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SERMONS.

BY

DR. DODDRIDGE.

SERMONS,

VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D. D.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

VOL. III.

LONDON:
PUBLISHED BY J. HATCHARD AND SON, PICCADILLY.

1820.

€. arm d. Caijittnig^am, dljissiufck.

CONTENTS.

VOL. III.

**ilM^

SERMON I.

THE SPIRITS WITNESS TO OUR ADOPTION DESIR-
ABLE AND ATTAINABLE.

Page

Romans, viii. l6. — For the Spirit witnesseth with our
spirit that we are the children of God 1

SERMON II.

OF KNOWING THE HOPE OF OUR CALLING.

Ephesians,i. 18. — The eyes of our understanding be-
ing enlightened^ that ye may know what is the hope
of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the saints 2G

SERMON III.

OF KNOWING THE HOPE OF OUR CALLING.

Epliesians, i. 18. — The eyes of your miderstanding be-
ing enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope
of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the saints 56

VI CONTENTS.

SERMON IV.

THE REFUGE OF GOD's CHILDREN.

Pa?c

Proverbs, xiv. 26. — In the fear of the Lord is strong
confidence, and his children have a place of refuge 84

SERMON V.

OF THE FOLLY OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREA-
SURE IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD.

Luke, xii. 21. — So is he who layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich towards God 110

SERMON VI.

OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN FAITH AND UN-
BELIEF IN THE GRACIOUS SOUL.

Mark, ix. 24. — Lord, I believe; help thou mine un-
belief 134

SERMON VII.

Christ's coming in the clouds.

Revelations, i. 7. — Behold, he comes with clouds, and
every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced
him ; and all the kindreds of the earth shall mourn
because of him. Even so. Amen ^ 1 54

SERMON VIII.

of habitual and OF ACTUAL PREPARATION FOR
THE lord's supper, AND MORE PARTICULARLY
OF SELF-EXAMINATION.

1 Corinthians, xi. 28. — But let a man examine him-
self and so let him eat of this bread, and drink of
this cup 1 76

CONTENTS. vii

SERMON IX.

JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS COVENANT ENGAGE-
MENTS TO GOD.

Page

2 Chronicles, xv. 15. — AndallJiidah rejoiced at the
oath : for they had sworn zoith all their heart, and
sought him with their zchole desire; and he zcas
found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round
about ^202

SERMON X.

god's just RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS PUT
UPON HIM BY A PROFESSING PEOPLE.

Zechariah, xi. 12, 13. — And I said unto them, If ye
think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear.
So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver:
and the Lord said unto me. Cast it unto the potter :
a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And
I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to
the potter in the house of the Lord 226

SERMON XI.

PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH THROUGH
THE PRAYERS OF HIS CHRISTIAN FRIENDS.

Philemon, verse 22. — / trust that through your
prayers I shall be given unto you 253

SERMON XII.

THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH, AND THE
SPIRIT TO GOD.

Ecclesiastes, xii. 7. — Then shall the dust return to
the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to
God zoho gave it 278

VlJl CONTENTS.

SERMON XIII.

THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS DEPARTING

SPIRIT TO JESUS.

Piiije

Acts, vii. 59. — Lord Jesus, receive viy s})irit 302

SERMON XIV.

THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH THE SUPPORT
OF THE GOOD MAN.

Psalm xxiii. 4. — Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I zcillfear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they
comfort me 336

SERMON I.

THE SPIRIT S \V ITNESS TO OUR ADOPTION
DESIRABLE AND ATTAINABLE.

Rom. viii. 16.

For the Spirit witnesseth tvith our spirit that we are the
children of God.

If a bare external attendance upon ordinances serm.
would make men wise and good by a me- v^-^
chanical necessity, your profiting would soon
appear unto all men. But it is a certain
truth, that we may as reasonably expect to
be cured by the sight of a medicine, as to
be edified merely by the sound of the gospel.
It is serious reflection and heart application
that render ordinances useful. God and
your own consciences only know how far this
has been bestowed on what was lately offered
to you from these words ; in which I have, in
the general, shown you what we are to
understand by the witness of the Spirit, and
how^ it may be distinguished from vain and

VOL. III. B

2 THE spirit's witness TO

SERM. delusive hopes. One would think that you
v^-C^ should seriously have examined yourselves :
one would imagine that such important truths
might have deserved and commanded a
repeated review. But if any of you have not
bestowed such a review upon them, permit me
to say that ye do greatly err, as, I hope, you
will see when, with me, you have considered,

III. The happiness of those Avho have the
Spirit thus witnessing with their spirit, that
they are the children of God. Which will
evidently appear, if we consider the ten-
dency which such an evidence has to make
duty easy, and temptation contemptible;
affliction light, and death itself desirable.
We will a little more particularly consider
each of these.

1. What a tendency this witnessing of
the Spirit has to make duty easy. Every
thing has so which tends to quicken and
enlarge the soul, by the exercise of hope
and love, when wisely directed and fixed.
I will run, says David, in /he wai/s of thi/
» Ps cix. commands when thou shah enlarge my heart \
And what can have a greater iendencv to
promote this blessed effect than the Spirit's

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. 3

testimonif that we are the children of God? serm.
since that testimony naturally leads us to v^,-^
regard the whole rule of our duty as the
command of a Father; and to expect cheer-
fully his assistance, acceptance, and reward,
notwithstanding all our imperfections. It
tends to endear our duty to us while we
consider it as performing our Father's com-
mands. What can be more reasonable, and,
to a well disposed child, what can be more
delightful ? " God is my father," does a
Christian say, " and then I can assure myself
that as all his commands are wise, they are
kind too. He abridges me of nothing which
would on the whole be proper for me. He
lays upon me no unnecessary burthen. What
he commands is for my sake and not for his
own. My soul, be satisfied in that it is thy
Father's will : the will of a Father who loves
thee, and whom thou hast all imaginable rea-
sons to love. My soul, canst thou imagine any
stronger engagement ? Behold what manner
of love he has bestowed upon me ! to spare
me whilst an enemy ! and not only so, but
to make me a son ! to give to me all these
privileges and these hopes ! to visit me dailj^
with the tokens of his friendly care ! to lead

b2

4 THE SPIRIT S WITNESS TO

SERM. and guide me by his counsel ! and at length
^-J„^^ to take me, as he quickly will, to dwell with
him. Why, these are favours that Mould
be but poorly acknowledged, if every re-
maining moment of my being were to be
employed in praising and in serving him.
Blessed God ! why can I do no more for
thee? Oh that I had the faculties of an
angel to engage in this blessed cause ! Oh
that here I could lay aside these mortal
infirmities, that I might never be weary
though I should never rest. To think that
I am serving thee, is its own reward. It
brings along with it a reward which nothing-
else can give." And I may add, that as
many of the duties of life consist in those
that relate immediately to converse with
God, the tendency of this witness of the
Spirit to endear them is most apparent. For
who would not love to converse with such a
Father? and as for acts of humanity and
■ benevolence, besides that the very thought
of having received such vast treasures, may
incline us freely to give, according to our
ability, the remembrance of our common
relation to each other as members of the
same body, children of the same family, and

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. 5

heirs of the same hope, will be a further serm.
spring of a sublimer charity, than human v^<-0-^
considerations alone could produce. Again:
This testimony will render duty easy, as it
will assure us of our Father's assistance.
" jTf J am a child of God, how much has he
already done to make and to keep me so ?
Consider it, O my soul, as an encourage-
ment to hope for the rest. Go to him with
a holy freedom. Seek to the throne of his
grace for the more abundant effusion of his
quickening sanctifying spirit. It is already
thine, it already works in some degree as a
Spirit of adoption. The remaining work
shall be done in its time. God will carry it
on till the day of the Lord:" and I may
add, that it encourages our hope of being
graciously accepted and rewarded. " Num-
berless imperfections do, indeed, visit me on
every side: but a father is pleased with the
feeblest efforts which his children make to
serve him, if done in the integrity of their
hearts. With respect to them, it is evident
where there is a willing mind it is accepted
according to zehat they have, and not according
to ziDhat they have not. So will God be gra-
cious, and excuse all ray many infirmities; ybr

6 THE SPIRITS WITNESS TO

SERM. he knows our frame, and as a father pities his
.^^^ children, so he pities them nho fear him. He
will accept my poor attempts, and he. will
reward them, though they deserve nothing
at his hands. Though / am an unprofitable
servant, he will treat me as a dear son, and
condescend so far as by promise to make
himself my debtor, and say he will not be
unrighteous to forget my work of faith, and
labour of love. Be thou steadfast and im-
moveable, O my soul ! always abounding in
the work of the Lord. There is a glorious
inheritance for thee, in comparison of which
all thy labours, and all thy sorrows, are as
a feather weighed against talents of gold."
Thus does the witness of the Spirit make
duty easy.

2. It renders temptations much less forci-
ble than they would otherwise be. And this
in various respects, as it forms the soul for
communion with God, and fills it with high
hopes of a sublime and exalted happiness.
Whatever Satan can offer as the price of our
innocence will appear mean and contemp-
tible. The soul will be formed to a higher
relish, and therefore the bait will not take.
What ! shall I, a child of God, a?i heir of

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. J

glory, debase myself, and dishonour my serm.
family by stooping so low ? What ! did God ^^^^
call me to these honours and privileges that
I might pollute them in the dust ? Let me
with a generous disdain abhor the thought.
Shall I act so ungrateful a part ? Is this my
love ? Is this my duty to my heavenly
Father? O my soul, dost thou thus thank
him? How justly may he repay it by with-
drawing his spirit, by hiding his face, by
treating me as an enemy ! and how sad
will that be ! how will the distress of those
doleful hours be aggravated by all the light,
and pleasure, and happiness, which I now
enjoy ! by those delightful sealings of his
gracious spirit ! get thee behind me, Satan,
if thou wouldest draw me into this, thou
enemy of my honour, my peace, and my
safety ! Rather, O my soul ! much rather,
may every enjoyment be given up, and every
hardship endured with this delightful view
and assurance, than any thing done upon
any consideration whatsoever, to hazard and
endanger them.

3. This witness of the Spirit will have a
tendency to make our afflictions light ; for it
will show us that all our afflictions are chosen

8 THE spirit's witness TO

SERM. by our Heavenly Father's wisdom, softened
.^J^^ by his presence, sanctified by his grace, and
shall finally subserve the purposes of his love
in the improvement of our final happiness. It
will show us that our afflictions are chosen
by our Father's wisdom and love. " These
seem, indeed," will the Christian say, " to be
evil ; but God sees them in another light, or
he would not surely send them upon me his
child. He has forgiven my sins, he has re-
ceived my soul ; and surely he does not now
smite me in anger. It is, if need be, that I
am in heaviness. My stroke is painful, but
it is what he makes it. The thing which I
feared is come upon me ; but my Father
brought it on, knowing it fit to work a nobler
and better effect than could have been pro-
duced in any other way. Let me be satisfied
in this, if I know not the reason why this is
sent, my Father knows it, and that is enough."
Again, this will show us that our afflictions
^ are attempered and moderated by his pre-
sence. " He sits by as the reiiner, and sees
how the furnace performs its operations, and
moderates it as he sees fit. He stai/s his
rough wind in the day of his east wind. And
he every now and then breathes a fresher

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. 9

gale upon my soul, and speaks to me in the serm.
language of peace and love ; so that whilst my v.^^J.^
afflictions abound, my consolations in Christ
abound much more. And welcome the afflic-
tion, when so attended ! It further shows that
he w ill sanctify them by his grace ; and this
makes them lighter. " If / am a child of
God, I am chastened for my profit, that I
may be partaker of his holiness. He is doing
my soul good by bringing me nearer to him-
self, fitting me for further communications
of his favour here and hereafter : and in
this view, far, far be it from me to complain !
Especially since this testimony of the Spirit
shows that all afflictions will end in the im-
provement of our eternal happiness. And
this is a thought of great consolation. These
light afflictions work out a far morx exceeding
and eternal weight of glory. True, they are
painful now, but hereby the seed is sown
which will spring up in a harvest of joy. I
go forth weeping, beajnng pi-ecious seed, hut
shall doubtless come again rejoicing. When
my Father has brought me up, as he quickly
will, and has shown me all the various pro-
gress of the way, I shall find that all was
completely right ; and shall see those things

I.

10 THE SPIRITS WITNESS TO

SERM. to be matter of praise, of which I am now
, under temptation to complain. My tears
will quickly be wiped away ; and, therefore,
in the mean time, I uill weep, as though I
wept not." And, indeed, the soul will be so
taken up with admiration, and love, and
praise, that it will have little leisure and little
inclination to complain and grieve ; w hatever
afflictions it may meet with in this house of
its pilgrimage.

