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MEANS OF GRACE,
MEANS OF GRACE.
tnkm
DELn-EBED
UPON WEDNESDAY MORNINGS DURING THE
SEASON OF LENT, 1851.
ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CLAPHAM RISE.
Rev. ROBERT BICKERSTETH, M.A.
INCUMBKNT OF ST. JOHN'S CHURCH, CLAPHAM RISE.
LONDON :
THOMAS HATCHARD, 187 PICCADILLY.
1851.
LONDON:
rrinted by G. Barclay, Castle St. Leicester Sq.
ADVERTISEMENT.
The following Lectures were composed
and delivered without any view to their
being committed to the press. The singular
attention with which they were listened to
at the time of delivery, and the numerous
requests which have subsequently reached
the Author for their publication, have in-
duced him to let them appear in their pre-
sent form. The circumstances under which
they were delivered precluded a more ex-
tended investigation of the important sub-
jects of which they treat, but the Author
VI ADVERTISEMENT.
humbly trusts that even the imperfect sur-
vey which is here given may lead some
persons to set a higher, and at the same
time a more Scriptural, value upon the
means of grace. He commends the work
to the blessing of Almighty God, who,
through the power of the Holy Spirit, can
render the weakest instrumentality effectual
to promote His glory though Jesus Christ
our Lord !
CONTENTS.
LECTURE I.
GROWTH IN GRACE. > . '.Ayi^x l4n/f^
2 Veter, iii. 18.
PAGE
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be
glory both now and for ever. Amen . . 1
LECTURE 11.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE.
Psalm cxix. 50.
Thy word hath quickened me . . . .27
LECTURE III.
PRAYER.
Joh, xxi. 15.
What profit should we have, if we pray unto
Him? 54
viii .-■ CONTENTS.
LECTURE IV.
•4. n J V ;..•■ y ■ - '
BELTGIOUS MEDITATION.
' ' .:^ . ,, .•' > ' ■■, '
:"'' : Ps<5t?m Ixxvii. 6.
PAGE
I commiine with mine own heart : and my spirit
made diligent search . . . .79
LECTURE V.
BELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE.
Tjoke, xxiv. 32.
Did not our heart bui'n within us, while He
talked with us by the way, and while He
opened to us the Scriptures ? . . ,106
LECTURE VI.
BArTISM.
1 Cor. ii. 14.
They are spiritually discerned , .132
LECTURE VII.
THE lord's supper.
1 Cor. X. 1 6.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not
the communion of the blood of Christ ? The
bread which we break, is it not the com-
munion of the body of Christ ? . . .157
LECTURE I.
GROWTH IN GRACE.
2 Peter, iii. 18.
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Sa^iour Jesus Cluist. To Him be glory both
now and for ever. Amen.
I PURPOSE in this, and in a series of fol-
lowing Lectures, to be continued upon suc-
cessive Wednesday mornings during Lent,
to take as the topic for consideration the
several ordinary and extraordinary means
of grace. I do so with earnest prayer for
Divine guidance, and in simple dependence
upon Divine blessing. It is my confident
hope that the consideration of the subject
may minister to your spiritual profit; and
)l LECTURE I.
if this be the result, it will prove to myself
a source of unmingled thankfulness to the
Author and Giver of all good.
In the Lectures which I propose to de-
liver there will be nothing to attract the
curious, but I trust there may be much to
instruct the inquiring, to guide the per-
plexed, to confirm the wavering, and to
cheer the sorrowful. Should any come
hither to be charmed by what is novel,
they will be utterly disappointed. Should
any come to receive food by which their
spiritual life may be strengthened, it is my
hope that they will find their expectations
amply realised. In order that it may be
so, I would entreat of you to be much in
prayer that the Spirit of God would guide
the lips of him who addresses you to utter
that alone which may advance the Divine
glory, and that He would also prepare the
hearts of those that hear to receive aright
the heavenly seed of God's own word.
The period of Lent upon which we this
GROWTH IN GRACE. 3
day enter has been set apart as a period
for special recollection, self-examination, and
self-humiliation before God. The design
of such a season is clearly to promote the
growth in grace of those who will apply
themselves to its appointed duties. Hence,
in leading your thoughts to a practical con-
sideration of the various means of grace, I
shall be adopting a course in perfect har-
mony with the end and design of the pre-
sent solemn season. May the result be to
each one of us a practical growth in grace ;
may we each have to reflect hereafter upon
this period of Lent with thankfulness and
praise, as a period during which we can
trace in ourselves an evident fulfilment of
the Apostle's injunction, " Grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ."
Before entering, then, minutely upon the
consideration of our proposed subject, it
may be well to define clearly what we un-
derstand by the means of grace ; and in
4 LECTURE I.
what sense and to what extent those means
are really instrumental to the spiritual wel-
fare of the recipient.
Upon the term grace, in itself, there need
be no difficulty. It is an expression which,
in Scripture phraseology, denotes generally
that help and assistance of God the Holy
Spirit whereby a soul is quickened from
spiritual death, made ahve unto God through
Jesus Christ our Lord, and qualified for an
abundant entrance into the kingdom of
heaven. Where this grace operates, the
effect will appear in a conformity of mind
and disposition, of heart and life, to the
example of Jesus ; the subject of such grace
will be led from the renunciation of the
world, the flesh, and the devil, to the pur-
suit after holiness : holiness will be the
marked and visible fruit. There will be
separation from the world, the abandon-
ment of its maxims, its pleasures, its cus-
toms, and its follies ; there will be the
fixing of the affections upon things above ;
GROWTH IN GRACE. 0
the influence of earthly things will give place
to the influence of those things which are
unseen and eternal ; there will be a daily
increasing consciousness of the value of that
honour which comes from above, of the
blessedness and the dignity of being per-
mitted (were it to ever so humble an ex-
tent) in any measure to advance the interests
of the Redeemer's kingdom and the glory
of His great Name. The subject of this
grace will realise more and more the truth
of the Apostle's description, — 'Tor our con-
versation [or, in other words, our citizen-
ship], is in heaven ;" ' heavenly things will
have a more real and intense hold upon the
mind. There will be a perceptible growth
in assimilation to the Saviour, till at length
the spiritual life of grace upon earth shall
issue in the life of unclouded and eternal
dorv above.
Prom the foregoing definition it will be
seen at once that the work of grace is pro-
1 Philip, iii. 20.
6 LECTURE I.
gressive; and, indeed, the testimony of God's
work is given with such clearness and fre-
quency upon this point, as to do away en-
tirely with all doubt upon the matter. Hence
it is that the kingdom of heaven is com-
pared by our blessed Lord to seed cast into
the earth,* which by slow degrees gradually
advances to the full maturity of growth.
Hence Christians are resembled by the in-
spired Apostle ^ to children, and to young men,
and to fathers ; the several periods of natural
life being used as emblems of the different
stages of spiritual experience or growth.
There is such a thing, then, as growth in
grace. All true believers are not of one uni-
form standard ; they present, on the contrary,
endless varieties of spiritual knowledge,
attainment, and perfection.
I observe next, it is of the utmost im-
portance to the believer that he should grow
in grace ; ^. e. that he should acquire more
and more of the help of the Divine Spirit,
» Mark, iv. 26. 2 1 John, ii. 12, 13.
GROWTH IN GRACE. 7
and experience more and more of the prac-
tical effects of His quickening and sanctify-
ing grace.
Next to the importance of ascertaining
whether or not we have been in truth made
the subjects of Divine grace, I know of
nothing more important than to attain satis-
factory evidences of om' growth or advance-
ment in grace. For let it be observed, that
progress in the divine life is in itself one of
the surest evidences to the reality of conver-
sion ; advancement in godliness is the very
law and condition of real piety. Where there
is no evidence of growth in grace, there is
much cause for apprehension lest the evi-
dences we seem to have should be unsub-
stantial and deceitful. More need not be
said to indicate the extreme importance of
the question, whether or not we are in truth
exhibiting the progress to which St. Peter
alludes in the exhortation, " Grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ."
8 LECTURE I.
The work of grace is emphatically a
Divine work ; the very term itself denotes
this, for grace is literally free favour exhi-
bited to the guilty and the undeserving.
Man cannot impart grace to another; he
cannot earn or procure it for himself: grace
descends from God ; like the hght which
illumines our world, or the showers that
water the earth, it streams only from on
high, and must be ever regarded as God's
gift. If this be so, then the inquiry not
unnaturally arises. What is the relation of
means that we can use, to the bestowment
of a gift which originates entirely in the
free favour of God ? The answer is simple :
Although grace is the free gift of God, spon-
taneously issuing from the unfathomable
ocean of His sovereign mercy and love, yet
God is pleased to connect the communica-
tion of the gift with the use upon our part
of certain prescribed means. God is not
confined to those means ; the communica-
tion of the blessing is not limited to the
GROWTH IN GRACE. \)
special appointed channels. To imagine that
it is so is the lamentable error into which
multitudes fall : just because there are cer-
tain appointed methods which God has been
pleased to consecrate as the means, in the
faithful use whereof He ordinarily communi-
cates grace, therefore, tens of hundreds fall
into the mistake of magnifying those means
to an inordinate importance, and of fettering
the free grace of God as though it was a
stream which can only run between narrow
limits, and only be conveyed through the
medium of certain fixed channels. I would
guard you most carefully against this error,
because it is an error which is remarkably
insidious and remarkably prevalent at the
present day. Whatever may be said re-
specting the means of grace, however great
may be the value to be attached to them,
and however dihgent may and ought to be
our use of them ; let us carefully shun the
error of those who imagine either that the
grace of God can only be imparted, through
10 LECTURE I.
certain channels of which we are made
acquainted ; or that the communication of
spiritual grace is so indissolubly connected
with resort to those channels, as that never
are the means employed and the blessing not
obtained.
Having said thus much by way of guard-
ing against a prevalent abuse, let me state
more particularly what the connexion is
between the use of means on man's part,
and the bestowment of grace from above.
Our belief upon this subject is, that God
has chosen to ordain certain means, in the
due employment of which He has promised
to impart grace. So that if we resort to
those means in faith, if we employ them in
dependence upon His blessing, if we seek
to use them merely as channels through
which grace may be imparted, the use of
such means in such a spirit will be ordina-
rily followed by the communication to our
souls of more and more of Divine help and
blessing. We neither limit the sovereign
GROWTH IN GRACE. 11
grace of God, as though it could not be
dispensed irrespective of means which men
may use ; still less do we dare so to endow
the channel with a kind of independence of
the fountain, as to suppose that wheresoever
the channel is cut the stream must necessarily
flow to fill it : at the same time, believing
that all grace descends from above, and
believing also that God has mercifully or-
dained certain means as channels for the
dispensation of grace, we would resort to
those means with diligence and with faith, in
the confident hope that the promised bless-
ing will follow the faithful employment of
them. Means of grace are as the windows
through which light may stream into the
otherwise dark soul : except the hght stream
from above, the window by itself cannot
reheve the darkness ; and yet it is our
business to cherish the heaven-sent com-
munication by carefully preserving the
channel through which it may be expected
to flow.
12 LECTURE I.
And here the question arises, What are
the ordinary or the extraordinary means of
grace, in the use of which we may fairly
expect the desired blessing ? Amongst the
ordinary means of grace I enumerate these
five : — 1 . The ministry of the Gospel ;
2. The study of God's word ; 3. The exer-
cise of prayer; 4. The habit of self-exami-
nation ; and 5. Converse with the Lord's
people. The extraordinary means of grace
are the two sacraments. Baptism and the
Lord's Supper, which Christ hath ordained,
and of which our Church speaks as gene-
rally necessary to salvation. To the con-
sideration of these seven means of grace I
propose to devote yom^ time and attention,
in the order in which you have now heard
them named. For the remainder of the
present discourse I will advert briefly and
practically to the first-named mean of grace,
namely, the miniBtry of the Gospel.
Now it is not without due consideration
that I have placed foremost in the hst of the
GROWTH IN GRACE. 13
means of grace, the ministry of the Gospel,
or, in other words, the preaching of God's
holy word. I have done so, not only be-
cause preaching is to be regarded as the
great instrumentality whereby it pleases
God to accomplish the spread of the Gospel,
the conversion of souls, and the estabhsh-
ment of believers, but also because in the
minds of many at the present day there
is a tendency to undervalue preaching,
and to give to this ordinance a secondary
and subordinate importance. And yet, if
we would be guided by the testimony
of God's own word, if we would consult
the record of historical facts with respect to
the revival or the progress of true religion
in every period of the world's history, we
should discover that the proclamation of
Divine truth has universally been — as I be-
lieve it is appointed to be — the chief in-
strumentahty whereby the Spirit works to
convince, to convert, to sanctify, and to esta-
blish souls. Preaching is not an ordinance
-^
14 LECTURE I.
confined to the Gospel institution, although
its importance has increased in proportion
to the immeasurably clearer and fuller intel-
ligence which is unfolded by the Gospel.
The preaching of God's truth began from
the earhest times. Enoch, the seventh from
Adam,^ as we learn by St. Jude, discharged
this office. He prophesied, or in other
words, preached to the men of his genera-
tion the great doctrines of which the am-
bassadors for Christ have still to make men-
tion, the second advent of the Redeemer
in glory, and the erection of that dread
tribunal before which the gathered tribes
of mankind must universally appear. Noah
is expressly termed " a preacher of righteous-
ness ;" ^ and we further know that his preach-
ing was accompanied by the striving of
God's own Spirit, even as the same striving
invariably accompanies the faithful procla-
mation of Divine truth at the present day.
What were all the prophets of God in sub-
1 Jude, 14. 2 2 Peter, ii. 5.
GROWTH IN GRACE. 15
sequent ages but men who discharged the
office of preachers ? Righteous King David
could say of himself, — "I have preached
righteousness in the great congregation :
lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord,
thou knowest." ^ Solomon is continually
styled "the Preacher ;" and because he was
wise, it is written, he still taught the people.^
So that preaching is an ordinance, the ex-
istence whereof may be traced from the
remotest periods up to the time of the Re-
deemer's first advent. From the time when
Christ began His personal ministry I need
scarcely point out the increased dignity and
importance which has attached to the ordi-
nance. Our blessed Lord Himself was
anointed "to preach good tidings to the meek,
to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captive, and the opening of
the prison to them that are bound." ^ His
forerunner, John the Baptist, was a preacher
^ Psalm, xl. 9. ^ Ecclesiastes, xii. 9.
3 Isaiah, Ixi. 1; and Luke, iv. 8.
16 LECTURE I.
of repentance. John, it is written, did
" preach the baptism of repentance."^ The
seventy whom Christ chose to send forth as
pioneers of His Gospel, were to preach in
every city where they came." The twelve
apostles whom Christ ordained to be the
heralds of His truth. He ordained, it is
expressly written, that they might be with
Him, and that He might send them forth
to preach.^ After the completion of our
Saviour's personal ministry upon earth, the
Apostles, to whom the commission was en-
trusted to make disciples of all nations,
"ceased not," as we are told, " to preach Jesus
Christ."* They pleaded the express command
of the Saviour for preaching to the people.^
St. Paul, writing to the Romans, exhibits
the importance of this ordinance by the
threefold question, — "How shall they call on
Him in whom they have not beheved ? and
1 Mark, i. 4. » Mark, iii. 14.
2 Luke, X. 8, 9. * Acts, v. 42.
^ Acts, X. 42.
GROWTH IN GRACE. 17
how shall they beheve in Him of whom
they have not heard? and how shall they
hear T^dthout a preacher ? " ^ By the foolish-
ness, that is to say, the apparent weakness
and insufficiency, of preaching, we are told,
it pleases God to save them that believe.^
One exhortation which St. Paul gave to
Timothy was, " Preach the word, be instant
in season and out of season ;"^ and the truth
of God, he reminded Titus, is " manifested
through preaching."* Need more be said in
order to vindicate the pre-eminent import-
ance of this mean of grace, unless it, in-
deed, be to refer to experience in confirma-
tion of this truth ; that the degree to which
the cause of piety in a church has ever flou-
rished has always been in proportion to the
degree in which the preaching of the Gospel
has been bold, and energetic, and faithful?
Remove the pulpit from our churches, silence
the voice of preachers in our land, and the
1 Rom. X. 14.
3 2 Tim. iv. 2.
2 1 Cor. i. 21.
4 Titus, i. 3.
C
18 LECTURE I.
font may remain in all its integrity, and
sacraments be celebrated with all the cir-
cumstances that may be thought needful to
ensure their efficiency, and daily prayers may
be frequented with a zeal and punctuality
w^orthy of the most rigid devotee, but in
stifling the oral proclamation of Divine truth
you will have suppressed that still small
voice of God whereby in the ordinary deal-
ings of grace souls are converted, back-
shders reclaimed, the ignorant enlightened,
and sinners saved. Experience is on the
side of this testimony ; Whensoever preach-
ing has decayed, whenever it has either
come to be altogether neglected, or when-
ever it has degenerated into a cold and life-
less form, then piety has decayed also ;
spiritual indifference has settled upon the
church or community: whereas, on the con-
trary, with the revival of this ordinance
there has always been a marked revival of
spiritual fervour. In the dark ages which
preceded the Reformation there was no
GROWTH IN GRACE. 19^
value whatsoever put upon preaching. It
was the fervid preaching of the immortal
Luther and Melancthon which shook the
despotism of the Papacy, and kindled in
men's minds that thirst for truth which
resulted in the emancipation of tens of thou-
sands from the falsehood and the tyranny
of the Papal Antichrist. It was the preach-
ing of Latimer and Ridley, and the glorious
band of our martyred Reformers, which
scattered the spiritual darkness that had
long brooded over England, and became
the instrument in the hands of God for our
introduction into the glorious liberty where-
with the Gospel of Christ makes free. There
have been subsequent periods in the history
of our Church at which there has been a de-
cay of vital religion, and a growing ignorance
of Divine truth : such periods have always
been marked by the absence of fervour on the
part of preachers, and of value amongst the
people for this divine ordinance ; and when
such periods have given place to seasons of
20 LECTURE I.
revival, preaching may invariably be shown
to have been the grand instrumentality em-
ployed. Depend upon it, that v^^hatever the
system be which undervalues the ordinance
of preaching, in so far as it does this, it is
hostile to the cause of real piety and the
growth of true spirituality. The doctrine
which unduly exalts the sacraments and
other means of grace, and depreciates the
value of the oral proclamation of Divine
truth, such doctrine is adverse to the ad-
vancement of godliness ; it is opposed to
the concurrent testimony of Scripture and
experience as to the method which, under
God, is the most powerfully adapted to pro-
duce and to sustain the spiritual life of a
church, whether in its collective or individual
capacity.
Having said thus much with respect to
the ordinance of preaching — as an important
mean of grace — I would condense into the
remainder of this discourse some practical
observations with respect to the design of
GROWTH IN GRACE. 21
preaching, upon the one hand, and the
responsibihty which it entails upon the
other.
