should  be  ended,  and  their  weary  feet  should 
actually  have  arived  at  their  happy  home.  As 
Christian  and  Hopeful,  with  their  celestial  guides, 
urged  their  way  to  the  gate  of  the  city,  lo,  between 
them  and  the  gate  was  a  river.  There  was  no 
bridge  to  go  over,  and  the  stream  was  very  deep. 
At  the  first  sight  of  the  river  both  the  pilgrims  gave 
a  start ;  the  joyful  pace  at  which  they  were  pro- 
ceeding was  relaxed,  and  the  form  of  their  visage 
was  altered.  They  were  assured,  however,  that 
they  must  go  through,  or  else  they  could  never 
come  at  the  gate.  Then  did  they  wishfully  inquire, 
if  there  were  any  other  possible  way  of  getting  to 
the  gate,  without  having  to  cross  th^  dreadful 
stream  ?  To  this  inquiry  they  were  tG|d,  a  way 
indeed  there  was,  but  it  was  so  private  and.  special, 
that  from  the  foundation  of  the  world,  of  all  the 
countless  hosts  of  pilgrims  that  have  passed  from 
this  world  of  sin  to  the  Celestial  City,  only  two  pil- 
grims (Enoch  and  Elijah)  had  been  exempted  from 
the  common  passage.  The  King  himself  had  crossed 
the  river  ;  and  by  his  sovereign  appointment  it  was 
ordained  that  until  the  last  trumpet  shall  proclaim 
the  day  of  doom,  there  shall  be  no  other  mode  of 
approach  into  the  happy  land.  Our  poor  pilgrims, 
as  they  pondered  this  in  their  minds,  and  listened 
to  the  murmur  and  marked  the  appearance  of  the 
river,  began  to  despond  and  to  feel  faint  and  uneasy. 
Christian  especially  was  even  more  cast  down  than 
his  fellow,  and  he  began  to  look  this  way  and  that. 
But  it  was  all  in  vain ;  no  way  could  be  found  by 
which  they  might  escape  the  river.  Then  they 
anxiously  inquired  of  their  shining  companions,  if 


412  LECTURE   XXVIII. 

the  waters  were  alike  deep  at  all  times  and  In  every 
place.  "Is  there,"  they  asked,  "any  particular 
time  or  place  more  favourable  for  crossing  than 
another?"  They  were  told  that  there  was  indeed  a 
wide  difference  with  respect  to  this.  But  withal, 
their  informers  assured  them  of  their  utler  inability 
to  help  them  in  that  matter.  "  You  will  find  it," 
they  said,  "  deeper  or  shallower,  as  you  believe  in 
the  King  of  the  place." 

Have  we,  dear  friends,  ever  been  brought  to  the 
brink  of  Jordan  ?  Have  we  ever  seriously  looked 
death  in  the  face?  Have  we  made  any  serious 
preparation  for  death  ?  Have  we  ever  thoughtfully 
pondered  how  we  shall  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jor- 
dan ?  Whatever  be  our  state  and  character — 
whether  we  are  Christians  in  deed  and  in  truth,  or 
whether  we  possess  nothing  but  the  Christian  name 
—whether  we  have  a  good  hope  through  grace  of 
our  personal  interest  in  the  only  Saviour  of  sinners, 
or  whether  we  are  without  Christ  and  without  hope 
in  the  world,  we  are  rapidly  hastening  to  the  brink 
of  the  river  which  separates  this  worldly  wilderness 
from  the  boundless  regions  of  eternity. 

"  There  all  our  steps  at  last  are  brought, 
That  path,  alone  of  all  unsought, 
Is  found  of  all!" 

Soon  we  shall  get  a  sight  of  the  river.  We  shall 
hear  the  solemn  murmur  which  it  makes.  We  shall 
see  it  in  all  its  awful  reality  stretched  before  us. 
And  what  a  sight  will  that  be  !  How  shall  we  start 
and  shrink  ;  and  how  will  the  coward  flesh  recoil 
at  the  view  !  What  a  trial  will  this  prove  to  our 
faith  !  What  a  test  of  our  principles  !  No  know- 
ledge, however  clear,  of  the  gospel-plan  of  salva- 
tion ;  no  sensible  comfort  which  we  have  formerly 


THE    PASSAGE    OVER   JORDAN.  413 

enjoyed,  nor  even  the  actual  possession  of  true  grace 
in  our  hearts,  can  certainly  enable  us  to  look  on 
without  dismay,  and  still  to  advance  with  unhesi- 
tating step.  Nature  will  shrink  at  the  sight  of 
death.  Death,  as  the  penalty  of  sin,  is  a  most  awful 
event.  When  we  come  to  the  brink  of  the  river,"*\ 
and  find  that  there  is  no  escape ;  and  when  it  is 
said  to  us  individually,  "Thou  art  this  day  to  go 
over,"  how  many  solemn  and  affecting  thoughts 
will  crowd, upon  the  mind,  and  how  many  reluctant 
feelings  will  struggle  in  the  heart !  The  solemn 
sensation  of  passing  out  of  time  into  eternity;  the 
pangs  of  dying ;  the  forcible  removal  of  the  soul 
from  her  ancient  habitation,  the  only  one  in  v/hich 
she  has  ever  dwelt ;  the  breaking  up  of  the  earthly 
tabernacle!  Oh,  how  can  we  reahze  all  this  with- 
out a  feeling  of  the  deepest  awe  taking  hold  upon 
us!  The  most  experienced  Christian  sometimes 
may  be  a  prey  to  this  feehng,  even  more  than 
another.  The  degree  of  comfort,  or  the  sensation 
of  awe,  with  which  a  person  looks  death  in  the 
face,  is  very  far  from  being  a  sure  indication  of  his 
spiritual  state.  Strong  faith  is  sometimes  strongly 
tried.  Eminent  Christians,  on  particular  occasions, 
sometimes  show  that  their  usual  graces  are  not  in 
lively  exercise.  He  who  has  the  keys  of  death 
orders  all  the  circumstances  of  it  according  to  his 
own  good  pleasure.  Sometimes,  in  compassion  to 
a  feeble-minded  but  true  disciple,  the  waters  are 
remarkably  low  ;  and  at  other  times,  when  a  long- 
tried  disciple  has  to  pass  over,  the  body  is  so  racked 
with  pain,  the  mind  so  harassed  with  temptation, 
that  the  passage  looks  very  formidable,  and  Jordan, 
seems  to^  have  overflowed  'all  his  banks.  Still, 
however,  as  a  general  rule,  to  every  individual  it 


414  LECTURE  xxvin. 

may  be  said,  "  You  shall  find  it  deeper  or  shallower, 
as  you  believe  in  the  King  of  the  place."  Yes, 
dear  brethren,  here  is  the  true  and  the  only  certain 
remedy  against  the  fear  of  death.  As  we  look  in 
simple  faith  to  Him  who  died,  and  was  buried,  and 
rose  again  for  us ;  as  we  realize  his  presence  in  the 
gloomy  vale,  rest  in  his  love,  and  stay  ourselves 
upon  his  faithful  promise,  we  shall  fear  no  evil. 
Fear  not,  O  believer,  to  go  over  this  Jordan.  Though 
the  waves  thereof  may  rage  and  swell,  though 
heart  and  flesh  may  fail,  though  thou  hast  not  gone 
this  way  heretofore,  thy  Saviour  has  crossed  before, 
and  made  the  passage  safe  for  every  one  of  his  true 
followers.  His  death  is  thy  deliverance  from  the 
bitter  pains  of  eternal  death  ;  his  rising  to  life  again 
is  the  restoration  of  everlasting  hfe  unto  thee. 
Therefore,  fear  not.  Only  believe.  Be  strong  in 
faith,  giving  glory  to  God,  and  when  thou  passest 
through  the  river  it  shall  not  overflow  thee. 

II.  The  actual  passage  of  our  pilgrims  over  the 
river  comes  now  to  be  considered.  Seeing  that 
there  was  no  other  way  to  the  gate,  they  addressed 
themselves  to  the  water.  At  the  first,  it  fared  far 
worse  with  poor  Christian  than  with  his  fellow.  He 
had  no  sooner  entered  into  the  water  than  he  found 
it  fearfully  deep ;  and  beginning  to  go  down,  he  cried 
out :  "  I  sink  in  deep  waters  ;  the  billows  go  over 
my  head  ;  all  his  waves  go  over  me."  His  com- 
panion endeavoured  to  comfort  him  by  a  declaration 
of  his  own  experience,  which  was  of  a  more  en- 
couraging kind.  "  Be  of  good  comfort,"  he  said, 
*'  my  brother,  I  feel  the  ground,  and  it  is  good !" 
But  this  could  not  comfort  him,  who  was  now  vexed 
at  his  heart,  and  yielding  for  a  season  to  despond- 


THE    PASSAGE    OVER   JORDAN.  415 

ency  and  fear.  "Ah,"  he  said,  "my  friend,  the 
sorrow  of  death  hath  compassed  me  about;  I  shall 
not  see  the  land  that  flows  with  milk  and  honey." 
And  now  a  great  darkness  and  horror  fell  upon 
Christian.  A  tnist  came  over  his  eyes.  He  could 
see  nothing,  not  even  a  yard  before  him.  He  was 
plunging  about  in  the  dark.  The  goodly  land  and 
the  glorious  city  which  he  had  so  distinctly  seen  a 
little  while  before,  were  now  as  completely  hid 
from  his  view  as  if  they  had  never  been !  His 
memory,  too,  seemed  to  have  gone  with  his  sight. 
He  could  not  recall  to  mind  his  songs  of  praise  in 
time  past ;  and  all  the  sweet  and  delightful 
refreshments  which  he  had  at  different  parts  of  his 
eventful  pilgrimage,  had  vanished  like  a  dream.  All 
the  expressions  that  broke  from  him  indicated  the 
painful  doubt  and  fear  with  which  he  was  oppressed. 
He  was  weighed  down  with  a  fearful  apprehension, 
that  he  should  certainly  perish  in  that  river,  and 
never  gain  admittance  at  the  gate.  He  could  only 
mournfully  say,  "  I  am  cast  out  from  thy  presence." 
And  then  he  would  cry  out  again,  "  I  shall  not  see 
the  Lord,  even  the  Lord,  in  the  land  of  the  living." 
In  addition  to  all  this,  he  was  now  scared  with  ter- 
rific visions,  and  shapes  and  forms  of  the  most 
frightful  kind  appeared  to  flit  before  him.  Hard 
was  the  task  of  Hopeful  to  keep  his  brother's  head 
above  water.  Sometimes  he  would  sink,  and  then 
come  up  again  like  one  half  dead.  No  effort  was 
Jeft  untried  by  Hopeful  to  reanimate  the  drooping 
courage  of  his  companion.  "  Brother,"  he  said,  "  I 
see  the  gate,  and  men  standing  by  to  receive  us." 
But  even  this  would  not  do.  With  the  sad  inge- 
nuity of  one  who  refuses  to  be  comforted,  and  who 
can   apply  promises  to   any  one   but   to   himself, 


416  LECTURE    XXVIII. 

Christian  replied,  "  It  is  you,  it  is  you  they  wait 
for  ;  you  have  been  hopeful  ever  since  I  kneu'  you." 
"And  so  have  you,"  rejoined  Hopeful  to  Christian. 
He  well  knew  that  in  the  hour  of  sore  temptation, 
a  person  is  very  ill  qualified  to  judge  of  his  state, 
and  the  way  which  he  has  taken.  But  Christian 
said,  "  Surely,  if  I  were  right,  He  would  now  rise 
to  help  me ;  but  for  my  sins  he  hath  brought  me 
into  the  snare  and  left  me."  The  reply  of  Hope- 
ful is  very  judicious,  and  is  quite  applicable  to  an 
upright  soul  harassed  with  doubt  and  temptation, 
and  deprived  of  sensible  comfort  at  the  prospect  of 
death.  "  Is  it  not  said  of  the  wicked,  'There  are 
no  bands  in  their  death,  but  their  strength  is  firm  ; 
they  are  not  troubled  as  other  men,  neither  are  they 
plagued  like  other  men.'  The  troubles  and  dis- 
tresses that  you  go  through  in  these  waters,  are  no 
sign  that  the  King  has  forsaken  you.  The)'-  are 
sent  to  try  you  whether  you  will  call  to  mind  that 
which  heretofore  you  have  received  of  his  good- 
ness, and  live  upon  him  in  your  distresses."  How 
forcible  are  right  words  !  This  calm  application  of 
Scripture  truth  evidently  told  upon  Christian,  anjl 
proved  to  him  a  word  in  season.  He  mused  for  a 
little  while  in  thoughtful  silence,  and  Avhen  Hope- 
ful again  addressed  him  in  an  encouraging  manner, 
the  dark  and  painful  cloud  in  which  poor  Christian 
had  been  involved,  passed  away  in  a  moment.  With 
a  beaming  countenance  and  rapturous  voice,  he 
broke  out  and  said,  "  Oh,  I  see  Him  again  !  and  he 
tells  me,  '  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters. 
I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through  the  rivers,  they 
shall  not  overflow  thee.'  "  Then  did  they  both 
take  courage,  and  the  enemy  after  that  was  as  still 
as  a  stone  until  they  were   gone   over.     Christian 


THE   PASSAGE    OVER   JORDAN.  417 

now  had  found  firm  ground  upon  which  to  set  his 
feet.  The  remaining  part  of  the  river  was  quite 
shallow,  and  thus  they  both  got  safely  over  to  the 
opposite  shore. 