4. This sealing of the Spirit will have a
great tendency to make death comfortable;
for it will assure the Christian of the Divine
presence in his dying moments, and of eter-
nal glory to succeed a short trial. " Shall I
be afraid to die," will the Christian say,
" when my Father will be with me ? Earthly
friends must, indeed, be separated. I must
pass through the dark valley of the shadozs) of
death alone : but why should I be terriiied at
that, whilst God speaks to me in these words :
Fear not, for I am zcith thee, Sec: and surely
if he be with me, I need not fear. Let the
wicked fear to die, Avho die as by the sword
of Divine vengeance : but surely I can say.
Death, thou mayest kill me, but thou canst
not hurt me." Will not death, may the Chris-

OUR ADOPTION A'lTAINABLE. 11

tian say, convey me to a world of glory? serm.
Thou a child of God, and afraid of thine in- ^ ^'
heritance ? Why, it is the thing which thou
hast chosen : it is what thou hast been wait-
ing for so many years : it is that, the expec-
tation of which has borne thee through so
many troubles, or thou hadst sunk/' And
when the soul knows that it is going to that
blessed world, doubts and fears in a dying
hour are terrible indeed. But when the light
of God^s countenance is lifted up, it is better,
far better than the day and liour of birth ;
and so will it appear to us if God will not
then fail us with his aid, and will continue to
us the witness of his Spirit. I hope that all
this will engage you earnestly to desire the
zdtness of the Spirit that you are the children
of God. All that remains in the prosecution .
of the subject is,

IV. To direct you as to the attainment of
it ; and the directions which I shall give are
these.

1. Have high thoughts of the Spirit and
his operations. Methinks, Christians should
not need to be exhorted to this, when so
great a stress is laid upon it in the word of

12 THE SPIRITS WITNESS TO

SERM. God : and yet, how often is he shghted !

^^^J^^, and, because some madmen have made wild
and extravagant pretences to him, how fre-
quently are all his operations represented as
if all pretences to him were enthusiasm. I
am sorry to say, that it is a prevailing evil of
the present day, and I believe it to be a great
source of many more. We have sinned
against God, and vexed his Holy Spirit; and
therefore he gives us up to many sins. La-
bour, therefore, to see the need which you
have of God's Spirit : and, for that purpose,
consult scripture without prejudice ; and
consult your own hearts. Think what you
were w ithout him : think what you are still,
when deserted by him : think what blessed
lives they spend who are under his constant
influences ; and you will find that those w ho
thus lioriour him, he will Jionour. Besides,
that this esteem for him will animate you to
all the other methods of obtaining him.

2. Seek him as the Spirit of Christ. You
well know that it is his business to glorify
Christ ; and you must be disposed to glorify
him before you can expect such a signal
fa\our. In Ch*5st you have received the
adoption ; through him you must receive the

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. ^ 13

tokens of it. Consider Christ, therefore, as serm.
purchasing these blessings, and labour to see — ^ — ^
his love in the value of them, and the manner
in which they were procured. Consider him
likewise as distributing them, and seek them
as through his hands. Oh ! may Christ be
exalted in your soul, and then will your con-
solations probably abound. Whilst a scheme
of religion, which leaves him out, is so desti-
tute of these comforts that it is generally
forced to seek its refuge in despising them as
little things, most contrary to reason, most
contrary to the whole tenor of scripture.

3. Avoid whatever would grieve the Spirit.
Let me urge that exhortation : and grieve
not the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed
to the day of redemption'^. It is true that he =Eph. iv.
acts as a sovereign agent; so does God in
many works of nature and providence. But
mock him not so far as to presume upon it
that he will therefore make no difference be-
tween the humble and watchful soul, and the
careless and profane. Consider \V. Know you i

not that your bodies are the temple of the Holy
Ghost? Take care that you do not in any way
defile them. Be ye holy, as your Father in

14 THE spirit's witness TO

SERM. heaven is holy. Be ye kind and good as he is.

v^^,^^. Delight in all the exercises of mutual love, and
forbearance, and forgiveness. Endeavour to
abstract your hearts from this vain world, and
to set them more and more upon a better.
These, my friends ! these are the fruits of the
Spirit. To cultivate these is the way to ob-
tain him. I only add one thing more on this
head : i. e. Take care, when you feel good
inclinations working in your mind, that you
do not overbear them. Sometimes indulge
to extraordinary retirement and devotion in
consequence of these : and whatever your
hands find to do, at such a season especially,
do it with all your might. It is the way to
make great dispatch in religion, and to ad-
vance apace in a fitness for heaven.

4. Grudge not repeated applications to the
throne of grace in order to obtain it. It is
not to be expected that so great a blessing-
will be given in answer to a few faint prayers.
^.vA:, and it shall he given you ; seek, and ye
shall find ; knock, and it shall he opened unto
you : for every one that asketh, receiveth ; and
he that seeketh,Jindeth; and to him that knock-

» Luke si. eth, it shall he opened^. Christ spake a parable

9, 10.

*Luke
xviii. 1.

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. 15

on purpose to teach men this, that they ought serm.
always to pray^ and not to faint'*'. Plead hard, v^C^
therefore, at the throne of grace. Lay hokl
on God by faith, and say, " Lord, I M'ill not
let thee go till thou bless me : I will not let thee
go till thou take off the burthen from my
mind ; till thou take me in the arms of thy
love, and say. Son, daughter, he of good com-
fort," Should you lie low before God day
after day, and month after month, on this
occasion, and at length obtain it, the success
would be a rich equivalent.

5. Cheerfully depend on every present
hope, though it may be attempered with a
mixture of fear. It is a good thing to have
good hope through grace, even when we have
not full assurance. And, indeed, I believe it
is in every respect the best way to obtain
further favour, to be thankful for what we
have already received. And, to excite you
to it, do not only compare yourselves with
those whose comforts are greater; but also
with those whose attainments are lower than
yours. Pray remember how many poor
Christians are now going in the bitterness of
their hearts, mourning, and bowed down

I.

16 THE SPIRIT S WITNESS TO

SERM. greatly, and weeping- all the day long, just
, on the borders of despair, and fearing every
moment that they shall drop into it : afraid
even of God himself, afraid of prayer, and
thinking, every time they go to the throne
of grace, that they go for the last time, and
never shall have the heart or power to go
again. Think how many are left to aposta-
tize from God, and to wound their consciences,
and, by vain, foolish, worldly pursuits, to
pierce the?nselves through with mamf sorrows.
Praise God for his preserving and for his
supporting presence ; that you have his com-
forting Spirit to so great a degree : and then
consider what you have. Does he not some-
times draw out your souls in secret devotion,
and in public worship? Does he not sometimes
give you great encouragement on sabbath
days, and on sacrament occasions ? Be com-
forted with this, and look upon it as some
token for good, that at length he will com-
plete his own work. In the mean time, bless
him that he has begun it.

6. Seriously consider what are the chief
occasions of your remaining doubts. For this
purpose be often searching and tn/ing your-

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. 17

selves^ and noting down, if you have leisure serm.
and opportunity, the result of your inquiry. ^^^^
At such and such a time I had greater com-
fort, and at another greater fear and suspi-
cion. And whence did that arise ? I will
endeavour to suggest some more particular
thoughts here, in the form of queries, which
I beg that you would put seriously to your-
selves.

1. Do not doubts arise from the want of
regularity and fervour in your devotions ?
Perhaps there are some of you who live in
the frequent neglect of secret prayer : and
if you do, how can you expect that the spirit
should be given which is to be obtained by
prayer, and is most likely to be obtained by
that sort of prayer in which your wants and
your complaints can be most particularlv
opened before God ? Perhaps the word of
God is seldom seriously read by you : and
do you expect that you should know your-
selves, if you do not try yourselves by that
standard ? Perhaps you find wandering
thoughts prevailing in duty, and you do not
guard against them. You do not, perhaps,
take a moment's retirement just before you
are coming to God's house to lift up your

VOL. III. c

18 THE spirit's witness TO

SERM. heart to God. You come, perhaps, so late
..^.^^.^y that you are all in a hurry ; or if you are in
the little, very little number of those who are
here before the minister ; perhaps you are
talking with each other, and seem to make
it your choice to come into the house of God
after his worship is begun, thereby to be
sure losing some advantage for composing
your mind into a proper temper. You do
not, perhaps, take time to reflect upon what
has past, to try yourselves by what you have
heard, to consider how you have behaved ;
and, if so, can you wonder that you improve
but little in comfort, the natural consequence
of improving but little in grace.

2. It may be, carnal indulgences, and the
love of pleasure may keep your comfort low,
and hinder the witness of the Spirit in your
heart. Those who are Christ's have crucified
the flesh, with its affections and lusts. They
can deny themselves, on all proper occasions,
for Christ. And if you have not learned
this, how can you expect to know that you
are his ? It may be that you are, on the con-
trary, making provision for the flesh, and never
think yourselves happy but when you are in
one form or another indulging it. Perhaps

10.

OUR ADOPTION ATI' AIN ABLE. 19

jou have a relish for all the vain pleasures, serm.
and vain converse of the world : and some- v^^.^
times approach to the utmost of what is law-
ful in meats, and drink, and dress, and mirth ;
and sometimes, perhaps, you go beyond it.
And is this the way to invite the spirit of holi-
ness and piety? JJalk in the Spirit, and ye
shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh ^. Was ' Oai
it any thing peculiar to Paul, that he alone
should keep down the flesh and bring it into
subjection, lest he should be cast away? I
am sorry that any should dream of different
ways to heaven. There is but one strait
gate, there is but one narrow way, and they,
who cannot be content to walk in it, are so far
from having any reason to wonder that they
do not know themselves to be the children
of God, that, on the contrary, they may
rather know that they are not.

3. Irregular passions, whether of resent-
ment or desire, will greatly obstruct the wit-
ness of the Spirit. To have our hearts vio-
lently agitated with any thing relating merely
to this world is a temper not becoming the
Christian, not agreeable to the tendency of
that heavenly spirit. To love the world, and the
things that are in the world, to be too solicitous

c 2

I.

20 THE SPIRITS WITNESS TO

SERM. to possess or to retain them is a temper which
we should guard against. But especially
should it be remembered, that the spirit of
wrath and resentment is most unbecoming
those who expect the influences of the Spirit
of love. When the little clash ings of tempo-
ral interest interfere with the love that there
ought to be among Christians, and they can
allow themselves to treat each other like
strangers, and like enemies, it is no wonder
if the effects be very uncomfortable ; or, if
you examine yourselves at such a time, that
3 ou should see little to comfort you.

4. Do not your doubts arise from exces-
sive care ? You plunge yourselves, perhaps,
in greater business than you can well attend
to. Your whole life is one continued hurrv,
from Monday morning to Saturday night,
which perhaps sometimes enters on Sabbath-
days, and leaves you so weary that you can-
not attend to the business of that holy day.
And why all this fatigue to provide for your
families ? Nay, but do not you know in your
consciences that you might provide for them
without this excessive application ? Not so
plentifully, perhaps you will say ; and I must
add, it is not necessary that they should be

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. 21

SO plentifully provided for. It is better that serm.
they should want some things in the elegance ^^.^^^
of their table, and their dress, than that these
things, which perhaps may be a snare rather
than advantage to them, should be pur-
chased at the expense of your improvement
in religion. Remember that the mind of man
is of a very limited nature. Remember that
you cannot serve God and Mammon : and
remember further (for it is a thought of
importance, though a digression from the
present subject) that as it is in vain for you
to rise up early, and sit up late, without the
Divine blessing, so that it is most probably
to be secured by honouring him, and labour-
ing above all things to secure your salvation
and the evidences of it.

5. Do not your doubts arise from a cen-
sorious temper? It is impossible that the
Spirit of God should delight to dwell where
love does not dwell. And is it consistent
with love to be always thinking the worst
that we can imagine, and speaking the worst
that we can think. Perhaps you are ready,
not indeed to invent, but to take up a re-
proach against your neighbour. One of the
first to hear, one of the first to report a

22 THE Sl'IKIl's WITNESS TO

SERM. spiteful unkind stoiy. It is a great reproach
v-^^v^ to your character and profession, for it
must soil and discompose your spirits, as
well as divert your thoughts from far more
important things. If some Christians would
spend half that time in judging themselves
which they spend in arraigning the faith,
the worship, the practice of others, they
would be as much the glory of religion as
they are now its reproach. This humour
must be corrected, if you expect the witness
of the Spirit.