The design of all faithful preaching is
the glory of God in the salvation of souls ;
The preacher has to deal with immortal
spirits; with souls naturally sunk in guilt
and exposed to eternal condemnation ; yet
souls which have been ransomed with a
Redeemer's blood, and which are capable of
everlasting glory : he has one remedy, and
one alone to propose, as fully commensurate
with the necessities of the case : he has one
theme upon which to enlarge, and that
theme is Christ ; Christ in all the dignity of
His divine, and in all the humiliation of
His human, nature; Christ as occupying
from all eternity a throne of glory; Christ
as bound in the sinner's stead to a cross
of shame ; Christ as obedient unto death ;
Christ as rising triumphantly from the
grave ; Christ as having exhibited a perfect
pattern for His people to follow ; Christ as
22 LECTURE I.
interceding in heaven; Christ as the pro-
mised Saviour, for whose second coming in
glory the Church waits in eager hope and
in firm expectation.
To warn, to exhort, to rebuke, to per-
suade, to instruct men out of God's word,
so that by hope or fear they may be moved
to lay hold of eternal life, that so they may
be saved for ever, — this is the great purpose
of the Gospel ministry. In the exercise of
this ministry, its just proportion must be
given to every part of Christian doctrine.
If any man prophesy, saith the Apostle, '* let
him prophesy according to the proportion
of faith ;"^ the doctrine of human depravity,
of man's utter helplessness in himself to
accomplish any part of his moral deliver-
ance ; of the atonement which Jesus effected
through dying upon the cross ; of justifica-
tion the result of His meritorious obedience ;
of sanctifi cation, the fruit of the divine
operation of the Holy Ghost ; of faith, as
1 Rom. xii. 6.
GROWTH IN GRACE. 23
the simple means whereby we attain a per-
sonal interest in the Redeemer's work ; of
God's electing love in ordaining a remnant
to be saved ; and of man's accountableness
for the gracious overtures wherewith the
Gospel meets him; of the necessity, not-
withstanding we are justified simply through
believing, that we should exhibit the fruits
of faith in such good works as are by
Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of
God. These doctrines, in their bearing
upon the pardon of sin and upon the con-
version and salvation of the guilty, are the
very sum and substance of the preacher's
message ; and all the while nothing may he
deliver as a matter of doctrine which cannot
be clearly and satisfactorily proved from
the testimony of God's own word. The
commission of the preacher is, " Preach the
word," neither adding to nor diminishing
from the written oracles of God ; and ever-
more, in the discharge of his office, should
the preacher bear in mind that if he is called
24 LECTURE I.
to watch for souls, he must do it as one that has
to give account.^ The design of the ministry
being to save souls, his eye should be often
fixed upon that solemn scene when minister
and people shall together stand in the judg-
ment, each to be reckoned with for their
respective discharge of the responsibility
which rested upon each. ^] With what views,
then, ought the people to attend upon the
ministry of the word ? Dear brethren, wait
upon this ordinance as one of the most im-
portant of all the means of grace : wait
upon it in the earnest hope and believing
expectation that through the mouth of His
ministering servant Christ will impart to
those who seek it spiritual blessing. That
you may profit by the ordinance, resort to
it in a spirit of prayer and of readiness to
receive what message God may be pleased
to send. It is your solemn responsibility,
further, to believe nothing which you hear
the preacher enunciate, except in so far as
1 Heb. xiii. J7.
GROWTH IN GRACE. 25
its agreement can be proved with the written
word. " Beloved," saith the Apostle, " be-
lieve not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God."^ The Bereans
were commended, not because they took
for granted every word that fell from apo-
stolic lips, but because they searched the
Scriptures daily whether these things were
so." If you find the language of the preacher
to be in harmony with God's word, receive it
as God's message to your soul. If you find it
the contrary, it is your imperative duty to
reject it at once, as erroneous and unsound.
The duty of abstaining from attendance
upon preaching which is calculated to mis-
lead, is plain and imperative, — "Cease to
hear the instruction that causeth to err
from the words of knowledge.""^ We live
in days when error of all kinds is pre-
valent, and when each is called for himself
to examine into the grounds of his own
' 1 John, iv. 1. 2 Acts, xvii. 11.
3 Prov. xix. 27.
26 LECTURE I.
faith, and the truth of the doctrines which
he hears proclaimed by others. We have
one infaUible rule, and one infallible teacher :
that rule is God's word, and that teacher is
God's Spirit. To search into the one is
our most urgent duty ; to depend upon the
help of the other is our distinguishing pri-
vilege. He who will cleave to the texts of
Scripture in humble reliance upon Divine
illumination, will not miss the way that
leads to eternal life. But in order to do
this, every preconceived prejudice must be
laid aside ; all kind of rehance upon what
this man or the other says must be aban-
doned; and there must be the disposition
which of old prompted Samuel to say, —
" Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."
LECTURE II.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE.
Psalm cxix. 50.
Thy word hath quickened me.
In fulfilment of the intention which I an-
nounced upon the morning of Wednesday
last, I proceed, in dependence upon Divine
help, to consider "the study of the word
of God," as one of the most important of
the several means of grace. You will bear
in mind what has been already advanced
concerning the subject of grace in general,
and the nature of those means, in the faith-
ful use of which God is ordinarily pleased
to dispense grace to the believer.
28 LECTURE II.
Grace is altogether a Divine gift. It
flows from the fountain of God's inex-
haustible love; its effects are perceived in
the quickening of souls from spiritual death,
in the production of an holy conformity to
the example of Christ, in the gradual pre-
paration of the believer to take his place
amongst the spirits of the just made per-
fect, who surround the throne of God. The
communications of grace upon God's part
are free and unlimited : God is confined to
no one channel for their bestowment. In
this, as in all of His dealings, he acts ac-
cording to the sovereignty of His own will.
It is of the utmost importance to beware of
limiting the free grace of God ; we are
neither to run into the mistake of those
who would inseparably connect the channel
with the stream, nor yet to fall into the
opposite error of those who would under-
value the mean, because God can and fre-
quently does act irrespectively of all means
whatsoever. To attain a just conception of
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 29
this important matter, I reminded you, that
while grace is to be regarded as the free
and spontaneous overflowing of the Divine
love, yet God has been pleased to appoint
certain means as subservient to the bestow-
ment and the increase of grace. They are
the vehicles through which it is ordinarily
imparted or augmented, and the use of
them in dependence upon the Divine pro-
mises, and in obedience to the Divine com-
mand, is an imperative duty which devolves
to every professing disciple of Jesus.
We have already considered the preaching
of the Gospel as one of the ordained means,
and the question which now comes before
us relates to the study of God's word, as in
itself one of the channels through which we
may confidently anticipate the communica-
tion of spiritual blessing.
There are some questions connected with
this subject upon which, under other cir-
cumstances, it might be needful to dilate, the
examination of which at the present moment
30 LECTURE II.
I deem to be superfluous. Such, for example,
is the doctrine of the inspiration of the Scrip-
tures. If I do not dwell upon that doctrine,
and adduce the testimonies by which it is
confirmed, it is not because I undervalue its
great importance, but rather because I as-
sume that the truth of the doctrine is
admitted by all here present. You do not
need to have objections upon this head
answered, nor to have arguments advanced
for the maintenance of the truth that '' all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God."^
You believe that the Bible is God's own
word ; that the several writers whose narra-
tives or epistles it contains were severally
" moved by the Holy Ghost," ^ so that what
they have written bears the stamp of Divine
authority, and is to be received as the im-
perishable record of Him who can neither
change nor repent. The Bible, like its
Author, is unmixed and unalterable truth ;
tens of thousands in every age have assailed
1 2 Tim. iii. 16. 2 2 Pet. i. '21.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 31
and sought to overthrow its authority. It
remains, however, in its subhnie integrity,
unimpaired by all the attempts which have
been made to mutilate and destroy. It is
the silent yet omnipotent testimony for
God and for truth upon earth ; it is a
mightier witness than creation, with all its
splendours, and it continually gathers fresh
weight from all the changes and fluctuations
of this changeful world. The march of error,
the developement of new heresies or the
revival of old ones, the fall of empires, the
perplexities of nations ; one and all of
these things go to corroborate the truth of
Scripture, and to prove that the Bible is
what it claims to be, the voice of the ever-
living and self-existent Jehovah.
The subject immediately before us is the
influence of the study of this volume to im-
part grace to the soul. Before entering
upon a minuter examination of this point,
there is one general remark which it is im-
portant that you should carefully recollect.
32 LECTURE TI.
The Bible, although it is God's word, will
never reach the heart or the conscience, it
will never exercise a practical influence over
the walk and conversation, except as in the
study thereof we continually recognise and
depend upon the teaching of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God inspired every page of
Scripture, and this honour is reserved to
the Spirit that He Himself should be its
sole true interpreter. Volumes have been
written upon the exposition of the text of
Scripture ; all the equipments of human
reasoning and philosophy have been brought
to bear upon the elucidation of the Bible ;
there is scarcely a science which has not
been pressed into the service to contribute
its measure of aid to unfold the meaning of
its page ; its various statements have exer-
cised the talents of the philosopher, the
geologist, the scholar, the poet and his-
torian ; men of the loftiest intellect and the
noblest mental endowments have found ma-
terial in the Bible to occupy and to call
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 33
forth their keenest powers of research. But,
after all, no man ever yet attained to the
true meaning of a single doctrine of God's
word, except as the Spirit of God gave
him light and understanding to perceive
the truth. The doctrines of salvation are
hid from the comprehension of the wise
and the learned according to this world,
and they are revealed unto babes ;^ upon the
province of revealed truth, if any man will
be wise, he must " become a fool that he
may be wise."- " The natural man re-
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ;
for they are foohshness unto Him : nei-
ther can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned."^ We are one and all
dependent upon the teaching of this only
infallible Teacher. The Spirit of God must
be honoured in the interpretation of Scrip-
ture; and there is no monopoly of that
Spirit ; " God will give the Holy Spirit to
1 Luke, X. 25. 2 1 Cor. iii. 18.
3 1 Cor. ii. 14.
34 LECTURE II.
them that ask Him ;"^ and hence the poorest
amongst us, in the humblest cottage and
the meanest station in hfe, has it equally
in his power to arrive at the just compre-
hension of what is necessary for him to
know concerning his soul's salvation, pro-
vided he will implore the guidance of
God's own Spirit in the study of His own
word.
Let us bear this truth then practically in
mind whensoever we approach the reading of
Scripture. It is for want of recognising the
necessity of the Spirit's teaching that num-
bers read the Scriptures with no better
result than that of " ever learning and never
able to come to the knowledge of the truth." ^
Would you gain the advantage of study and
meditation upon God's word; would you
break through the external shell of words
and phrases, and penetrate to the inner
kernel and hidden manna of Divine truth,
so as to convert it into the food and nourish-
• Luke, xi. 13. 2 2 Tim. iii. 7.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 35
ment of the soul ; then must you, dear
brethren, begin, carry forward, and complete
your study of Scripture with earnest and
continued uplifting of heart for the presence
of the Holy Ghost, to open your eyes that
you may behold the wondrous things of the
Divine law ; * to take of the things of Jesus,
and reveal them unto you.^
Having said thus much upon the import-
ance of the Spirit's help, I proceed to enu-
merate some of the considerations, from
which it appears that the study of God's
word is one of the most important of the
various means of grace.
That the careful perusal of Scripture should
by the help of the Holy Spirit be productive
of spiritual growth, may be easily gathered
from a variety of Scriptural statements. For
example, let it not be overlooked that we are
continually enjoined in God's word to make
the Scriptures our study : " Whatsoever
things were written aforetime, were writ-
1 Ps. cxix. 18. 2 John, xvi. 15.
36 LECTURE II.
ten," it is said, *'for our learning; that we,
through patience and comfort of the Scrip-
tures, might have hope/'^ "These words
which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart : and thou shalt teach them dili-
gently unto thy children, and shalt talk of
them when thou sittest in tliine house, and
when thou walkest by the way, and when
thou liest down, and when thou risest up."~
" Search the Scriptures," said our blessed
Lord to the multitudes whom he addressed ;
"for in them ye think ye have eternal
life."^
r^' It is one evidence of the apostasy of the
Church of Rome from the true faith, that
she has laid her restriction upon the free
circulation of the Scriptures, and pretends
to confer as a privilege upon a few what is
the indubitable birthright of all, the liberty
of unrestrained access to the pages of Scrip-
ture.
Amongst the sins for which Rome will
1 Rom. XV. 4. 2 Deut. vi. 7. » John, v. 39.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 37
have to answer at the bar of God's righteous
judgment, and amongst the causes which
will ere long bring down upon her the
threatened indignation of the Almighty,
not the least will be the crime of which
she is guilty, of having to the extent of her
power deprived her followers of the volume
which God gave to be the lamp of our feet
and the light of our path.^
And oh ! when nations and individuals
come to be reckoned with according to the
privileges which God hath vouchsafed to
them, and the responsibilities under which
he hath placed them, not the least of those
privileges, and probably the weightiest of
those responsibilities, will appear to have
been the gift of the Scriptm^es, with the
liberty to read each man for himself, in his
own tongue, " the wonderful works of God." _J
Besides, however, the fact, that God in
His word hath commanded us to read the
Scriptures, and that this command of itself
1 Ps. cxix. 105.
38 LECTURE II.
implies the capability of those Scriptures
to promote growth in grace, this property
is directly attributed to the Scriptures in
various well-known passages. Who is not
familiar with the testimony of David upon
this point ? How continually in thi^ 119th
Psalm does he refer to the Scriptures as a
source of spiritual illumination and support !
How earnestly does he express the feeling
of delight which he experienced in medita-
tion upon God's word ! What else made
the patriarch Job exclaim, "I have esteemed
the words of His mouth more than my neces-
sary food/'^ Was it not to express the
power of the Divine word to operate might-
ily upon the soul, that Jeremiah uttered that
memorable saying, " Is not my word like
as a fire ? saith the Lord ; and like a hammer
that breaketh the rock in pieces ? " "^ So,
again, the prophet Micah thus expostulated
with the inhabitants of Judah : "0 thou
that art named the house of Jacob, is the
1 Job, xxiii. IQ. 2 Jer. xxiii. 29.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 39
Spirit of the Lord straitened ? Do not my
words do good to him that walketh up-
rightly ? " ^ When the inspired Apostle was
about to quit the Ephesian Church for
the last time, upon his way to martyrdom,
and when he foreknew the trials and tempt-
ations which would speedily overtake the
Christians of that city, to what did he com-
mend them, in the prospect of such peril ?
Why, he paid this homage to the Scriptures,
that in place of commending them to the
word or the teaching of man, " Now, bre-
thren," he wrote, " I commend you to God,
and to the word of His grace, which is able
to build you up, and to give you an inherit-
ance among all them which are sanctified/'"
The same Apostle has left upon record this
testimony to the power of the Scriptures :
" The word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and mar-
1 Micah, ii. 7. 2 Acts, xx. 32.
40 LECTURE II.
row, and is a discoverer of the thoughts and
intents of the heart." ^ St. James bears this
testimony to the inspired word ; that "being
engrafted/' or, in other words, received in
faith and incorporated into the daily hfe
and conversation, "it is able to save the
soul;"^ and to crown these various testi-
monies which relate to the power of the
written word, let it be borne in mind, that
when our blessed Lord Himself interceded
upon earth in behalf of His chosen disci-
ples, and of all others who, through their
word, should believe upon His name, one of
His petitions was this, — " Sanctify them
through thy truth: thy word is truth." "^
Can testimony more clear or abundant
than the foregoing be needed to evidence
the reality that the written word is a mean
of grace ; that we have in this volume an ines-
timably precious instrument, through which
God is pleased to quicken the dead soul, to
impart the supplies of life to the soul which
1 Heb. iv. 12. « James, i. 21. ^ John, xvii. 17.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 41
has been quickened, and to carry forward
that indispensable process of sanctification
whereby the behever is quahfied for the
enjoyment of the heavenly inheritance ?
Here, however, it may be asked. By what
method do the Scriptures operate to this
end ? ( We have seen that in the hand of
the Holy Spirit they are a mean of grace ;
but how is it that they actually become so ? )
The answer is simple : The Scriptures are
a mean of grace ; first, as they are the
source of all saving knoioledge. There is a
connexion not to be overlooked between
knowledge and grace. The two things are
not inseparable : knowledge may exist, to at
least some extent, without grace ; but grace
cannot be matured without knowledge.
Hence growth in grace is frequently spoken
of in connexion with growth in knowledge :
" Grow in grace," said the Apostle St.
Peter, " and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ. " ^ And when at
1 2 Pet. iii, 18.
42 LECTURE II.
another time he was describing the several
steps of that ladder of grace which conducts
to glory, knowledge is one of the principal
steps to which he made allusion. " Add,"
said he, "to your faith, virtue; and to
virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, tem-
perance." ^
Now where is this knowledge to be
found? In its purity, I reply, only in the
Scriptures. All human sources of knowledge
will be found in some measure to partake
of human imperfection. The fountain which
you have in the Scriptures is pure as crystal.
Here the water of life flows with clear trans-
parency, like that river which the Evangelist
beheld proceeding from the throne of God
and the Lamb. If you search into human
writings for the exposition of fundamental
doctrine you will find that, just in propor-
tion as they depart from the simple state-
ments of God's word, they become indis-
tinct, confused, or erroneous. God's word
I '2 Pet. i. 5. 6.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 43
speaks intelligibly, so that the meanest
understanding may comprehend what is
necessary to be known of saving truth. " The
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err
therein/' ' Compare the elaborate treatises
which have been composed upon the various
doctrines of Christianity, with the brief,
comprehensive, clear statements of God's
word ; and you may perceive at once that
to place confidence in any other guidance
but that of Scripture is the certain way
to become perplexed, if not deluded into
error. Volumes have been written upon the
doctrine of human depravity, but where do
you find a plainer or more comprehensive
statement of the doctrine than in the lan-
guage of Scripture? ''The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked.'"^
" The carnal mind is enmity against God ;
for it is not subject to the law of God, nei-
ther indeed can be."^ Councils, fathers, and
theologians have expended time and efibrt
1 Isa. XXXV. 8. 2 Jer. xvii. 9. ^ Rom. viii.7.
44 LECTURE II.
upon the attempt to elucidate the doctrines
of the atonement and the scheme of a sin-
ner's justification ; but with what further
success in many instances than to " darken
counsel by words without knowledge," let
any one say who has consulted their decrees
or treatises, and compared them with such
statements as these of the lively oracles
themselves. " God hath made Him to be
sin for us who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him ;"^
"being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."^
If you dive into the writings of theologians,
you may find much that is valuable, much
that is instructive, much that is comforting
and precious ; but you will find a vast deal
more that is speculative, unprofitable, vain,
or erroneous : whereas the more you search
into Scripture, the more will you glean of
essential truth ; the more will you gain
of what is in reality fitted to enlighten
1 2 Cor. V. 21. 2 i^om. v. 1.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 45
and to elevate, to purify and to humble,
to sanctify and to save. The Scriptures,
then, are a mean of grace ; first, as they
are the source of saving truth. Millions
have found them to be so : millions of ran-
somed souls, now bathed in the splendours
of that hght which mortal man cannot ap-
proach, have been guided on their path
through this wilderness world to the realms
of glory by no other lamp than those very
Scriptures which we possess, and of which
David exclaimed, — " Thy word hath quick-
ened me."