How  deeply  affecting,  my  brethren,  is  all  this  ! 
Even  the  true  Christian,  when  he  has  to  launch 
away  and  to  cross  over  this  Jordan,  may  sometimes 
have  very  painful  and  distressing  experience.  If 
his  faith  at  all  stagger  in  that  solemn  hour,  then, 
like  Peter  on  the  water,  when  he  attempted  to  walk 
to  his  divine  Saviour,  he  will  begin  to  sink.  And 
then  he  will  have  sorrowfully  to  say,  "  I  sink  in 
deep  waters ;  all  thy  waves  and  billows  go  over 
me."  It  is  an  unspeakable  mercy  for  the  tempted 
Christian,  when  struggling  with  the  last  enemy,  to 
enjoy  the  counsel  and  encouragement  of  a  faithful 
and  hopeful  companion.  Such  a  one  will  suggest 
that  the  case  is  not  hopeless,  and  that  there  is  still 
firm  ground  upon  which  the  poor  soul  may  rest, 
when  most  of  all  tossed  with  the  tempest  and  not 
comforted.  But  how  vain  are  all  the  efforts  of 
mortal  men,  to  impart  comfort  to  the  mourner,  until 
the  Great  Teacher  applies  his  own  word  to  the 
heart !  Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  restore 
peace  and  comfort  to  one  who  is  writing  bitter  things 
against  himself,  and  who  is  mourning  under  the 
hiding  of  God's  countenance.  A  great  many  causes ' 
may  unite  to  fill  even  the  upright  with  bitterness 
and  distress  at  this  solemn  season.  Staggering 
faith  may  plunge  him  in  despondency.  Bodily 
suffering  may  impair  his  memory.  Mental  debility 
may  cloud  his  experience.  And  above  all,  the 
enemy  may  use  his  mahgnant  influence  to  harass 
and  vex  the  soul  of  the  Christian,  and  to  fill  him 
with  doubt  and  darkness  in  his  la^t   hour.     One 


418  LECTURE    XXVIII. 

thing  is  especially  obvious  respecting  the  tempted 
Christian.  He  can  believe  that  the  promises  of  the 
gospel,  which  are  set  before  him,  apply  to  any  one 
rather  than  himself.  He  thinks  that  if  he  were 
right,  and  his  sins  were  pardoned,  and  God  was 
reconciled  to  him,  he  would  not  have  left  him  deso- 
late and  comfortless  in  his  last  extremity.  "  If  the 
Lord,"  he  says,  "  were  indeed  with  me,  wherefore 
have  these  evils  come  upon  me  ?"  But  we  should 
seriously  consider  that  wicked  and  thoughtless  per- 
sons have  no  realizing  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin,  the 
holiness  of  God,  and  the  tremendous  consequences 
of  death.  Thus,  "  they  have  no  bands  in  their 
death."  They  go  off  quietly,  and  have  none  of  the 
tormenting  fears  and  disquieting  thoughts  which 
real  Christians  sometimes  undergo.  God  often 
withdraws  his  sensible  presence  from  his  people  in 
the  trying  hour,  that  they  may  recall  to  mind  the 
wonders  which  he  has  wrought  for  them  in  times 
past,  and  that  they  may  walk,  even  in  the  dark 
valley,  by  faith  and  not  by  sight  and  sense.  But 
though  for  a  while  he  may  hide  his  face,  and  a  true 
disciple  may  have  to  buffet  long  with  the  swelling 
of  Jordan,  in  due  time  the  cloud  shall  disperse,  the 
true  believer  shall  be  delivered,  the  deep  shall  not 
swallow  him  up,  neither  shall  the  pit  shut  her 
mouth  upon  him.  He  shall  look  again  to  the  holy 
ten)])le  of  his  God.  After  all  his  narrow  escapes 
and  diversified  conflicts,  his  painful  fears  and  dark 
forebodings,  the  Christian  shall  end  his  pilgrimage 
well  at  the  last.  All  is  well  that  ends  well.  We 
have  often  looked  upon  the  pleasing  sight  of  a  fine 
setting  sun.  A  little  before,  his  cheerful  face  was 
hid,  and  we  expected  that  he  would  go  down  under 
a  cloud  ;  but  he  broke  out  again,  and  the  blackness* 


THE   PASSAGE   OYER  JORDAN.  419 

of  the  cloud  from  which  he  issued,  served  only  to 
set  off  to  greater  advantage  the  tints  of  beauty  and 
the  rays  of  glory  that  illustrated  his  final  departure. 
For  the  most  part  the  ti'ue  Christian,  when  he  really 
approaches  to  his  journey's  end,  is  dehvered  out  of 
all  his  fears ;  he  obtains  the  supphes  needful  for 
the  distressing  hour,  and  then — 

**  Like  a  fine  setting  sun,  he  looks  richer  in  grace." 

Cf  rapture  be  absent,  hope  is  present.  "  The  right- 
eous hath  hope  in  his  doath."  If  joy  and  triumph 
cannot  speak,  heavenly  peace  shall  diffuse  her  in- 
fluence. "  Mark  the  upright,  and  behold  the  per- 
fect, for  me  end  of  that  man  is  peace." 

III.  A  few  words  we  have  yet  to  add  respecting 
the  reception  of  the  pilgrims  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river.  We  shall  reserve  for  our  next  Lecture, 
their  happy  entrance  into  the  Celestial  City.  At- 
tendants, in  shining  apparel,  were  indeed  waiting 
to  receive  them  on  the  further  shore.  By  these 
they  were  speedily  conducted  up  the  lofty  hill  upon 
whic'^  tViP  city  of  the  Hving  God  is  built.  They  had 
no  difficulty  in  climbing  up  the  mighty  steep.  They 
leaned  on  the  arms  of  conductors  that  excel  in 
strength.  And,  in  addition  to  this,  they  had  left 
their  mortal  garments  behind  them  in  the  river. 
They  had  nothing,  either  from  within  or  without, 
to  weigh  them  down,  or  to  impede  their  progress. 
Thus,  with  a  cheerful  face,  and  a  nimble  step,  right 
onward  they  advanced  above  the  clouds  and  the 
regions  of  air.  They  were  comforted  beyond  mea- 
sure to  find  themselves  safely  landed  over  the  river  ; 
to  feel  themselves  dehvered  from  a  burden  which 
had  sometimes  ensnared  their  souls,  and  invariably 


420  LECTURE    XXVIII. 

impeded  their  steps,  through  every  part  of  their 
eventful  progress.  They  rejoiced,  loo,  in  the  new 
companions  who  were  so  kindly  conducting  them 
forward.  All  their  conversation  was  about  the 
beauty  and  glory  of  the  Celestial  City.  How  ani- 
mating to  the  pilgrims,  to  hear  from  those  who 
knew  so  well,  a  glowing  description  of  the  inex- 
pressible delights  upon  which  they  were  just  about 
to  enter !  It  was  verj'-  pleasant  to  have  described 
to  them  the  glorious  company  in  which  they  were 
to  mingle  ;  the  happy  regions  where  they  were  to 
dwell ;  the  exemptions,  which  they  would  enjoy  for 
ever,  from  all  the  cares  and  sufferings  an^  priva- 
tions to  which  they  had  been  subject  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river ;  and  to  hear  finally  what  would 
be  their  dehghtful  employment,  and  the  rich  and 
glorious  recompense  for  all  their  past  sufferings  and 
toils,  before  the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb.  How- 
could  the  pilgrims  hear  of  this,  and  not  burn  with 
intense  longing  for  its  full  and  immediate  posses- 
sion ! 

And  can  we,  my  friends,  hear  of  such  things, 
and  recollect  that  these  are  the  true  sayings  of  God, 
and  not  feel  our  hearts  burn  within  us  ?  Can  we 
think  of  the  glorious  manner  in  which  every  true 
pilgrim  will  terminate  his  progress,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  and  not  be  stirred  up  to  "  lay  aside 
every  weight,  and  the  sin  that  so  e-isily  besets  us, 
and  run  with  patience  the  race  tliat  is  set  before 
us."  Only  think  for  a  moment  of  the  immediate 
consequences  of  death,  both  to  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked  ;  and  then  consider  seriously  what  is 
before  you.  If  you  are  a  true  pilgrim  to  the  Hea- 
venly City;  if  your  heon  is  changed  ;  if  you  have 
come  by  true  faith,  as  a  perishing  sinner,  to  the 


THE   PASSAGE   OVER   JORDAN.  421 

Saviour  of  the  lost,  and  are  pressing  forward  in  the 
narrow  path  of  holiness  and  obedience  to  the  prize 
of  your  heavenly  calling-,  oh,  what  a  glorious  pros- 
pect is  before  you  !  However  poor  or  despised 
your  present  condition  may  be,  however  varied  may 
be  your  trials,  and  however  painful  your  fears  and 
misgivings,  it  shall  surely  be  well  with  you  at  the 
last.  Soon  you  will  be  brought  to  the  brink  of 
Jordan,  and  launch  into  its  dark  and  uninviting 
wave.  When  you  pass  through  the  water,  your 
Saviour  will  be  with  you.  He  will  bear  you  safely 
through  the  swelling  torrent ;  he  will  land  you 
gently  on  Canaan's  shore.  The  moment  you  are 
delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh,  your  liberated 
soul  shall  be  carried  by  angels  to  the  paradise  of 
God.  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  you 
shall  be  free  from  every  clog  and  from  every  sin, 
and  scale  the  mount  of  God.  You  shall  see  the 
King  in  his  beauty,  and  the  land  that  is  very  far 
off.  And  there  shall  be  no  more  curse ;  but  the 
throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  shall  be  in  it,  and  you 
shall  serve  Him,  and  see  his  face,  and  reign  for  ever 
and  ever.  "  These  sayings  are  faithful  and  true." 
But,  oh,  sinner,  in  thy  present  state,  what  an 
awfully  opposite  end  will  be  thine  !  "  How  wilt 
thou  do  in  the  swelling  of  Jordan  ?"  You,  too, 
must  die,  and  after  death  be  called  to  judgment ! 
With  your  sin  unpardoned  ;  your  Saviour  neglect- 
ed ;  all  the  Sabbaths  you  have  broken,  and  all  your 
other  crimes  weighing  heavy  upon  you,  again  I 
ask,  "  How  wilt  thou  do  in  the  swelhng  of  Jordan  ?" 
Oh,  consider  that  the  sorrows  of  death,  to  every 
unconverted  person,  are  only  a  prelude  to  the  pains 
of  hell.  While  Lazarus  is  carried  by  angels  into 
Abmham's  bosom,  the  ungodly  hfts  up  his  eyes  in 


422  LECTURE    XXVIII. 

hell  and  in  torments.  Oh,  that  you  would  be 
effectually  warned  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come ! 
Oh,  that  you  would  prepare  to  meet  your  God ! 
Oh,  that  you  would  make  provision  for  the  hour  of 
death  and  the  day  of  judgment !  Repent  and  pray. 
Seek  earnestly  for  an  interest  in  Christ,  before  you 
come  to  launch  into  the  river  of  death,  which  can 
only  usher  the  unpardoned  sinner  into  the  land  and 
region  of  hopeless  misery  and  eternal  ruin.  Apply 
to  Him  who  tasted  death  for  every  man,  and  you 
shall  yet  be  delivered.  Believe  in  FJim,  and  you 
shall  never  taste  the  bitter  pains  of  eternal  death. 

THE  HYMN. 

*  There  is  a  land  of  pure  delight, 
Where  saints  immortal  reign  ; 
Infinite  day  excludes  the  night, 
And  pleasures  banish  pain. 

There  everlasting  spring  abides, 

And  never-withering  flowers  : 
Death,  like  a  narrow  sea,  divides 

This  heavenly  land  from  ours  ; 

Sweet  fields  beyond  the  swelling  flood 

Stand  dressed  in  living  green  : 
So  to  the  Jews  old  Canaan  stood, 

While  Jordan  rolled  between  ; 

But  timorous  mortals  start  and  shrink 

To  cross  this  narrow  sea; 
And  linger  shivering  on  the  brink, 

Afraid  to  launch  away. 