6". Do not your apprehensions arise from
an indolent neglect of the proper duties of
life ? Religion requires an entire dedication
of ourselves to the service of God, and a
constant intention of serving and glorifying
him. Idleness quencheth the Spirit. When
the sluggard turns tipon his bed, as a door
upon the hinges; when time is profusely
thrown away for a \ ariety of trifles without
any steady care to attend to the business of
life, and perhaps too (which is often con-
nected with the former) to \ery little pur-
pose of pleasure or entertainment ; religious
comfort must be much impaired, and a secret
fear of the doom of I he unprofitable servant

OUR ADOPTION AIT AIN ABLE. ^ 23

will take possession of the mind. The Spirit serm.
of Christ is a spirit of zeal ; and where there v^^-^^
is no zeal for his service, there is a- great deal
of reason to question whether there be any
spiritual life. On the whole, let these parti-
culars be reviewed ; and if you have reason
to apprehend that any of these have been
the occasion of your former doubts, be upon
your guard against them for the time to
come.

V. I shall conclude with a very few words
by way of application :

1. To those who are unconcerned about
this testimony of the Spirit. Perhaps there
are such among you ; perhaps some who
secretly despise what I have now said as
vanity and enthusiasm. If there are, indeed,
any such among you, may God extend his
infinite compassions to you ; for you are on
the borders of ruin. This I think may be laid
down as a certain rule : they who are not
concerned about the testimony of the Spirit
have little sense of the importance of the in-
heritance ; and they who have little value
for that cannot be the children of God : and
if you are not the cliildren of God, whose

24 TidE spirit's witness to

4

SERM. children are you? Oli! that you would seri-
.^-.^^^ ously consider it. You are the children ot
Satan, the heirs of everlasting destruction.
I profess to you, as in the presence of God,
that I know not a more dreadful sight on this
side hell than a sinner who hears of these
gospel privileges from day to day, and per-
petually despises them.

2. To those who desire this testimony : I
have addressed myself to you with many
directions already. I can only add that I
would not have you imagine that by merely
wishing for it you will obtain it. The desire
of the slothful only kills and torments him,
because his hand refuses to labour : and if
you do, indeed, desire so great a blessing,
you must be up, and doing, and labouring in
good earnest for it. You must seek it by
prayer. Oh ! seek it as silver, and search for it
as for hidden treasure. If you do not think it
worth a serious pursuit, it is to be feared that
you have but little true value for it.

3. I conclude with one word to the happy
souls who have already received it. My
friends ! I congratulate you on this singular
happiness. Acknowledge the goodness of
(jiod to you. He might ha\o left you vviiji

OUR ADOPTION ATTAINABLE. 25

the doubting Christian ; he might have left serm.
you with the damned sinner! Let your hearts ^^-0-^.
be enlarged in gratitude and love. JJalk
worthy of the Lord to all zcell pleasing. Value
this inestimable privilege, and take heed that
you do not lose it : on the contrary, study to
improve in it more and more : labour to im-
prove in it more and more. Labour to pro-
mote the spiritual joy of others : and whilst
in that respect you zcater them, you will he
watered yourselves also. May that God, who
is able to make all grace to abound, refresh
your souls with the continued influences of
this good Spirit ! May he bear witness with
your spirits that you are his children; and
may you, like the sons of God,. be blameless
and without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, shining ajnongst them
as lights in the world, and holding forth the
word of light, that they, seeing your good
works, may, with you, glorify your Heavenly
Father. Amen.

26

OF KNOWING THE HOrE

SERMON II.

OF KNOWING THE HOPE OF OUR CALLING,

Ephesians, i. 18.

The eyes nf our vnderstanding heinri enlightened, that ye may
know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of
the glory of his inhei'itance in the saints.

SERM. When our Lord is cautioning his disciples
^^v^ against an immoderate solicitude about the
things of this world, he urges this considera-
tion among others, AJ'te?' all these things do
Malt. vi. the Gentiles seek^ : and it is no wonder that

37.

they should seek after them, who had no hopes
of a better state, and weix without God in the
li'orld. But it is matter of very melancholy
reflection that Christians should, in so many
instances, forget their high birth, and their
heavenly hope, and grovel on this polluted
earth, as if they were not only natives of it,
but had their portion onhj in this life. To raise
you, if possible, to sublimer sentiments, and to

ir.

OF OUR CALLING. 27

a more worthy and generous temper, was the serm.
design of my discourse last Lord's Day, when I .
laid before you the perfection of the heavenly
state, as opposed to the imperfections with
which we are here continually surrounded.
And yet. Christians, must we not acknow-
ledge, to our shame and condemnation, that we
have been too ready to pursue the vain trifles
of life to the forgetfulness of that completely
perfect state. Where have our thoughts, our
affections, our expectations been ? Alas ! too
much, undoubtedly, here below, though I
hope, through grace, not entirely here. Let
me then take up the words of the apostle,
and turn them into a prayer for myself and
you, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of
wisdom and revelation ; and may so enlighten
the eyes of your understanding, that ye may
know what is the hope of his calling, and what
the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints^. St. Paul is here telling his friends at M^phes. i.
Ephesus what those blessings were which he,
with the greatest importunity, asked of God for
them in prayer, and when you come to survey
them with attention, you will find that they
were not blessings out of the corn floor or

17, 18.

28 or KNOWING THE HOl'K

SERM. the wine press, but those that related to their

II. . .

,^->^I^^ estabhshnicnt in the Christian faith, and their

growing meetness for eternal glory. He
prayed that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, flight give wito them the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the know-
ledge of him. I might, with great ease and
propriety, raise many very useful observations
or remarks from these words, as that heaven
is a rich and glorious Divine inheritance of
the saints, and that this is the great hope of
the Christian ; that many who are partakers
thereof do not sufficiently know this hope ;
that, in order to knoM' it, it is necessary that
the eyes of our understaijding should he en-
lightened by Divine influences ; and that eyes
enlightened are so great a blessing that we
should pray for them, both with respect to
ourselves and to our Christian friends. These
observations I might particularly insist upon ;
but what is most natural in them will come
in under the following plan.

I. We may consider the view of heaven
which is here given ; the hope of our calling,
and the riches of the glory of God's inheritance
in the saints.

II. We may iiupiire whence it comes to

OF OUR CALLING. 29

pass that it is so much unknown, even by sehm.

those who are favoured with the Christian ^ ^

revelation, and have upon the whole cor-
dially embraced it.

III. I will show you how desirable it is,
that the eyes of our understanding may he so
opened^ as that we may understand more
of it.

IV. I will consider in what method we
may comfortably expect that this should be
effected.

V. Conclude with a brief application.

I. Let us a little more particularly con-
sider the view of future happiness which is
here given to us by the apostle. There is a
noble and most instructive variety in the
representation made of it in the word of
God, and in this which is here presented.
I think I may truly say, without any strained
or affected criticism, that there is an admir-
able force in every word which the apostle
uses. He either intimates or declares that
it is to be considered under the notion of an
inheritance; of a Divine inheritance, rich
and glorious ; an inheritance of, or among
saints ; and the great hope of the Christian

II.

11, 14.

30 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. calling. May God assist our devout medi-
tations upon it in each of these views.

1. It is an inheritance. So the scripture
very frequently speaks of it ; and so it is
called twice in the preceding part of this
epistle, in whom we have obtained an inherit-

Eph. 1. ance^ : and thus the spirit, as the earnest
of heaven, is called the earnest of our in-
heritance. In allusion to this is that promise
which so often occurs of inheriting eternal
life. And even in the last sentence on the
righteous, our Lord represents himself as
mentioning heaven in this view: Come-, ye
*Matt. blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom"^.
Now when a thing is called an inheritance,
it may intimate, that it is for a while waited
for, and that when received it is to be pos-
sessed for perpetuity ; and, in both these
respects, the representation here is very suit-
able. Here is an inheritance which we are
for a while to wait for. You know that it is
thus with respect to estates which people are to
inherit on earth, while they are in a state of
minority. They do not immediately enter
upon them. They are, perhaps, under tutors
and governors, kept on short allowance, and
servants have more under their command than

x.w. 3-1.

OF OUR CALLING. 31

they. Thus may it be with Christians now. serm.

Thus, upon the wliole, it is even with all of ^ S^^

them ; yet they are, as the apostle expresses
it, heirs according to the promise; and the
thought may reconcile us even to the straitest
and most inconvenient circumstances, which
our heavenly Father may at present allot.
We shall, ere long, come to age, and then
the inheritance will be received. In the
meantime, perhaps, if we had more at our
command, we should but waste it, and our
Father might be dishonoured, and we our-
selves might be injured by it. On this ac-
count, to allude to the words of the apostle
relating to affliction, if we had fathers of our
flesli that abridged us, and we' gave them
reverence^ let us much more be subject to the
Father of our spirits^. And then it is an Mieb. xii.
inheritance, as it is to be possessed for a
perpetuity. An inheritance, you know, is
generally an estate, which is settled and en-
tailed upon a man, not for a term of years,
but for life ; and, if he has not such a title
to it, the phrase is seldom used. And, indeed,
whenever it is used concerning any thing
which we possess in this v/orld, it is used in
a very low sense, because, being w4th respect

32 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. to our bodies but tenants at will to the
^^, :^^ great Lord of all, we are liable, whenever he
pleases, to be turned out of every thing we
have, and leave house and land to others :
for we brought nothing into the world with ns,
and it is as certain that we can cany nothing
away. But apply the word to the heavenly
state, and it has a glorious propriety. That is
an inheritance, indeed, which, if w^e once
gain, we shall possess for ever, having no
enemy to invade us, and there being liable
to no mortality to deprive us of it. There-
fore it is (as you already have heard) called
an inheritance of eternal life ; and the pro-
mise of it is called the promise of aji eter-
nal inheritance, of which the apostle Peter
expresses a most affectionate sense when
he is so thankful that God has begotten ns
again to a liveli/ hope, of an inheritance in-
corruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not
' 1 Pet. i, away^. Oh! that you all would be so wise as
to pursue it, and that I might congratulate
you as those who were rich and great for ever;
and, when you had nothing left of your
worldly all, but your coffin and your shrowd,
your rejoicing spirit would look down upon
the poor, stript, mouldering clay, and would

4.

OF OUR CALLING. 3S

regard all which it had lost as nothing in serim.
comparison of what it had gained and should ^^^ ^
possess for ever. Well, this is one part of
the view, heaven is an inheritance.

2. It is a Divine inheritance. So it is
called his inheritance in the saints. And it
may well be called so, because it is prepared
and bestowed by God, and will consist in
the resemblance and enjoyment of him. It
is prepared and bestowed by God. His
infinite wisdom formed the plan of our hap-
piness, in a manner suitable to our nature
and to his own ; and it is a most enhansing
and endearing thought suggested in Matt.
XXV. 34, (where Christ says to the righteous.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the foundation of the world), that God should
have been employing himself in propagating
the scheme, in laying the plan of this glo-
rious abode even before we had a being; or,
as it is said concerning wisdom, that even
before man was formed, she delighted herself
in the habitable parts of the earth, and her
delights wer^e with the children of men'^. That ^Prov.viii,
is, it was delightful to think of them as ' '
creatures who should enjoy so many delights,

VOL. III. p

34 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. Thus does God, as it were, enjoy the pleasures

K,.^^^^^^ of his own prescience, in this view, with
pecuHar rehsh. I know the thoughts that I

^Jer.wm.thmk to you^ I and at length it will be re-
ceived from the hands of God, through
Christ, as the gift of his love and free grace.
It is, indeed, called the reward of the inherit-

'Coi. ill. ance^; but it is a reward not of debt, but of

24.

grace; therefore the apostle so expressly
declared that whereas the wages of sin is

' Rom. vi. death, eternal life is the gift of God^. And
indeed, when we seriously consider it, we
shall see ourselves most unworthy of it, and
could hardly be able to believe it were
ever intended for us, were we not also told
that we are predestinated to the adoption of

* Eph. i. chihlren, through Jesus Christ, to himself^.
And then it may be further called his in-
heritance, because it will consist in the re-
semblance and enjoyment of him. It is
most evident that the glory, and beauty,
and happiness of the rational nature must
consist in the resemblance of that God
who is the great standard of perfection :
and accordingly it is thus that the good
regards it, as the great object of his hope.