Again, the Scriptures are peculiarfy adapted
to promote growth in grace, as they abound
with promise on the one hand and with
threatening on the other ; experience attests
that there are no passions of the human
heart which exert a greater influence upon
human conduct than hope and fear. The
language of promise is addressed to the
one of these passions ; and the language of
threatening to the other. Let this language
46 LECTURE II.
be only believed, and in proportion as it is
so the life will be influenced, and the work
of grace be furthered.
In the first quickening of a sinner from
spiritual death, is it not generally by means of
fear or of hope that he is roused to exertion ?
It is either that the voice of God, telhng of
" tribulation and anguish upon every soul of
man that doeth evil,"^ "of the worm that
cannot die, and the fire that cannot be
quenched," ^ as the doom of the impenitent
and the unconverted ; that this voice, I say,
has acted upon his fear of impending ruin,
and made him in haste to flee from the
wrath to come ; or otherwise it is, that the
same voice proclaiming the Divine willing-
ness for his salvation, uttering the gracious
assurance tliat the Lord '' is long-suffering,
not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance;"^ promising
to the returning prodigal the gracious wel-
come of a reconciled Father; bidding him
1 Rom. ii. 9. 2 Mark, ix. 44. 3 2 Pet. iii. 9.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 47
draw near with a true heart, and in full
assurance of faith that "Jesus is able to
save to the uttermost," ^ and that "whosoever
Cometh to God by Him shall in no wise
be cast out."^ It is this language of pro-
mise which has breathed into the soul a
lingering desire for spiritual freedom ; and
the call to arise from the dead has been
responded to as by the Psalmist of old, who
exclaimed, — "When Thou saidst, Seek ye
my face; my heart said unto Thee, Thy
face, Lord, will I seek."^
And if it is by means of these addresses,
whether to hope or to fear, that the Bible
becomes instrumental to spiritual regenera-
tion, in like manner, and at all the sub-
sequent periods of a believer's experience,
it is the promise and threatening of Scrip-
ture which become like a wall on the right
hand and the left to keep him steadfast.
Often might the enemy prevail against him,
did not the dread of losing what he has
1 Heb. vii. 25. 2 John, vi. 37. =» Ps. xxvii. 8.
48 LECTURE II.
wrought make him fear to transgress. " Thy
word," said the Psahiiist, "have I hid in mine
heart, that I might not sin against Thee."^
And then, what support and what encourage-
ment there is in the promises of God's word !
" I had fainted," said David, " unless I had
beheved to see the goodness of the Lord in
the land of the living."^ Oh, yes! w^ien
trials thicken, when temptations roll in as
with the force of mighty breakers on the
soul, when heaviness settles upon the spirit,
these are seasons when nothing can so
strengthen for conflict as the power of the
divine promises. But they are adapted,
blessed be God ! to every case, and to every
emergency. They speak of God's presence
in the season of affliction, — "God is a
very present help in trouble;"^ "When
thou passest through the waters, I will be
with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall
not overflow thee : when thou walkest
through the fire thou shalt not be burned,
1 Ps. cxix. 11 2 pg. xxvii. 13. ^ Ps. xlvi. 1.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 49
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."^
They speak of God's power to succour the
tempted, — " When the enemy shall come in
Hke a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift
up a standard against him ;"^ " God is faith-
ful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able to bear, but will
with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it."^
For the spiritually oppressed the Scriptures
have also a message of promise : " Who is
among you that feareth the Lord, that
obeyeth the voice of His servant, that
walketh in darkness, and hath no Hght ? let
him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay
upon his God."* " Rejoice not against me,
0 mine enemy : when I fall, I shall arise ;
when I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a
hght unto me."^ It is thus that the Scrip-
tures, through the instrumentality of the
' Isa. xliii. 2. 3 i Cor. x. 13.
2 Isa. lix. 19. * Isa. l. 10.
5 Micah, vii. 8.
50 LECTURE II.
promises or the threatenings which they
contain, become effectual through the Spi-
rit's grace to quicken, to uphold, to comfort,
and to guide the believer. Who can survey
them under this aspect, and not perceive
how well fitted they are to produce and to
carry forward the work of grace in the soul
of man ?
We might easily adduce further illus-
trations of the method in which the study
of God's word subserves this mighty design.
The Scriptures furnish a perfect rule of con-
duct,— "The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul."^ Nor only do they
present us with a perfect rule ; they afford
noble examples, to serve as patterns for imi-
tation, and surround us, as it were, with a
great cloud of witnesses, who beckon and
stimulate us onward in the race that lies
before us.
We are content, however, to leave the
subject at this point, beheving that enough
1 Psalm, xix. 7.
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 51
has been said to establish the claim of the
study of the Scriptures to be regarded as
an important mean of grace, and enough
to point out the method in which they be-
come so. One word in closing the present
discourse of practical exhortation with re-
spect to the manner of using this mean of
grace — A mean so important cannot with
safety be neglected; the soul, hke the
body, stands in need of sustenance. God
could, indeed, if He pleased, support the
natural hfe by miracle, without the employ-
ment of food : but such is not the ordinary
method, nor have we any warrant to expect
that it should be so. The same thing holds
with respect to the soul : man is to live by
" every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God." The Bible is the great
storehouse of spiritual food; let us search
it, then, with diligence, as expecting to find
therein that which will enrich us for eter-
nity. To profit by the reading of Scripture,
it is imperative to read it with prayer for
52 LECTURE II.
the teaching of God's Spirit. With read-
ing you must combine meditation : seek to
study the vokime as if each moment ex-
pecting to hear a voice from God addressed
to your soul. Be not so much in earnest
to read a vast deal, as to read a little well ;
one text prayed over and pondered upon,
its precepts reduced to practice, or its pro-
mise applied and remembered, will be of
more benefit than a whole chapter hastily
perused without prayer, meditation, or recol-
lection. What does this verse, or what
does this chapter, teach me? These are
questions that should be always present to
the mind of the student of Scripture ; and
oh, bear in mind that the end of studying
the Bible is that you may " grow in grace."
To study merely to acquire knowledge is
not to study so as to advance your eternal
welfare ; to study the Scriptures merely to
impart knowledge to others may be good
as far as it goes, but you may do this and
yet gain no spiritual benefit. But to study
THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE. 53
the Bible in order that you may imbibe its
real spirit, and come beneath the sanctifying
influence of its heavenly doctrines, and gain
a conformity to Christ, and shape your course
by the rules it afibrds ; this is that study
of God's revealed ^ill which shall qualify
for the enjoyment of His presence in glory,
and issue in the beholding Him as He is,
and the being made eternally blessed.
LECTURE III.
PRAYER.
Job, xxi. 15.
'' What profit should we have, if we pray unto Him ?"
Our subject this morning is prayer —
prayer considered as a mean of grace
adapted to promote the spiritual welfare.
The language of the text is the expression
of unbelief, — it is the question of one who
denies the efficacy of supplication. We shall
give an answer to the question, although
not such a reply as it was meant to elicit.
We propose to establish, upon conclusive
evidence, that there is profit in prayer ; so
that this exercise may be properly regarded,
PRAYER. 55
not alone as an exalted privilege or an im-
perative duty, but also as a powerful auxiliary
to keep alive and to strengthen, to improve
and invigorate, every spiritual grace.
There have been some in all ages impious
enough to deny, or rash enough to question,
the efficacy of prayer ; men who, in the
pride of a false philosophy, aiming to be
wiser than God, have affected to dispute
the necessity of prayer. They have argued,
that since God is a Being of infinite om-
niscience, therefore it is unnecessary to ac-
quaint Him with the want of which He
cannot be uninformed.
Again, they have said that since God is a
Being of immutable purpose, therefore it is
erroneous to imagine that the cry of a sup-
pliant on earth can alter the mind of Him
who hath predetermined " all things after
the counsel of His own will."
I shall not now occupy time in exposing
the fallacy of objections hke these ; I will
simply say of them, they are both irrational
56 LECTURE III.
and unscriptural ; they will neither stand
the light of reason nor the testimony of
experience ; they proceed from the sugges-
tion of Satan, who, knowing too well the
efficacy of prayer as a weapon in the hand
of the believer, would gladly make it appear
to be a weapon of no value at all.
Every argument that can be alleged
against prayer is at once refuted by the
consideration that God has been pleased to
command us to pray. It is not left to our
own option whether or not to pray; God
has directed us to seek unto Him at all
times by dihgent supplication, and " in
everything, by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving, to let our requests be made
known unto Him."^
God, it is true, is an unchangeable Being,
no one of the things which He hath deter-
mined can fail to come to pass : and yet it
is in the power of faithful supplication, for
the merit's sake of the Redeemer, to prevail
1 Philip, iv. 6.
PRAYER. 57
with God. This is not a matter of theory :
it is a fact which revelation asserts and
experience proves ; and who can tell but
that, in the councils of the Divine Being,
even those things which are most determined
to come to pass are preordained only with
certain conditions, and that one of those
conditions may be the prayer of faith?
To let this pass, however, I assume that
we are all convinced of the duty of prayer,
and that we also regard it as the believer's
high privilege. The point we have to in-
vestigate is the efficacy of prayer, as a
mean to advance the believer's growth in
grace. How does it appear that grace is
strengthened or increased by the perse-
vering exercise of faithful supplication ?
It is my earnest desire to put this truth
before you, so as, by the help of God's
Spirit, to carry conviction to every heart ;
so persuaded am I of the real power of
prayer to ensure growth in grace, that I
should have the most unbounded confidence,
58 LECTURE III.
that, provided only you were to leave this
sanctuary to-day, resolved upon a more
frequent, persevering, and faithful continu-
ance in prayer, you would realise in the
carrying out of that resolve a perceptible
advance in spiritual attainment, and personal
meetness for the inheritance of the saints in
light.
- We know how intimately the exercise of
prayer is associated with the first dawn of
spiritual hfe. The soul begins to live when
it begins to pray ; the cry which proceeds
from a broken and contrite heart ; the cry
of the wounded conscience, of the trem-
bling spirit pleading for mercy — a mercy
urgently needed, although miserably unde-
served ; this cry is the first symptom of
the Divine life : it is the struggling of the
soul to be free from the bondage of guilt
and condemnation, which betokens that
deliverance is near, that the slumber of
spiritual death is broken, and the Spirit of
God is about to operate in His quickening,
PRAYER. 59
regenerating, recreating, and sanctifying
energy.
When a hitherto prayerless soul is
brought to resemble him of whom it was
said, "Behold, he prayeth!" then may an-
gels in heaven rejoice, and saints on earth
participate in their gladness for the rescue of
another captive from Satan, and the addition
of another gem to the Redeemer's crown.
Let me not, however, be misunderstood.
It is not every prayer which is such a hopeful
evidence of spiritual regeneration ; not every
cry of supplication which is fraught with
such joyful earnest of blessed things in
prospect for him by whom it is uttered.
There is the prayer of the formalist — the
prayer of the hypocrite — the prayer which
is not mingled with faith — the prayer which
is prompted by no sense of urgent need —
and the lifeless, unmeaning prayer of those
who neither deprecate in sincerity the evils
from which they ask to be delivered, nor
desire with sincerity the blessings for which
60; LECTURE III.
they make supplication. These are not the
prayers which breathe of spiritual life ; these
afford no reason to suppose that the spell of
iniquity is broken, or the power of Satan
subdued.
The prayer to which I refer, as the index
of a new life imparted to the soul, is that
cry of intense, eager longing, prompted by
the intolerable dread of impending ruin,
and the almost unutterable desire for deh-
verance from God's wrath and the attain-
ment of pardon. It is the breaking forth of
an anguish such as words can ill describe —
an anguish of spirit, produced by the con-
sciousness of guilt and defilement, and
exposure to wrath, blended nevertheless with
a conviction that there must be some avenue
of escape, some door of hope through which
light may at length break in to relieve the
soul's insupportable gloom. There will be
in such a prayer an earnestness and fervour
which bespeak that the whole energies of
the being by whom it is offered are, for the
PRAYER. 61
while, absorbed in the one thought, " What
must I do to be saved ? " And the man feel-
ing that his soul is at stake, that on the
success or otherwise of his suit heaven or
hell is the alternative, will pour forth his
supplications as one wrestling for his very
hfe, or engaged in a struggle the issue of
which must be everlasting glory or ever-
lasting condemnation.
Now this is that prayer which indicates
the new birth; this is that wrestling with
God in supphcation which bespeaks the
resurrection of the soul from the death of
sin to the life of righteousness, and the dis-
enchaining of a hitherto captive spirit from
the fetters of evil that it may expatiate at
liberty in the light and the freedom of the
Gospel of Jesus. Let me tell you this, dear
brethren, with the plainness, fidelity, and
affection which become an ambassador for
Christ, pleading with you in God's behalf,
and for your soul's sake, — that if you have
never known what it is thus to pray in ear-
62 LECTURE III.
nest ; in the privacy of your own chamber,
when no eye but the omniscient eye of God
was upon you; to cry with such fervency
for your soul's salvation ; you have yet to
be roused to that sense of need which will
alone bring you to Jesus, and cause the Sun
of Righteousness to shine on your soul with
healing in His wings.
Such is the connexion between prayer
and the first awakening of spiritual life. I
will only remark further, that I believe in
this respect the experience of all who have
been spiritually awakened is uniform; no
one was ever yet quickened from spiritual
death without being led from that moment
to cry mightily to God for salvation. Be-
cause of the uniformity of experience in this
matter, prayer has not inaptly been de-
scribed as the breath of the soul ; inti-
mating that whereas the act of breathing is
the first process of the natural life, so the
act of praying is the first indication that
spiritual life has in reality commenced.
PRAYER. 63
Let us pass on to examine how it is that
prayer ministers to the after -growth in
grace of the true behever ; only bearing in
mind, that in whatever I now say respecting
prayer, I speak not of the prayer of the
formahst, and not of the prayer of the
hypocrite, and not of the mechanical utter-
ance of set forms of petition, which self-
deceived persons may think to be praying ;
but of that sincere and earnest expression
of fervent desire which is oflPered to the great
Searcher of hearts in the alone -prevailing
name, for the alone-prevailing merit's sake
of Jesus, and by the help of that Divine
Spirit whose office it is to make " ioterces-
sion for the saints according to the will of
God."^
Now there is a purifying and a sancti-
fying influence in the exercise of faithful
supplication. Those who have given their
best attention to the subject of influences in
general, of the method in which we act
1 Rom. viii. 27.
64 LECTURE III.
upon others, and are in turn acted upon by
one another, are universally agreed that the
mind will acquire somewhat of the character
of the object with wbich it has constant and
habitual intercourse : if that object be en-
nobling or elevating, the mind will become
elevated or ennobled ; if the object be the
contrary to this, the effect will still cor-
respond. Apply this principle to the sub-
ject of our present consideration. Prayer is
intercourse with God; it is the commu-
nion of the soul of man with the infinite
and invisible Jehovah ; it is the ennobling
exercise in which for the while the creature
is detached from earth and soars aloft to
the throne of Divinity, and there stands, in
communion with the infinitely pure and
holy God. It is an unspeakably solemn
spectacle, that of a true believer engaged in
earnest devotion. What a scene is then
presented to the eye of faith ! How near
does heaven appear to be brought ! The
believer who, on his bended knee, is thus
PRAYER. 65
holding converse with the Creator of the
universe; he is associated with the thou-
sand times ten thousand ministering spirits
that stand around the throne of Divinity ;
with the eye of his inner man he is looking
upon the King eternal invisible ; he is
speaking to that King as a child speaking
to its father ; and the Son of God is stand-
ing before the throne, hearkening to the cry
of supplication, the confession of guilt, or the
accents of praise and thanksgiving ; and the
Spirit of God, w^ho in the beginning moved
on the face of the w^aters, is present with
this humble suppliant, offering intercession
with him ; and Jehovah Himself bends down
to hear his cry and accept his homage. Is
it not a solemn, yea, and an awful moment ?
Could we realise the transaction in all the
circumstances that belong to it — the rela-
tion which it has to man's creation in the
likeness of God ; his fall ; his ruin ; redemp-
tion ; probation, and eternal destiny; — it is
a transaction upon which we might almost
66 LECTURE III.
imagine that angels would hush their an-
thems to gaze with wonder and amazement.
But I ask if this must not be a purifying
exercise to the man who engages in it ? And
if it be a law of our present condition, that
the soul gathers impressions from the ob-
ject of its constant contemplation ; that it is
ennobled by what is ennobling, and deterio-
rated by what is debasing, then can it be
that the soul should be frequently upborne
to the courts of heaven, and not derive a
purifying influence from the atmosphere of
glory which surrounds the throne of Divi-
nity ? So that, just as Moses, when he had
been permitted to tarry upon the mount
with God, returned from thence with so
much of reflected radiance on his counte-
nance as dazzled the eye of Israel ; in Uke
manner the soul of the believer, which has
been caught up into near communion with
God, will catch somewhat of the ethereal
purity and sacredness which pervades the
upper sanctuary.
PRAYER. 67
And here I might appeal to experience
in confirmation of the point, that prayer
is in itself a mean for attracting to the
suppliant somewhat of the holiness of
heaven itself. Look at two, at least, of
those who emphatically appear in Scrip-
ture as eminent for prayer : Enoch, who
hved such a life of prayer that he is said
to have "walked with God," and at last
became so fitted for heaven that he was
translated without seeing death ; Ehas, who,
on the page of God's word, is equally dis-
tinguished for his having been a man of
prayer, and who also gained such meetness
for paradise that a chariot of fire and
horses of fire were prepared to convey him,
in the full integrity of his being, body and
soul, at once to the rest of heaven. Look at
the testimony of experience in modern times ;
is there a single instance of any one having
risen to eminence for holiness of character, of
whom it may not be recorded that by how
much he surpassed others in the exhibition
68 LECTURE III.
of every grace of the Spirit, by so much
he surpassed them also in the frequency,
the sincerity, the constancy, and the faith-
fuhiess with which he engaged in the
exercise of prayer?
It is not only, however, that prayer has
a purifying influence upon the heart, and
thus becomes a mean of grace; prayer has a
further and direct influence to counteract
whatsoever is opposed to growth in grace.
Now, surely we must be all conscious of the
many impediments which surround the en-
deavour to grow in grace. The mere for-
malist in religion knows nothing, indeed,
of those impediments ; a rehgion of form
will meet with no opposition : but whoever
is in earnest for his soul's welfare will
quickly discover that the Scriptural expres-
sions are literally true, which resemble the
divine life to a race, a warfare, a conflict,
and a battle.
There is the chilling influence of the
world, of worldly pursuits and worldly asso-
PRAYER. 69
ciations, upon spiritual fervour. There is the
deadening effect which secular occupation
is found to have upon the spiritual affec-
tions. The necessity of being much devoted
to the cares of earth and earthly things has
a strong tendency to diminish the influence
of the things which are unseen and eternal.