Oh  !  could  we  make  our  doubts  remove, 

Those  gloomy  doubts  that  rise, 
And  see  the  Canaan  that  we  love 

With  unbeclouded  eyes ! 

Could  we  but  climb  where  Moses  stood, 

And  view  the  landscape  o'er, 
Not  the  cold  stream  of  Jordan's  flood 

Should  fright  us  from  the  shore. 


THE   PASSAGE   OYER  JORDAN.  423 


THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  God,  with  whom  do  live  the  spirits  of  them  that 
depart  hence  in  the  Lord,  and  with  whom  the  souls  of  the 
faithful,  after  they  are  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh, 
are  in  joy  and  felicity,  we  bless  thy  holy  name  for  all  thy 
servants  depajted  this  hfe  in  thy  faith  and  fear  ;  beseeching 
thee  to  give-  us  grace  so  to  follow  their  good  example,  that 
with  them  we  may  be  partakers  of  thy  heavenly  kingdom 
We  are  strangers  and  sojourners  with  thee,  as  all  our  fathers 
were.  We  are  dying  creatures,  and  we  live  in  a  dying  world. 
We  are  sinful  creatures,  and  therefore  dying  creatures.  By 
thy  righteous  sentence  it  was  decreed,  that  death  should  be 
the  wages  of  sin;  and  death  hath  passed  upon  all  men,  be- 
cause that  all  have  sinned.  Lord,  make  us  to  know  our 
end,  and  the  measure  of  our  days,  what  it  is,  that  we  may 
know  how  frail  we  are.  We  know,  that,  ere  long,  the 
time  of  our  sojourning  in  this  worldly  wilderness  will  come 
to  an  end.  It  is  appointed  for  us  once  to  die.  We  must 
be  brought  to  the  brink  of  that  stream,  which  divides  the  life 
that  now  is,  from  the  life  of  the  world  to  come ;  and  it  will 
be  said  to  us  individually,  "  Thou  art  this  day  to  go  over." 
Oh,  may  we  be  prepared  for  our  great  change.  May  we  not 
start  or  shrink  at  tiie  immediate  prospect  of  death ;  but  be 
able  to  regard  him,  not  as  the  king  of  terrors,  but  as  a  mes- 
senger of  peace.  When  we  come  actually  to  engage  with 
the  last  enemy,  let  not  our  faith  fail.  May  we  look  in  simple 
faith  to  that  precious  Saviour,  who,  by  his  own  death,  de- 
stroyed him  that  had  the  power  of  death,  that  is  the  devil,  to 
deliver  them  who,  through  fear  of  death,  were  all  their  life- 
time subject  to  bondage.  Blessed  Lord,  may  we  find  thy 
presence  in  the  gloomy  vale,  and  then  we  will  fear  no  evil. 
Let  not  the  water-flood  drown  us,  neither  let  the  pit  shut  her 
mouth  upon  us.  If  we  may  not  pass  over  this  Jordan  dry- 
shod,  oh  say  unio  our  soul,  "  When  thou  passest  through 
the  waters,  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through  the  rivers,  they 
shall  not  overflow  thee."  And  though  the  sorrows  of  death 
may  come  about  us,  bring  us  in  safety  at  the  last  to  the 
heavenly  Canaan.  If  triumph  and  joy  be  denied,  when  we 
come  to  die,  oh  grant  that  we  may  depart  in  peace,  and  fall 
asleep  in  Jesus,  the  life  of  them  that  believe,  and  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead.  May  we  go  down  to  the  grave  full  of  the 
blessed  hope  of  eternal  life.  May  we  commit  our  departing 
spirits  into  thy  hands,  as  into  the  hands  of  a  faithful  Creator, 
and  most   merciful   Redeemer.      Lord   Jesus,   receive   our 


424  LECTURE  XXVIII. 

spirits,  as  soon  as  they  are  released  from  their  earthly 
prisons.  May  they  be  carried  by  the  angels  into  Abraham's 
bosom.  May  we  find,  that  when  we  are  absent  from  the 
body,  we  are  present  with  the  Lord;  and  that  we  are  come 
to  an  innumerable  company  of  angels,  and  to  the  spirits  of 
just  men  made  perlect.  And  if  any  of  us  are  still  in  the  gall 
of  bitterness  and  the  bond  of  iniquity,  and  in  no  wise  pre- 
pared to  meet  our  God ;  oh,  do  thou  open  our  eyes,  show  us 
the  power  of  the  world  to  come  ;  and  while  we  have  life  and 
memory,  or  any  breath,  may  we  seek  earnestly  for  the  pardon 
of  our  sins,  and  an  interest  in  the  salvation  of  Christ,  before 
the  things  which  belong  to  our  peace  shall  be  for  ever  hid 
from  our  eyes.  Hear  us,  O  Lord,  hear  us.  in  the  name  and 
for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  Mediator  and  Re- 
deemer.    Amen. 


LECTUKE  XXIX. 

THE    CELESTIAL    CITY. 


Come,  Lord,  and  warm  each  languid  heart 

Inspire  each  lifeless  tongue  ; 
And  let  the  joys  of  heaven  impart 

Their  influence  to  our  song. 

Sorrow  and  pain,  and  every  care, 
And  discord  there  shall  cease  ; 

And  perfect  joy  and  love  sincere 
Adorn  the  realms  of  peace. 

The  soul,  from  sin  for  ever  free, 
Shall  mourn  its  power  no  more  ; 

But,  clothed  in  spotless  purity, 
Redeeming  love  adore. 


Isaiah  xxxv.  10. 

AND  IHE  RAN'SOilED  OF  THE  LORD  SHALL  EETUEX,  A\D  C'iti  tO  TlfN  WITH 
SONGS  AND  EVERLASTING  JOY  UPON  THEIR  HEADS:  1  Ufc  r  SUAT  L  OBTAIN 
JOT  AND  GLADNESS,   AND   SORROW   AND   SIGHING    SHALL   Pl/S  Aff^  f. 

Many  passages  of  Scripture,  which  speak  of  the 
extension  of  true  rehgion  in  the  latt.3r  day,  seem 
imperceptibly  to  lead  our  thoughts  from  a  state  of 
abounding  grace  to  that  of  everlasting  glory.  The 
whole  chapter,  of  which  this  is  the  concluding  verse, 
refers  clearly  to  a  period  of  blessedness  upon  earth, 
which  the  church  has  never  yet  witnessed.  Though 
it  tarry  long,  in  due  time  it  will  surely  come.  The 
prayer  which  has  so  long  been  ascending  from  the 
hearts  of  all  true  behevers  shall  eventually  receive 
its  full  accomplishment.  When  the  set  time  is 
come,  the  Lord  will  arise  and  have  mercy  upon 
Zion.  Then  Satan  shall  be  bound,  and  be  no  more 
suffered  to  deceive  the  nations.     The  Spirit  from 

S6*  425 


426  LECTURE   XXIX. 

on  high  shail  be  poured  upon  all  flesh,  and  all  the 
ends  of  the  world  shall  see  the  salvation  of  our  God. 
All  the  heresies  and  stumbling-blocks,  which  defile 
and  distract  the  minds  of  men,  and  prejudice  them 
against  rehgion,  will  be  done  away,  and  the  earth 
shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as 
the  waters  cover  the  sea.  Then  redeemed  sinners, 
converted  Jews  and  C4entiles,  shall  come  with  songs 
of  joy  and  praise  to  worship  the  Lord  in  his  holy 
place  ;  and  this  holy  joy  and  triumph  will  be  the 
pledge  and  foretaste,  yea,  the  beginning  of  everlast- 
ing joy  in  heaven.  The  moment  they  are  absent 
from  the  body,  they  are  present  with  the  Lord. 
With  him  do  live  the  spirits  of  them  that  depart 
hence  in  the  Lord;  and  with  him  they  are  in  joy 
and  felicity.  "  They  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and 
everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads :  they  obtain  joy  and 
gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee  away." 

We  have  to  consider  : — 

L  The  manner  in  which  Christian  and  Hopeful 
were  conducted  to  the  gates  of  the  city. 

IL  Their  admittance  into  the  city. 

IIL  The  terrible  disappointment  of  Ignorance, 
when  it  was  too  late  to  remedy  his  mistake. 

L  See,  first,  how  the  happy  spirits  of  the  two 
saints  were  conducted  to  the  gates  of  the  city.  As 
they  were  approaching  towards  it,  a  company  of 
the  heavenly  host  came  out  to  meet  them.  Then 
the  two  shining  ones,  who  had  the  charge  of  Chris- 
tian and  Hopeful,  announced  to  their  glorious 
fellows  whom  they  were  conducting.  They  spoke 
of  them  as  men  who  had  loved  their  Lord  while  yet 
they  were  in  the  world,  and  had  left  all  for  hi? 
name's  sake  ;  and  they  were  now  going  actually  to 
behold  his  blissful  face,  whom  havik.g  not  seen  they 


THE    CELESTIAL    CITY.  427 

had  loved.  This  intelb'gence  diffused  a  thrill  of 
holy  joy  through  all  the  ranks  of  that  happy  com- 
pany, and  the  heavenly  host  gave  a  great  shout,  say- 
ing :  "  Blessed  are  they  that  are  called  to  the  mar- 
riage-supper of  the  Lamb."  There  came  also  at 
this  time  to  meet  them,  several  of  the  King's  trum- 
peters, clothed  in  white  and  shining  garments. 
These  made  the  very  heavens  to  ring  with  the  loud 
notes  of  triumph  which  they  sounded.  They  wel- 
comed the  approach  of  the  new  comers  to  the  abodes 
of  bhss,  with  a  shout  and  a  merry  noise,  and  with 
sound  of  a  trumpet.  In  this  triumphant  manner 
they  were  conducted  forward.  They  were  sur- 
rounded on  every  side  w^ith  minstrels  and  singers, 
and  guarded  alike,  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the 
left,  with  celestial  forms.  Such  melody  and  tri- 
umph and  rejoicing  were  there,  it  seemed  as  if 
heaven  itself  had  come  down  to  meet  them.  The 
love  and  joy,  the  happiness  and  benevolence  of  their 
numerous  attendants  were  unspeakably  sweet  to  the 
enraptured  pilgrims.  They  w^ere  scarce  able  them- 
selves to  contain  the  unbounded  joy  with  which  they 
w^ere  filled.  The  city  itself,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
was  full  in  their  view.  They  were  just  about  to 
enter  into  it ;  and  they  thought  all  the  bells  of  the 
city  were  ringing  to  welcome  their  approach.  When 
they  reflected,  that  after  all  their  painful  toils,  and  all 
the  travail  that  they  had  passed  upon  their  weary 
pilgrimage,  they  were  just  about  to  enler  Jerusalem, 
their  happy  home,  how  could  their  joy  be  expressed 
as  they  came  up  to  the  gate  !  "  They  came  to  Zion 
with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads." 

Dear  friends,  how  exceedingly  animating  is  all 
this  to  the  true  believer !  If  we  are  indeed  pilgrims 
to  the  celestial  city,  why  do  we  not  long  more  earn- 
estly for  our  heavenly  home  ?     What  are  all  our 


428  LECTURE   XXIX. 

present  comforts  and  prospects,  but  refreshments  by 
the  way,  and  mere  glimpses  of  the  glory  to  be  re- 
vealed !  Very  sweet  and  seasonable  have  these 
refreshments  often  proved  to  our  souls.  When  w'e 
Avent  into  the  sanctuary  of  God  ;  when  we  bowed, 
our  knees  in  prayer ;  when  we  tasted  the  good 
word  of  the  Lord  ;  when  our  souls  were  satisfied 
as  with  marrow  and  fatness,  and  our  hearts  were 
revived  and  comforted  as  we  fed  with  pleasure  upon 
the  word  of  truth,  and  drew  water  with  joy  from 
the  wells  of  salvation, — all  this  was  sweet,  exceed- 
ing sweet,  and  we  were  enabled  to  say,  "  Thy  sta- 
tutes have  been  my  songs  in  the  house  of  my  pilgrim- 
age." When  we  were  enabled,  with  a  penitent  heart 
and  lively  faith,  humbly  to  draw  near  to  our  Saviour's 
presence;  Avhen  he  revealed  himself  in  his  saving 
office  and  character  to  our  longing  souls  ;  when  we 
heard  his  voice,  when  we  saw  his  face,  when  we  felt 
his  love, — oh,  this  was  sweet,  exceeding  sweet.  He 
whom  our  soul  loveth  looked  forth  at  the  window,  and 
showed  himself  through  the  lattice,  and  we  could  cry 
out,  with  some  httle  degree  of  fervour, 

"  'Tis  heaven  on  earth,  'tis  heaven  above, 
To  see  thy  face,  and  feel  thy  love  !" 