OF OtJR CALLING. 35

unknown as it is in some of its particulars. Serm,
We shall be like him, for we shall see him as v^-J!^^
he is. As for me, I shall behold his face in
righteousness, Sj-c^: and this must be at-^Uohniii.
tended with the enjoyment of God. The
righteous Lord loveth righteousness, his coun-
tenance must behold the uprighf^. With what^Psai.xvii.
mild beams of complacency and delight will
he then behold us, when all our iniquities
are purged away, and we stand forth in his
complete resemblance, like a fair unsullied
mirror, reflecting according to the degree
which our weak nature can bear to it, the
imap:e of our heavenly Father. How rich
shall we feel ourselves in the sense of an
everlasting covenant with him. Therefore
we are said to be heirs of God^ himself. 'Rom. tiii.
For then we may say, in a nobler sense
than any saint upon earth could ever do,
" The Lord is the portion of my inheritance,
therefore, indeed, the lines are fallen to me
in pleasant places^. This God is our GoJ, "Ps.xvi.
he will be our guide here, unto the death.
No, he has been so, he has guided us
beyond it, and death is no more. Heart
and flesh have failed; but they shall fail no
more, for God is the strength of my hearty

V 2

36 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

and known and felt as my portion for ever.
My God ! give me these durable riches, and
scatter gold and jewels, and divide lands
and tenements on earth to whom thou wilt.
In thee I have enough, I have all." This
leads me to add,

3. It is a rich and glorious inheritance.
This is strongly expressed by that phrase.
That ye may know what is the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints, or what
is his rich and glorious inheritance. This is
a very common hebraism, and it is used
often in this epistle. Thus it is said, he has
predestinated tis to the praise of the glory of
»Eph. i. his grace^ ; i. e. of his glorious grace; and
in the next verse we have the forgivetiess of
sin according to the riches of his grace, i. e.
his rich grace. And ver. 19? the working of
his mighty power is in the original, the energy
of the might of his power. It is rich, because
there is content and magnificence. It is
glorious, because there is a united lustre both
of the body and of the mind.

1. It is rich, because there is content and
magnificence. Riches admit of a variety of
degrees; but, I think that the first notion of
them is, that a man is really rich who has

6, r,

OF OUR CALLING. 37

as much as he wants: and upon this account serm.
the contented man is always rich, even in v^-J^^^
this world: and on this account Saint Paul,
who could say, he had learned that blessed
lesson, in whatever state he was therewith to be
content^, does sometimes speak of himself ' Phil. iv.
as if he were one of the richest creatures
upon earth : we are, says he, as poor, yet
making many rich, as having nothing, and yet
as possessing all things^. And had we more 5 2 Cor. vi.
of this blessed temper, it would turn cottages
into palaces, or something better. But in
heaven we shall have it completely. There, all
those disorderly passions which are now ready
to work in the mind, there the spirit too ready
to lust, to envy, and to indulge in vain desires
will be entirely subdued. The happy soul will
look down on the gilded trifles of earth, and
say, "what a world of things are there which
I do not want.'' There will indeed be a variety
in the degree of glory, but every one will be
so perfectly persuaded of the wisdom and
goodness by which these degrees are ad-
justed, and will feel such an entire friendship
for every superior spirit, will receive indeed
so many favours from him, and will feel
such a gradual rise even towards that happi-

38 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. ness which he possesseth, that there will be
^^.^^.^^^ entire content and satisfaction, which there
was not even in Adam's paradise itself: nor
is that all, for there will be great jnagnifi'
cence as well as content. Such as eye has
not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered
into the heai't of man to conceive. On which
account you well know that it is represented
by the saints being made kings to God, by their
appearing in bright robes, and with crowns of
gold. And the poor afflicted church, nhile
tossed with tempests, and not comforted, is
taught to expect that blessed day, when its
foundations shall he laid with sapphires, and
all its borders with polished stones, and its
windows shall be agate, and its gates carbun-

' Is. liv. cles'^, such glorious things are spoken of thee,
' ' O thou city of God I We add, therefore,

2. It is glorious, because there is the united
lustre both of body and mind. Glory, pro-
perly speaking, signifies something resplen-
dent, something that shines forth brightly.
Therefore that shining phenomenon, which
was the token of the Divine presence in the
cloud, is called the glory of the Lord, and
often spoken of as distinct from the cloud in
which it appeared: and, in allusion to the

OF OUR CALLING. 39

reflections of those rays from the face of serm.

Moses, it is said to the church, in reference ^^^^J,^

to the gospel privileges, and especially its

heavenly hope, Arise and shine, for thy light

is come, for the glory of the Lord is arisen

upon thee^. And with how much propriety ' is. i.\i. i.

this may be applied to the heavenly state,

you will yourselves easily imagine, though

in an imperfect degree. The body wijl have

its lustre, undoubtedly it will, when it is

said of it that the righteous shall shine forth

as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father^.' Mat. xVu.

. . , 43.

Nay, more than that is said even of the

glorified body in heaven. For it is affirmed

that he shall change their vile bodies, that

they ?nay be made like unto his own glorious

body. Now, when he was here upon earth,

in the mountain of transfiguration^, and when'*Mat.xvii.

he appeared to John, his countenance was as

the sun shining in his strength^. Yet surely ^lev.i.ie.

those happy apostles who were favoured

with this vision could not have borne to

behold it in that splendour which it wears

in the presence of his Father above; but as

was said of Moses, when he spoke with the

people, there was still something of a veil on

his face. And we should think, in a manner

40

OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SEiiM. most unworthy the Divine wisdom and love^
^^ if we imagine that all this lustre and glory of
the body was appointed, like the ornaments
of some heathen temple, to enshrine any
mean polluted inhabitant. No ; undoubtedly
the glories of the mind will be as superior
to those of the body, as the nature of spirit
is superior to matter in its brightest form
and most exalted state. But in what I
might have said here, I am in part pre-
vented by what I have already said, of the
holy soul bearing the resemblance of God,
and of the blessed Redeemer. What is
glorious in the human mind? is it the love
of God ever overflowing the soul, like a pure
and sweet river, to water every plant of
virtue and grace? is it an entire acquies-
cence in all his will ? an unwearied zeal for
his glory and service? is it unmingled dis-
interested benevolence to all his fellow-crea-
tures, and readiness in every imaginable
instance to subserve and rejoice in their
felicity ? is it a perpetual superiority of the
power of the rational and intellectual nature
over those of the sensitive soul, and a most
exact subordination of appetites and passions
to the great guiding and governing faculty ?

OF OUR CALLING. 41

There will be all this devotion and zeal, all serm.
this benevolence and purity, all this order v^^,.,^^^
and harmony of soul for ever : these, and a
thousand times more virtues and graces,
perhaps the very name and nature of which
are yet unknown. For as the blessed God
may have many perfections of which we
have no idea, so may the blessed spirits ever
resemble him in those perfections, and in-
herit joys and glories, of which we have no
more notion than a blind man could have of
all the glories, all those mingled beauties of
nature and art which in the finest landscape
and the brightest day, pour in upon the
clear and strong eye.

4. The text further teaches us to conceive
of heaven, as the inheritance of the saints; in
the scmits, or among the saints. This is an
expression that very frequently occurs in
scripture. Give thanks, says the apostle, to
the Father, who has made ns meet to be par-
takers of an inheritance of the saints in light^. ^Coi\.\2.
So when our Lord calls Paul, and gives him
that memorable commission, it is, that they
who were converted by his labours might
receive the forgiveness of their sins, and an

42 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. inheritance among them zcJio are sanctijiecr.
K^^.^^^ And when the apostle took his leave of the
'Actsxxvi. Ephesian Eiders, he recommended them to
8 Acts XX. the word of his grace^, <Scc. We may reasonably
^^' conclude that an expression which so often
occurs has a very important meaning, and
that it naturally suggests these two grand
thoughts. That the heavenly state will be
peculiar to saints, that it will be common to
all such, and a state in which they shall, in
a most delightful ■ manner, enjoy the society
of each other. We will a little more par-
ticularly touch on each of these.

1. Heaven is an inheritance which will be
peculiar to the saints. This is so important
a thought, that the word of God is very
frequently insisting upon it. We might in-
deed argue from the nature of this happiness,
consisting so much in sanctity of soul, that
nothing which defiles should enter into the
new Jerusalem. We might argue, that with-
out holiness no one could with comfort see
the Lord, nor inherit his kingdom unless he
were born again. But lest we should fail in
making the inference, or lest the subtilty of
human wit should evade the conclusion (as

OF OUR CALLING. 43

I think there is hardly any that it cannot serm.
one way or another evade), God has declared ^^^^-J^^
it in express terms. Be not deceived, says
the apostle, God is not mocked: neither whore-
mongers, nor adidterers. Sec. shall inherit the
kingdom of God^. On the contrary, ^Ae'iCor. vi.
wicked shall as surely go away into everlasting '
punishment, as the righteous into life eternaP.'Mdt.xxv.
The expectation of the wiched is death. And
it is not only the foreboding of his own
guilty mind, but built on the word of God
itself, which declares (hear it and tremble,
O ye heirs of hell, whatever your profession,
or employment, or hopes be) indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish, shall he the
portion of every man who does evil^. Nor ' iiom. ii.
can any thing remain for such obstinate '
sinners, but a certain as well as fearful look-
ing for of wrath, when the Lord Jesus Christ
shall be revealed in faming fre, taking ven-
geance on them who know not God, and obey
not the gospel of Jesiis^, Sec. And therefore let ' 2 Thes. i.
this be written upon the tables of each of our
hearts, that the happiness of which you have
been hearing this day is intended only for
saints. However the world may deride the
name, God will honour it on another day, and

44 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. those, and only those, who have here worn

II.
v^-J^^ the image of his Hohness. So you must see

to the truth of that blessed principle in your
souls, as ever you hope to have a part and
lot in that matter ; and if you do not, I
testify to you, this day, that you will surely
perish, and I call God to record upon my
soul tliat I am clear of the blood of all: and
sooner shall heaven itself pass away than its
golden gates be opened to admit any but a
holy soul.

2. It further intimates that it will be
common to all such : that every saint of
God shall have his final portion and inherit-
ance there. It is a great and important
truth, that there are degrees of glory, cor-
respondent to different improvements in re-
ligion; but it is a necessary consequence of
this, that every one, who has indeed the root
of the matter in him, will be entitled, through
Divine grace, to his share. The young child
in the family is a child still, and he shall
have the portion of a child. Every one who
receives of the water which Christ gives him,
shall find it, as we are told, a well of water,
* iohn'iv. sp?inging iij) to eternal life^; and therefore
it is said by the apostle that the crown was

OF OUR CALLING. 45

reserv^ed not only for km, but all who love the serm.

appearance of Christ^. How different soever ^ .^^

the ways may have been which they have"^^'"**'^*
taken, so far as diversities are consistent
with their being the ways of hohness, they
will all meet in one blessed end. And
therefore it is with the most literal propriety
called a?i inhej'itance among them who are
sanctified^. "Actsxx.

3. The expression may further intimate
that it is a state in which they shall enjoy
the delightful society of each other. This is
a great and important truth; and the apostle
lays a very great stress upon it when he
speaks of it as the happiness of Christians
that they ff^'e come to the general assembly'^ .,-'iieh. xn.

24

&c. and he also declares it to be the design
of God to gather together in one all things in
Christ^. The same is intimated in the words ^Eph.i.io.
of the text ; and how glorious a scheme !
that our lot should be cast with such good
neighbours, and fall among the saints; among
the saints dwelling in light and glory. It is a
very agreeable circumstance to be so situated
here as to have an opportunity of frequently
enjoying good company, especially the com-
pany of wise and good men, which is, after

46 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. all, the best company. The saints of the
L*-v^ earth, says David, those excellent ones of the
'Ps.xvi.'i. earth, are those in whom is all my delight^.
And it is most desirable that our nearest and
dearest companions in life may especially be
such ; which, by the way, should engage
young people to be very careful in their set-
tlement ; to regard that which is so generally
disregarded, to the wonder of many, and, I
fear, to the ruin of some. But, be our settle-
ment ever so agreeable here, there will be
some thorn in our side, and, it may be, in
our eyes too ; but there will be no rending
briars nor wounding thorns with everlasting
delightful friendship. How dear is the memory
of the saints of God to us ! We should, I
doubt not, have found something of a parti-
cular pleasure, had the providence of God
cast our lot near any of those places where
the ancient patriarchs and holy apostles
lived. To have traced their steps, and to
have thought on those mountains where they
built an altar to the Lord ; and here stood
the house of such a one ; and here rest the
bones of the other How much more de-
lightful then to dwell with the persons them-
selves ! to dwell with them in such an im-

OF OUR CALLING. 47

proved and elevated state, so far superior to serm.
what earth knew them ; with all the saints, k^^^J-^^
known and unknown ; those with whom we
have worshiped God together on earth ; those
who had done with earth long before we were
born, and perhaps some too whom we hardly
expected to have met there. And let us not
fear being lost in such a crowd. It is true that
here friends seem sometimes to stand in the
way of each other ; and when we have many
of them together, except in some direct acts
of worship, we can do little more than see
them. But there, undoubtedly, our methods
of converse will be increased in proportion
to the degree in which our acquaintance is
growing ; and so entire will be our mutual
love that even, when we are not directly con-
versing with each other, the very sight of
such an assembly of lovers and friends will
cause our hearts to overflow with sacred
pleasure. O thou new Jerusalem! for my
brethren and companions sake, null I now say,
Peace be within thee^ : and I rejoice in that ' p^- cxxii.
eternal peace that resides, and reigns, and
triumphs there.