Have you not experienced, that when busily
occupied in the performance of secular du-
ties, it has been practically a hard matter to
retain that spirituality of tone and temper
which you know to be required of one
whose citizenship is in heaven? not to dwell
upon the thousand temptations to which we
are constantly and directly exposed to act
at variance with God's will, or inconsistently
with our Christian profession, the point
needs not further illustration, that a Christ-
ian who is aiming after growth in grace is
in continual danger of being hindered by
the manifold influences of an opposite ten-
dency with which he is surrounded.
Now, what is that one mean of grace
70 LECTURE III.
which more effectively in the hand of
the Spirit operates than another to coun-
teract these injurious influences ? Surely it
is the practice of private prayer. Never
does the world appear more insignificant,
never do worldly pleasures appear so in-
sipid, never will temptations have less
power, than when the soul has been engaged
in secret communion with God. He who
has been with God on the mount, and
by faith realised somewhat of the glories
that surround the Redeemer, what attraction
can he find in the vain pomp or distinc-
tion of earth ? He who, in the exercise of
devotion, has had his mind fixed on the real-
ities of eternity, with what comparative indif-
ference will he regard the short-lived things
of time ! How can we engage in com-
munion with God, pour forth our hearts
before Him in humble confession, or in
hearty praise, or in deep supplication, and
then rush into the practice of what God
has plainly forbidden? It is thus that
PRAYER. 71
prayer becomes a powerful mean to coun-
teract the injurious influence of objects
around us; of the cares, the occupations,
or the pleasures of earth, which tend to
deaden spirituality and to impede growth
in grace. It is not to be told upon what a
vantage ground it would place you wdth
respect to all the distracting concerns of
life, if you would strive to live a Hfe of
prayer, if you would snatch not alone some
portion of time, morning and evening, for
secret communion with God, but be so
much in the habit of intercourse with heaven
at all periods of the day as practically to
comply with the Apostle's injunction, " Pray
without ceasing."^
I go on to observe, in further confirma-
tion of the truth that prayer is such an
important mean of grace, there is not any
other ordained mean, the efficacy of which
does not in great measure depend upon
prayer. The ministry of the word and the
1 1 Thess. V. 17.
72 LECTURE III.
study of Scripture have already engaged our
attention, as two of the most important of
the ordinary means of grace ; and yet, un-
less accompanied by prayer, they seem to
possess little or no efficacy. Of course we
do not limit the Divine sovereignty, or
affirm that God cannot make a sermon, or
the perusal of Scripture effectual, unless on
the part of the person to be benefited there
be the exercise of earnest supplication. But
we speak of what is ordinarily to be ex-
pected ; and here we feel confident in say-
ing that you have no warrant to look for a
blessing, except in the use of fervent prayer.
Any value you might anticipate to derive
from the faithful exposition of the Gospel,
or from the private perusal of God's word,
will be enhanced tenfold by the previous
exercise of prayer : prayer is the preparation
of the soil of the heart to receive the
heavenly seed ; prayer before hearing or
reading the word brings the soul into the
most favourable condition to profit by the
PRAYER. 73
truth of Scripture. God is honoured by
this recognition on our part of dependence
on Him for spiritual blessing. Is not
prayer, then, of itself pre-eminently a mean
of grace, since the efficacy of even other
means depends in great measure upon
this?
And then, I observe, there is a prevalency
in prayer, which, for the merit's sake of the
Redeemer, draws down a blessing. We do
not attempt to explain how it is that the
God of glory should be accessible to the cry
of a feeble creature upon earth, so that there
is a persuasiveness in the feeble supphcation
which wafts upward from a suffering hu-
manity ; yet Scripture and experience war-
rant the conclusion that faithful, persevering
prayer, has power with God. The highest
gifts which God has to bestow are promised
in answer to the prayer of faith. God " will
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him."*
If He will give the Holy Spirit, will He not
1 Luke, xi. 13.
74 LECTURE III.
impart every other blessing which is needful
to the believer's growth in grace? "All things,"
said our blessed Saviour, "whatsoever ye ask
in prayer believing, ye shall receive."^ Ex-
perience testifies to the efficacy of prayer.
Did not Jacob prevail in prayer when he
wrestled with such importunity, and ex-
claimed, " I will not let thee go except thou
bless me?"^ Did not Moses often plead
effectually on behalf of rebelHous Israel, and
obtain for them the remission of threatened
wrath and the return of favour withdrawn ?
Did not the prayer of Elijah avail to shut
and to open again the windows of heaven ?
Was not the intercession of Abraham for So-
dom an instance of the prevalency of faith-
ful supplication ? Did not Christ hearken
to the woman, who still urged her suit in
spite of an apparent rekictance on His part
to grant her request ? And have we not
His own authority for declaring that God
will hear the cry of " His own elect, which
1 Matt. xxi. 22 " Gen. xxxii. 26.
PRAYER. 75
cry day and night unto him, though he bear
long with them?"*
Is it, then, your aim to grow in grace ?
would you mount up with wings as eagles,
and soar nearer to the fountain of light and
glory ? Would you glow with a brighter
reflexion of yom^ Saviour's image, and day
by day ripen in meetness to take your
position with the children of hght in the
kingdom of glory? Prayer is your surest
mean ; God is able to make all grace abound
unto you ; the prayer of faith is the golden
link which connects the impotence of man
with the omnipotence of God : it is the
key which unlocks the treasuries of Divine
grace.
Let no weak believer be discouraged. God
hearkens to the cry of the feeblest saint.
The prayer which ascends from a contrite
heart, in the full assurance of faith that
God is able and willing to hear ; such
prayer, though uttered in the lowest depths
1 Luke, xviii. 7.
76 LECTURE III.
of ocean or in the deepest mine of earth,
will instantaneously penetrate to the throne
of the Eternal, and move the hand of Him
that moves the world.
I trust enough has been said to establish
the efficacy of prayer as a mean of grace ;
what I have advanced, has been spoken
chiefly with reference to private prayer :
the time would not allow me to dwell spe-
cifically upon the various kinds of prayer,
such as domestic, pubHc, or social : nor do
I think it necessar}^ ; no one that values
private prayer as he ought will undervalue
prayer, whether in the family circle or in the
sanctuaries of God's people.
There is this, however, to be observed,
namely, that public or even social prayer
may easily degenerate into a hfeless form ;
whereas it is not so likely that a person will
persevere in private prayer who is not sin-
cere and in earnest. Let me commend you
to the exercise of dihgent prayer ; you
will commonly find that religion is thriving
PRAYER. 77
with you, or the reverse, in proportion as
prayer is engaged in or not with regularity
and fervour.
Dedine in rehgion invariably begins in
secret ; the private exercises of devotion are
abbreviated or neglected altogether, and
then the oil is wanting which would keep
the flame of piety burning. If you would
pray with success, you must pray in faith ;
unbehef will vitiate any prayer : you must
try and reahse, as you pray, the presence of
the invisible God, to be approached through
the avenue of the Redeemer's intercession.
As a practical caution with respect to
this duty and privilege, let me urge you
literally to hegin every day with prayer ;
come not forth to your daily routine of em-
ployment until having fii-st armed yourself
for the day's duties or trials by having sought
in earnest prayer for Divine help, guidance, or
support. Intermingle prayer with all you do
or undertake ; this you would find a sure
rule to determine what occupation or amuse-
78 LECTURE III.
ments are becoming or otherwise to a pro-
fessing Christian. It is wrong for a disciple
of Christ to be in any scene, to engage in
any undertaking, to participate in any amuse-
ment, in reference to which it would be
inconsistent to ask for a Divine blessing.
Hallow your ordinary occupations, sanctify
your ordinary pursuits, enhance your joys,
lighten the load of your daily anxieties, by
making each and all of them the subject of
prayer. Thus shall you find that you will
grow in grace — you will attain more and
more of the celestial character — you will
rise to a loftier moral elevation — you will
breathe a purer atmosphere, and reflect a
brighter lustre — you will exhibit to others
more of the fruit of the Spirit ; till, at length,
grace itself shall expand into glory, and the
life of prayer terminate in the eternity of
praise.
LECTURE IV.
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION.
Psalm kxvii. 6.
I commune with mine own heart : and my spirit made
diligent search.
In pursuing our consideration of the various
means of grace, the subject which comes be-
fore us this morning is that of rehgious medi-
tation and self-examination. The two topics
are closely connected together ; they form se-
parate parts of one and the same process,
whereby grace is, ordinarily speaking, im-
proved and strengthened. Many of the
remarks which have been already made in
reference to the other means of grace, apply
80 LECTURE IV.
with equal propriety to this. Neither the
ministry of the word, nor the study of
Scripture, nor the exercise of prayer, are to
be considered as having any absolute pro-
perty to communicate grace; they are
wholly inefficient by themselves, except as
the Spirit is pleased to make them effectual.
They are the mere channels or instruments
through which God generally vouchsafes spi-
ritual profit. The same remark applies to the
topic now to be considered. We can neither
meditate aright upon divine things, nor yet
scrutinise our own state with advantage,
except by the help which comes from above,
and in the light of that Divine Spirit whose
province it is to illumine and to sanctify the
soul.
Recognising, then, the never-to-be-forgot-
ten truth of our entire dependence upon the
aid of the Holy Spirit, let us proceed to exa-
mine how it is that the habit of meditation
upon divine truth, and of diligent examination
of our heart and ways, become instrumental
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 81
to the noblest of all attainments — namely,
growth in grace, or a closer assimilation to
the character of Christ.
The value of any habit may be often best
perceived by considering the result which
must follow from its neglect or omission.
And the excellence of religious meditation
may be tested by considering the evils which
result wheresoever this practice is not fol-
lowed. Is it, then, any exaggerated state-
ment if we affirm, that the overwhelming
mass of irreligion and crime by which the
world is overspread, proceeds in great
measure from the want of consideration?
That, provided men would pause and re-
flect — if, in other words, they would bring
themselves to the task of solemn medita-
tion, the unconverted would be alarmed,
the careless be roused to some feeling of
rehgious concern, the overflowings of ini-
quity would be stayed, and the impious
would be arrested in their career of guilt
and rebellion?
82 LECTURE IV.
It is because men do not consider, there-
fore they hurry on to the vortex of perdition.
It is the absence of reflection which suffers
them to continue unconcerned ; even the
impenitent and unconverted, could they be
brought to meditate upon what they in rea-
hty are — upon their actual position before
God — whither they are hastening — towards
what alternative, and to what portion, the
result would appear in an immediate cry of
earnestness, — " What must I do to be
saved?"
This observation is confirmed by recol-
lecting that in almost every instance of con-
version to God, one grand and effectual
mean to this result has been, meditation.
The sinner has been roused to reflect ;
through some providential dispensation he
has been forced to consider : consideration
has served, by God's blessing, to expose to
him his real danger. He has been led to
perceive the fearful precipice upon which he
has been hitherto standing ; meditation has
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 8 '3
disclosed the infinite guilt which attaches to
a course of continual impenitence, hardness,
and unbelief, — the justice with which God
might long since have left him to perish —
the amazing extent of that forbearance
whereof he has been the subject — the im-
perative necessity that he should at once
flee from the wrath to come, and seek for a
personal interest in the atoning blood and
the sanctifying righteousness of Jesus.
Thus it is that, in almost every instance
of genuine conversion to God, meditation is
one of the secret springs whereby the Spirit
operates to produce the mighty transform-
ation.
Men are led to reflect — reflection exposing
at once their danger and their duty, their
guilt, and its remedy, the happy result
follows, of which the Psalmist speaks from
his own experience : "I thought on my
ways, and turned my feet unto thy testi-
monies."' A blessed moment it is in the
1 Ps. cxix. 59.
84 LECTURE IV.
moral history of any man when he is first
roused to reflect ; when he is arrested in a
course of heedless unconcern, and compelled
to ask as in the sight of God, Whence am
I ? — wliither am I going ? — upon what
invisible power am I continually depend-
ent?— whose unseen arm is it that guides
and upholds me ? — whose watchful provi-
dence that has shielded me in many an
unforeseen peril, or rescued me from many
an impending calamity ? What is to be-
come of me hereafter, when earthly rela-
tionships shall all have been broken up —
when the occupations in which I am now so
restlessly engaged, or the pursuits to which
I am now so eagerly devoted, or the plea-
sures in which I now so fervently partici-
pate, or the honours which I now so fondly
cherish, must all be abandoned ? when
this body, in which the pulse of life beats
warmly, shall be surrendered to corruption,
and the soul which dwells within shall
have sped its way upward and alone, to
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 85
stand in the presence of Him who is its
Maker and Judge ? What shall atone for
my guilt ? what shall ensure in my behalf
a bright and a blissful eternity ? Blessed,
I repeat, is that moment in the moral his-
tory of any man, when questions such as
these force themselves upon the attention,
and when in the exercise of deep, earnest
meditation and self-examination, he is com-
pelled to adopt the course of which David
speaks in the text, " I commune with mine
own heart : and my spirit made diligent
search/'
The foregoing remarks apply to self-
recollection and self-scrutiny, as instru-
mental to the first quickening of a soul
from spiritual death ; whereas the subject
properly under review belongs to the after
progress of the divine life, or, in other
words, to growth in grace.
You will generally find, however, that the
same instrumentality which is effectual to
produce, is equally efficient to sustain and
86 LECTURE IV.
invigorate the work of grace. For example,
it is under the ministry of the word that
God frequently operates to produce spiritual
regeneration. What myriads of souls shall
we meet in glory who will refer to the
preaching of the Gospel as the mean by
which they were brought out of darkness into
light ! Yet no one will say that the full end
of the ministry is achieved, simply when a
soul has been quickened. "By the foolishness
of preaching," we are told, " it pleases God
to save them that believe''^ The mean
which first quickens is made instrumental
to carry forward and complete the work of
grace. This observation also applies re-
markably to prayer ; the cry of earnest
supplication is the first token of spiritual
life ; yet prayer is the soul-invigorating and
soul-sustaining exercise of the believer to
the very end of his course upon earth.
Precisely in the same manner, meditation,
which is not infrequently the instrumentality
' 1 Cor. i. 21.
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 87
whereby conversion is effected, is one of the
surest means to perpetuate the work of grace.
The instrumentaUty to which the behever
is indebted for having been effectually called
must be employed again and again, in order
to make his calling and election sure.
Can we in any measure explain or illus-
trate this ? Can we make it apparent how
it is that religious meditation contributes to
advance in religious attainment ? In reply
to these inquiries I observe, that meditation
upon any subject whatsoever has the property
to increase the influence of that subject upon
the mind. What you frequently ponder upon
will gradually assume a power over you ;
becoming interwoven with every thought,
it will presently influence every action ; till
the words you speak, and the course you
pursue, will be determined by the prevaihng
thought which occupies the mind. This is
the case in ordinary matters. The subject
to which we continually yield ourselves in
fixed meditation will eventually gain an
88 LECTURE IV.
ascendancy over us, influencing our conduct
in every scene and in every transaction of life.
Apply these remarks to the case of medi-
tation upon divine things. He who is fre-
quently contemplating the things of God, is
taking the Hkeliest course to ensure that
these things shall habitually influence his
words and actions ; it is for want of such
meditation that truths which are adapted to
stir the inmost depths of the heart, and kin-
dle into warmth the coldest afiections, fre-
quently sweep over the surface of the mind,
leaving not a trace nor an impress behind
them. The truth takes no hold of the judg-
ment or the affections, till it is pondered
upon and made the subject of deep medita-
tion.
Now, upon this principle, it is easy to
explain wherefore it sometimes happens that
Christians who are in the regular habit of
frequenting the various means of grace,
nevertheless exhibit so little of advance, and
betray so much of ignorance respecting the
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 89
first principles of the doctrine of Christ.
If there was the same measure of carefulness
to meditate upon spiritual truth as there is
of zeal in hearkening to its oral dehvery, we
should not have to mourn over so much
of precious seed apparently wasted; or to
lament over a growth, so feeble and imper-
fect, where the means of grace are so free
and abundant.
The sum of the whole, then, is this. Reli-
gious contemplation is an effectual mean to
deepen and to render permanent the im-
pressions of reUgious truth. Without this
practice it is scarcely possible for spiritual
matters to retain their ascendancy. What
falls upon the ear, or what is perused by
the eye, must be engrafted into the heart by
careful meditation. Should we neglect to
have recourse to this practice, the first
breath of temptation may turn us aside, and
the first wind of false doctrine may involve
us in shipwreck of faith. Meditation is the
exercise in which the believer appropriates
90 LECTURE IV.
and turns to profitable account the pro-
mises, the warnings, or the precepts of
Scripture. It ought to be combined with
every other spiritual exercise. Is it, for
example, the ministry of the word upon
which you attend? Let prayerful medi-
tation precede and follow the exercise ; the
message of the Gospel comes with immea-
surably increased power when there is me-
ditation beforehand as well as meditation
afterwards ; whereas when Christians rise
from the hearing of the word, and forthwith
(aye, sometimes almost before the sanc-
tuary is left) begin to converse upon mere
secular matters, the trivial and unimportant
concerns of time, what marvel that any im-
pression which the minister of Christ may
have for a moment produced is in a moment
e£Paced, so that the good seed that was
sown is followed by no better result than as
if scattered by the wayside to be devoured
by the fowls of the air ?
The sanae remark applies to the study of
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 91
Scripture. When shall we learn that, as
in natural things, it is not the quantity of
aliment which is taken, but the amount
which is actually appropriated by the system,
which contributes to its growth and in-
vigoration, so with respect to the soul, it
is not the degree of knowledge we acquire,
but the degree in which we appropriate
heavenly truth, which really ministers to
growth in grace?
Now it is by meditation that we lay hold
of and appropriate divine truth. " There is
one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus." ^ "The Son of Man came to
seek and to save that which was lost." ^ " The
blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us
from all sin."^ *' He is able to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by Him."*
" Him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast oat."^ Truths like these, of such mu-
' 1 Tim. ii. 5. ^ i John, i. 7.
2 Luke, xix. 10. * Heb. vii. 25.
5 John, vi. 37.
92 LECTURE IV.
sical sweetness that one might long for an
angel's tongue to proclaim them, how often
they vibrate on the chords of memory, pro-
ducing no more abiding effect than the
strains of an ^olian harp ! But, oh ! let
them be dwelt upon ; let them be lodged
firmly in the heart till they become the
food of the mind and incorporated with our
spiritual existence, and it will follow from
such practical meditation that the soul is
quickened, refreshed, invigorated, presenting
the encouraging fruits and tokens of a real
and abiding growth in grace.
I would only observe further, before
passing to the second part of the subject,
that meditation is a duty sanctioned by
Scriptural example and enforced by Scrip-
tiu-al precept. For religious meditation, Isaac
of old betook himself to the field at eventide.*
The Psalmist, who has left upon record such
incomparable treasures of spiritual expe-
rience, was conversant with the practice
» Gen. xxiv. 63.
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 93
under review. He, too, was in the habit,
Hke Isaac, in the stillness of even, to " con-
sider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which thou hast
ordained;"^ and then brake forth the burst
of acknowledgment, — " What is man, that
Thou art mindful of him ? and the son of
man, that Thou visitest him?"- He found
his sweetest solace in deep meditation upon
the things of God. "My soul shall be
satisfied as with marrow and fatness ; and
my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips :
when I remember Thee upon my bed, and
meditate on Thee in the night-watches."^
" My meditation of Him shall be sweet ; I
will be glad in the Lord."'* "O how love I
thy law! it is my meditation all the day."^
Nor only have we illustrious examples to
confirm the duty and advantage of religious
contemplation ; the practice is enforced,
' Ps. viii. 3. 3 Ps. Ixiii. 5.