But  how  short  was  the  duration  of  that  sensible  joy  ! 
How  soon  did  our  hearts  grow  hard,  and  cold,  and 
insensible  again  !  Hoav  soon  has  our  Beloved  with- 
drawn himself!  But  oh,  think  what  must  it  be  to 
be  conveyed  in  a  moment  to  the  new  Jerusalem, 
your  happy  home,  where  all  your  toils  and  all  your 
weary  labours  shall  end  for  ever !  where  you  shall 
see  the  King  in  all  his  beauty,  in  all  his  glory,  and 
he  will  no  more  hide  his  face  from  you  !  Can  you 
think  of  this,  and  your  soul  not  break  out  with  very 
fervent  desire  for  the  holy  place  of  the  habitation 
of  the  Most  High  ? 


THE    CELESTIAL    CITY.  429 

'*  Oh  when,  thou  city  of  my  God, 
Shall  I  thy  courts  ascend, 
Where  congregations  ne'er  break,  up, 
And  Sabbaths  have  no  end  ?" 

Remember,  dear  brethren,  it  is  only  the  ransomed 
of  the  Lord  who  can  thus  return  and  come  to  Zion 
with  singing  and  with  joy.  Are  you  among  this 
happy  number  ?  Have  you  ever  felt  your  need 
of  a  great  ransom,  to  make  satisfaction  for  all  your 
sins,  and  to  deliver  your  guilty  soul  from  going 
down  into  the  pit  of  eternal  destruction  ?  Have 
you  pleaded  in  earnest  prayer,  and  accepted  in 
thankful  faith,  the  great  sacrifice  of  that  divine  and 
glorious  Saviour,  v,-ho  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all  ? 
Oh,  be  persuaded,  every  one  of  you,  that  there  is  no 
way  through  the  swellings  of  Jordan  for  any  soul 
of  man  to  pass  safely  but  only  the  ransomed  of  the 
Lord.  If  you  essay  to  go  over  without  faith  in  the 
blood  of  sprinkling,  like  the  Egyptians  in  the  Red 
Sea,  you  will  be  drowned.  The  river  of  Jordan 
will  sweep  you  away — that  ancient  river,  the  river 
Jordan.  Who  are  the  happy  souls  that  ministering 
spirits  rejoice  to  convey  with  singing  and  gladness 
and  melody,  to  the  gates  of  glory  ?  What  is  that 
company  we  see,  rejoicing  and  marching  in  triumph 
on  the  further  side  of  Jordan  ?  "  Who  are  these 
that  are  arrayed  in  white,  and  whence  came  they?" 
These  are  they  that  have  come  out  of  great  tribu- 
lation. The)^  took  up  their  cross,  they  denied  them- 
selves, they  chose  rather  to  suffer  affliction  with  the 
people  of  God  than  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  for 
a  season;  they  toiled  forward  on  a  painful  pilgrim- 
age ;  they  declared  plainly  that  they  sought  a  city; 
they,  too,  had  to  encounter  the  pains  of  death.  But 
mark  very  carefully,  dear  brethren,  none  of  their 
pains  or  tribulation,  however  great,  secured  for  them 


430  LECTURE  XXIX. 

that  joyful  welcome  into  the  city  of  the  Jiving  God. 
Oh  no  !  "  They  washed  their  robes  and  made  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  They  fled  by  faith, 
every  one  of  them,  as  poor  perishing  sinners,  to 
that  atoning  blood  which  cleanseth  from  all  sin ; 
and  thus  their  welcome,  and  their  entrance  into 
glory,  was  procured.  See  to  it,  that  you  are  per- 
sonally interested  in  Christ,  and  then  all  will  be 
well.  Seek  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found. 
Embrace  his  salvation  now,  while  it  is  freely  offered 
to  you.     Say,  from  the  bottom  of  your  heart: 

"  Prepare  me,  Lord,  ibr  thy  right  hand, 
Then  coiTie  the  joyful  day : 
Come,  death,  and  some  celestial  band, 
To  bear  my  soul  away." 

IL  We  pass  on  to  consider,  in  the  next  place, 
the  admittance  of  Christian  and  Hopeful  into  the 
Celestial  City.  They  came  up  to  the  gate,  and  be- 
held the  inscription  that  was  written  over  it  in  letters 
of  gold :  Blessed  are  they  that  do  his  command- 
ments, THAT  THEY  MAY  HAVE  RIGHT  TO  THE  TREE 
OF    LIFE,  AND    MAY    ENTER    IN    THROUGH    THE  GATES 

INTO  THE  CITY.  When  the  voif^es  of  new  comers 
were  heard  at  the  gate,  some  of  the  happy  citizens 
from  the  towering  wall  above  lookt- d  down  to  see 
who  called  for  admittance.  It  was  snid  by  the 
strong  guard,  who  conducted  the  pilgrims  :  "  These 
men  are  come  from  the  City  of  Destruction,  for  the 
love  which  they  bear  to  the  King  of  this  place.' 
Their  certificates  were  then  demanded.  Christian 
and  Hopeful  severally  drew  forth  each  his  own  cer- 
tificate, the  same  which  he  had  received  at  the 
commencement  of  his  pilgrimage,  and  presented  il 
at  the  gate.  These  certificates  were  carried  imme- 
diately to  the  King.  All  was  correct  and  right ; 
there  was  no  flaw  nor  fault  found  in  either  of  the 


THE   CELESTIAL   CITY.  431 

documents.  The}^  were  neither  forged  nor  altered, 
but,  being  sealed  with  the  King's  signet,  and  signed 
by  the  King's  own  hand,  there  could  be  no  mistake 
or  demur  respecting  them.  In  a  moment  the  royal 
order  was  issued,  and  the  King's  commandment 
was  heard  :  "  Open  ye  the  gate."  Then  did  they 
enter  into  the  glorious  city  :  and  as  they  entered, 
they  were  transfigured,  and  had  raiment  put  on 
them  that  shone  like  gold.  Each  of  them  had  a 
harp  put  into  his  hand,  and  a  glittering  crown 
placed  upon  his  head.  All  the  city  rejoiced  at 
their  safe  arrival,  and  its  holy  inhabitants  made  the 
very  walls  to  ring  with  joy.  They  were  told  to  enter 
into  the  joy  of  their  Lord.  And  oh  what  a  joy  was 
that !  Their  warfare  was  accomplished  ;  the  days 
of  their  mourninof  were  ended.  They  had  arrived 
at  Jerusalem,  their  happy  home.  They  obtained 
joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  fled  away. 
How  could  they  refrain  from  expressing  their  joy  ? 
They  sang  with  a  loud  voice,  saying :  "  Alleluia  ! 
blessing  and  honour  and  glory  and  power  be  unto 
Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  to  the  Lamb, 
for  ever  and  ever !  As  the  gates  were  opened  to 
admit  the  pilgrims,  a  glimpse  was  obtained  into  the 
interior  of  the  city.  It  shone  like  the  sun  ;  its 
streets  were  paved  with  gold ;  and  all  its  inhabit- 
ants were  seen  walking  about  w^ith  crowns  on  their 
heads,  and  palms  in  their  hands,  and  golden  harps 
wherevvHth  to  make  heavenly  melody.  There  were 
also  glorious  creatures  that  had  wings,  and  one  cried, 
and  another  answered:  "Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the 
Lord!"  After  this  glimpse,  the  gates  were  closed. 
And  who,  that  w^as  left  on  the  outer  side,  after  what 
lie  had  seen,  could  refrain  from  wishing  himself 
safely  there  ? 

Do  we,  my  brethren,  feel  this  wish,  warm  and 


432  LECTURE   XXIX. 

fervent,  springing  up  in  our  hearts?  It  is  not  a 
transient  pang  of  rapturous  desire  that  will  bring  us 
to  heaven.  Remember,  and  forget  not,  who  it  is 
that  can  Hve  for  ever,  and  enter  into  the  city.  There 
is  written,  as  it  were,  over  the  gates  of  it,  "  Blessed 
are  they  that  do  his  commandments,  that  they  may 
have  right  to  the  tree  of  Hfe,  and  may  enter  in  through 
the  gates  into  the  city !  And  what,  my  brethren,  are 
the  commandments  of  Almighty  God  to  us  misera- 
ble sinners,  the  fallen  children  of  fallen  Adam  ?  He 
commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent.  This  is 
his  commandment,  that  we  believe  in  the  name  of 
the  only-begotten  Son  of  God.  What  doth  the  Lord 
require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  to  love  mercy,  and 
to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God  ?  Thus,  his  command- 
ments include  these  three  necessary  things,  repent- 
ance, faith,  and  obedience.  None  that  are  impeni- 
tent, unbelieving,  or  living  in  wilful  transgression 
of  the  law  of  God,  do  his  commandments.  Those 
that  are  taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  feel  and  be- 
wail and  forsake  their  sins — to  put  all  their  trust 
and  confidence  for  pardon  and  acceptance  in  the 
precious  promises  of  the  gospel,  and,  as  the  fruit 
of  their  repentance  and  the  effect  of  their  faith,  who 
daily  endeavour  to  rule  their  lives  by  the  word  of 
God — these  are  the  happy  people  that  do  his  com- 
mandments, that  keep  the  truth  ;  and  these,  accord- 
ing to  the  tenor  of  the  covenant  of  grace  "  have  right 
to  the  tree  of  life,  and  enter  in  through  the  gates 
into  the  city."  This  is  the  generation  of  the  upright. 
This  will  comprise  in  every  age  the  genuine  features 
of  a  citizen  of  Zion,  who  shall  abide  in  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  Lord,  and  dwell  in  his  holy  hill.  "  This 
is  the  generation  of  them  that  seek  him,  that  seek 
thy  face,  O  Jacob."  These  are  the  true  subjects 
of  the  King  of  glory ;  and  for  all  these,  without  a 


THE   CELESTIAL    CITY.  433 

Single  exception,  the  everlasting  doors  shall  be 
lifted  up,  and  the  eternal  gates  shall  be  opened 
wide,  that  they  may  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  ever- 
lasting life  and  happiness  and  glory.  These  all 
can  produce  a  certificate,  signed  by  the  King's 
hand,  and  sealed  with  the  King's  signet;  how, 
then,  should  he  deny  them  admittance  into  his 
presence  ?  What  is  this  certificate,  this  all-import- 
ant document,  without  which  we  can  in  no  wise 
eithec  enter  into  the  King's  palace,  or  see  the  King's 
face  ?  What  can  it  be  but  the  genuine  work  of 
sanctification,  wrought  in  every  believing  heart  by 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  that  hohness 
without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.  It  is 
nothing  else  than  that  new  and  gracious  principle 
which  the  trembhng  penitent  received  into  his  heart 
at  the  beginning,  when  first  the  good  work  was 
begun  ; — that  principle  which  showed  him  his  sin, 
and  caused  him  to  loathe  it ;  which  showed  him 
his  Saviour,  and  enabled  him  to  rest  upon  him; 
which  showed  him  the  beauty  and  excellence  of 
the  Divine  law,  and  caused  him  to  love  it,  and  de- 
light in  it,  and  strive  to  observe  it,  all  the  days  of 
his  life.  This  is  the  believer's  certificate.  It  is 
the  seal  of  the  living  God,  by  which  all  the  true 
citizens  of  Mount  Zion  are  set  apart  from  the  un- 
godly, and  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  It 
is  the  writing  impressed  by  the  finger  of  God,  to 
distinguish  the  objects  of  his  everlasting  love,  the 
people  in  whose  heart  he  has  written  his  laws.  In 
short,  it  is  their  Father's  image,  their  Father's 
name,  their  Father's  Spirit,  and  their  Father's  law, 
to  distinguish  all  who  are  truly  born  of  God  from  a 
world  that  lieth  in  wickedness.  How  then,  can  they 
be  denied  admittance  into  their  Father's  kingdom  ? 

37 


434  LECTURE   XXIX. 

Will  the  Lord  refuse  the  impress  of  his  own  seal,  his 
own  image  ?  Can  he  deny  his  own  hand-vvriiing  ? 
The  thing  is  impossible.  Clothed  in  the  white  robe 
of  their  Redeemer's  righteousness,  they  shall  be  pre- 
sented faultless  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  with 
exceeding  joy.  And  now  it  is  done.  All  their  toils 
and  sorrows  and  privations  are  ended  for  ever.  Now 
"  they  are  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him 
day  and  night  in  his  temple  ;  and  he  that  sitteth  on 
the  throne  shall  dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hun- 
ger no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more,  neither  shall 
the  sun  hght  on  them,  nor  any  heat ;  for  the  Lamb 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them, 
and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters  ; 
and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes. 
Oh,  my  brethren,  can  we  think  of  all  this  glory 
in  the  heavenly  Canaan,  and  not  wish  ourselves 
there?  See,  first,  that  by  simple  faith  you  receive 
Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  to  save  you  to  the  uttermost; 
and  then  cherish  and  retain,  and  never  let  go,  the 
hope  of  glory  and  the  prospect  of  the  goodly  inhe- 
ritance which  he  has  purchased  for  you  and  pre- 
sented to  you.  When  the  Christian  pilgrim  is  pos- 
sessed of  this, 

"  Oh,  how  he  longs  to  have  his  passport  signed, 
And  be  dismissed." 