5. Heaven is represented as the great hope
of the Christian's calling : May know the hope

48 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. of your calling. So elsewhere it is called the

y^J^^ prize of the high calling of God* our Saviour,

'PhiL ui. j g ^]^g great and glorious prize for which,

in the gospel, we are called to contend. So

elsewhere, ye are called in one hope of your

^Epii. iv. calling^ ; which implies that nothing but the

gospel could give this hope, and that it is the

great design of the gospel to fix men^s hearts

and pursuits upon it.

1. It implies that nothing but the gospel

could give this hope. There are many other

passages to the same purpose, where it is

"Eph. ii. said of the heathens, they are without hope'^ :

and it is their repeated character ; Sorrow not

"> 1 Thess. as those who have no hope^ : and on the other

iv 13.

«iTim. i. hand it is said that Christ is our hope^ ; that

K\A \ 2r.^^''^^^ ^^^ ''^ ^^ ^^^ hope of glory"^; that we are
begotten again to this lively hope of an inheri-
tance by the resu7Tection of Jesus Christ from

"iPet. i. the dead^: and texts might be multiplied to
this purpose. Now this representation is rea-
sonable : for, without the gospel, we could
have had no assurance of any future happi-
ness at all, and not the least degree of reason
to expect so great and so lasting a happiness.
It is an important truth that without the
gospel we could have had no assurance of

OF OUR CALLING. 49

an}^ future happiness at all : for, in order to serm.
such an assurance merely by the light of na- ^^J:^^
ture, we must certainly have known that God
would have pardoned sin. But I confess that
I see not how we could have had any assur-
ance of this, or any thing more than a preca-
rious, trembling, and very suspicious hope.
Many have thought otherwise, and pleaded
that wherever there was true repentance, sin
must be pardoned, because there the end of
punishment was answered in the amendment
of the offender. But not to say how little
probability there would be of men being
brought to true repentance without the gos-
pel, nor to insist upon the unaccountable want
of every expression of it in the writings even
of the best of the heathens, it is sufficient to
reply that this goes entirely upon a mistake,
that the amendment of any particular person
is the only end of punishment : the vindica-
tion of the injured honour of God's justice
and laws, and the admonition of others, who,
from the pardon of a penitent offender, might
have encouraged themselves to sin with hopes
of impunity ; and greater and far superior
ends, which, for any thing that any of us could
certainly have known, might have required

VOL. III. E

ir.

50 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. our lasting punishment, were we ever so peni-
tent ; especially in cases of long continued
and repeated guilt, aggravated by relapses
after former professions of repentance. It is
certain that human lawgivers see it necessary
to inflict the penalty in some cases where
there is reason to believe the man's hearty
repentance of what he has done ; and the
wisest man upon earth could not have said
that the Divine Sovereign might not have
seen matters in the same view: and, indeed,
when I consider the scheme of pardon esta-
blished in the gospel by the incarnation and
death of the Son of God, as the consideration
on which even the sincerest penitent and be-
liever are received by God, I cannot but
think that these apprehensions would have
been just. But I further add that, without
the gospel, there could not have been the
lowest degree of reason to expect so great
and so lasting a happiness. That God will
render utito all men according to their zcorks
is, indeed, a most necessary consequence
even of our natural apprehensions of the Di-
vine justice ; but whether that should imply
any thing more than different degrees of
punishment, according to the degrees of guilt

OF OUR CALLING. 51

which even the best of us have contracted serm.
(as I have already observed), we could not v^-^J^,^
certainly tell. Yet, were we to allow it pro-
bable that there was prepared for the children
of men a state of future happiness, yet, with-
out the gospel, our notions of that state w^ould
have been very imperfect. I confess that I
see no reason why we should imagine that
we should have reasoned better without a
revelation than the Greeks and Romans did,
or than the Brachmans of India, or the
Mandarins of China now do: and it is cer-
tain that their notions of a future state are
very obscure, and most of their hopes have
always been very low. The eternal hap-
piness of soul and bod} , in the image and
enjoyment of God, is Mhat I never read of
in any of the writings of the ancients, nor ,

heard of as the expectation of any of the
modern Pagans; and I wonder not at it.
That they should imagine there were plea-
sant gardens, and refreshing fountains and
shades, prepared for those who had been wise
and good, where they continue in friendship
with each other, and were amused with
various recreations and converse, I do not so
much wonder at. But that there should be

E 2

52 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SEiiM. an everlasting period of all sorrow, and that

v^ J.^^ the whole man should be completely happy
in the presence and enjoyment of God, I see
not how they could have had any reason to
expect; and therefore it is no surprise to
me, that they appear not to expect it. A
temporary paradise, and a transmigration of
souls, seem the highest hope of unassisted
reason. It is Christ who has brought life and
immortality to lights and the light in which
he has placed it is such, that I freely declare
that it would seem hardly credible, were it not
proposed as the purchase of his own righ-
teousness and blood, and the gift of God's
free grace by him.

2. We further add, that it is the great
design of the gospel to fix men's views and
pursuits on this happiness. This is by way
of eminence, the hope of his calling, the great
hope which the gospel gives, as the apostle
expresses it, in hope of eternal life, which God,

9 Tit i. 2. who cannot lie, has promised^. Accordingly
we read this as the great declaration of the

• John X. Lord, / give to my sheep eternal life^, Sec. And

^"' this is said to be a reason for which almighty

power is given to him, that he may give eternal

'John xvW.life^. And he sent his apostles that men

OF OUR CALLING. 53

might be turned from darkness to light, &c. serm.
that they might receive this inheritance. And v^^^A.^
we are said to obtain the glory of our Lord
Jesus Christ^. And this is so essential a part ^sThes.ii.
of the scheme, that the whole dispensation
takes its name with respect to it, and is
called the kingdom of heaven, because it is
intended to lead thither. It is true that there
are great and excellent privileges to which
we are entitled in the present state, imme-
diately upon our believing : for as St. John
expresses it, to those who believe, to them gave
he the privilege of becoming sons of God"^. ^Johni.u.
Yet still they terminate in this, and the
value of our present privileges is chiefly to
be estimated by their reference to their
future hopes. Now that this is the great
point in view, we may argue from Christ
himself having removed to the heavenly
world. God showed him the path of life^, &c. ' Ps. xiv.
that he might attract our hearts thither, as ''^ '
it is most congruous that where he is, there
should also his servants be. And therefore
the apostle argues, if ye are risen with Christ,
seek those things that are above, where Christ
sits at the right hand of God^. And to^Coi. iii.
this the providence of God bears testimony

II.

54 OF KNOAVING THE HOPE

SERM. together with his word; for were not this
the great end of the Christian calhng, there
would be a more sensible distinction between
sincere Christians and others, than there at
present is. Now, as this is an obvious truth
so I cannot but observe, that it is the pecu-
culiar glory of the Christian dispensation,
and a most excellent proof of its Divine
original ; since it tends so powerfully to
raise the mind above these things which are
seen, and set it o?i those which are unseen and
eternal; and thereby lays a solid basis for
the exercise of virtue and grace, in circum-
stances of the greatest extremity, and in
such trials as must overbear every thing
but the hope thus directed and animated.
And since it is thus, suffer, my brethren,
the word of exhortation, and permit me to
call upon you all to gird up the loins of your
minds, to he sober, and hope even to the end
for this glory, to make it the great object
of your pursuit, as ever you would approve
yourselves to be Christians indeed, and that
you have not received the grace of God in vain.
Turn away your eyes from beholding vani-
ties ; moderate your affections towards them ;
deaden and niortifij your mcnd)ers that are

OF OUR CALLING. 55

upon the earth. I conclude with my hearty serm.
prayer to God for you, that you may be k^^^^^^
content, with St. Paul, to look about on all
the charms of life on the one hand, and
all its terrors on the other; and resolutely
to say, None of these things move ?ne, neither
count I my life dear to me^ that I may finish
my course withjoy^. And that this temper 7 Acts xx.
may be ever kept alive on your hearts, ~^'
may the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of glory, give you the spirit of
wisdom, and enlighten the eyes of your under-
standing, &c. But what need there is of
such a prayer, with what zeal it is to be
offered, and with what method to be accom-
plished, I shall, if God permit, hereafter
show to you, but here I must conclude the
present discourse. Nor shall we have lost our
time in the house of God on this day, if we
carry away with us such views of his house
above, as this copious scripture has so na-
turally suggested to us.

55" OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERMON III.

OF KNOWING THE HOPE OF OUR CALLING
PART II.

Ephesians, I. 18.

The eyes of your iinderstanding being enlightened, that ye
may know tchat is the hope of his calling, and what the
riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

SERM. When the queen of Sheba heard the wisdom

III.
v^-^.^ of Solomon, she made this very judicious

reflection upon the discovery of it, because

the Lord thy God loved Israel^ therefore he

' 1 Kings has made thee king over it^. And I cannot

2Ci'iron. foi'bcar thinking that a reflection of this

IX. 8. kind may sometimes become us, when we

read the writings of this holy author before

us. It was because God loved his church

that he made Paul an apostle in it. Paul,

whose heart Mas so possessed with the lo\e

of Jesus, and who was begotten again to so

lively a hope of the inheritance imcorruptible

and nndejiled, and that fadeth not azcdy.

Who can peruse his sacred writings without

OF OUR CALLING. 5?

feeling something of the flame that animates serm.
his breast ? I hope we have in part already s^-^
felt it. I hope we shall feel it more and
more while we pursue our meditations on
this important passage, which contains his
prayer for his friends at Ephesus, a prayer
which well became such eminent wisdom,
such lively piety and friendship : that God
would give them eyes so enlightened, that
they might know the hope of their calling, &c.
In handling which words, you know,

I. I proposed to consider the view given
us of the heavenly world.

II. Whence it comes to pass that it is so
much unknown even to good men.

III. To consider what illumination may
be expected by the Divine operation on our
minds.

IV. How desirable such illuminations are.

V. What methods we are to take that we
may gain such an increasing knowledge: and,

VI. Then to conclude with the application.

I. I have already considered the instruc-
tive and edifying view that is here given to us
of the heavenly world. It is an inheritance,
a Divine inheritance, rich and glorious; an

111.

58 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. inheritance among the saints; and it is the
hope of the gospel; nothing but the gospel
could give it; and it was the great design
of the gospel to raise our souls to a becoming
regard to it, and to engage us to make it the
great object of our pursuit. I am in the
next place to consider,

II. Whence it comes to pass that it is so
much unknown even to those who have
cordially embraced the gospel. I say to
them^ for it is evident that of them the scrip-
ture speaks in the words here before us.
They were the jot/ of the apostle, and he had
confidence in them as his crown; he had heard
of' their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
of their love to all the saints; and for this cause
he ceased not to give tJianks for them. And
yet he prays that God would enlighten their
eifes, and grant them the spirit of zcisdom and
revelation. And he asks it for himself as w ell
as for them. For now^, says he, we all knoiv
hut in part, and therefore can prophecii hut in
part. The blessedness is too great for our
conceptions ; too distant to regard it in
proportion to its real worth; too spiritual
to be completely relished by creatures of

or OUR CALLING. o9

SO imperfect characters; and we are sur- serm.
rounded with so many things which divert k^„,.J^^
oiu' attention from it, that we are much
less acquainted with it than we might
otherwise have been.

I. The exceeding greatness of this inherit-
ance must necessarily hinder it from being
completely known. Like the love of Christ,
on which it is founded, it passes knowledge'^.' Eph.'m.
The heavenly conqueror, when he enters
upon it, has a new name given him, which
none can know but He who receives it^: for ^Rev. ii.