2 Ps. viii. 4. * Ps. civ. 34.
* Ps. cxix. 97.
94 LECTURE IV.
likewise, bj precept. "This book of the
law," it was commanded to Joshua, " shall
not depart out of thy mouth ; but thou shalt
meditate therein day and night, that thou
mayest observe to do according to all that
is written therein : for then shalt thou make
thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt
have good success."^
" Ponder the path of thy feet " (said the
wisest of men, and gifted, moreover, with
Divine inspiration), "and let thy ways be
established.'"^ In commendation of Mary,
it is recorded by St. Luke, " she kept all
these things, and pondered them in her
heart." ^ "Meditate upon these things,"
said the Apostle to Timothy ; " give thyself
wholly to them; that thy profiting may
appear to all."*
Need more be advanced to make it evi-
dent that religious meditation is a mean of
grace, commended by many a weighty con-
1 Josh. i. 8. 3 Luke, ii. 19.
2 Prov. iv. 26. ♦ 1 Tim. iv. 15.
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 95
sideration, by the examples of believers emi-
nent for their piety, and by precepts to
which every disciple of Christ should render
obedience ?
Here let me pass on to notice the second
branch of the subject, namely, self-examina-
tion. The two exercises of reflection and
self-scrutiny are closely connected together ;
the one is the handmaid to the other, in-
tended to subserve and to aid its perform-
ance. They were evidently associated in
the practice of David. He "communed
with his own heart, and his spirit made
dihgent search." Upon the duty of self-
examination I may observe, that, like the
former to which we have been referring, it
is enjoined in Scripture, by example as well
as by precept. David was in the habit of
self-investigation : nay, when he had carried
this process to the furthest point, and still
feared lest some sin might have escaped
detection, he earnestly sought for Divine
help : " Examine me, O Lord, and prove
d6 LECTURE IV.
me; try my reins and my heart/'i And
again, " Search me, O God, and know my
heart : try me, and know my thoughts : and
see if there be any wicked way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting."" The duty
is clearly enjoined by St. Paul when writing
to the Corinthians; his words are, "Exa-
mine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith ;
prove your own selves."^
Declarations like these are amply sufficient
to establish the duty. No one who gives
to them the weight to which they are en-
titled will question for a moment that self-
examination is a task which is plainly re-
quired of a professing disciple.
It is reasonable, also, to suppose, that
the adoption of this practice must power-
fully tend to establishment and growth in
grace. Whatever helps to build up a con-
viction of the paramount importance of the
soul's interests, whatever serves to weaken
1 Ps. xxvi. 2. 2 pg cxxxix. 23, 24.
3 2 Cor. xiii. 5.
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 97
the influence of things present or temporal,
whatever leads to the detection of error,
the exposure of sin, or the discovery of the
soul's helplessness out of Christ, can hardly
fail to advance the spiritual welfare. Is it
not clear that the habit of self-examination
must have this tendency? The practice
of bringing the whole of our conduct, the
principles by which we are governed, the
motives by which we are influenced, the
actions we perform, into a court of inquiry ;
must not this remind us of the truth that we
are not our own, but are bound to live to
the glory of Christ ? As sin is detected in
this process ; as fresh failures are painfully
evidenced ; as new proofs appear of that in-
wrought depravity which cleaves to our
nature ; as repeated proofs are presented of
moral inability to do the least thing that is
good, or to maintain for a single day, in
our own strength, an even walk with God ;
must there not be a tendency in this to
make a believer realise more of the precious-
H
98 LECTURE IV.
ness of Christ, in whom, through beheving,
he is pardoned and accepted? Thus the
process of self-examination, even if it be a
humbhng one, as leading to the fuller dis-
covery of guilt and imperfection, is, never-
theless, an invigorating exercise for the soul,
if it produce a fuller dependence upon
Christ, a more vivid recognition of the need
which there is to depend on Him as the
Alpha and the Omega, the Author and the
Finisher of our faith.
Admitting, then, that self-examination is
an unquestionable duty, and a powerful
mean of grace ; the practical inquiry before
us relates to the subject-matter of self-exami-
nation, and the frequency with which the
duty ought to be performed. In speaking then
of the topics for self-examination, I would
observe there are two main points which
should ever be borne in mind in this exer-
cise : we have to ascertain both the reality
and the progress of our spiritual life. Self-
examination should be directed with a view
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 99
to discover, 1. Wltether loe are, in truth, the
disciples of Jesus ? and, 2dly, Whether, if
disciples, we are walkimg worthy of our voca-
tion ? What is it, then, to be a disciple in-
deed? Oh, think not this an unimportant
or an unnecessary point of inquiry. Men may
be easily deceived ; others may reckon us dis-
ciples, although in God's sight we have but
a name to live and are spiritually dead.
Nay, v^^e may deceive ourselves ; and easily,
though falsely, imagine, that because we have
knowledge, profession, gifts, and the reputa-
tion of our fellow men, therefore we belong
to Christ, and are actually in the faith.
But mere profession is not piety ; and
morality, howsoever exalted, is not by itself
piety ; and church- membership and partici-
pation of church ordinances, and rehgious
sentiment and fervour, and an outwardly
blameless life, tliese are not piety. There
may be the perfection of knowledge, and of
gifts, and the comely adornment of all that
is amiable and attractive to the eye of man,
100 LECTURE IV.
and yet the person who is possessed of
these may have neither part nor lot in the
matter, and be far from the kingdom of
heaven.
To be a disciple indeed, is to have been
^'-A.1 t/i^ wholly divested of self, and intimately
united by faith to the Saviour ; it is to have
been convinced of one's lost and perishing
condition by nature and by practice ; it is to
have been led, in a trembling sense of guilt
and un worthiness, to repose upon the finished
atonement and righteousness of Jesus as the
only plea for pardon and for acceptance;
it is to have had the heart changed by the
mighty operation of the Holy Ghost ; the
will conformed to the Divine will ; the
affections elevated from the ensnaring influ-
ence of earthly things, and fixed supremely
upon God as the satisfying portion of the
soul; it is to have been weaned from the
love of this present world and brought to
pursue with steadfast zeal the race which the
Gospel sets before us ; it is to have em-
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 101
barked upon a warfare against the sinful
lusts of the flesh, and the temptations of
the world and the devil ; it is to have chosen
Christ for our Lord and Master, our Saviour
and King ; it is to walk by the guidance of
the Spirit ; to aim, in dependence upon His
aid, to perfect holiness in the fear of God,
and daily to exhibit the life of a stranger
and pilgrim whose home is in heaven, and
whose rest is beyond the grave.
To ascertain whether we have these marks
of true discipleship ; to determine our real
standing in Christ, whether we can say, as
with the Apostle of old, — " Lord, thou
knowest all things; thou knowest that I
love thee ; " ^ this is the first object of a
Christian's self-examination.
Let it be supposed, however, that this
point is satisfactorily ascertained ; the busi-
ness of self-examination does not end here.
To acquire meetness for heaven is no tri-
fling or momentary employment ; every
1 John, xxi. 17.
102 LECTURE IV.
Christian grace, be it faith, hope, love,
meekness, zeal, knowledge, or any other of
the manifold fruits of the Spirit, has to be
developed and matured. It is the advance-
ment of this process which, properly speaking,
constitutes growth in grace. Self-examina-
tion must be resorted to in order to detect
where there is most of failure ; where there
is least satisfactory progress ; what is the sin
which most easily cleaves to us ; what is the
temptation which most frequently prevails ;
where we have most need of vigilance or
of perseverance? In the business of self-
examination the Christian must strive to
ascertain where he most fails of what might
be justly expected of him ; how far he is
coming short of the great end which, as a
disciple of Jesus, he has proposed to him-
self; in what point he is most w^anting, as
one whose untiring aim it should be to
make his calling and election sure. Need
we add, that each discovered failure should
afford fresh ground for deep humiliation.
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 103
and for earnest resolve, in Divine strength,
to correct what is amiss, and to avoid the
occasion of past disobedience ? It is in this
way that self-examination will minister to
that watchful circumspection which in its
turn will contribute to advancement in holi-
ness ; or, in other words, to growth in grace.
One remark with respect to the frequency
with which self-examination ought to be
performed : surely no one who is eager to
preserve a high degree of spirituality, and to
grow in the Divine life, will readily let a
single day pass without some scrutiny at its
close as to the prevailing bent of his thoughts,
words, and actions.
The evening sacrifice of praise and
thanksgiving should be combined with
meditation and self -inquiry. Special sea-
sons naturally demand, however, a more
dihgent and careful exercise of its duty.
From time to time it is well, therefore,
to enter upon its discharge with greater
minuteness. Such periods will naturally sug-
104 LECTURE IV.
gest themselves to any reflecting mind. The
recurrence of special anniversaries may fitly
be turned to profitable account for this pur-
pose : the close of a year, or the commence-
ment of a fresh term of earthly existence,
seem fitting periods for some special inquiry.
How have we advanced in our spiritual pil-
grimage ? — nearer to eternity, are we riper
for heaven ? The Apostle's precept points
to sacramental seasons as also appropriate
for more than ordinary diligence in self-
scrutiny. The weekly return of the sabbath
may be embraced as a period peculiarly
fitted for careful self-examination, and ear-
nest resolve to cleave with full purpose of
heart to the Lord.
But oh, how fruitless will all these en-
deavours prove — how utterly ineffectual to
advance our spiritual progress, except as we
continually recognise our need of the Spirit's
help ! It is man's part to spread the sail,
but the breath of heaven must swell the
canvass and waft the vessel onward. Dear
RELIGIOUS MEDITATION. 105
brethreD, I long for you each to feel more
and more of your dependence upon the
Holy Spirit. What are all means without his
energising presence ? They are but as empty
forms, and worse than unprofitable ceremo-
nies. Blessed be God, however. He can make
any mean effectual to accomplish mighty
results. He can transform the most barren
wilderness into the fertile and luxuriant
garden, making the desert to blossom as
the rose. He can eradicate the most deeply-
rooted corruption, elevate the most debased
form of human nature, purify the most cor-
rupt heart, and sanctify the most rebellious
will. When He wrought by the preaching of
Peter, three thousand souls were converted
in one day. Wheresoever His presence
abides, though, like the wind, we may hear
the sound thereof but know not whence it
comes nor whither it goes, the effects will
appear in the new creation ; in the resurrec-
rection from the death of sin to the life of
righteousness.
LECTURE V.
EELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE.
Luke, xxiv, 3Q.
Did not our heart bum within us, while He talked
with us by the way, and while He opened to us the
Scriptures ?
Our subject this morning is religious inter-
course, considered as a mean of spiritual
improvement ; religious converse maintained
between the Lord's people, and upon the
subject of their common hopes, their com-
mon duties, their common fears, and their
common prospects.
In the words which I have just read, we
find allusion to one effect which may be
expected to flow from such intercourse as
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 107
that to which reference is now made. The
occasion upon which they were spoken must
be famihar to us all. He who had pre-
sented upon earth a faultless example, in
whom there was no guile, and who spake
as never man spake, had accomplished His
great act of redeeming love : through dying
upon the cross, He had expiated human
transgression, and presented a full, perfect,
and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satis-
faction, for the sins of the whole world.
His immediate disciples, hampered by
prejudice and remaining unbelief, were
ready to give up all for lost, when they
beheld Him expire. Utterly forgetful of
prophecies which had foretold, and of the
many types which had prefigured the event,
they could see in the death of their Master
nothing less than the destruction of every
hope which they had cherished respecting
Him as the Saviour of Israel. They were
ready in a moment to conclude that all
the evidences which He had put forth of
108 LECTURE V.
Messiahship were as nothing ; that He was
a deceiver, and that they had been de-
ceived. Expectation of His resurrection they
had none. They had been graciously in-
deed forewarned against despair, through
being assured that upon the third day He
would rise again. Yet, in spite of this, they
gave themselves up to despondency, and in
the tumult of the anguish which our Lord's
death occasioned, they had neither hope nor
faith sufficient to grasp the reality of His
conquest over the grave.
The chapter before us relates what oc-
curred upon the third day after the Saviour's
death, the day upon which Christ actually
broke the bands of the sepulchre. Two of
the disciples were walking together to Em-
maus, a small village not far from Jerusalem.
As they journeyed onward they were over-
taken by Jesus Himself, although they
recognised Him not, but took Him for a
stranger. Sorrow of heart often makes
friends of strangers ; and the events which
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 109
had recently occurred in Jerusalem were of
so public a nature, and so intimately con-
cerned the whole nation of the Jews, that it
is not to be wondered at, the three began
at once to converse upon them. Jesus
having asked, " What manner of communi-
cations are these that ye have one to another,
as ye walk, and are sad?" they instantly
unfolded the burden of their grief and dis-
appointment, plainly confessing the despair
they were in on account of the decease of
Him whom they trusted would have re-
deemed Israel.
Jesus suffered them to spread before Him
all their trouble ; and when they had made
an end of doing so, He began to reason with
them from that source to which He always
appealed for the resolution of doubt or the
rebuke of unbelief. " Beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, He expounded unto
them in all the Scriptures the things con-
cerning Himself."
No record of that exposition is preserved.
110 LECTURE V.
We can but ill imagine what must have
been its power, beauty, simplicity, and per-
suasiveness. At all events, it was followed
by the kindling of fresh hope in the minds of
His wondering companions ; the veil was
removed from their understandings. At
length " their eyes were opened, and they
knew Him, and He vanished out of their
sight." Then it was they exclaimed the one
to the other, " Did not our heart burn
within us, while He talked with us by the
way, and while He opened to us the Scrip-
tures?"
It will not be needful for me to allude at
greater length to the circumstances con-
nected with the first utterance of the text.
It is enough to bear in mind that we have
here an example of intercourse upon divine
things maintained between Christ and His
disciples, as they travelled together by the
wayside. This intercourse resulted in a kind-
ling of decayed fervour, a revival of drooping
hope, and the dispersion of groundless fear.
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. Ill
The circumstances were doubtless pecu-
liar, yet they may be regarded as furnishing
a lesson to the value which Christians
might often derive from converse upon the
things of God, with the presence of Jesus
by His own Spirit to cheer them, and the
Scriptures of truth to furnish the ground of
their mutual deliberation.
We now^ turn to the main subject before
us in the desire, by the help of the Holy
Spirit, to point out some of those blessings
which may be reasonably expected to flow
from rehgious intercourse between the dis-
ciples of Christ. May the Holy Spirit be
present to guide our endeavour, and to make
the practical consideration of this subject
instrumental to our spiritual profit !
1. Now "religious intercourse" stands
closely connected with that association to-
gether of the Lord's people, which is one
badge and mark of their separation from
the world, and of their discipleship to Jesus.
One of the great dangers of the present day
112 LECTURE V.
arises from the breaking down in great
measure of the barriers which divide the
world, as such, from the professing Church
of Christ.
The world has come to tolerate the form
of godliness. It will allow men to assume
that form without either reproach or ridi-
cule. Hence it has come to pass, that the
line of demarcation between the professing
disciples of Jesus and the mass of the
unconverted around them is far less visibly
and clearly defined in practice than, judging
from God's word, ought to be the case.
It is not that the world has become more
religious, not that there is in the world a
whit less of real and determined aversion to
the things of God. But it is the policy of
Satan not to oppose a mere form of religion ;
a show of godliness will frequently satisfy
the conscience, when, in place of furthering
the soul's salvation, it helps onward its per-
dition.
The world still lies in wickedness ; its
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 113
maxims are as much opposed as ever to the
precepts of God's word ; its pleasures are as
unsatisfying, its practice as corrupt.
On the other hand, the truth of God is
unchangeable : according to that truth, the
professing disciples of Jesus are summoned
to be a distinct and peculiar people — to
come out of the world, and to be separate ;
though in the world, not to be of it ; to use
this world as not abusing it ; to confess, with
the saints of God in every age, that here
they are but pilgrims and strangers, whose
home is afar off, and whose citizenship is in
heaven. The statements of God's word
which bear upon the necessity of coming
out from the world, and being separate,
remain in their unmutilated integrity, and
in all their unalterable force of signification.
" The friendship of the world is enmity with
God ; whosoever therefore will be the friend
of the world is the enemy of God."^
Now, declarations of this kind, howsoever
' James, iv. 4.
114 LECTURE V.
clearly deduced from Scripture, and how-
soever closely they may be worded in Scrip-
ture phraseology, are often deemed harsh,
uncharitable, and narrow-minded. But,
letting alone for one moment the consider-
ation that in making them we are only
adhering to the plain letter of revealed
truth, it appears to me that true charity
lies with those who avow and who act upon
the truth contained in them ; and that it is
a false charity which makes a behever in
Scripture either speak or act otherwise.
Suppose now for one moment that in
ordinary matters you knew a person to be
in imminent peril of his hfe or property,
or that you knew him to be infected with
a malady which, unless arrested, would cer-
tainly prove fatal, and which, moreover,
might be easily spread by contact among
others ; would it not be a spurious charity
which, for the sake of sparing the feelings of
a person so circumstanced, should hinder
you from pointing out the peril, or from
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 115
telling him of what he was certainly exposed
to, unless he took inamediate precaution to
obviate the danger ? Now let jne apply this
observation to the case of unconverted men,
who compose the mass of the world ; only
observing, that when we speak of the world
in opposition to the Church of Christ, we
intend all, without exception, of every shade
and degree, whose hearts have not been
changed by the converting grace of God,
and whose lives are not conformed to the
example of Christ, as set in contrast with
those of every nation, of every clime, and
every branch of the Redeemer's Church,
who have been brought under the effectual
operation of God the Holy Ghost.
Now, what does the truth of Scripture
compel us to affirm respecting the former ?
Why it compels us to affirm this, that no
matter what may be the exemplary and
irreproachable character which they bear to
the eye of man, nevertheless, being uncon-
verted, they are in the very gall of bitter-
116 LECTURE V.
ness and in the bond of iniquity ; that they
are in peril of utter ruin for eternity ; that
they are infected with a spiritual malady,
which, unless arrested in its progress by
the might of God's Holy Spirit, will inevit-
ably involve them in perdition. Is it com-
mon charity towards such men not to warn
them of their peril ? Is it common charity
to act in all respects as though we believed
there was no broad difference between the
child of God, the heir of heaven, and a child
of Satan, the heir of perdition ?