Retain  this,  and  you  will  long  for  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  that  of  which  you  have  received  the  earn- 
est and  the  pledge.  It  will  make  you  act  hke  a 
pilgrim  to  your  dying  day.  It  will  support  you 
amid  all  the  fatigue  of  the  wilderness.  And  when 
you  see  that  nothing  but  death,  like  a  narrow  stream, 
separates  between  you  and  the  glorious  land,  it  will 
make  you  cry  out  as  Moses  did;  "O  Lord  God, 
thou  hast  begun  to  show  thy  servant  thy  greatness 
and  thy  mighty  hand.     I  pray  thee  let  me  go  over 


THE   CELESTIAL   CITY.  435 

and  see  the  good  land  that  is  beyond  Jordan,  that 
goodly  mountain  and  Lebanon." 

III.  We  have  now,  in  the  last  place,  to  consider 
briefly  the  terrible  disappointment  of  Ignorance. 
He,  too,  at  length  came  up  to  the  river's  brink. 
He  contrived  to  get  over  it  very  easily.  But  by 
what  means  was  this  done  ?  There  happened  to 
be  just  then  at  hand  a  ferryman  called  Vain-hope, 
and  he  readily  undertook  to  convey  Ignorance  across 
the  water  in  his  boat.  Thus,  without  any  of  the 
awe  or  distress  of  the  other  two,  and  without  half 
their  difficulty,  Ignorance  gained  the  opposite  shore. 
He,  too,  like  those  who  had  gone  before,  ascended 
the  hill,  and  came  to  the  gate  ;  only  there  was 
none  waiting  to  receive  him,  neither  did  he  obtain 
encouragement  of  any  kind.  He  noticed  the  in- 
scription upon  the  gate  of  the  city ;  and  beginning 
to  knock,  he  seemed  to  expect  that  it  would  be 
opened  to  him  immediately.  Then  was  the  inquiry 
made,  by  one  who  looked  from  the  wall,  who  he 
was,  and  what  he  would  have.  Ignorance  answered, 
"  I  have  eaten  and  drank  in  the  presence  of  the  King, 
and  he  has  taught  in  our  streets."  Upon  this  the 
citizens  asked  for  his  certificate,  that  they  might 
show  it  to  the  King,  who  would  then  immediately 
give  orders  for  his  admission.  But,  alas !  poor 
Ignorance  had  no  certificate  to  produce.  He  made, 
indeed,  a  poor  attempt,  as  if  searching  in  his  bosom 
to  find  it.  But  there  was  no  certificate  there. 
Then  said  the  citizens,  "  You  have  not  got  one  !" 
Ignorance  was  now  speechless,  and  answered  never 
a  word.  His  case  was  soon  reported  to  the  King 
and  this  was  the  commandment  which  he  gave  re- 
specting him :  "  Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and  have 
him   away,  and   cast   him  into   outer  darkness." 


436  LECTURE  XXIX. 

Very  speedily  and  very  fearfully  was  this  righteous 
sentence  executed.  In  a  moment  he  was  carried 
through  the  air  to  the  door  under  the  side  of  the 
hill,  and  shut  up  in  the  doleful  place  where  the 
King's  prisoners  are  kept.  Thus  was  this  poor 
deluded  man,  at  the  very  moment  when  he  thought 
he  had  happiness  secure,  thrust  down  for  ever  to 
the  regions  of  despair.  "  For  there  is  a  way  to 
hell,  even  from  the  gates  of  heaven,  as  well  as  from 
the  City  of  Destruction." 

Oh,  my  friends,  what  a  solemn,  what  a  very 
solemn  lesson  is  here  presented  to  every  one  of  us! 
It  is  the  last  lesson  we  are  taught  in  the  instructive 
allegory  which  has  now  for  so  long  engaged  our 
attention,  and  which  we  are  now  permitted  to  con- 
clude. Oh,  may  we  every  one  be  effectually  warned 
by  it !  Let  us  bind  it  upon  our  hearts,  and  fasten 
it  upon  our  memory.  Let  us  never  forget  it  to  the 
latest  day  of  our  lives,  and  then  we  shall  not  have 
directed  our  thoughts  to  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  in 
vain.  Without  a  converted  heart,  without  the  sanc- 
tification  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  can  never  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  holy  city.  You  may  be  very  con- 
fident that  you  are  in  the  right  way.  You  may 
meet  death,  not  only  without  terror,  but  with  strong 
confidence.  Vain-hope  may  ferry  you  over  Jordan ; 
and  with  all  the  delusion  and  presumption  of  Igno- 
rance, you  may  look  for  admittance  into  the  blessed 
abode.  "  But  where  is  your  certificate  ?"  Where 
is  your  meetness  for  the  heavenly  inheritance  ? 
Where  is  the  evidence  that  you  have  indeed  passed 
from  death  unto  life  ?  Where  is  that  penitent,  be- 
lieving and  obedient  heart,  which  invariably  is  found 
in  all  the  children  of  God  ?  If  you  are  destitute 
of  this,  you  are  destitute  of  every  thing.  You  have 
not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  you  are  none  of  his 


THE   CELESTIAL. CITY.  437 

You  are  yet  in  your  sins,  a  poor,  ignorant,  uncon- 
verted, unsanctified  sinner.  You  are  without  holi- 
ness, and  how  can  you  see  the  Lord  ?  You  are  not 
washed  from  the  filthiness  of  sin,  and  you  can  in  no 
wise  enter  into  the  New  Jerusalem.  Oh,  what  can 
barren  notions,  what  can  vain  hope  or  false  confi- 
dence, do  for  you,  when  the  King's  commandment 
shall  go  forth  :  "  Bind  him  hand  and  foot,  and  have 
him  away."  Then  indeed  you  will  be  speechless. 
It  will  be  too  late  then  to  remedy  your  fatal  mis- 
take. "  He  that  is  filthy  must  be  fikhy  still,  and  he 
that  is  unholy  must  be  unholy  still."  Do  not  pre- 
sume in  your  heart,  and  say.  Having  safely  passed 
so  many  dangers,  how  should  I  be  cast  away  at  the 
last,  just  when  I  arrive  at  the  gate  of  heaven  ?  Oh, 
it  is  true,  it  is  awfully  true — "  there  is  a  way  to  hell 
even  from  the  gates  of  heaven,  as  well  as  from  the 
City  of  Destruction."  If  you  are  denied  admission 
to  glorified  saints,  through  the  gates  of  the  city, 
think  who  will  be  your  companions  for  ever  and 
ever :  "  Without  are  dogs,  and  sorcerers,  and  whore- 
mongers, and  murderers,  and  idolaters,  and  whoso- 
ever loveth  and  maketh  a  lie."  Oh,  that  you  would 
seek  now  what  it  will  be  too  late  to  find  then ! 
Though  the  gate  of  heaven  is  only  open  for  saints, 
the  door  of  mercy,  which  is  Jesus  Christ,  is  open 
for  sinners.  Apply  to  Him  for  mercy  now,  and 
He  will  pardon  you,  and  save  you  from  your  sins, 
and  give  you  an  inheritance  among  them  that  are 
sanctified.  Remember  there  is  nothing,  no,  nothing, 
but  your  own  stubborn  will,which  prevents  your  com- 
ing to  Christ  for  pardoning  mercy  and  sanctifying 
grace.  Oh,  come,  come  now,  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
to  obtain  mercy  and  to  find  grace  !  "  The  Spirit 
and  the  Bride  say,  Come  ;  and  let  him  that  heareth 

37* 


438  LECTURE   XXIX. 

say,  Come;  and  let  him  that  is  athirst,  come;  andwho 
Boever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely." 

THE  HYMN. 

Jerusalem  !  my  happy  home  ! 

Name  ever  dear  to  me  ! 
When  shall  my  labours  have  an  end, 

In  joy,  and  peace,  and  thee  ? 
Oh  when,  thou  city  of  my  God, 

Shall  I  ihy  courts  ascend  ; 
Where  congregations  ne'er  break  up, 

And  Sabbaths  have  no  end  ? 
There  happier  bowers  than  Eden's  bloom, 

Nor  sin  nor  sorrow  know  : 
Blest  seats  !  through  rude  and  stormy  scenes 

I  onward  press  to  you. 
Why  should  I  shrink  at  pain  and  wo, 

Or  feel  at  death  dismay  ? 
I've  Canaan's  goodly  land  in  view, 

And  realms  of  endless  day. 
Apostles,  martyrs,  prophets,  there 

Around  my  Saviour  stand  ; 
And  soon  my  friends  in  Christ  below 

Will  join  the  glorious  band. 
Jerusalem  !  my  happy  home  ! 

My  soul  still  pants  for  thee  ; 
Then  shall  my  labours  have  an  end, 

When  I  thy  joys  shall  see. 

THE  PRAYER. 

Almighty  and  ever-living  God,  without  whom  nothing  is 
strong,  nothing  is  holy,  mercifully  look  upon  us,  and  grant 
that  in  this,  and  all  our  works,  begun,  continued,  and  ended 
in  thee,  we  may  glorify  thy  holy  name,  and  hnally  by  thy 
mercy  obtain  everlasting  life,  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  only 
Mediator  and  Redeemer.  Through  thy  good  hand  upon  us, 
we  have  been  permitted  to  end  the  subjects  which  for  some 
time  have  engaged  our  attention.  Oh,  let  thy  Holy  Spirit  seal 
upon  our  hearts  the  instructions  we  have  heard  ;  and  grant 
that  whatsoever  we  may  have  profitably  learnt  from  thy  holy 
word,  we  may  indeed  fulfil  the  same.  Impress  it  deeply 
upon  our  minds,  that  we  are  only  strangers  and  pilgrims  in 
this  present  world  ;  and  that  soon  the  days  of  our  pilgrimage 
will  draw  to  a  close;  and  that  a  never-ending  eternity  will 
then  burst  upon  us.     May  we  then  be  found  among  the  ran 


THE   CELESTIAL   CITY.  439 

somed  of  the  Lord,  who  shall  return  and  come  to  Zion  with 
songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  our  heads  ;  then  may  we  ob- 
tain joy  and  gladness,  while  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee 
away  for  ever.  Oh,  that  we  may  indeed  be  brought  to  the 
New  Jerusalem,  our  heavenly  home,  when  our  mortal  course 
is  finished!  We  know  that  none  but  thy  redeemed  people 
can  be  admitted  there.  Lord,  number  us  now  among  thy 
saints  that  are  in  the  earth,  that  hereafter  we  may  be  num- 
bered with  them  in  glory  everlasting.  Now  may  we  come 
as  convinced  sinners,  by  true  faith,  to  be  personally  interested 
in  that  precious  Saviour,  who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  our 
sins.  May  we  come  now  to  wash  our  robes  and  make  them 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  that  in  due  time  we  may 
come  fully  unto  Mount  Zion,  and  unto  the  city  of  the  living 
God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to  an  innumerable  com- 
pany of  angels,  to  the  general  assembly  and  church  of  the 
first-born,  which  are  written  in  heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge 
of  all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect.  Give  us, 
we  most  humbly  beseech  thee,  now  in  the  time  of  this  mortal 
life,  to  experience  the  sanctifying  power  of  thy  Holy  Spirit. 
Do  thou  not  only  cleanse  us  from  all  our  idols,  and  from  all 
our  filthiness,  but  be  pleased,  according  to  thy  covenant  pro- 
mise, to  put  thy  Spirit  within  us,  and  cause  us  to  wa.k  in  thy 
statutes,  and  to  keep  thy  commandments,  and  to  do  them  ; 
that  we  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in 
through  the  gates  into  the  city.  May  we  all  be  found  with 
a  true  certificate,  when  we  seek  to  be  admitted  into  thy  glo- 
rious kingdom.  Then  may  we  be  found  partakers  of  that 
new  nature,  and  possessed  of  that  holiness,  without  which 
no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.  Oh,  that  we  may  truly  bear 
thine  image  now,  and  hereafter  be  admitted  to  the  blessed 
company  before  thy  throne,  who  serve  thee,  day  and  night, 
in  thy  temple  !  Deliver  all  of  us  from  the  awful  delusion  of 
supposing  ourselves  to  be  at  the  very  gate  of  heaven,  when 
we  are  about  to  be  cast  down  into  hell.  May  we  all  be  taught 
of  thee,  and  become  wise  unto  salvation,  before  the  accepted 
time  and  the  day  of  salvation  shall  have  passed  away  for 
ever.  Suffer  us  not  to  pass  out  of  time  into  eternity  with  a 
lie  in  our  right  hand.  Deliver  us  from  every  refuge  of  lies, 
and  from  every  vain  hope  ;  and  let  none  of  us  indulge  the 
hope  of  the  wicked,  or  the  hope  of  the  hypocrite,  which  can 
only  end  in  blackness  and  darkness  for  ever.  Make  us  all 
to  know,  in  this  our  day,  the  things  which  belong  to  our  peace, 
before  they  are  for  ever  hid  from  our  eyes.  And  now,  bless- 
ing, and  honour,  and  glory,  and  power,  be  unto  Him  that 
sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb,  for  ever  and 
ever.    Amen. 