• .17

eye has 7iot seen, nor ear heard, neither has it
entered into the heart of man to conceive, what
God has prepared for them who love him*, ♦ i Cor. ii.
On this account, even so great and so holy
a person as St. John says, it does not yet
appear what we shall be^. A person, who' John iii.
had always been educated in a cottage,
could have no just idea of the splendours of
a magnificent court; and much less can we,
from any thing which we view, or any thing
which we enjoy on earth, have an adequate
conception of thsitfidness of joy which is in the
presence of God, and those rivers of pleasure
which flow from his right hand. It seems
to be with a reference to this, that, when

60 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. Paul had been caught up into the third
v^-^-^ heaven, he says, that he there heard un-
speakable words, which it is not lawful, or
'sCor.xii. possible, /b/" a man to utter^: new ideas for
which we have no names, and therefore
which no language of ours can possibly
express. But we further add,

2. That its distance hinders us from
forming a just idea of it. You know how
it is with the eye of the body, when an
object is removed, it lessens proportionably;
as we particularly see in the luminaries of
heaven, some of which are so vastly large,
according to the best calculations, that the
earth itself is but a small spot in com-
parison with them : and yet they appear to
our eyes but of a small magnitude; and
even our own hands, or any of the fruits
of the earth when held near the eye, fill
all the prospect, and cover even sun, and
moon, and stars from our sight: and this is
too just an image of what befalls us with
regard to the future world. It is true that
the distance is often imaginary rather than
real. But we are exceedingly apt to put
the day of death far from us, whereby we
sometimes make it an evil dav; and, for-

OF OUR CALLING. 61

getting that what is now future will at serm.
length be present, and what is now present v^-^.^
will be past, we suffer ourselves to be sadly
imposed upon, and are too soon brought
into a forgetfulness even of that far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory, with
which nothing seen and temporal is by any
means worthy to be compared.

3. Its spirituality renders it less fit to
be known by such minds in which there
is such a mixture of carnality, and which
are so much under the power of remaining
corruption. The apostle tells us that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
neither can corruption inherit incorruption^ .^ iCov.w.
The pleasures of the heavenly state are
pure and refined. They consist in behold-
ing the face of God in righteousness, and
in being satisfied with his complete likeness.
The consequence of this is, that the gene-
rality of mankind are not at all struck
by them, any more than a brute would
be by the offer of some philosophical en-
tertainment. The natural 7nan, says the
apostle, relishes not the things of the spirit,
nor can it know them because they are spi-
ritually discerned^. Now, it is a great andsjcor. ii.

14.

62

OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. certain truth, that these thino^s are in some

HI.

..^..^^ measure recommended to every behever by
the Spirit of God, and his regenerating
influences on the heart, forming and fashion-
ing it to a meetness for them. But alas !
we are sanctified hut in part, and there is
still a law in the memhers, warring against
the law of the mind. These sink our souls
into flesh and sense, and spoil our relish
for those sublime pleasures which are in
the presence of God: and, on this account,
the good man himself may find that, in
proportion to the degree in which corruption
prevails in his heart, the eye of the soul is
darkened, and a veil seems as it were to
be drawn over it, so that it hardly know^s
how to shoot a glance towards that happi-
ness which it has, in its deliberate judgment,
chosen for its final portion.

4. The objects, with which we are here
continually surrounded, draw off" our atten-
tion, from what we might otherwise, not-
withstanding all our disadvantages, know
concerning the future. You know the mind
of man is of a very limited nature. Now,
the consequence of this is, that objects,
which daily demand our attention and care.

OF OUR CALLING. GS

must proportionably divert our regard from serm.
those which are in themselves of a more v^,^^-^
excellent kind. JVe are now cumbered about
many things, and that, alas ! leads us to
forget the one thing needful'^. The cares of ^ Luke x.
this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the
lust of other things, prevent us from forming
such an acquaintance, as we otherwise might,
with that which is within the veil. May
I not, Christians, appeal to you upon this
head. You have, perhaps, on a sabbath
day, been engaged in Divine contemplation,
and before you have been aware, have found
your souls like the chariots of Amiiiadab;
but then when you have returned to your
worldly business, and cares, and pleasures
again, you have found your minds swallowed
up with them, and the mist has risen, and,
mean as its materials might seem to be,
and small as are its particles in themselves,
yet has it grown so thick as to intercept
the prospect of the firmament itself, and
all the glory that adorns it. And, indeed,
this is so frequently the case, that, I fear,
were not sabbaths and sacraments often to
return, and were we not upon this head to
have line upon line, and precept upon precept.

III.

64 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. we should be lost in the crowd, and delivered
over from one vanity to another, till vanity
were our final recompense, as a just punish-
ment for our having been deceived by it,
and for our trusting in it. These causes
concur to prevent the good man himself
from having that knowledge of the heavenly
world which he might otherwise have ob-
tained. We have viewed the disease, let us
now consider the remedy, and inquire,

III. What it is to have the eyes of our
understanding enlightened hy the spirit of
knowledge and revelation, which is the bless-
ing the apostle prays for in behalf of his
friends at Ephesus: and here I must,

1. Observe that it does not signify the
revelation of any truth before entirely un-
known. This is true, even with respect to
the operation of the Spirit in regeneration.
It does not discover to us any doctrine
which we had not learned before, as it
does not give any new faculties, or open
any other source of ideas than such as we
had before been acquainted with. A man,
by a careful study of the scriptures, and
frequent attendance on the means of grace,

OF OUR CALLING. 65

may learn to conceive rationally of future serm.
happiness, as well as to prove it, by most k^^S^^
cogent arguments, both from reason and
scripture : and much more reasonably may
we conclude, that a soul already regene-
rated has a notional acquaintance with all
those truths relating to its future happiness,
which it must expect to know whilst it
dwells here in the flesh; but

2. The Spirit of God enlightens the under-
standing by representing the truths, already
known, in a more beautiful view. You know
that there is a great deal of difference between
viewing a curious piece of painting in
different degrees of light. You may, per-
haps, see all the traces in a dark and cloudy
day; but yet, when the sun appears in its
full lustre, the colours glow in a far more
lively manner, and the figure appears as it
were new dressed. Thus does the Spirit of
God sometimes give such vivid and pene-
trating perceptions and sensations of future
blessedness, that it seems as if it were a
new object, and the good man is almost
ready to say that he had before heard of it,
only hy the hearing of the ear, but now his
eye sees it^, '-^*^^'- ^'^'*

"■^ . 5.

VOL. III. F

66 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. 3. The blessed Spirit sometimes represents
^^^^ these things in a more appropriating view.
Much depends upon the conformity of the
object known to our own inward state and
relishes ; and, in contemplating happiness,
to apprehend it as oin- own vastly increases
the delight of it. Humanly speaking, we
may conclude, that if there had been two
Israelites brought to the mountain passage,
and one of them had been to have died at
the foot of the mountain, and the other to
have gone over to possess Canaan, the lat-
ter would have viewed that goodly moun-
tain and Lebanon with far greater delight
than the other could have done. So, when
the Spirit witnesseth zi:ith our spirit, that we
are the children of God, and if children, then
heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus
Christ, it is no wonder if the soul finds
a peculiar delight in viewing its own in-
heritance, and in surveying that crown of
glory which itself expects ere long to wear.
Propertj/ puts a peculiar sweetness into it,
especially when those graces are cherished
in the heart by the influences of the blessed
Spirit, which are indeed an earnest and
foretaste of this expected blessedness. When

OF OUR CALLING. Gj

these things are attentively considered, they serm.
may assist us in judging of this illumination ^^,J^
of the eyes of our understanding. Let me
now represent,

IV. How desirable a thing it is that we
may share in such illuminations as these,
and may have some practical and heart-
affecting knowledge of the hope of our
calling. And here we may observe,

1 . That it will cherish the love of God
in our souls, which is indeed the great
fountain of every other grace. A sense of
the general benevolence of the Divine being
will occasion some affectionate thoughts of
him. But it is chiefly a sense of personal
obligations that impresses the heart ; and
what personal obligation so great as this,
that he has chosen ns to this through sane-
tificatioji of the spirit, and belief of the truth :
that he has prepared such an inheritance
for us who are conscious to ourselves how
unworthy we are of sharing even in the
bounties of his common providence. What
is, or can be more natural than to reflect,
" I hope and expect to live for ever with
my Father and my God, to behold his

t^2

68 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. face in all the glories of the heavenly world.

,^,-^^ He is intending to do me good even as long
as he himself exists; to bestow favours as
long as the treasures of his omnipotence
and beneficence can furnish them out. He
has called me to this blessed hope, whilst
thousands are left ignorant of it; and, being
ignorant, are permitted to despise it. O,
what shall I render to the Lord for all that
he hath done unto me ! Aid me, ye saints
who already possess this glory, to express my
grateful sentiments to that heavenly Father
who is intending me for it, and conducting
me to it. Well might the apostle, M'hen he
had been saying, we rejoice in hope of the
glory of God, proceed to say, and the love of

' Rom. V. God is shed abroad vpon our hearts^.

' ' 2. It tends also greatly to promote our
humility. Humility is so important a part
of the Christian character, that our Lord
particularly calls us to learn it of him.
And what tends to promote it more than
the riches of the Divine favour to us, in
comparison with our own worthiness? " IVlio
am /, O Lord," does the Christian say,
" that I am brought hither ? brought to thine
house? brought to thy table? But, Lord,
dost thou intend to brins; me so much

OF OUR CALLING. GQ

further? To set me at thy table not only serm.
on earth but in heaven ? As if all which thou v^^.^
hast already bestowed were too little, dost
thou speak of thy servant for a great while
yet to come ? Who am I that thou shouldest
look on such a dead dog as I ? I am not
w orthy to wash the feet of the servants of
my lord: and shall I dwell with them?
Shall I not only have sweet communion
with saints upon earth, but have my lot
among them, and that for ever? Even I
who am less than the least of all saints, and
am not zoorthj/ to be called one ?"

To hiow the hope of our calling will
greatly strengthen our religious resolutions,
under all difficulties and opposition. We
shall need a very heroic resolution in the
cause of our heavenly master, and must
quit ourselves like men, or we shall fall under
all that opposition which on every side
awaits us. And what can inspire us with
this courage more than such obligations and
such hopes ? Am I called to " this blessed
prize, and shall I desert my calling ? Shall I
behave in such a cowardly and unseemly man-
ner, that my great leader shall be ashamed
of me ? Is he holding out such a crown,

70 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. and shall I not secure it? Is it not worth
v^^,^^^ my while, as he intimates, to he faithful
even unto deaths that I may receive that
crown of Ufe? What are all the gilded
vanities of the present life ? When they
are compared with these blessings, they are
less than nothing. I find hy computation,
says the apostle, (and that gave him that
steadiness) that the sufferings of the present
life are not worthy to he compared with the
niomMVu glory that shall then he revealed^,

4. It tends to inspire us with a noble
ambition of excelling in religion, in propor-
tion to this hope. " Does God intend all
this for me ? What can I then do in return
for it? What can I do to bear any pro-
portion to it? O, my soul, thou art the
heir of a kingdom, of a kingdom of eternal
glory; there ought therefore to be not only
integrity and purity of spirit, but a serenit}^,
dignity, and greatness of mind answerable
to these prospects. Thy employment in life,
thy conversation ought to be agreeable to it.'^
So Timothy is stirred up even to martj^dom
by this thought, that he has called us with
MTim.i. a holy calling'^: and the apostle urges them
to hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of

OF OUR CALLING. 71

their hope firm to the end, as being jmrtakers serm.
of the heavenly calUng^. Having these pro- v^^^.
mises, perfect holiness, Sec. ^ Cor.wi.