And this is not the least amongst the
strong reasons for a more rigid adoption of
those precepts of God's word, which relate
to the Christian's separation from the world
that Heth in wickedness. It is true charity
to the unconverted to let them know and
feel that between them and the sincere dis-
ciple of Jesus there is the widest possible
distinction ; whereas if the unconverted ob-
serve that the professing disciples of Christ
can live, and speak, and act, just as though
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 117
there was no difference between them, as
though thek prospects for eternity were
equally bright, and their position equally
secure, to what conclusion can they come
if not that, when we speak of the uncon-
verted as the objects of God's displeasure,
and in peril of everlasting death, we are
using figures of speech, which are not to be
understood as literally true? If, however,
there is to be separation from the world,
there must be religious intercourse between
the Lord's people ; there must be a con-
sorting together, in the name of Christ, of
those who in hope and faith are one ; there
must be an interchange of thought and
feeling respecting the common dangers
against which each true disciple has to con-
tend, the common foe which each has to
withstand, and the common warfare which
each has to prosecute. Rehgious inter-
course is the very bond of separation from
the world ; and it is owing, I believe, in no
small degree, to the neglect of cultivating
118
LECTURE V.
such intercourse, bv the assembKus: of
Christians tosjether in the name of Christ for
hallowed communion respecting the things
of God, for united praise and supplication,
that the line of demarcation has been so
lamentably lost sight of, and the Church of
Chi'ist in these modern days has come to
present ^o httle of that \-isible separation
from the world which is one of the surest
evidences that the Spmt of God is abiding
in her midst.
Having said thus much respecting reh-
gious intercourse in its influence upon sepa-
ration from the world,, I would go on to
enumerate other particulars, in which such
intercourse may be regarded as helpful to
the true believer. Here, again, let me
borrow a lesson fi'om ordinary experience.
Is it not invariably the case, if there be a
subject in which you feel a deep interest,
that interest is kept alive and increased by
mutual converse with others to whom it is a
matter of similar moment r B} conversing
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 119
upon the topic in which both are interested,
an increase of fervour is thereby kindled ;
mistaken or erroneous views are corrected ;
knowledge is augmented; difficulties are
dispersed ; our stock of information is im-
proved. The subject gains a stronger hold,
whether upon the reason, the judgment, or
the affections, and it leaves a more settled
and abiding impression. Shall it be so in
ordinary matters, and why not in spiritual ?
Is it not probable that similar effects
will be produced where the theme of con-
verse relates to the things of God and
eternity ? In this way, be it observed, reli-
gious truth comes to be felt in its living
reality : whilst we merely hold the doctrines
of Christianity as matters of belief upon
which we never converse, it is impossible
that they should possess, in our own view
or in that of others, the same power and
reality as when out of the very abundance
of the heart the mouth speaketh.
In conversing upon the things of God,
120 LECTURE V.
there is a handling, as it were, of the pre-
cious realities^ which the Gospel presents to
the eye of faith. Moreover, it is not simply
that religious intercourse has the efiPect of
giving a reality to the hopes and the pro-
spects of the behever ; there are yet other
important ends, which religious intercourse
greatly subserves. By conversing upon the
truths of the Gospel, the hopes of the
believer, his present conflicts, the dangers
against which he has to guard, the helps
which are vouchsafed to him, the victory he
is enabled to gain, knowledge is augmented,
the weak brother is strengthened, the
timid emboldened, the sorrowful comforted.
The experience of one and another is then
made the property of many, and contri-
butes either to the edification, the warning,
or the consolation of all.
Moreover, it has been universally found
that few things have a greater tendency to
quicken religious fervour, to stimulate to
1 1 John, i. 1.
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 121
warmer zeal and more devoted obedience,
than religious converse between the Lord's
people. When an experienced Christian,
for example, acting in the spirit of the
Psalmist when he exclaimed, — " Come and
hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare
what He hath done for my soul;"^ when
such an one, out of the treasures of his
experience, pours forth his tribute of praise
for the faithfulness of God to His every pro-
mise, for the constancy of that forbearing
love which has long borne with him, and
never been wanting to supply him with grace
according to his need, to uphold him under
temptation, enable him for duty, support
him in trial, or even to recover him when
fallen ; is there not a power in such testi-
mony to encourage, to animate, to quicken,
or to console ? Then it is that those who
have hitherto imagined that their own diffi-
culties surpass what have ever been encoun-
tered by others, — or that their own tempta-
1 Ps. Ixvi. 16.
122 LECTURE V.
tions are stronger than others have ever
experienced, — or that their own infirmities
and short-comings are more numerous,
learn that Christian experience is much
more uniform than they had ignorantly
supposed ; and that those who, to the eye
of their fellow - Christians, appear remote
from the possibihty of having a fierce war-
fare perpetually to maintain between the
flesh and the Spirit, are, perhaps, the very
men who can most sympathise, out of the
fulness of their bitter experience, with the
lament of the Apostle, — " The good that
I would, I do not ; but the evil which I
would not, that I do."' Thence issue fresh
springs of hope for the tempted, the timid,
and afflicted ; learning that God is not deal-
ing otherwise with them than He deals
with His faithful servants in general, they
drop their disquieting apprehensions, and
lean with a fuller assurance upon the hope
which is set before them in the Gospel; and
1 Rom. vii. 19.
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 123
as one and another recount what they have
met with of the goodness, and the mercy,
and the faithfulness of God, there is a kind-
hng of fervour, and zeal, and of holy joy in
God : so that the sharers of intercourse such
as this can exclaim upon the review of it,
"did not our heart burn within us" whilst
one testimony after another was poured
forth to the faithfulness of our covenant
God?
It is thus that rehgious intercourse be-
comes in reality helpful to spiritual pro-
gress. All, no matter what their degree of
Christian attainment, may derive profit
from mutual converse upon divine things :
there is a manifest tendency in such con-
verse to revive the fervour of the lukewarm,
to confirm the wavering, and to encourage
the timid.
Such intercourse, let it be observed, is
enjoined in Scripture by example as well as
precept. David, for instance, exclaims, " I
am a companion of all them that fear Thee,
124 LECTURE V.
and of them that keep Thy precepts."^ He
chose for his associates those betwen whom
and himself, in matters of religion, there was
oneness of feeling and pursuit. " I will not
know," he says, " a wicked person : mine
eyes shall be upon the faithful of the
land, that they may dwell with me."- Allu-
ding to intercourse with the Lord's people,
he exclaims, " I was glad when they
said unto me, Let us go into the house
of the Lord. "^ To the same effect he
elsewhere declares, " We took sweet coun-
sel together, and walked to the house of
God as friends."* To converse of Divine
things is one mark of sincerity : not, we
admit, an infallible one : for there are those
of whom we read as making great show
with their lips, but in heart being far from
God; yet, on the other hand, an Apo-
stle testifies, " We cannot but speak the
things which we have seen and heard." ^
1 Ps. cxk. 63. 2 Ps. ci. 4, 6. 3 Pg. cxxii. 1.
* Ps. 1y. U. 5 Acts, iv. 20.
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 125
The prophet Jeremiah declared, " I said, I
will not make mention of Hira, nor speak
any more in His name. But His word was
in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in
my bones, and I was weary with forbearing,
and I could not stay." ^ Malachi gives it as
a description of the behevers of his day,
" They that feared the Lord spake often one
to another : and the Lord hearkened, and
heard it, and a book of remembrance was
written before Him for them that feared the
Lord, and that thought upon His name ;"
whilst this promise was pronounced in
their behalf — a promise which stamps Avith
a seal of infinite preciousness the duty of
religious intercourse — " They shall be mine,
saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when
I make up my jewels ; and I will spare them,
as a man spareth his own son that serveth
him. T/ie?i shall ye return, and discern
between the righteous and the wicked,
between him that serveth God and him that
1 Jer.
XX.
126 LECTURE V.
serveth Him not."^ '( ^^^J^ssmk that is
affirmed in Scripture respecting conversa-
tion in general, and the right use of the
tongue, has a direct bearing upon rehgious
intercourse. To whom is it promised that
the salvation of God shall be shown ? is it
not to him that " ordereth his conversation
aright ?"^ If we are to be justified or con-
demned, as our Lord tells us, by our words,"^
ought not the subject of our converse with
each other to be a matter over which we
exercise the sharpest vigilance ? Is it not
again a Scriptural proof, " Let your speech
be alv/ay with grace, seasoned with salt, that
ye may know how ye ought to answer every
man ?"* And have we not the very model of
Christian intercourse sketched by the Apo-
stle, '' Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom; teaching and admo-
nishing one another in psalms and hymns
1 Mai. iii. 16. ^ Matt. xii. 37.
- Ps. 1. 23. 4 Col. iv. 6.
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 127
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in
your hearts to the Lord ?"^
I trust it will have appeared from the
foregoing review of the subject, that inter-
course of a religious nature between the
Lord's people is in itself a powerful means
to aid the Christian in maintaining sepa-
ration from the world, which is one badge
of discipleship to Christ ; 1:hat it is also
an important instrumentality for enlarging
the sphere of spiritual knowledge, rectify-
ing erroneous views, making the experi-
ence of one profitable to many, inflaming
Christian fervour, kindling the spiritual
affections, deepening the impression of the
reality of eternal things, guiding the per-
plexed, infusing courage into the fearful,
hope into the desponding, and comfort into
the sorrowful, j But how, it will be asked, is
this Christian intercourse to be maintained ?
Are we to renounce all communion with
those in whom we perceive no evidences of
' Col. iii. 16.
128 LECTURE V.
conversion ? Are we to desert the post of
usefulness to which God hath called us in
this life ? Certainly not, I reply : we are
neither called to the one course nor to the
other ; our hght is to shine before men, not
to be concealed in secret. Christ did not
pray that His disciples " should be taken out
of the world, bat that they should be kept
from the evil ;"' nor do I apprehend that even
consistency in our Christian course requires
that our religious views or experience should
be at all seasons and under all circumstances
obtruded upon the notice of others : but I
do say this, that a true disciple of Jesus
must not be ashamed, at any season and
under any circumstances, in any place and
before any company, to avow whose he is,
and whom he serves. His light must shine :
and if it be the pure light which is the
reflexion of his Saviour's image, that light
will be sure to discover itself in every scene.
Even unconverted men will not be slow to
1 John, xvii. 15.
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 129
discern that other motives are at work with
the true behever than they are themselves
actuated by, that other hopes are exerting
an influence upon him, and other aims are
pursued by him ; thus the hue of separation
will be preserved, even in those matters in
which, of necessity, the Christian is cast
into association with men of the world.
Need I say that the world's maxims, the
world's amusements and pleasures, must be
renounced? and here, at least, the sepa-
ration will be so clear and well-defined,
that the Christian in these matters cannot
be confounded with the man of the world.
Over and above this, if there be such a
value in religious intercourse, ought there
not to be effort made to obtain it? Why
should not Christians more often meet toge-
ther in the social circle — not to waste one
hour after another in artificial, unsatisfying,
and often irksome enjoyment, where to
discourse of the solemn things of God and
eternity, or to dilate upon the hopes and
K
130 LECTURE V.
the privileges of the believer, would by tacit
consent be deemed altogether out of place,
or would at once cast a damp on the circle,
and throw a melancholy gloom on each
countenance — why, as men in earnest to
prosecute their soul's salvation and to lay
hold of eternal life, should they not more
often meet in holy fellowship, with this
for their specific object ; to strengthen each
other for their common warfare by mutual
converse, prayer, and praise, in the full
consciousness of meeting with a present
Saviour, and of finding access through Him,
by one Spirit, to the Father ? Why should
not mention of the joys laid up for the
righteous — the present privileges, the future
glory of the believer — the splendour of the
inheritance of the saints in light — why
should not these be the topics, in discoursing
upon which there is a responsive feeling in
each heart of earnest rapture ? Why should
not these be the subjects upon which our
tongues grow eloquent, and in the contem-
RELIGIOUS INTERCOURSE. 131
plation of which our hearts throb with
eager emotion ?
Gatherings for converse such as this,
many amongst us can testify, are seasons of
spiritual refreshment ; they leave a savour
behind them for good; they help us to
realise more intensely the fact of our re-
lationship one with another, and with Christ
our spiritual head ; they help to scatter
many an unworthy prejudice, and to dispel
many a needless apprehension ; they con-
duce to quicken within us a more fervent
zeal, to make us burn with greater desire
for that communion above, where intercourse
with the holy shall be one of our noblest
enjoyments, where we shall experience in all
its amphtude of blessing that " Truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with His
Son Jesus Christ." ^
' I John, i. 3.
LECTURE YI.
BAPTISM.
1 CoK. ii. 14.
They are spiritually discerned.
In five preceding lectures your attention
has been directed to the practical consider-
ation of the ordinary means of grace ; ac-
cording to the plan which I announced at
the commencement of the course, the pre-
sent and the concluding lecture — God wil-
ling — will be devoted to the sacraments of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
We speak of these as differing from the
ordinary means of grace ; not because they
have in themselves any inherent property to
BAPTISM. 133
communicate grace, but because they have
connected with them certain visible signs of
Christ's appointing, and they are such as
man's wisdom could not of itself have
devised.
It might have been easy beforehand to
perceive that the ministry of the word —
the exercise of prayer — the study of God's
word — meditation upon divine things —
and converse with the Lord's people,
would be powerful auxiliaries to growth in
grace. Mere human foresight, however,
would not have invented the ordinance of
Baptism, nor yet that of the Lord's Supper.
These two institutions stand evidently sepa-
rate from the other means of grace, having
a virtue belonging to them which arises
simply out of the fact that Christ appointed
them to be signs and seals of spiritual
blessing.
As the present and following lecture
must of necessity turn upon the question of
the Sacraments, and of the efficacy which
134 LECTURE VI.
pertains to them, it will not be deemed out of
place if I detain you for a few moments with
some observations relative to what is com-
monly termed the doctrine of sacramental
grace.
Now if I desired to point out in the
strongest colours the pernicious conse-
quences of receiving theological opinions
from the writings of men, in place of
fetching them pure from the fountain itself
of revealed truth, I would point to the end-
less disputations which have gone forward
respecting the sacraments of the Christian
religion.
It is painful to observe how these insti-
tutions of Christianity have served to origi-
nate the most fierce and vehement conten-
tions. Were it possible for all classes in
the Church of Christ calmly to divest their
minds of preconceived prejudice, frankly to
lay aside the opinions which they have
formed from human teaching, and hearken
meekly and dispassionately to what the
BAPTISM. 135
truth of God declares, I believe we should
then find difficulties quickly vanish away;
extreme opinions upon either side, having
no support in revelation, would no longer
be held with such pertinacity ; and all bor-
rowing their belief from the living oracles
of God, would find themselves agreeing in
doctrines which tend to abase the sinner
and to exalt the Saviour.
It is well known there are many at the
present day who avowedly regard what is
termed the sacramental system as the key-
stone in the arch of Christianity; men
who, having adopted what I cannot but
deem an exaggerated view^ of their efiicacy,
seem to think that if one jot is bated of
the homage which they pay to the sacra-
ments, Christianity thereby receives a deadly
wound.
I trust, however, it may be one good re-
sult arising out of the strife and contro-
versy to which these times are the witness ;
namely, that multitudes of persons who
136 LECTURE VI.
have been heretofore incHned to pin their
faith upon what this or that fallible teacher
affirms, will be driven, in self-defence, to
search more narrowly into what God's
word says ; to consult the Scripture for
themselves in earnest prayer for the Spirit's
teaching, and take nothing for granted,
and nothing as truth, in matters of reli-
gious doctrine, but what may clearly and
undeniably be proved from revelation itself.
Whoever manfully applies himself to such
investigation — laying aside every precon-
ceived opinion, and simply hearkening to
what the Lord God, by the Spirit, through
the instrumentality of the written word,
shall teach — will probably find that he has
been in the habit of taking much upon mere
human authority which is unsupported by
Scripture, if not in direct opposition to what
Scripture reveals.
Eor example, it is surprising to my own
mind, to hear or read the strange things
which are frequently stated respecting
BAPTISM. 137
sacramental efficacy ; to discover how little
authority there is of Scripture to support
those statements, and how little ground
there is in God's word for exalting the
sacraments to such an elevation above the
other and the ordained means of grace.
What text is there, or what collection of
texts, to prove that the two sacraments
which Christ appointed have a pre-eminence
so great that these are to be spoken of as
the means of grace, through the diligent
use of which alone salvation can be ob-
tained ?
I confess that, for my own part, I am
quite at a loss to discover any plain passages
of Scripture which warrant the exalted lan-
guage in w^hich you not unfrequently hear
mention made of the sacraments.
Let us be careful, however, lest in depre-
cating one error we fall into an opposite.
I hold it unquestionably to be a serious
error to attribute to the sacraments, whether
138 LECTURE VI.
of Baptism or of the Lord's Supper, an
unrivalled superiority over the other means
of grace : and yet, at the same time, they
are means of grace ; they are not mere ar-
bitrary appointments without any real design
or significance : if every type and shadow
under the Levitical economy had its deep
spiritual import, surely we may conclude
that the symbols which are appointed under
the Christian dispensation have their spiri-
tual import also; moreover, the nature of
the sign in both sacraments has such a
clear, figurative adaptation to spiritual bles-
sing, that I feel warranted in the belief
there is a real relation between the emblem
and the thing signified.
Our general behef, then, in regard of the
sacraments, is this, that they are both outward
and visible signs of an inward and spiritual
grace ; which signs were appointed by our
blessed Lord Himself, to be not only out-
ward tokens of spiritual blessing, but also
BAPTISM. 139
means whereby the assurance of that bles-
sing is conveyed to the soul of the worthy
recipient. The use of them is generally
necessary to salvation, inasmuch as it is
enjoined by Christ, and cannot lawfully be
dispensed with where the ordinance can be
obtained.
Two errors in respect of the sacraments
we have specially to avoid ; the one is that
of undervaluing, and the other is that of
over-estimating, their importance. The or-
dinance, whether it be that of Baptism or of
the Lord's Supper, is undervalued whenso-
evefr it is regarded as a mere sign, or a
mere commemorative institution. The ordi-
nance, on the other hand, is over-estimated
when it is regarded either as the sole chan-
nel by which grace is conveyed to the soul,
or as possessed in itself of any intrinsic
importance ; so that the communication of
spiritual blessing cannot but attend its out-
ward reception.
"The sacraments are useful only when
140 LECTURE VI.
God gives effect to them, and displays the
power of His Spirit using them as instru-
ments; if any good is conferred upon
us by the sacraments, it is not owing
to any proper virtue in them, even though
in this you should include the promise
by which they are distinguished ; it is God
alone who acts by His Spirit : when He
uses the instrumentality of sacraments, He
neither infuses His own virtue into them,
nor derogates in any respect from the
effectual working of His Spirit ; but, in
adaptation to our weakness, uses them as
helps — in such manner, however, that -the
whole source of acting remains with Him
alone : wherefore, as Paul reminds us that
neither he that planteth nor he that
watereth is anything, but God alone that
giveth the increase ; so also it is to be said
of the sacraments, that they are nothing,
because they will profit nothing, unless God
in all things make them effectual. They
are, indeed, instruments by which God acts
BAPTISM. 141
efficaciously when He pleases, yet so that
the whole work of our salvation must be
ascribed to Him alone." -
The foregoing remarks, with reference to
the nature and the efficacy of the sacra-
ments in general, will be found to have a
practical bearing upon the consideration
which now comes before us of the sacra-
ment of Baptism in particular. With the
history of the institution of this ordinance
it is needless for me to detain you at any
length ; its origin dates from the period
when Christ gave the command to His
Apostles to go into all the world and make
disciples of all nations. The practice of
baptizing converts to the Jewish faith had,
indeed, existed long before. We learn
from ancient history that no proselytes
were admitted into fellowship with the Jews,
even before the coming of Christ, without
a baptism. John, the forerunner of Christ,
used the ceremony of baptism for the ad-
mission of persons to be disciples of Him
142 LECTURE VI.
whom it was his office to herald; but it
was not until Christ was about to leave the
earth that He invested the ordinance with a
sacramental character, and gave to it that
importance to which it has ever since been
entitled in the Christian Church.