LECTURE  XXX. 

THE    CONCLUSION. 


Children  of  the  heavenly  King, 
As  we  journey  sweetly  sing; 
Sing  our  Saviour's  worthy  praise, 
Glorious  in  his  works  and  ways. 

We  are  travelling  home  to  God, 
In  the  way  the  fathers  trod; 
They  are  happy  now,  and  we 
Soon  their  happiness  shall  see. 

Fear  not,  brethren,  joyful  stand 
On  the  borders  of  our  land  ; 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Father's  Son, 
Bids  us  undismayed  go  on. 

Lord  !  obediently  we  go. 
Gladly  leaving  all  below  ; 
Only  thou  our  leader  be, 
And  we  still  will  follow  thee. 


Psalm  Ixxxiv.  5 — 7. 

BLESSED  IS  THE  MAX  'WHOSE  STRENGTH  IS  IN  THEE;  IN  VTHOSE  HEART  ABB 
THE  WATS  OF  THEM.  WHO  PASSING  THROUGH  THE  VALLEY  OF  BACA  MAKB 
IT  A  WELL  ;  THE  RAIN  ALSO  FILLETH  THE  POOLS.  THEY  GO  FROM  STRENGTH 
TO   STRENGTH,   EVERY   ONE   OF   THEM   IN   ZION   APPEAUETH   BEFORE    GOD. 

When  our  Saviour  had  been  teaching  many- 
solemn  and  affecting  truths,  as  we  read  in  the  13th  / 
chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  "  All  these  things  spake ' 
he  unto  the  muhitude  in  parables  ;  and  without  a 
parable  spake  he  not  unto  them."  But  he  was  ever 
ready  to  expound  the  meaning  of  his  parables,  when 
humbly  asked  to  do  so  in  secret.  He  wished  all 
his    disciples    thoroughly   to   apprehend   his   dis- 


THE   CONCLUSION.  441 

courses ;  and  to  see,  through  the  outward  covering 
in  which  they  were  arrayed,  the  striking  features 
of  truth  which  were  hid  under  them.  Thus,  at  the 
conclusion  of  all  the  parables  which  He  had  spoken, 
He  said  to  his  disciples,  "  Have  ye  understood  all 
these  things  ?"  A  great  variety  of  solemn  and  im- 
portant truths  have  been  set  before  us  in  parables, 
while  we  have  been  lecturing  on  the  Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress. Before  we  leave  the  subject,  I  wish,  in  a 
soncluding  Lecture,  to  press  home  upon  every  one 
df  you  the  question  asked  by  our  Saviour  at  the 
conclusion  of  his  parables — "  Have  ye  understood 
all  these  things  ?"  With  this  object  in  view,  I 
have  selected  the  text  which  has  just  been  read  as 
Ihe  groundwork  of  this  concluding  discourse.  It 
takes  in,  at  a  single  glance,  the  whole  of  the  Pil- 
grim's progress,  from  his  first  setting  out,  to  the 
happy  termination  of  his  journey.  All  true  pil- 
grims to  the  Celestial  City  are  men  whose  strength 
is  in  the  Lord  God.  They  have  got  the  heart  of 
them  \vho  are  travellers  and  wayfaring  men.  They 
have  to  pass,  indeed,  through  the  valley  of  Baca — 
that  is,  the  vale  of  misery ;  but  they  are  not  left 
without  streams  of  refreshment  by  the  way.  They 
renew  their  strength,  and  wax  stronger  and  stronger, 
by  partaking  of  the  provision  that  is  made  for  them. 
They  arrive  safely  at  their  journey's  end.  "  Unto 
the  God  of  gods  appeareth  every  one  of  them  in 
Zion." 

We  have  here  the  beginning,  the  progress  and 
the  end  of  the  Christian's  course  from  earth  to 
heaven.  We  shall  review  the  whole  pilgrimage, 
by  taking  a  glance  at  these  three  particulars  ;  paus- 
ing to  inquire,  at  each  head,  if  we  have  understood 
all  these  things. 


442  LECTURE  XXX. 

I.  As  to  the  beginning  of  the  Christian's  course. 
A  certain  man  dwelling  in  a  vast  city  received  in- 
telligence, that,  before  long,  the  place  in  which  he 
dwelt  would  be  burnt  up,  and  all  its  inhabitants 
destroyed.  He  was  deeply  affected  at  the  news. 
Being  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  report,  he  went 
about  weeping,  with  a  heavy  burden  weighing  upon 
him.  At  length  he  was  directed  to  make  his  es- 
cape, and  told  in  what  direction  to  go.  He  was 
urged  to  strive  for  a  little  gate  at  a  great  distance ; 
and  so  he  did.  He  tried  to  persuade  his  family  to 
go  with  him ;  but  they  only  laughed  at  him,  and 
would  not  go.  He  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  set 
out  alone.  But  scarcely  had  he  put  a  step  on  the 
road,  before  numbers  came  about  him,  and  earnestly 
begged  him  to  return.  He  would  not  be  persuaded, 
but  on  he  went.  Soon  he  fell  into  a  bog,  and  there 
had  well-nigh  been  choked ;  but  assistance  came, 
and  he  got  through  it.  Delivered  from  that  trouble, 
he  was  soon  involved  in  another.  A  false  deceiver 
turned  him  out  of  the  way  in  which  he  had  been 
directed,  and  induced  him  to  go  by  Mount  Sinai. 
There  he  was  almost  killed  by  the  thunder  and 
lightning ;  but  again  he  was  helped,  and  put  into 
the  right  way.  He  arrived  at  the  narrow  gate 
which  had  been  pointed  out  to  him ;  and  when  he 
knocked,  it  was  opened  to  him  and  he  entered 
through  it."  There  it  was  shown  him  what  he  must 
do.  From  thence  he  pressed  forward  to  the  Inter- 
preter's House.  Wonderful  and  excellent  were 
the  lessons  which  he  there  received.  He  would 
never  have  got  to  his  journey's  end  without  the  in- 
formation he  obtained  at  that  house.  He  had 
scarcely  left  this  mansion  before  he  arrived  at  a 
place  where  were  a  cross  and  a  sepulchre.     Here 


THE   CONCLUSION.  443 

his  burden  fell  from  him,  and  tumbled  into  the  se- 
pulchre ;  and  he  received  a  change  of  raiment,  and 
a  sealed  rolJ,  which  he  was  to  present  at  the  celes- 
tial gate.  Then  did  the  poor  Pilgrim  indeed  look 
like  an  altered  man,  and  he  went  on  his  way  re- 
joicing. He  had  now  fully  set  out  on  his  all-im- 
portant journey. 

Here,  my  brethren,  let  me  pause  to  press  upon 
you  the  inquiry  to  which  I  have  already  referred — 
Have  you  understood  all  these  things  ?  I  do  not 
mean,  can  you  see  what  is  signified  by  this  figura- 
tive language,  and  discern  clearly  the  great  scrip- 
tural truths  which  it  conveys  ;  but,  have  you  any 
experimental  acquaintance  with  these  things  ?  Do 
not  mistake  the  pleasure  you  derive  from  reading 
any  ingenious  work  upon  religion,  for  religion  itself. 
Do  not  confound  your  ability  to  explain  spiritual 
emblems  with  spirituality  itself.  Think  not  that 
you  truly  accompany  the  Pilgrim  in  the  life  of  faith 
and  the  walk  with  God,  because  you  understand  the 
emblem,  and  approve  the  meaning  and  interpreta- 
tion of  the  parable.  Have  you  ever  really  set  out 
on  pilgrimage  yourself?  Have  you  in  any  measure 
realized,  in  your  own  experience,  the  momentous 
truths  which  are  set  before  you  in  a  figure  ?  We 
are  far  from  asserting  that  all  real  Christians  are 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  exactly  in 
the  same  manner.  There  may  be  almost  an  end- 
less variety  in  the  Lord's  dealings  with  his  people, 
and  the  peculiar  way  in  which  he  brings  them  to 
himself.  True  conversion  in  every  instance  is  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  we  must  not  pre- 
scribe to  the  free  Spirit  of  our  God.  He  breathes, 
and  works,  and  divides  where,  and  when,  and  how 
he  will     It  would  be  therefore  very  unscriptural 


444  LECTURE   XXX. 

to  say,  that  no  one  can  be  really  a  child  of  God,  un- 
less his  experience  at  the  first  agreed  in  all  things 
with  that  of  any  individual  Christian.  With  re- 
gard to  time  and  manner,  order  and  degree,  con- 
victions and  comforts,  abounding  hope  or  prevail- 
ing fear,  instantaneous  light  or  gradual  illumina- 
tion, there  may  be  the  greatest  possible  variety  in 
several  individuals,  and  yet  all  alike  may  be  truly 
born  of  God.  But  amid  all  this  variety,  there  are 
certain  prominent  features  which  will  ever  distin- 
guish the  family  of  the  first-born,  and  there  is  some 
experience  of  which  they  all  partake  during  the  time 
of  their  sojourning  here.  They  are  all  awakened  ; 
they  are  all  exposed  to  temptation ;  they  are  all  apt 
to  try  first  what  they  can  do  themselves,  before  they 
apply  to  Christ.  They  are  all  incHned  to  go  wrong, 
and  they  all  require  faithful  counsel  to  direct  them 
aright.  They  have  every  one  to  exercise  self-denial, 
in  order  to  press  in  at  the  strait  gate.  They  can 
do  nothing  without  the  gracious  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  to  open  their  understanding  to  under- 
stand the  Scriptures.  They  are  all  taught  of  God. 
They  all  derive  whatever  hope,  or  peace,  or  grace 
they  possess,  from  a  believing  view  of  Jesus  dying 
on  the  cross  for  them.  And  now  they  have  truly 
entered  upon  the  Christian's  course :  they  are  on 
the  way  to  Zion,  with  their  faces  thitherward  ;  they 
share  the  blessing  of  the  man  whose  trust  is  in  the 
Lord,  and  they  possess  the  heart  of  them  who  are 
passing  through  the  valley  of  Baca. 

Do  you,  my  brethren,  know  any  thing  of  expe- 
rience hke  this  ?  Have  you  ever  been  thoroughly 
awakened  to  a  sense  of  your  guilt  and  danger  ?  Feel- 
ing your  sins  really  to  be  a  burden,  and  perceiving 
that  you  are  exposed  to  the  wrath  of  God,  have  you 


THE  CONCLUSION.  445 

begun  in  earnest  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ? 
Have  you  opposed  the  temptations  and  inducements 
which  have  been  offered  to  quench  your  convictions 
and  to  make  you  sleep  even  as  others  ?  Unmoved 
either  by  the  ridicule  of  others  or  your  own  de- 
sponding fears,  have  you  resolutely  determined  to 
escape  for  your  hfe  ?  Have  you  found  the  impossi- 
bihty  of  working  out  a  righteousness  of  your  own, 
and  the  awful  delusion  of  seeking  salvation  by  the 
works  of  the  law?  Have  you  gone,  as  a  poor  bur- 
dened sinner,  to  knock  by  earnest  and  persevering 
prayer  at  that  gate  of  mercy  where  Jesus  answers 
prayer?  Under  a  deep  persuasion  of  your  own 
blindness  and  ignorance  as  to  spiritual  things,  have 
you  ever  experienced,  have  you  ever  earnestly 
sought  to  experience,  the  gracious  teaching  of  the 
only  infallible  interpreter  of  Scripture  ?  Have  you 
said  to  Him  who  alone  can  make  you  light  in  the 
Lord,  "  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that  I  may  behold  the 
wondrous  things  out  of  thy  law  ?"  And  has  this- 
prayer  been  answered  by  the  Spirit  of  truth  taking 
of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  showing  them  unta 
you  ?  so  that  you  have  had,  in  some  measure,  a 
revelation  of  Christ  crucified  made  to  you,  and 
he  has  become  supremely  glorious  in  your  sight, 
and  unspeakably  precious  to  your  heart?  While 
your  burdened  conscience  has  found  rest  in  Jesus 
Christ  and  him  crucified,  are  all  your  supphes  of 
present  strength,  and  all  your  hopes  of  future  glory, 
drawn  from  Him,  as  their  proper  and  never-faihng 
fountain  ?  Oh,  that  we  may  every  one  possess  these 
marks,  clear  and  distinct,  of  our  having  set  out  in- 
deed for  the  better  country  !  Oh,  that  none  of  us 
may  be  deceived  by  thinking  that  our  state  is  good, 
while  we  are  destitute  of  the  things  which  accom- 


446  LECTURE   XXX. 

pany  salvation  !  Oh,  that  none  of  us  may  mistake 
knowing  and  approving  of  the  Pilgrim's  path  for 
an  experimental  acquaintance  of  it  in  our  hearts, 
and  a  practical  exhibition  of  it  in  our  lives  . 