5. To know the hope of our calling will
cheer our hearts under those burthens that
would otherwise overwhelm us. When we
do not only in general believe a future state,
but feel our souls impressed with the views
of its excellency, this hope will be, as the
apostle beautifully expresses it, an anchor of
the soul both sure and steadfast, entering into
that which is within the veil^. It will keep « Heb. vi.
our minds steady when the wind blows, and
the weaves beat. It will be like a reviving
cordial to keep our heart from sinking under
its fears. You see how it wrought with
the apostle when he speaks with such joy
of all his afflictions, as knowing that these
light afflictions, which are but for a moment,
worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory"^. "O my soul,'' ^ 2 cor. iv.
may the Christian justly say, " thy present
losses affect not thine inheritance ! thou
mayst be the richer for thy poverty here.
Thy present pains aflf'ect not the ease and
pleasure of thy celestial abode, any other-
wise than as they may increase the relish

72 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. of it, and make thine everlasting rest so

^^^,^ much tlie more peaceful and refreshing. I
lose a friend for a few years, but it is to
receive him again for ever. He is gone to
his inheritance, and I am going to mine.
There is new light risen upon him, and I shall
stand in that lio-ht. I shall receive it for an
everlasting possession.^'

6. To hiow the hope of our caUing will
enable iis to conquer both the fear and
the pain of dying. Why are the generality
of men so unwilling to leave earth? I am per-
suaded that it is because their views of heaven
are not more lively. I hope that I am speaking
to some who know what it is to cry out, as
good old Simeon did, when they have Christ
in the arms of their faith, Lord, now sufferest
thou thy servant to depart in peaee, for mine

"Lukeii. ei/es have seen thy salvation^. Paul had a
violent death in view, and yet he could say,
I am ready to he offered, &:c. as I know
there is laid up for me a erozcn of righteous-

'sTim.iv. /?es.s^. And elsewhere, I have a desire to

Q

depart, and to he dissolved, and he witli Christ;

■Phil. i. which is far better^. "I am going home,''

may the Christian say, " to my Father's

house. I have lived but meanly in this

OF Ol K CALLING. 73

state of minority. I have been subject serm,
sometimes to very painful discipline : but .^^^^
now for a journey to my inheritance. Why
are the chariot wheels so slow ? with plea-
sure do I hear their sound. Welcome these
decays of nature, which are the forebodings
of the dissolution of it. I shall he absent
from the body, and present with the Lord.
Now the blessed object of my hope is near,
the hope of my calling. Now is God about
to do that which above all things I have
desired : that for which I entered into
covenant with him : that which I had in
my eye and in my heart, when I became a
Christian indeed. Lord, I adore thy faith-
fulness and thy love. Come Lord, come
quickly."

Now, sirs, I appeal to you, whether each
of these be not powerful arguments to engage
you to desire that you also may know the
hope of your calling. Would you feel this
love of God, this humility, this vigorous
resolution, this heaven-born ambition, this
serenity of soul under the afflictions of life,
this fortitude and joy in the views of death.
" O Lord ! nothing on this side glory is
so desirable as these sentiments of soul,

74 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. awakened and invigorated by the expecta-

v^-.^^. tion of it. Rather had I feel the hope of

this inheritance than possess the most noble

and glorious inheritance ever known amongst

the children of men/'

V. Let me briefly suggest some hints
of advice as to the methods by which we
may attain a temper so fruitful in comforts,
in graces, and in blessings. You desire
to know the hope of your ccilUng. Let me
advise

1. That you study the scriptures with
all possible care and diligence. There you
see the evidence, the description of that
hope; and you see how other good men have
been affected under the views of it. The
evidence of it is there proposed in the most
convincing manner. It rests upon the tes-
timony of God, and you there learn how
that testimony was confirmed by Christ
himself, and his immediate followers, God
hearing witness to it with signs and wonders,
^Ueh.ii and the gifts of the Holy Ghost^. There

4.

you see it described ; and there you are
taught to form the most bright and noble
ideas of it, as you perceive by the former

OF OUR CALLING. 75

discourse. There you read how the saints serm.
of God of old were impressed with it, liow k^.^^J^^.
they longed for their heavenly country, and
confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers
upon earth^. In a word, there is hardly aMieb. xi.
chapter, especially of the New Testament,
but, if read with attentive regard, will teach
you something of heaven, and leave you
fitter for it. Send forth only thy light
and truth, O Lord ! to illustrate and confirm
our faith in scripture, and it shall lead and
guide us to thy heavenly kingdom.

2. Be much in meditation on the hope of
your calling, if you desire more distinctly to
know it. It is not enough that you hear
and read of it. It is not enough that your
heads form ideas of it, be they ever so
bright, the main thing is to bring it to your
hearts ; and in order to this you must bring
your hearts to it. You must sometimes
abstract yourselves from other things, on
purpose to seek and intermeddle with Divine
wisdom. Particularly on the evening of the
Lord's Day, cause yourselves to think of your
eternal sabbath. When you meet with sor-
rows and disappointments in the world, then

76 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. think of your inheritance above. When you

v^^^^ lose your friends, your children here, think

of your Father's house, and your hope of

recovering them there. And for the further

illustration of it,

3. Be frequently discoursing with each
other upon it. It is, methinks, a most plea-
sant subject of discourse, and a most natural
one. We are fellow-pilgrims, should we not
therefore think of the end of our journey ?
Should we not therefore confirm the faith,
excite the joy, and encourage the hope of
each other ? It is affecting to observe how
the Jews in Babylon remembered Sion, and
sat down together to weep in the thoughts
of it, and could say. If I forget thee, O
Jerusalem, let imi right hand forget her cun-

< Psalm ning^. And shall we forget that Jerusalem
* which is above, where no enemy invades ; that
temple which ever stands in its own magni-
ficence, and where we hope to be fixed as
pillars for ever. Let 21s eahort eaeh other;
and quicken each other, I hope that I may
add, as many of you also do,

4. By frequent application to the throne
of grace. Convinced of the natural ten-

OF OUR CALLING. 77

clency of our minds towards the objects of serm.
time and sense, let us humble ourselves v^^--^-^
before God, and acknowledge that our souls
do naturally cleave unto the dust, earnestly
entreating that according to his word he
would quicken them, and give to us that
celestial touch which would rouse and refine
them. When the apostle speaks of him-
self and his brethren, as breathing after the
glories of the heavenly state, he adds. He
who has wrought us to the selfsame thing is
God^. Let us earnestly pray that God'2Cor. v.
would work us up to it : that he would
pour light on our understandings, tender-
ness on our hearts ; and would form us to a
growing meetness to be made partakers of
this inheritance among the saints in light
and glory,

5. By the cultivation of those graces which
are suitable to this state, and the blessings
of it. On this head, suffer the word of ex-
hortation. Keep yourselves in the love of
God. Endeavour to converse with him
daily by prayer. Be not easy unless you
have found him in your closets, in your
families, in the house of God. Labour to

78 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. live in continual converse with him, and
^^^^J^^ you will have the livelier notion of what
heaven is. Study the knowledge of Christ,
for through him you may know heaven.
Lift up your believing eyes to him, renew
your covenant of grace with him, and the
actings of faith upon him, as your Lord and
your Saviour, every day. Study to improve
in all the branches of a holy fear ; and to
improve in love to all the saints. You will
then be fit for a portion among them ; and
your converse with them will assist you in
conceiving of the pleasures of that perfect
converse that there awaits you. In a word,
grace in the heart is in its degree heaven
upon earth, and the more the one is culti-
vated the more is the other enjoyed.

VL I have left myself but little time for
the application of these things, which will
divide itself into two branches.

1. I am to apply myself to those who are
still in darkness, and without hope. But
am I speaking to any such ? You have all
your light, and 3^ou have all your hope : but,
alas ! with regard to some, the light arises

OF OUR CALLING. 79

from sparks which yourselves have kindled, serm.
It is the hope of the hypocrite that will fail v^--^^
when God takes away his soul. I appeal to
your consciences this day. Are there not
such among you who are almost entirely
unconcerned about another world, about this
rich and glorious inheritance, who hardly
feel a desire after it, or if any, only such a
one as condemns you: for you are condemned
by this desire, since it does not stir you up
to a suitable pursuit. It is the inheritance
of the saints. And are you saints ? Have
you a temper and conduct that would bear
any thing like that denomination ? You
God^s holy ones ? You know the contrary.
You know the power of sin and Satan over
your hearts. You know, therefore, that you
have no part and lot in this matter. No part
in the kingdom of Christ and of God, as the
apostle himself declares ^. Let me ask you " i Cor. vi.
seriously but these two questions : Is it not a
sad state which you are now in ? and will you
not shortly be in one which is much worse ?
Is not your present darkness deplorable ?
You would think it a sad thing if the sight
of your eyes were lost : and it would be so.

80 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. And if others saw a beautiful prospect, or a

v^ ^^ magnificent building, and seemed delighted

with the view, whilst you, though with them,
w^ere in a midnight gloom, it would grieve
you no doubt, and it justly might. But
you are in the midst of the people of God
who see the beauty of Christ, who see by
faith the glory of heaven, and yet you feel
nothing of this. Miserable creatures ! though
you had those gay vanities, which now sur-
round 3'ou, to gaze upon for ever. But will
that be the case ? Are you not in the way
to eternal darkness ? The saints of God are
to enter upon an inheritance. But what
must you expect? You who have lived with-
out God in the worlds you who have wasted
your Lord's goods? Tahe that unprofitable
servant^ and cast him into outer darkness;
there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnash-
T Matt.xiii. /?? o- of teeth^ . Yet there the eyes of your
understanding, though in a dreadful sense,
will be enlightened. Then you will see
something of the hope of the Christ'ym call-
ing ; that hope to which you were once
externally called. But, good God ! m ith
what horror and despair you will see the

OF OUR CALLING. 81

rich glories of the inheritance of the saints, serm.
to make you more sensible of your own v.,^^^
wretchedness for ever. This, therefore, is
spoken of as the occasion of the grief
and horror of the damned. Ye shall see
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom
of heaven, and yourselves shut out^. Remem-'Lukexiii.
ber it, ye children of religious parents, who
despise this heavenly inheritance. You shall
be shut out. I testify to you this day, I
speak it with horror, that I believe this will be
the lot of several among you. You have sat
so long unconverted, unimpressed under the
means of grace, that I cannot but fear that
you will perish for ever. I have very little
hopes from any thing which I can say to
you. I pray that God may open your blind
eyes, and that he may not only show you
hell to awaken you, but heaven to enliven
you, and Christ to lead you thither, and to
form you for it.

2. I would address myself to those who
have received this Divine illumination. Be
thankful for the light which you have already
received, and humbly wait and long for
more. I would exhort you to be thankful

VOL. III. G

III.

82 OF KNOWING THE HOPE

SERM. for that light which you have ah'eady received.
Consider, I beseech you, how many there are
who remain in utter uncertainty as to a future
state; or, who build their notions and their
expectations on false teachers, and wild en-
thusiastic dreams, as, you know, to be par-
ticularly the case of the Mahometans, and
many of the Indians. And how many even
in Christian countries have very little thought
and concern about an interest in this hap-
piness. You may then bless the Lord who
has given you lights and has caused it to
shine upon your hearts. Let 3^our souls, on
this account, magnify the Lord. Once you
were yourselves darkness, he very thankful you
are now light in him ; and earnestly pray
that the light may be more strong. Con-
sider what I have been saying on this day,
as an engagement to you to make it now
your frequent errand to the throne of grace.
But especially long for the fuller discoveries
of the future state. Light is sown for the
righteous, and gladness for the upright in
heart; and the blessed harvest will at length
come. Let us rejoice in the hope ; and,
whilst we are waiting for God's salvation.

OF OUR CALLING. 83

make it your humble care to do his com- serm.
mands. Whilst that salvation is delayed, v,^.^
let us be looking for that blessed hope; and
let us employ all opportunities of improving
our acquaintance with it, and of preparing
ourselves for it. Such an opportunity is now
offering. Let us then approach the Lord^s
table at this time, as those who apprehend
themselves to be the children of God through
faith in Christ, and who come to receive their
Father's bread now, in token that they hope,
at length, to be admitted to the full inherit-
ance of his children.

G 2

84 THE REFUGE OF

SERMON IV.

THE REFUGE OF GOd's CHILDRETs^.

Proverbs, xiv. 26.

In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, and his children
have a place of refuge.