Trom that period it has been the outward
form of admission to the visible Church of
Christ ; it occupies the same position under
the Christian dispensation which circum-
cision did under the Jewish. The child
of Jewish parents was not reckoned to be
in full communion with the Jewish Church
unless he was circumcised according to
Divine appointment ; precisely in the same
manner, the child of Christian parents is to
be baptized, in order to his being visibly
enrolled amongst the professing servants of
the Saviour.
Baptism, in the early periods of the Christ-
ian Church, became the badge of discipleship
to Christ in a very marked and pecuhar
manner. When, for example, either a Jew
BAPTISM. 143
or a Gentile came and professed a desire
for this rite, and when he pubUcly sub-
mitted to it, his doing so amounted to an
open renunciation of Judaism or of heathen-
ism, and to an open adjoining of himself to
the flock of Christ. Bear in mind the cir-
cumstances of that period, and you will
readily perceive how^ improbable it was that
any should come and receive baptism who
were not in reality desirous to give up all
for the sake of Christ. Baptism in those
days exposed to unrelenting hostility and
persecution for Christ's sake ; the result was
that, generally speaking, the administration
of the ordinance was much more closely
connected with the presence of the Spirit's
grace than when, in a more estabhshed state
of the Christian Church, it is a ceremony
which exposes its recipient to no kind of
persecution or reproach.
Baptism, then, is the door of admission
into the visible Church of Christ. If you
were to go to some distant tribe of heathens,
144 LECTURE VI.
and preach amongst them, for the first time,
the unsearchable riches of Christ ; and if
the preaching was to be blessed, so that one
and another declared a willingness to re-
nounce idolatrous practices and embrace
the religion of Jesus, you would tell them at
once that, as a sign of their profession, they
must submit to be baptized, and that bap-
tism would be the visible token of their
admission into the fold of Christ's Church.
Baptism, however, is more than this ; it
is more than a mere external symbol which
certifies to the recipient his outward admis-
sion to membership with Christ's Church ;
it is a channel through which grace may be
communicated. Here we must not attempt
to penetrate too narrowly into the hidden
and secret things, which belong only to the
Lord our God. I do not pretend to ex-
plain how it is that this or the other sacra-
ment becomes a vehicle for the communi-
cation of grace, but the circumstance that
Christ has appointed this rite is sufficient
BAPTISM. 145
to determine the point that baptism is a
mean of grace, through which spiritual
blessing may be earnestly sought by faith-
ful supplication.
Here, however, it will be asked, What is
the nature of the blessing which may be
looked for from the use of this ordinance ?
I reply to that question by saying, that
I cannot assign any limit whatever to the
blessing which God may be pleased to con-
vey through the ordinance of baptism. God
acts as a sovereign Lord : He may be pleased,
in answ^er to the prayer of faith, to employ
this instrumentally to convey the highest
spiritual blessing of which man can be the
recipient. In the exercise of His sovereign
grace, and according to the purpose of His
own will. He may connect the faithful use
of this ordinance with the bestowment of
spiritual regeneration in its highest and
most comprehensive sense; and, believing
that God may so far honour His owu ordi-
nance as thus to make it the vehicle of
146 LECTURE VI.
blessings so transcendent, it is plainly man's
part to use it in faith and hope, with earnest
prayer and supplication, not unmingled with
hearty praise and thanksgiving.
At the same time, whilst admitting all
this, I feel equally bound to reject, as anti-
scriptural and most pernicious teaching, the
doctrine either that spiritual regeneration
can be effected only through baptism, or
that spiritual regeneration is a result which
always follows upon baptism ; either of these
tenets we reject, as opposed to revelation,
derogatory to the honour of God, and flatly
contradicted by daily experience. First of
all, what do we mean by the term " spi-
ritual regeneration ?'' Does it signify no-
thing more than a change of state ? or does
it imply a real change of heart and nature,
which issues in a life devoted to the service
of Christ ? Now, " regeneration" is a term
which occurs only twice in the whole of
Scripture; once in the 19th of Matthew
and the 28th verse, where it has plainly
BAPTISM. 147
nothing whatever to do with baptism, and
once in the 3d of Titus and the 5th verse,
where, just as plainly, it has nothing what-
ever to do with the baptism of infants.
But although the term "regeneration" only
occurs twice in Scripture, its equivalent
terms occur frequently ; those terms being,
" born again," " born from above," and
" born of God :" consequently, if we can
find any clear definition of these terms, we
may fairly accept that definition as applying
equally to *' spiritual regeneration."
I appeal, then, to Scripture ; and from
the General Epistle of John I gather these
broad and intelligible definitions of the term,
— " Whosoever is born of God doth not
commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him :
and he cannot sin, because he is born of
God. In this the children of God are
manifest, and the children of the devil." ^
Again : " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God ;"^ "Whatsoever
^ 1 John, iii. 9. 2 1 John, v. ] .
148 LECTURE VI.
is born of God overcometh the world ;"^
"Whosoever is born of God sinneth not ; but
he that is begotten of God keepeth himself,
and that wicked one toucheth him not."~
Trom these statements I gather, that " the
being born of God," or, in other words,
" the being spiritually regenerate," is invari-
ably connected with the renunciation of
sin, with faith in Jesus and victory over
the world; and what are these but the
evidences and tokens of genuine conver-
sion? Such, then, is spiritual regenera-
tion ; it will be marked by these effects
wherever it exists. And now I have only
to ask, — Does every baptized person ex-
hibit these fruits? and if not, how or by
what possible mode of interpretation can
the truth of God's word be reconciled with
the doctrine that every baptized person is
spiritually regenerate? I have never yet
met with any one who could fairly dispose
of this argument ; and to my own mind it
1 ] John V. 4. 2 1 John, v. 18.
BAPTISM. 149
has all the weight of an unanswerable de-
monstration. It seems to me conclusively
to prove that spiritual regeneration is no
necessary or inseparable consequence of
baptism, however correctly that rite may
be administered.
Neither is baptism the only instrument-
ality through which spiritual regeneration is
ordinarily produced ; spiritual regeneration
is attributed in Scripture to other agencies.
"As many as received Him," T\Tites the
Evangelist, "to them gave He power to
become the sons of God, even to them that
beheve on His name : which were born, not
of blood, nor of the \Yi\\ of the flesh, nor of
the will of man, but of God." ' Is there
any allusion here to baptism? Baptism
had not been instituted at the period to
which these words relate. Is not the adop-
tion to sonship ascribed to the will of God,
acting through faith upon Jesus, and that
faith itself the result of Divine grace ? Again,
1 John,i. IQ.
150
LECTURE VI.
does not Peter address his converts as
those who had been "born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth
for ever ?"^ Again, is it not undeniable that
in a number of instances all the signs and
marks of spiritual regeneration have been
presented anterior to the rite of baptism
being administered ? Was not Paul spiritu-
ally regenerated before he was baptized?
Was not the eunuch, whom Philip bap-
tized ? — was not the gaoler? — were not Cor-
nelius and his household, respecting whom
Peter affirmed, '' Can any man forbid water,
that these should not be baptized, which have
received the Holy Ghost as well as we ?""
Is there an intelligent missionary at the
present day who would dream of baptizing
a fresh convert from amongst the heathen,
unless thoroughly satisfied first of his being
in deed and truth a child of God by faith in
Christ Jesus ?
' 1 Pet. i. 23. 2 Acts, x. 47.
BAPTISM. 151
We conclude, then, that notwithstanding
the warrant which there is to beheve that
baptism, being an ordinance of Christ's ap-
pointment, may be, and perhaps frequently
is, honoured as an instrument for the spi-
ritual regeneration of the recipient ; yet to
maintain either that baptism is the only
instrumentality for effecting this indispe n-
able change, or that spiritual regeneration
is the invariable consequence of baptism, is
to maintain a tenet which is neither in
agreement with common experience nor yet
with the testimony of revelation itself.
The Scriptures attribute spiritual regene-
ration to other instrumental causes besides
baptism ; and daily experience proves that a
person may be a baptized Christian and yet
practically a heathen — a servant of Christ
by profession, and yet the bond-slave of sin
and Satan. ~-
Let me endeavour, before concluding, to
point out the practical use which we may
each individually make of baptism, as a help
152 LECTURE VI.
to personal growth in grace. Let it not be
said, that in making the foregoing statement
I am teaching doctrine opposed to that which
the Church of England holds. Many persons
at the present day display the keenest sen-
sitiveness if a syllable is uttered which
appears to contradict the Prayer-book. Do
not let us run into the error of idolising the
Book of Common Prayer. I believe that,
upon the whole, a purer, more comprehen-
sive, more devotional, more scriptural Litiirgy
than that which the Church of England pos-
sesses never has been compiled. It possesses
all the gold of antiquity, with little or none
of its dross and imperfection. At the same
time the Prayer-book is a human compila-
tion, and the Bible is God's word. We are
not to interpret the Bible by the Prayer-
book ; on the contrary, we are to bring the
Prayer-book up to the test of Scripture
There are expressions in that Prayer-book,
the strength of which may perhaps be re-
gretted, but the explanation of which is
BAPTISM. 153
easy, when we recollect the circumstances
under which it was originally compiled.
Meanwhile there is at least satisfaction in
knowing that it has been authoritatively
decided by that which, as members of the
Church of England, we are bound to recog-
nise as the supreme court of appeal, — by
those, moreover, most capable of coming to
an impartial decision on the matter, that the
language of the Prayer-book, even in those
parts which approach nearest to dogmatic
assertion, is to be interpreted according to
the rule of charitable assumption, and not of
absolute, unqualified declaration.
To return, however, to the question before
us. Ordinarily speaking, spiritual regenera-
tion does not take place in baptism, but at
some subsequent period of life. If I am now
addi'essing many w^ho through the grace of
God have become spiritually regenerate, it is
probable that your own experience corro-
borates this ; you can look back upon some
period, and upon some providential deahng.
154 LECTURE VI.
as the time and the method of your con-
version to God : with what feehngs may
you regard your baptism? May you so
contemplate the fact of your having been
baptized into the name of Christ, as from
thence to derive the incentive to increased
devotion in the service of your Redeemer ?
TJndouhtedly you may. I would have you
revive the recollection of having been dedi-
cated to God in the season of infancy. Then
you were solemnly given to Christ ; then
the name of the Sacred Trinity was named
upon you; then you were signed with the
sign of the cross, in token that you should
never be ashamed to confess the faith of
Christ and Him crucified. Then it was
engaged in your behalf that you should
renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh.
Revive, I say, the recollection of this solemn
dedication. Though the privileges to which
it introduced you were long despised, and
the responsibility it laid upon you long
neglected, yet now strive to grasp the one
BAPTISM. 155
and to fulfil the other in the strength
of the Holy Spirit; let the covenant en-
gagement of baptism form the subject of
close and of earnest self-examination : Am
I walking worthy of the vocation wherewith
I am called ? Have I renounced, — am I re-
nouncing, the world and its thousand en-
snaring temptations ; the flesh, with its
manifold lusts ; and the devil, whose devices
are so crafty and so many ? The vows of your
baptism appeal to you ; by those vows you
are the servant of Christ : shall they be
trampled under foot or forgotten ? or, rather,
shall they not form the motives for redou-
bled exertion, in giving all diligence to make
your calling and election sure ? Let baptism
remind you of the need that you should be
cleansed by the blood of Jesus from all sin,
and purified by the operation of God the
Holy Ghost. Baptism held forth to you the
offer of great and precious privileges; it
seemed to whisper of enrolment into that
mystic body of which Christ is the hving
156 LECTURE VI.
Head ; of adoption into the family of God,
and of a citizenship in heaven. True, the offer
will only serve to increase your ultimate
condemnation, unless, in the might of God's
Spirit, you are enabled to fulfil the condi-
tions annexed to this covenant of grace. Yet
now "stir up the gift of God which is in
thee ; " and by the privileges, the responsi-
bilities, the hopes connected with a visible
dedication to Christ's service — the increased
guilt which cannot but be incurred through
neglect of baptismal engagements — by all
these strive, God helping you, to " grow in
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ."
LECTURE VIL
THE LORDS SUPPER.
1 Cor. X. 16.
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the
body of Christ?
The subject for our practical meditation
this morning is the Holy Communion, con-
sidered as a mean of grace to promote the
believer's spiritual welfare.
The declaration of St. Paul contained in
the words I have now read is appropriate
to the subject before us. It relates to the
ordinance of the Lord's Supper, and speaks
of that ordinance as a communion, or a fel-
158 LECTURE VII.
low -partaking, of the body and blood of
Christ.
Before adverting to the main topic of
discourse I would observe, that no one who
carefully examines the context could easily
fall into the Popish error of maintaining
that the outward elements in the Lord's
Supper become actually transformed into
the substance which they are designed to
represent.
It is true that the Apostle here speaks of
the communion of the blood and also of the
body of Christ; but in the next verse he
uses an expression which is inconsistent
with the tenet of the Romanists respecting
an actual change of the elements into the
literal body and blood of the Saviour.
"We," he affirms, "being many, are one
bread and one body ; for we all are parta-
kers of that one bread." It is evident that
Paul here speaks of the consecrated element
as still bread, notwithstanding its having
been set apart to prefigure the body of
THE lord's supper. 159
Christ. Hence the passage affords no war-
rant for the modern opinion of the Roman-
ists, that the elements are changed from
bread and wine into the actual body, soul,
and divinity of Christ. The language of the
Apostle, if fairly considered, affords a refu-
tation of that assumption, — "We, being
many," he declares, " are one bread." How
is that expression to be understood, if no
method of interpretation but the literal can
in any case be adopted ?
The doctrine of transubstantiation does so
much violence to common sense, that upon
that account alone it deserves to be repudi-
ated as false. There is a broad fallacy in
the attempt to place this doctrine upon
the list of mysterious truths which have a
claim to be received, notwithstanding they
surpass the limits of man's comprehension.
It is very true that revelation requires us to
believe much that is beyond the reach of
the human mind to comprehend or explain ;
at the same time revelation does not require
160 LECTURE VII.
US to believe anything which is plainly re-
pugnant to sense, or which may be proved
irreconcileable with the conclusions of human
reason. But the doctrine of transubstantia-
tion is so irrational, it ofiPers such violence to
the evidence of our own senses, that were
there no other ground but this for rejecting
the tenet it would be amply sufficient.
The same method of interpretation by which
the Church of Rome defends the doctrine of
transubstantiation, if generally acted upon,
would make us believe in a hundred absur-
dities equally opposed to the testimony of
reason and common sense. If I am to take
the expression of Christ, " This is my
body," in its literal sense; if — i. e. accord-
ing to the creed of the Romanist — I am to
believe, that when Christ uttered those
words the bread which he then held in his
hand was actually His body, even though
His body was whole and unbroken ; ac-
cording to the same mode of interpret-
ation I might affirm that the literal cup, of
THE LORD S SUPPER. 161
which Christ said, " This cup is the New
Testament," was a literal book ; or that
when He said, " I am the door," He really
was a Hteral door ; or that when Daniel ex-
claimed to Nebuchadnezzar, " Thou art this
head of gold," he meant that Nebuchad-
nezzar was hterally the golden top of an
image ; or that when Paul, speaking of the
rock in the desert, wrote, " That rock was
Christ," he intended to affirm that it was
the real Christ, and not a real rock which
Moses struck in the wilderness.
It is a favourite theme with Romanists
to boast of the antiquity of their creed.
There is nothing in their creed against
which we protest which cannot be proved to
be novel compared with what the Apostles
taught. The doctrine of transubstantiation,
for example, was not introduced till the
eighth century ; nor was it fully defined
and authorised till the sixteenth. It is a
doctrine at variance with the plainest de-
ductions of reason, and is not only unautho-
M
162 LECTURE VII.
rised by Scripture, but it is actually opposed
to Scripture : it goes to overturn the nature
of a sacrament 1 by converting that which
was intended to be a sign into the thing
itself which the sign is to represent. It is
the foundation of the idolatrous rite of the
mass, and therefore one of the broad and
unmistakeable proofs of the apostasy and
corruption of the church by which the tenet
is held, and enforced upon the belief of every
one of her members.
It is unnecessary, however, to say another
word upon this topic, at least upon the pre-
sent occasion. I would scarcely have made
the foregoing observations if it were not that
the circumstances of the present times, the
effrontery of Rome in putting forward her
claims, the treachery of many within our
own church, who, in place of driving away
error, are endeavouring to lead others into
it, make it the more necessary to omit no
opportunity for reminding of the difference
1 See Article XXVIII.
THE lord's supper. 163
between Popish error and Protestant truth ;
between the doctrines which the Church of
Rome teaches and those which are drawn
from the imperishable records of God's
revealed will.
The question we have now to consider
relates to the Lord's Supper as a mean of
grace; what reason is there for regarding
this ordinance as an appointed vehicle for
spiritual profit ? And if it be a mean of
grace, what are the precautions in the obser-
vance whereof we may the more confidently
anticipate the blessing ?
You will easily call to mind the observa-
tions which I recently made upon the sub-
ject of the sacraments in general. I stated
my conviction that there is little or no
Scriptural warrant to regard either of the
sacraments as means of grace in such a pre-
eminent degree that they are vehicles of
grace, which cannot be otherwise derived than
by their use. There seems to be in the minds
of many persons a prevalent notion that the
164 LECTURE VII.
sacraments have a peculiar and extraordi-
nary virtue, so that grace is to be sought
from them which cannot be obtained from
other channels. I find no Scriptural war-
rant for that opinion. It would be easy to
quote many testimonies from human writ-
ings in confirmation of the sentiment ; but
I place no confidence in human authors,
except in so far as what they have written
coincides with what the w^ord of God says.
And when I find writers at the present
day treating of what they term the sacra-
mental system, and writing of that system
as though the truth of Christianity must
stand or fall with their pecuhar views of
sacramental grace, I am utterly at a loss to
discover where the authority of revelation
is to warrant or to support such a doctrine.
I believe the sacraments, indeed, to be more
than mere commemorative institutions. I
believe them to be more than mere arbitrary
and unmeaning symbols ; I believe them to
be channels through which, in the faithful
THE lord's supper. 165
use of them, God may be expected ordina- j
rily, although not of any necessity, to com-
municate grace. The communication of that
grace depends in part upon man's diUgence
to use aright the appointed mean ; but it
depends far more upon the sovereign will of
God, who acts as He pleases, giving or ,
withholding grace according to His infinite !
wisdom, distributing that grace by what
channels He sees best ; yea, and even with
or without the use of any outward means
whatsoever.