II.  We  pass  on  from  the  Christian's  entrance 
upon  the  right  path  to  the  progress  which  he  makes 
in  the  way  everlasting.  The  traveller  to  Zion  not 
only  sets  out,  but  he  presses  on  his  way.  "  He 
goes  from  strength  unto  strength."  When  Chris- 
tian had  found  relief  from  his  burden,  and  had  re- 
ceived his  roll  of  evidence,  as  he  went  on  his  way, 
how  diversified  was  his  experience,  and  how  various 
were  the  characters  with  whom  he  came  in  contact ! 
He  found  Simple,  Sloth,  and  Presumption  asleep 
in  chains,  and  tried  to  rouse  them,  and  offered  to 
help  them ;  but  they  refused  his  aid.  He  saw 
Formahty  and  Hypocrisy  come  tumbling  over  the 
wall,  and  advised  them  to  go  back,  and  seek  admis- 
sion through  the  gate  at  the  head  of  the  way ;  but 
they  scorned  his  service.  By  sleeping  himself, 
when  he  ought  only  to  have  rested  for  a  httle,  he 
lost  his  roll ;  and  only  recovered  it  again  after  much 
bitter  experience.  Though  almost  frightened  back 
by  the  lions,  he  obtained  admission  into  the  House 
Beautiful ;  and  unspeakably  sweet,  and  very  profit- 
able, was  the  intercourse  which  he  had  with  the 
inmates  there.  He  tasted  there  the  sweetness  of 
communion  and  fellowship  with  other  pilgrims ; 
and  was  strengthened  and  refreshed,  by  what  he 
there  received  and  learned,  to  pursue  his  journey. 
He  slipped  as  he  went  down  into  the  valley  of  Hu- 
miliation, and  thus  was  exposed  to  the  furious 
assaults  of  Apollyon  ;  but  he  prevailed  at  length,  by 
means  of  his  celestial  armour.   Very  distressing  was 


THE   CONCLUSION.  447 

his  experience  through  the  region  of  darkness,  but  at 
length  he  got  safely  through  that  gloomy  vale.  He 
overtook  Faithful,  and  rejoiced  greatly  in  the  ac- 
quirement of  such  a  companion.  He  could  not  be 
deceived  by  the  hollow  pretences  of  Talkative,  but 
exposed  his  character  in  its  true  light.  In  Vanity 
Fair  the  two  pilgrims  were  men  wondered  at ;  and 
there,  after  both  of  them  had  been  derided  and 
shamefully  treated,  Faithful  was  martyred.  But 
Christian  was  not  suffered  to  pursue  his  journey 
alone.  Hopeful  was  induced  to  join  his  company, 
by  witnessing  the  behaviour  of  him  who  had  re- 
sisted unto  blood  in  the  fair.  By-ends  and  his 
companions  were  silenced  and  confounded  by  the 
faithful  exposure  which  they  heard  of  their  detesta- 
ble principles  from  the  genuine  pilgrims.  Demas 
would  fain  have  allured  them  to  turn  aside  to  the 
ghttering  hill,  but  they  withstood  the  temptation, 
and  warned  him  solemnly  of  his  base  idolatry. 
They  were,  however,  seduced  from  the  right  way, 
by  entering  upon  a  by-path  to  avoid  the  roughness 
of  the  highway.  This  led  to  their  being  taken 
prisoners  by  Giant  Despair,  and  being  thrust  into 
Doubting  Castle,  where  their  sufferings  were  very 
grievous,  until  at  length,  after  earnest  prayer,  they 
found  the  key  of  promise,  and  by  means  of  this 
they  clean  escaped  from  the  gloomy  prison. 

Here  again  I  would  pause  to  renew  the  inquiry, 
"  Have  ye  understood  all  these  things  ?"  It  is  not 
necessary,  or  even  likely,  if  you  are  real  Christians, 
that  your  experience  should  accord  in  all  things 
with  that  which  is  here  signified.  But  if  you 
humbly  trust  that  you  have  come  to  Christ  for  par- 
don and  salvation,  remember  that  you  are  required 
to  make  progress  in  the  way  everlasting.     You 


448  LECTURE  XXX. 

must  neither  turn  back  nor  stand  still.  You  must 
go  from  strength  unto  strength.  You  must  forget 
the  things  which  are  behind,  and  reach  forth  unto 
those  which  are  before ;  and  press  toward  the  mark 
for  the  prize  of  your  high  calling.  Prove  that 
you  are  growing  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of 
your  Saviour,  by  increasing  endeavours  to  be  use- 
ful in  your  day  and  your  generation.  Try  to  awake 
those  whom  you  see  sleeping  around  you  in  the 
chain  of  their  sins.  Warn  the  formalist,  unmask 
the  hypocrite.  Take  good  heed  to  yourself,  that 
you  grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby 
you  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  Sleep 
not  when  you  ought  to  watch.  Be  not  deterred,  by 
any  formidable  appearance,  from  dehberately  join- 
ing the  congregation  of  the  faithful,  and  casting  in 
your  lot  among  the  people  of  God.  Seek  to  know 
more  and  more,  from  happy  experience,  of  the 
sweetness  and  benefit  of  communion  with  saints. 
If  you  Avould  be  preserved  from  the  fierce  attacks 
of  your  adversary  the  devil,  cultivate  an  humble 
spirit  and  a  lowly  mind.  But  if  ever  you  are  ex- 
posed to  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one,  be  sure 
that  you  resist  him,  steadfast  in  the  faith,  and  clad 
with  the  whole  armour  of  God.  Should  you  be  led 
into  darkness  and  not  into  light,  and  many  painful 
and  distressing  thoughts  and  fears  come  about  you, 
remember,  if  you  walk  by  faith,  and  trust  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  after  all  your  distresses,  in  due 
time  you  shall  be  brought  into  a  wealthy  place. 
Whatever  threatenings  may  be  breathed  out  against 
you,  fear  not  the  reproach  of  men,  neither  be  ye 
afraid  of  their  revilings.  Love  the  company  of 
faithful  people,  and  let  your  soul  be  knit  to  them  in 
the  bonds  of  the  gospel.     Never  think  that  a  man 


THE   CONCLUSION.  449 

full  of  talk  shall  be  justified  ;  and  stri'S  habitually 
to  let  your  walk  and  conversation  ag  '^^e  together, 
and  let  them  both  be  as  becometh  t^e  gospel  of 
Christ.  Behave  yourself  wisely  ami'l:  the  pomps 
and  vanities  of  this  sinful  world.  Show  that, 
though  in  the  world,  you  are  not  of  the  world,  and 
that  your  conversation  is  in  heaven.  Be  wilhng  to 
suffer  for  the  truth's  sake ;  suffer  as  a  Christian, 
and  who  can  tell  the  benefit  of  such  a  testimony  ? 
Consistent  living  and  patient  suffering  form  the  most 
effectual  preaching.  Those  that  obey  not  the  word 
are  sometimes  won  without  the  word  by  upright 
conversation.  Have  nothing  to  do  with  By-ends 
or  any  of  his  wretched  fraternity,  but  cultivate 
simplicity  and  godly  sincerity ;  and  do  every  thing 
in  singleness  of  your  heart,  as  unto  the  Lord.  Be 
not  attracted  by  any  dazzling  prospect  that  may  be 
held  out  to  you  of  becoming  rich.  Think  of  the  n  um- 
bers that  have  lost  their  innocence,  their  peace,  yea, 
and  their  very  souls,  by  coveting  after  this  world's 
gain.  If  you  would  be  kept  from  the  misery  of 
doubt  and  the  cruelty  of  despair,  never  turn  aside 
into  any  by-path,  in  order  to  avoid  your  appointed 
cross.  But  if  at  any  time  you  are  surprised  into 
any  false  way,  and  your  soul  is  imprisoned  by  dark- 
ness and  doubt  and  despair,  never  cease  your 
prayers  until,  by  a  proper  application  of  the  pre- 
cious promises  of  the  gospel,  you  are  brought  out 
of  prison,  and  have  returned  into  the  right  way. 
Oh,  remember,  that  from  first  to  last,  nothing  but 
the  apphcation  of  the  free  promises  of  the  gospel 
to  the  soul,  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  can 
save  a  burdened  sinner  from  despair.  If  despair 
be  a  deep  bog  of  mire  and  clay,  where  there  is  no 
standing,  the  promises  are  so  many  steps  to  carry 


450  LECTURE  XXX. 

us  over.  If  despair  be  a  dark  dungeon  .n  which 
we  are  locked  up,  the  promise  is  a  key  to  open  the 
prison-doors,  and  to  set  us  at  liberty. 

III.  We  pass  on  now  to  consider  the  end  of  the 
Christian's  course. 

Christian  and  his  companion,  after  their  liberation 
from  Doubting  Castle,  were  approaching  to  the  last 
part  of  their  journey.  They  soon  arrived  at  the 
Delectable  Mountains,  where  shepherds  were  feed- 
ing their  flocks  ;  and  great  was  the  benefit  which 
they  derived  from  their  intercourse  with  them.  But 
advancing  forward,  they  could  not  leave  poor  Igno- 
rance without  repeated  endeavours  to  convince  him 
of  his  danger,  and  to  teach  him  the  good  and  the 
right  way.  But  Ignorance  hated  instruction  ;  he 
was  positive  that  he  was  right,  and  could  by  no 
means  be  convinced  of  his  fatal  errors.  They  saw 
Turn-away  carried  in  a  fearful  manner  to  the  hole  at 
the  side  of  the  hill,  and  there  let  down  into  his  gloomy 
prison.  They  heard,  too,  the  history  of  Little-faith, 
who  had  fallen  among  thieves,  and  only  escaped 
with  his  life  after  he  had  been  robbed.  Though  so 
near  their  journey's  end,  they  were  seduced  by  the 
Flatterer,  out  of  the  way,  and  only  escaped  from 
the  net  in  which  he  entangled  them,  by  the  inter- 
ference of  a  celestial  friend,  who  not  only  released 
them,  but  chastised  them  for  their  error.  After 
this,  they  met  with  one  Atheist,  who  laughed  at 
them  for  their  pains  in  seeking  a  city,  and  assured 
them  that  there  was  no  such  a  place.  But  they 
were  not  to  be  imposed  upon  by  his  wicked  lie. 
How  could  they,  when  they  had  a  glimpse  of  the 
Celestial  City  ?  When  they  came  to  the  Enchanted 
Ground,  where  the  air  inclines  to  drowsiness,  they 


THE   CONCLUSION.  451 

kept  each  other  wakeful  by  their  enlivening  dis- 
course. In  addition  to  their  own  experience,  they 
spoke  of  one  Temporary,  who  for  a  while  had  been 
a  pilgrim,  but  afterwards  had  returned  back  to  the 
place  whence  he  set  out.  Thus  conversing,  they 
passed  over,  without  injury,  that  trying  part  of  their 
road.  And  now  they  had  come  to  the  land  of  Beulah, 
where  the  sun  shines  day  and  night,  and  pilgrims 
are  cheered  with  flowers  and  music  at  every  step, 
and  nothing  but  joy  and  gladness  was  to  be  seen  on 
every  side.  At  length  they  came  within  sight  of 
the  river  which  divides  the  land  of  their  pilgrimage 
from  the  city  and  the  country  where  they  wished 
to  be.  They  started  when  they  first  got  a  sight  of 
the  river,  and  would  gladly  have  passed,  if  they 
could,  by  some  other  way,  to  the  regions  beyond. 
But  this  was  impossible.  Cross  it  they  must,  and 
cross  it  they  did.  Christian  at  the  first  was  sorely 
distressed  as  he  sank  in  the  water,  and  thought  that 
he  should  be  drowned.  But  Hopeful  encouraged 
him ;  and  in  due  time  his  comfort  was  restored, 
and  they  both  got  safe  to  the  opposite  shore.  There 
they  were  welcomed  by  bands  of  angels ;  and  hav- 
ing left  all  their  encumbrances  in  the  river,  they 
ascended  swiftly  through  the  regions  of  air,  and 
bounded  up  the  everlasting  hill  on  which  the 
Celestial  City  is  built.  Arrived  at  the  Beautiful 
Gate,  they  sought  admittance ;  and  when  their  cer- 
tificates were  demanded,  they  each  produced  the 
document  which  they  had  received  in  the  day 
when  they  had  seen  the  cross.  This  was  enough. 
The  everlasting  doors  flew  open,  and  these  two 
men,  with  music  and  singing,  were  conducted  into 
the  King's  palace.  Not  so  poor  Ignorance.  He, 
too,  came  up  to  the  gate,  and  began  to  knock  for 


452  LECTURE   XXX. 

admittance.  He  had  got  over  the  river  without 
much  difficulty,  and  seemed  to  expect  that  he  would 
get  as  easily  into  the  city.  But  how  dreadful  was 
his  mistake  !  When  his  certificate  was  asked  for, 
he  had  not  one  to  produce.  Then  did  the  King 
command  him  to  be  bound,  and  to  be  carried  back 
into  the  same  prison  which,  a  little  while  before, 
had  been  opened  for  Turn-away. 