It is true that, generally speaking, God
does not work without means ; yet we are
not to suppose that He is confined to the
use of them, still less are we to imagine that
with God there is not a choice of instru-
mentalities. Spiritual Regeneration, for ex-
ample, may be connected with Baptism ;
but it is frequently, as common expe-
rience proves, connected with other means
of grace. So, in like manner, although the
right use of the Lord's Supper tends to the
166 LECTURE VII.
strengthening, refreshing, and nourishing of
the soul, yet it would be at variance with
Scripture and reason to conclude, on the one
hand, that the Lord's Supper always con-
duces to this result, or that the same result
may not be attained by other means, which
are equally of Divine appointment.
The Lord's Supper was instituted upon
the evening before the crucifixion. Christ
was celebrating the Passover with His twelve
Apostles, and having partaken of the Pass-
over cup, He afterwards took bread ; He
blessed it, and brake it, distributing it to
the Apostles, telling them to view it as a
representation of His body, and enjoining
them to observe the practice henceforward
in remembrance of Him.
He did likewise with the wine, giving
thanks, and directing the Apostles, all of
them, to drink of it, as a representation of
His blood shed for the remission of sins,
and bidding them observe this rite also in
remembrance of Him.
THE lord's supper. 167
From that period, down to the present
time, the ordinance of the Lord's Supper has
been a standing ordinance of the Christian
Chui'ch. In substance it has been preserved
the same as when Christ appointed it,
throughout all ages, and in all countries,
down to the present period. It has been
celebrated in various scenes, and amid
various circumstances. But the simple ordi-
nance in the essential parts of it, namely,
the partaking of bread and wine solemnly
set apart to represent the broken body and
the outpoured blood of the Saviour, this
has been preserved from century to century
in all the integrity of its first institution.
A stronger evidence could hardly be
presented of the Divine origin of the insti-
tution itself, or of the system whereof it is
the part. What can have preserved an
institution so simple in itself from the
wreck and the ravage which time works
upon all things else ? Since this and its
kindred ordinance, that of Baptism, were
168 LECTURE VII.
first appointed, empires have been founded,
have risen into glory and power, and then
have decayed and sunk into obhvion ; cere-
monies the most splendid and magnificent
have been ordained, only, as it would seem,
to pass into forge tfuln ess with the authors
who devised them ; whereas the two sacra-
ments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper
remain like imperishable monuments, which
the lapse of time cannot injure and the breath
of decay cannot touch. They seem exempt
from the common lot of all things human,
and in this exemption itself lies an ever-
growing evidence to the divinity of their
origin.
The Lord's Supper may be regarded, then,
as one of the standing evidences of Christ-
ianity. It is a lively representation of the
fact that once there died upon the cross One
whose death was the expiation of human
transgression. Wheresoever celebrated, it
is an exhibition of the death of Jesus, from
whence every spectator may learn the doc-
THE lord's supper. 169
trine of the Atonement, as founded upon
the Redeemer's surrender of Himself to the
cross and the grave.
Let it be imagined, for a moment, that a
stranger altogether unacquainted with Christ-
ianity was brought into one of our churches,
where the Lord's Supper was just about to
be celebrated ; let him ask the meaning of
that solemn rite, and what answer could be
given which should not refer to the history
of human redemption, through the incarna-
tion of a Divine Person, and the death of
that Being as the substitute for guilty and
perishing men ?
It is the office, indeed, of ministers to
unfold the message of the Gospel, and to
preach the unsearchable riches of Christ;
and wheresoever the truths of the Gospel
are faithfully proclaimed, this is an exhi-
bition presented of a crucified Saviour. But
the celebration of the Lord's Supper, if
properly regarded, though a silent, is by
no means a less eloquent testimony of
170 LECTURE VII.
the same precious reality ; and whenso-
ever that ordinance is observed, there is
presented to the eye of the believing spec-
tator as vivid an exhibition of Christ and
Him crucified as though the cross were
actually before him, with Jesus pouring out
His soul unto death beneath the imputed
load of human iniquity.
Thus the ordinance of the Lord's Supper
is a constant remembrancer of the death of
Christ ; it serves to perpetuate the recollec-
tion of what He endured for our sakes ; and
in the absence of other testimony this one
institution of itself would serve to attest
that sin has been atoned for through the
vicarious sacrifice of the one Mediator, the
man Christ Jesus.
To those who desire to profit by the ordi-
nance, let me say, strive to regard it in this
point of view ; when about to participate of
this solemn festival, try and recall to mind
the circumstances connected with its first
appointment ; go back in thought to the
THE lord's supper. 171
scene around tliat Passover board between
Christ and His Apostles, the night before
He suffered ; bear in mind the agony which
He endured in the garden and upon the
cross ; and viewing in this ordinance a
representation of what was then undergone
by the Mediator in your stead, let the spec-
tacle serve to inflame your love, to increase
your faith, to enliven hope, and quicken
every spiritual grace.
Nor is the Lord's Supper only a com-
memoration of the death of Jesus, it is also
a constant remembrance of His coming
again. For eighteen centuries has this
institution been preserved in the Christian
Church, and it is destined to survive all
other changes, up to the period of the
Redeemer's second advent. " As often,"
said the Apostle, "as ye eat this bread and
drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's
death till He come."^ It may be compared
to a golden chain, of which the one end is
1 1 Cor. xi. 26.
172 LECTURE VII.
fastened to the cross on Calvary, and the
other to the chariot of cloud upon which
the Redeemer will descend in His glory.
It is a column erected amid the waste of
centuries, inscribed with the double memo-
rial of the Redeemer's humiliation and the
Redeemer's triumph.
As we draw near to participate of this
Holy Communion, not alone should our
thoughts wander back to the scenes of
Christ's sufFeriDg and shame, they should
soar upwards into futurity, and rest amid
those scenes of splendour and of triumph
which mil be realised when Christ, as the
bridegroom of the Church, shall come in
His glorious majesty. May not the recol-
lection of this scene, whensoever we partake
of the Holy Communion, enkindle within us
a more animating hope and a more vigorous
faith? The Lord's Supper, simple as the
institution in itself is, serves for an im-
pressive memento of the crown of glory,
not less than of the crown of thorns. The
THE lord's supper. 173
institution began upon Mount Calvary, but
it will end upon the Mount of Olives ; in the
retrospect it reminds of the agony and the
woe, of the cross and the shame ; but
looking onward to futurity, it reminds of
all that is most blessed and most triumph-
ant, to Christ and His whole redeemed
Church.
I would further observe, respecting this
ordinance, that it is a vivid representation
of the vital union which subsists between
Christ and the believer. The elements are
set apart to prefigure the body and the blood
of Christ : partaking of them in faith we
spiritually feed upon Christ ; " we dwell in
Christ, and Christ in us ; we are one with
Christ, and Christ with us." The reality of
our union vrith Jesus is brought home almost
to our very senses ; the outward and the
visible sign is a mean whereby we receive
the inward and spiritual grace ; thus grace
is strengthened, and the faithful recipient
of the Lord's Supper departs from the Holy
174 LECTURE VII.
Communion with his perceptions of the sacri-
fice of Jesus rendered more vivid and strong.
Spiritually discerning in the outward ele-
ments the emblems of the body and the
blood of Jesus, he gains a livelier appre-
hension of the truth that the body was
broken and the blood shed for him; and
from hence springs a firmer trust, a deeper
love, and a more ardent hope : whilst the
recollection that this ordinance is also a
memento of the Saviour's return in glory,
awakens the resolve to be found watching
and dihgent in the Master's work, that so
an abundant entrance may be administered
into the kingdom of our God and Saviour.
If such be the nature of the ordinance,
and such the benefits to be derived from
its faithful participation, how important to
engage in it aright, so as not to fail of
the blessing! The time would not allow
me to dwell upon the various reasons which
ought to make every true Christian a con-
stant communicant ; nor can I pause now
THE lord's supper. 175
for the purpose of meeting the various ob-
jections which sometimes weigh with even
professing Christians to keep them aloof
from the discharge of a duty so plain and
imperative. The command of Christ ought
to be with every disciple a sufficient motive
for coming to the Lord's table. No excuse
ought to hinder from coming which will
not abide the day of judgment, when an
account must be rendered to the Searcher of
all hearts. Let it not be imagined, how-
ever, that we either advise or recommend
all professing Christians, indiscriminately, to
approach the Lord's table. I do not urge
the mere professor, or the mere formalist,
or the self-righteous, or the profane, to come
thither ; there is not a more soul-hardening
process than that of frequenting the Holy!
Communion when a person does not come
with right views, or in a right state of
mind : in the wrong use of this ordinance by
the worldly-minded or the pharisaical pro-
fessor, the soul becomes petrified, less and
176 LECTURE VII.
less pervious to the impression of divine
truth, more confirmed in the unconcern or
the prejudice, in the irrehgion or the spi-
ritual pride, which offers the most impene-
trable barrier to the reception of saving
truth. But if there be a deep and genuine
conviction of sin ; if there be a self-loathing
because of transgression ; if there be a con-
scious sense of utter unv^^orthiness ; if there
be a total abandonment of self, and a wil-
lingness to repose upon Jesus as the sinner's
only security and hope; if there be a de-
termination to plead on the strength of
nothing else but His atoning merit, and to
seek salvation through that faith on Him
alone, Avhich, being wrought in the heart
by the power of the Holy Ghost, is sure to
be evidenced by a life of growing conformity
to the example of Jesus ; to such an one
we say, " Draw near with a true heart, in
the full assurance of faith;" use the out-
ward and visible sign as a confirmation of
your trust in the power and the wilhn^ness
THE lord's supper. 177
of Jesus, not alone to obliterate by His
atoning blood every trace of guilt, but also
to clothe you with that unsullied robe of
His imputed merit, which shall enable you
to stand without fault in the presence of His
glory with exceeding joy. And yet even to
you I would say, Come not without careful
self-examination; come not without much
and earnest prayer ; come not without many
an inward resolve — without deep medita-
tion upon the solemnity of the transaction :
and this in order that you may realise that
result for which as often as we communicate
we earnestly pray, namely, "that aU we
who are partakers of this Holy Communion
may be fulfilled with God's grace and
heavenly benediction."
And here I close the present series of
Lectures, in which I have endeavoured,
with as much simplicity as possible, to call
your attention to a practical consideration
of the various means of grace. I trust that
our meditations upon this topic have not
N
178 LECTURE VII.
been altogether unblest ; some cheering
evidences have reached me in confirmation
of this behef. If one sentence has been
spoken to the spiritual profit of any amongst
you, to God be all the glory ; He can, and
not unfrequently does, bless the feeblest
means and the weakest instrumentahty.
May we all derive a stronger convic-
tion of the importance and necessity of a
dihgent use of the means of grace : ordi-
narily speaking, it is by this that grace
is increased and strengthened ; at all events
duty is plain, not to neglect the means,
even though assured that God is not con-
fined to them for the bestowment of His
best blessings. The public means of grace
are of vast importance, but the private
means of grace are of not less moment. If
these be neglected, the others will be of little
or no value ; prayer in the church will never
supersede the necessity of prayer in secret
alone with God : listening to the word of
God, whether read or preached, will never
THE lord's supper. 179
compensate altogether for the lack of reading
and pondering upon the word of God in
private. Whilst we would not have you
live in the neglect of any of these means
of grace, chiefly I would have you dih-
gent in the use of private prayer, and
reading, and meditation : religious revivals
and religious declensions always begin in
secret ; if the habit of private prayer, or
reading, or self-examination be neglected,
grace is sure to decline, and spiritual fer-
vour to grow chill.
After all, let it be borne in mind that
rehgion is no easy matter ; that heaven is
not to be entered except through a course
of continued opposition to evil without us,
and evil yet more formidable within. Thanks
be to God, it is '' by grace we are saved
through faith, and that not of ourselves,
it is the gift of God."^ Let us be diligent,
then, to improve grace already given : if we
employ to His glory what God bestows, He
1 Ephes. ii. 8.
180 LECTURE VII.
will surely bestow more. At length grace
itself shall ripen into glory, and we who
have found it necessary here to trim the
lamp of faith, in the use of appointed
means, shall hereafter have our faith lost in
vision, and hope in ample, yea blessed,
fruition.
London :— Printed by G.Barclat, Castle St. Leicester I
List of Works by the same Author.
BIBLE LANDMARKS.
Four Sermons on Justification and the Rule of Faith,
preached in St. John's Church, Clapham Eise, during the
month of October, 1850.
\
POPERY AND THE REFORMATION.
Two Sermons preached in St. John's Church, Clapham Rise,
on Sunday, November 5, 1848.
NATIONAL OBLIGATION TO THE BIBLE.
A Lecture delivered before the " Young Men's Christian
Association,' December 3, 1850.
PAPAL AGGRESSION.
A Sermon preached in St. John's Church, Clapham Pdse,
on Thursday Evening, November 14, 1850.
THE BEARING OF COMMERCE UPON THE
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY.
A Lecture delivered before the " Young Men's Christian
Association," in Exeter Hall, December 5, 1848.
THE WEEKLY VISITOR AND CHRISTIAN
FAMILY READER.
A Magazine for Christian Families, District Visitors,
Sunday-School Teachers, and Parochial Libraries.
Tn Weekly Numbers, sixteen pages, 8j;o., \\d., and in Monthly
Parts.
Works published by T. HATCHARD,
LENT LECTURES.
1.
SIX LECTURES on the BOOK of JONAH,
delivered in Trinity Chapel, Conduit Street, in March
and April, 1833. By J. W. CUNNINGHAM, A.M., Vicar
of Harrow. Fcp. boards, 3s.
II.
TWELVE LECTURES, preached in St. George's
Chapel, Old Brentford, in the Season of Lent 1844 and
1845. By the Rev. F. E. THOMPSON, B.A., of Trinity
College, Cambridge, and Incumbent of Old Brentford.
12mo. cloth, 5s.
" In a theological point of view his object is very successfully accom-
phshed by Mr. Thompson. In a literary sense, the plan of the writer
gives purpose, variety, and interest to his discourses. Biography and
appUed moraUty are superadded to the general matter of a sermon.
The style is agreeable — the manner rapid and impressive." — Spectator.
III.
A COURSE of SERMONS on the SIXTH
CHAPTER of ISAIAH, preached during Lent 1845, at
Wicken Church. By RICHARD LEA ALLNUTT,M.A.,
Missionary to India, and late Incumbent of Wicken, Cam-
bridgeshire. 12mo. cloth, gilt edges, 2s. 6rf.
IV.
The LIFE and CHARACTER of HEZEKIAH.
Considered in Six Lectures delivered during Lent 1830.
By the late WILLIAM NICHOLSON, M.A., Rector of
St. Mauiice, Winchester. Fcp. cloth, 3s. Qd.
V.
SIX LECTURES on the PARABLE of the
PRODIGAL SON, delivered in the Parish Church of
Bradford Abbas, Dorset, during Lent 1830. By the Rev.
ROBERT GRANT, B.C.L., Vicar of Bradford Abbas
with Clifton-Maybank annexed, Fellow of Winchester
College. Fcp. boards. 3s.
vr.
EPHRAIM. A Course of Lectures delivered
during Lent at the Octagon Chapel, Bath. By the Rev.
F. ELWIN, Vicar of Temple, Bristol. 12mo. cloth, 3s.
Works jiiiblished by T. Hatchard.
VII.
The LAST THINGS ; being a Series of Lent
Lectures on Death, the Grave, the Intennediate State,
Judgment, Hell, and Heaven. By the late Eev. JOHN-
SON GEANT, M.A., Eector of Binhrook, and Minister
of Kentish Town Chapel. 12mo. boards, 6s.
VIII.
The CHRISTIAN'S EXAMPLE: as exhibited
in the Life and Character of our Blessed Sa^^our Jesus
Christ ; being a Coiu-se of Eight Sermons delivered in
the Parish Church of Holywell, during Lent 1848. By
HUGH JONES, M.A., Vicar of HolyweU, Hon. Canon of
St. Asaph's, and late Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford.
Fop. cloth, 3s.
FOR PASSION WEEK.
I.
LECTURES on the SYMPATHIES, SUFFER-
INGS, and EESUEEECTION of the LOED JESUS
CHEIST, delivered during Passion Week and Easter
Day. By HUGH M'NEILE, D.D., Hon. Canon of
Chester, and Incumbent of St. Paul's, Princes' Park,
LiveiTDOol. Third Edition. 12mo. cloth, 4s. 6d.
II.
OUR LORD'S LAST DAYS ON EARTH. Se-
lected from the Evangelists. The Harmony taken from
Chevalier Bunsen's " Andachtshuch." 8vo. cloth, 3s.
III.
PASSION WEEK; a Practical and Devotional
Exposition of the Gospels and Epistles appointed for
that Season, for the Closet and the Family. By the
Eev. E. MEEK, M.A., Eector of St. Michael's, Sutton -
Bonnington. 12mo. boards, 4s.
IV.
PASSION-WEEK LECTURES ; delivered in the
Parish Church, Cheltenham. By the Eev. F. CLOSE,
A.M,. Perpetual Curate. 12mo. cloth, 5s.
V.
THREE SERMONS on GOOD FRIDAY ; ^^•ith
others on the Principal Festivals of the Church. By
JOHN BIED, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. Fifth
Edition. 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d.
Works published by T. Hatchard.
Miscellaneous.
I.
THOUGHTS on the LAND of the MORNING ;
or, a Eecoid of Two Visits to Palestine, 1849-50. Illus-
trated -ndth Plans and numerous Engravings. By H. B.
W. CHURTON, M.A., Vicar of Icklesham, and Chaplain
to the Bishop of Cliichester. Crown 8vo.
This work has especial reference to the restoration of
Israel foretold in Ezekiel, and to the contrast between the
Babylon and Jerusalem of the Apocalypse.
II.
SERMONS. By the Rev. STUART ADOLPHUS
PEARS, B.D., one of the Assistant-Masters of Harrow
School, formerly Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxlord.
12mo. cloth, 5s. %d,
III.
A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION of St. PAUL'S
EPISTLES to the THESSALONIANS, to TIMOTHY,
TITUS, PHILEMON, and Ihe HEBREWS ; in the form
of Lectures, intended to assist the Practice of Domestic
Instruction and Devotion. By JOHN BIRD, Lord
Archbishop of Canterbury. In 8vo. or 2 vols. 12mo.
Price 9s.
The work is now completed in nine volumes 8vo., any
of which can be purchased sepai-ately.
IV.
THE STORY of RUTH. By the Rev. ASHTON
OXENDEN, Rector of Pluckley. 18mo. cloth, 2s.
V.
THE MEMOIR of the late REV. JOHN HAMIL-
TON FORSYTH, M.A., Cm-ate of Weston-super-Mare,
and afterwards Minister of Dowry Chapel, CUfton. Edited
by the Rev. EDWARD WILSON, M.A., Vicar of Nocton.
Third edition. F.cap. With a Portrait. 5s.
VI.
PROBABILITIES : an Aid to Faith. By M. F.
TUPPER, D.C.L., ^c, Author of " Proverbial Philoso-
phy." Second Edition, Avith notes. Fcap. cloth, -ks.
DATE DUE
■
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