Once  more,  my  brethren,  I  pause  to  ask,  with 
increasing  earnestness,  "  Have  you  understood  all 
these  things  ?"  Oh,  be  admonished  in  time,  by 
the  awful  mistake  and  the  terrible  doom  of  Igno- 
rance. The  Spirit  of  God  must  teach  us,  and  the 
Spirit  of  God  must  sanctify  us,  or  else  into  the  holy 
city  we  can  never  come.  It  is  not  a  strong  per- 
suasion that  we  are  right,  which  proves  us  to  be  so. 
Poor  Ignorance  was  right  in  his  own  eyes.  It  is 
not  an  easy  or  peaceful  death  that  surely  proves  a 
man  has  gone  to  glory.  Ignorance  was  ferried 
over  the  river  by  Vain-hope,  but  what  a  repulse 
did  he  meet  at  the  celestial  gate  !  He  had  no  cer- 
tificate. He  was  an  unsanctified  person  :  how,  then, 
could  he  be  admitted  into  the  holy  city,  or  be  num- 
bered among  the  saints  of  the  Most  High  ?  How 
could  he  see  the  King's  face  ?  Though  pure  in 
his  own  eyes,  he  was  not  washed  from  his  filthi- 
ness ;  and  is  it  not  written,  "  Without  hohness  no 
man  shall  see  the  Lord  ?"  Oh,  my  brethren,  sanc- 
tification  of  the  Spirit  is  the  indispensable  certifi- 
cate. Get  this,  if  you  would  not  be  a  cast-away. 
And  how  are  you  to  get  it  ?  Seek  for  the  light  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  show  you  your  guilt  and  danger, 
and  to  bring  you  as  a  broken-hearted  penitent  to 
Christ,  and  he  will  give  you  the  needful  certificate. 
You  can  only  obtain  inheritance  among  them  that 


THE   CONCLUSION.  453 

are  sanctified  througti  faith  that  is  in  Jesus  Christ. 
Apply  to  him  to  wash  you  in  his  blood,  and  to  cover 
you  with  his  righteousness,  and  he  will  sanctify  you 
also  with  his  Holy  Spirit.  Believe  in  him,  and  he 
will  put  his  Spirit  within  you,  and  write  his  holy 
laws  in  your  heart,  that  you  may  be  transformed 
into  his  own  image,  and  made  meet  for  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  saints  in  light.  Then  you  will  have 
confidence,  and  not  be  ashamed  before  him  at  his 
appearing,  because,  as  he  was,  so  are  you  in  this 
world.  If  you  humbly  trust  that  you  are  a  par- 
taker of  Christ,  hold  fast  the  beginning  of  your  con- 
fidence steadfast  unto  the  end.  Seek,  in  the  society 
of  eminent  and  experienced  Christians,  to  be  esta- 
blished in  the  good  and  right  ways  of  the  Lord. 
Be  fired  with  a  holy  ambition  to  walk  upon  the  De- 
lectable Mountains,  and  to  read  clearly  your  title  to 
a  heavenly  mansion.  Prove,  by  your  faithfulness 
unto  death,  that  you  are  not  of  them  that  draw  back 
unto  perdition,  but  of  them  that  believe  to  the  sav- 
ing of  the  soul.  Be  not  satisfied  with  a  little  faith, 
although  it  be  real,  but  pray  earnestly  that  it  may 
be  increased,  and  grow  abundantly.  Never  think 
yourself  secure,  whatever  advancement  you  may 
have  made,  from  the  arts  of  the  Flatterer.  Beware 
of  trusting  to  his  smooth  words,  lest  you  find  your- 
self entangled  in  his  deceitful  net.  Seek  to  have 
always  the  witness  within  you,  and  the  evidence 
of  things  not  seen  as  yet ;  that  you  may  know  how 
to  answer  the  cavils  of  the  wicked,  and  put  to  silence 
the  ignorance  of  foolish  men.  If  your  position  is 
such  as  to  produce  indolence  and  ease,  oh,  beware 
of  sleeping  upon  the  enchanted  ground.  Try  to 
keep  yourselves  wakeful  by  speaking  often  one  to 
another.     Tell  of  the  Lord's  deahngs  both  with 


454  lECTURE  XXX. 

yourselves  and  with  others.  Talk  ye  of  all  his 
wondrous  works.  Press  forward  to  the  land  of 
Beulah.  Desire,  even  upon  earth,  to  live  the  days 
of  heaven  ;  to  partake  of  the  rich  experience  of  those 
who  seem,  even  here, 

"  To  climb  those  higher  skies, 
Where  storms  and  tempests  never  rise." 

All  real  Christians  desire  to  be  eminent  Chris- 
tians. For  the  credit  of  your  profession,  the  good 
of  others,  and  your  own  comfort,  long  to  be  assured 
of  your  personal  interest  in  the  everlasting  cove- 
nant, and  be  able  to  testify  that  the  service  of  the 
Lord  is  a  pleasant  and  delightful  service.  Remem- 
ber, in  a  little  while,  you  must  draw  to  the  close  of 
your  mortal  course.  You  must  pass  the  barrier 
that  divides  a  world  of  sight  and  sense  from  the  in- 
visible region  of  spirits.  Heart  and  flesh  may  fail, 
and  nature  may  shrink  from  the  immediate  pros- 
pect of  death  ;  but  if  you  are  a  true  behever  in  the 
Son  of  God,  there  is  no  just  ground  of  alarm.  What- 
ever may  be  the  dying  experience  of  a  true  behever, 
it  shall  surely  be  well  with  him  at  the  last.  He 
who  died  for  his  people  will  comfort  and  support 
them  in  their  dying  hour.  He  will  give  his  angels 
charge  concerning  them,  to  bear  their  spirits  to  a 
place  of  rest  and  joy  and  fehcity,  as  soon  as  they 
are  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh.  And 
because  they  have  really  been  washed  from  the 
stain  of  sin,  and  saved  from  the  dominion  of  sin, 
the  heavenly  gate  will  be  open  to  receive  them, 
and  they  will  be  admitted  to  those  unspeakable  joys 
which  are  prepared  for  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord. 
Oh  that  none  of  us  may  be  wanting  in  the  great 
day  of  account,  when  "  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord 
shall  return  and  come  to  Zion  !"     Lord,  grant  that 


THE   CONCLUSION.  455 

we  may  now  be  numbered  among  thy  saints  that 
are  in  the  earth  ;  and  when  the  days  of  our  pilgrim- 
age are  ended,  may  we  every  one  appear  before 
thee,  the  God  of  gods,  in  the  heavenly  Zion ! 

THE  HYMN. 

Guide  us,  O  thou  great  Jehovah ! 

Pilgrims  through  this  barren  land  ; 
We  are  weak,  but  thou  art  mighty, 
Hold  us  with  thy  powerful  hand : 
Bread  of  heaven,  feed  us  till  we  want  no  more. 

Open  now  the  crystal  fountain, 

Whence  the  living  waters  flow  ; 
Let  the  fiery  cloudy  pillar 
Lead  us  all  our  journey  through: 
Strong  Deliverer,  be  thou  still  our  strength  and  shield. 

When  we  tread  the  brink  of  Jordan, 

Bid  our  anxious  fears  subside  ; 
Bear  us  through  the  swelling  torrent, 

Land  us  safe  on  Canaan's  side : 
Songs  of  praises  we  will  ever  give  to  Thee. 

THE  PRAYER. 

O  God,  who  art  the  strength  of  them  that  put  their  trust 
in  thee,  mercifully  look  down  upon  us  for  the  Redeemer's 
sake  :  and  grant  that  in  this,  and  all  our  works,  begun,  con- 
tinued, and  ended  in  thee,  we  may  glorify  thy  holy  name.* 
We  humbly  pray  that  we  may  every  one  be  enabled  to  under- 
stand the  important  truths  which  have  been  set  before  us. 
May  we  all  have  a  spiritual  and  experimental  acquaintance 
of  these  things.  Lord,  grant  that  we  may  indeed  set  out  in 
earnest  for  the  heavenly  city.  May  we  have  such  a  view  and 
such  a  sense  of  our  guilt  and  danger  as  sinners,  that  we  may 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come,  and  be  unmoved  either  by  the 
ridicule  of  others  or  our  own  desponding  fears.  Save  us  from 
the  delusion  of  seeking  to  be  justified  by  the  works  of  the 
law.  May  we  give  ourselves  unto  prayer,  and  knock  and 
wait  at  the  door  of  mercy  until  it  is  opened  unto  us.  May 
♦ve  all  be  under  the  special  teaching  of  thy  Holy  Spirit.  Oh, 
may  He  take  of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  show  them  unto  us, 
and  reveal  to  us  the  Saviour  of  sinners  as  the  only  ground 


456  LECTURE   XXX. 

of  our  pardon  and  acceptance,  and  the  never-failing  source 
of  grace  and  strength.  And  we  humbly  beseech  thee,  O 
merciful  Father,  enable  us  to  make  progress  in  the  way  ever- 
lasting, and  to  go  from  strength  unto  strength.  Make  us 
useful  in  our  day  and  generation  ;  and  may  we  know  how  we 
ought  to  answer  every  man.  Deliver  us  from  grieving  thy 
Holy  Spirit  ;  and  grant  that  at  all  times  we  may  watch  and 
pray,  lest  we  enter  into  temptation.  May  we  be  companions 
of  them  that  fear  thee,  and  know  more  and  more  of  the 
benefit  of  communion  with  thy  saints.  May  we  walk  humbly 
with  our  God,  and  be  prepared  to  withstand  all  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  Wicked  One.  In  thy  light  may  we  walk  through 
darkness.  May  we  behave  ourselves  wisely  amid  all  the 
vanities  that  are  spread  before  us,  and  constantly  strive  by 
well-doing  to  put  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men. 
Let  integrity  and  uprightness  always  preserve  us,  that  we 
may  be  kept  from  every  snare,  and  delivered  from  every  false 
path.  And  if  at  any  time  we  are  brought  into  bondage,  oh, 
send  thy  word  to  deliver  us,  and  bring  us  out  of  prison,  that 
we  may  praise  thy  name.  Do  thou  never  leave  us  nor  for- 
sake us.  until  we  have  finished  our  course,  and  the  days  of 
our  mourning  are  ended,  and  we  appear  every  one  before 
thee,  the  God  of  gods,  in  Zion.  May  our  last  days  be  our 
best  days,  and  our  end  be  brighter  and  better  than  our  begin- 
ning. May  we  know  more  of  the  felicity  of  thy  chosen,  and 
shine  as  lights  in  the  world ;  endeavouring  to  instruct  the 
ignorant,  to  warn  the  unruly,  to  comfort  the  feeble-minded, 
and  to  support  the  weak.  Oh,  save  us  from  all  flattering 
lips,  and  from  every  deceitful  tongue.  Keep  us  wakeful  amid 
all  the  ensnaring  scenes  that  would  seduce  from  thee,  even  to 
the  end  of  our  journey.  And  when  we  come  to  the  brink  of 
Jordan,  make  us,  we  beseech  thee,  more  than  conquerors 
over  the  last  enemy ;  that  the  gate  of  death  be  to  every  one 
of  us  the  door  of  admission  into  ihy  blissful  and  glorious  pre- 
sence, where  we  shall  sing  for  ever  the  praises  of  Him  who 
led  us  through  the  wilderness,  and  brought  us  to  his  eternal 
and  glorious  kingdom.  And  noV,  blessed  be  God,  the  God 
of  Israel,  who  only  doeth  wonderful  things;  and  blessed  be 
his  glorious  name  for  ever  and  ever;  and  let  the  whole  earth 
DC  filled  with  his  glory.     Amen  and  amen. 


THE   END. 


,ncelon  Theological  Sem.nary-Speer 


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