SERM. Sublime indeed is that triumph of the
v^-v^ Psalmist, God is our refuge and strength,
' Ps. xivi. &c. ^, but not more subUme than rational.
' ' Elevated as the transport is, the words are
those of truth and soberness: and they ex-
press so noble and so happy a temper, that
I would fain, by the Divine blessing, be the
means of establishing it in your souls. In
this precarious world, while we sail on this
stormy ocean, I would fain establish your
hearts in an humble and well-grounded confi-
dence in that God whom the winds and waves
obey. I have, therefore, chosen these words
of Solomon, in which, if I understand them
rightly, he speaks of good men as the chil-

god's children. 85

dren of God, and of their happiness under serm.
that relation. I say he speaks of good men v^,^^,,^
as the children of God. I know some have
interpreted the words, as if the meaning
were, the children of those that fear God,
have a place of r^effge, as if intended to
express that the Divine goodness extended
itself even to the children of godly parents.
It does so in some measure, but not always,
and without exception. David knew the
contrary, and solemnly forewarned Solomon
of it, in words which one would hope that he
could never forget. If thou seek him, he will
be found of thee : but if thou forsake him, he
will cast thee off for ever^. If, indeed, the'ichron.
words were to be interpreted so, they would
establish my main purpose : for if the chil-
dren of pious parents have a place of refuge
in God, much more evidently have the pious
parents themselves. But I think it most
reasonable to believe that the words of the
text refer to good men as the children of
God. His children, i. e. those that fear him:
for such is the infinite condescension of God
to those under this relation. Very clearly
indeed is it spoken of in the New Testa-

86 THE REFUGE OF

SEiiM. ment, especially in those ever memorable

IV

K^^^^ words, I will be a Father unto you., and ye
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord

^ 2 Cor. \\. Almighty^. And this is the most grammati-
cal sense of the words, his children, i. e. the
children of the Lord. And let it not be
wondered that Solomon expresses himself
in such language, since it was typically said
of him, though with an ultimate reference
to him who is the new born among his bre-
thren, I will be his Father, and he shall be

1 2 Sam. 7ny so?i *. This then is the plain doctrine
which the words exhibit, and not merely a
consequence, how properly soever drawn
from them. It is the delightful inscription
which they wear upon their front, and, oh !
that we might wear it upon our hearts, the
children of God shall have a place of refuge.
And should this need to be proved ? Can
any thing in the world be more evident,
even at the first hearing, than that if there
are any so happy as to be the children of
God, they are in a very secure and blessed
Mate ? Is it not evident enough, that if God
be for us, none can he against us? What can
there possibly be to fear if the eternal God

IV.

god's children. 87

he our refuge, and underneath us be the ever- serm.
lasting arms, which the relation of a Father
plainly encourages us to hope? But how
little need soever there is of proving it to
the understanding, still there may be need
of proving it to the heart; and that is what
I shall now attempt to do. The children of
God have not always that confidence and
that joy in him which they ought to have.
Their faith often fails them. They think
and act beneath their character. I would,
therefore, for their consolation, and for the
instruction of others too, who may not be
sufficiently sensible of it, a little illustrate
this point. And I pray God to enable me
to do it with a becoming spirit, and to give
you to receive these great truths with suit-
able regard, that you may all belong to the
blessed number of God's children, and may
all be excited to seek him, through whom
we receive the adoption. I will then endea-
vour,

I. To show you how certain it is that they,
who are so happy as to be the children of
God, shall have a place of refuge in him.

II. To apply the thought to several parti-
cular exigencies and distresses to which they

88 THE REFUGE OF

SERM. may be obnoxious, and in which it will be
K^^^-J.^^ particularly comfortable and suitable for them
to recollect it.

III. To draw some inferences, which will
naturally arise from this survey, and may,
by the Divine blessing, be subservient to
your edification.

I. To show you that they who are so happy
as to be the children of God, shall have a
place of 7'efifge in him ; and this universally,
in all the difficulties that can possibly be
supposed to arise. I might prove it from a
multitude of scriptures, which speak of it in
the strongest terms. The name of the Lord
is a strong tower, the righteous run into it
» Prov. (i. e. upon every emergency) and are safe ^.
He that dwells in the secret place of the Most
High, shall be safe under the shadow of the

«ps. xci. Almighty^. They shall be as Mount Zion
that cannot be removed, but abideth for ever,

7 Ts. cxxv. &c '^ . But if you consider w hat and who
the blessed God is, you may draw a certain
consequence from a survey of his infinite
perfections, which Mill demonstrate the jus-
tice of this assertion ; and might thus lead us
into the same reflections, even if we had

GOD^S CHILDREN. 89

never met with them in our bibles : thoiisrh serm.

IV

it would have been strange indeed, if we ^^-v^
had not met with them there. Let me
then apply to your own consciences, for to
those I labour to bring the proof, whether
his eye cannot discern them ; his hand help
them ; and his mercy pity them ?

1. Is there a circumstance of difficulty
and distress in which the eye of God cannot
discern his children ? There are circum-
stances, indeed, in which the eye of the
most watchful earthly parent cannot reach
his child. Absence often divides them ; land
and seas sometimes separate them ; so that
the aft'ectionate parent, instead of knowing
every danger that threatens his child, knows
not certainly whether he has a child or not.
And even when your children are nearest to
you ; when in their helpless infancy, you
lodge them in the very same apartment with
yourselves, yet there are moments in which
you must give your eyelids to sleep, moments
in which a mother' must forget her sucking
child, how tender soever be her compassion
to the son of her womb. But as he that
keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, can
his eye be sealed up ? Can he forget, I will

90 THE REFUGE OF

SERM. not say any of his children^ but any of his
K^^^-^^ creatures ? We cannot think so meanly of
his universal providence. We cannot sup-
pose one of them is forgotten : no, the eyes
*Ps.xxxiv. of the Lord are upon the righteous ^ ; ever
fixed upon them, never turned a^ay for a
single moment. But I would add,

2. Is there an exigency in which his hand
cannot help them ? Alas ! the eye of an
earthly parent is no preservative at all to
his children. They may perish in his sight ;
yea, Mere he a prince the sad circumstance
might happen, in which he might be a
helpless spectator of the destruction of his
beloved offspring. You read it of Zedekiah,
and methinks it pierces one's heart to read
it. Thei/ took the king and brought him to
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah :
And they gave judgment upon hitn, and
they slen: the sons of Zedekiah before his
eyes, and they put out the eyes of Zedekiah,
and bound him ziith fetters of brass, and car-
^ 2 Kmgs ried him to Babylon'. O miserable cala-
mity ! O savage cruelty ! that the last object
the eyes of a father should behold, should
be the slaughter of his children ; and then
to seal the idea, as it were, upon the mind

god's children. 91

for ever, that the sight of no new object serm.

might divert it, his eyes should be put out, v ^^

and the needless inhuman load of fetters
added to him whom blindness had made a
prisoner, and bound with inextricable chains.
But can the children of an Almighty God
be slain before his eyes, and he want power
to rescue and deliver them ? Observe, I be-
seech you, with what a sublime conscious-
ness of that omnipotence the blessed God
speaks to that haughty prince Pharaoh ! Tlius
saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-
born. Let my son go, or I xdll slay thy son,
even thy first-born^. He speaks, and it is'FAod. iv.
done. He can command, if such were his
pleasure, more than twelve legions of angels.
Yea, his own right hand, and Almighty arm
shall get him the victory. Is any thing too
hard for the Lord ? No ; but the question
may seem to lie another way: Shall Omni-
potence be exerted for a worm ? for a sinful
worm ? Instead of being secured, it deserves
to be crushed. But here let me ask once
more,

3. If they are his children, shall not his
mercy pity them and secure them ? Does
not the name of Father speak compassion ?

22, 23.

92 THR REFUGE OF

SERM. It is in reference to this compassion that the

\^^^~J^^^ name is taken ; and the bowels of human
parents are referred to, to express that graci-
ous wilHngness to help which there is in him.

».Ps. ciii. As a father pities his children^. To all that
infirmity of compassion which we feel, that
pains us, that sometimes confounds us, that
sometimes indeed strengthens, and some-
times disarms the power of nature, he is
a stranger : but there is in him as real a
disposition to help, as if all that, and more
than that were literally felt. Therefore it is

Msa.ixiii. said, in all their afflictions he was afflicted^;
and he that touches yon, touches the apple of

* Zech. ii. mine eye '^. Oh, sirs ! can it indeed be ima-

ft •

gined that this was not intended in this
condescension which taught him to assume
such a name ? Yea, so it is that, with a
stoop of mercy never to be sufficiently ad-
mired, God is pleased to represent his affec-
tion to his people by the tenderness of birds
to their helpless brood. As an eagle hovers
over her young, and bears it on her wings,
'Dcut, &c^. And once more. He shall cover thee
n, 12. ^^^^* ^^^^ feathers, and under his wings shalt
*ps. xci. thou trust ^. We will then labour this point
no further. It is enough ; it is more than

IV.

god's children. 93

enough. It is proved to our understanding ; serm.
it is proved to our heart : there is no exi-
gency and extremity in which the eye of
God cannot discern his children ; in which
his hand cannot help them ; in which his
heart will not pity them.

II. Let us apply the thought to several
particular exigencies and distresses, to which
the children of God may be obnoxious, and
in which it will be peculiarly comfortable
and suitable for them to recollect this truth.
His children shall have a place of refuge,
when friends forsake them, when enemies
insult them, when necessity presses them,
when bodily disorders attack them, and when
death seems most entirely to triumph over
them.

1. His children have a place of refuge
when friends forsake them. The possession
of our friends too often makes us forget God ;
and happy is it when the loss of them, how-
ever we may lose them, leads us to the re-
membrance of him. I would not myself enter-
tain, nor would I suggest to others ungener-
ous suspicions with respect to those friends
who have hitherto approved their fidelity;

IV.

94 THE REFUGE OF

SERM. nor even with regard to those who have not
, disapproved it, how weak soever the proofs
may thus far have been : nor would I have
you in your own minds fix upon particular
persons : but a very supposable thing it is,
in general, that friends may prove incon-
stant. Some of them perhaps, though they
may not know it, are but loving themselves
while they profess to love us, and find those
conveniencies in a commerce with us, which
if they did not, the commerce would soon
be broken. And some, though a brother be
born for adversity, will quit us as soon as
any extraordinary affliction comes upon us :
like those brethren of Job, that dealt so
deceitfully with him, like a brook, and passed
away as the streams of the brook ; which when
it waxes warm vanish, and when it is hot, are
7 Job vi. consumed out of their place"^ . The broken reed
not only fails, but goes into the hand, and
pierces it, in proportion to the stress that was
laid upon it. But if we are so happy as to
find those who shall be, what so many in-
considerately perhaps, if not treacherously
profess a purpose of being, faithful until the
death, there the bond must be broken. And
how desirous soever they might be to live, or

15, kc.

god's children. 95

to make our lives more comfortable, and not serm.
only to enjoy but to serve us, death will ^^ J^
dissolve the union, and that quickly. My
dearest friends, you are mortal comforts, and
if I live a few years longer I must stand
before many of your dying beds, I must
convey you to the tomb ; and all the benefit
I received from your love, from your coun-
sel, from your prayers will be gone. The
thought cuts to the heart ; but God's chil-
dren have a place of refuge. To him they
may look when friends are unkind and un-
faithful. My friends^ says Job, scorn me,
hut mine eye pours out tears to God ^. And ^ Job xvi.
sometimes in such a circumstance they are
tears of joy. You shall, says our Lord, he
scattered and leave me alone; hut I am not
alone, tny Father is with me^. When father^ John wi.
and mother, says David, forsake me, then the
Tuord will take me up^ : will manifest his ' Ps. xxvU.
kindness to me. O my God, thy paternal
love is the balm of my heart, which will heal
all those painful wounds ! Separated from
the dearest of thy creatures, I will, by thy
grace, attach myself more closely to thee.
I will think of thee more ; I will pour out
my soul before thee with greater freedom

96 ^ THE REFUGE OF

SERM. and enlargement; and instead of saying,
^^ Where shall I find other reeds to support me?
I will rest on the Rock of ages. Thy coun-
sels shall guide me ; thy love shall entertain
me ; the light of thy countenance shall cheer
me. Thou art an immortal, thou art an in-
separable friend. My dear friends, I feel
your loss, but none of you all could be in
the place of my Father ; and he lives, and
will be my rock ; and let the God of my
salvation be exalted.

2. God's children shall have a place of re-
fuge when their enemies insult them. There
is not a case to which the thought is more
frequently applied in scripture. For the
Israel of God in all ages, even every one of
his faithful servants, have had their enemies.
But what says David as a specimen of the
rest, The Lord is my light and my salvation,
whom shall I fear ? The Lord is the strength
Ts.w^u.of my soul, of whom shall I he afraid^? Be
they ever so many, ever so mighty, what
can they do? Can they revile me? It is
God that justifies : Who is he that condemns
me? No unworthy aspersions, no base in-
sinuations can hurt me with him. In due
time lie shall bring forth my righteousness as

GOD S CHILDREN. 97

the light: in the meantime thou ^halt hide serm.
thy children in the secret of thy presence from v^^3^
the pride of man : thou shalt keep them secretly^
as in a pavilion, from the strife of tongues ^. 3 ps. xxxi
Do they assail by fury ? Be it ever so ex- ^°'
treme, the wrath of man, O Lord ! shall praise
thee, and the remainder of wrath thou shalt
restrain"^. Be the wrath more than human ; 4p.sjxxvi
let the spirits of darkness arise as they will, '^'
and make their attack upon God*s children,
he zc'ill deliver his darlings from the power of
the dog, of the roaring lion, of the hissing
serpent. The God of peace shall bruise
Satan under their feet. The malice and sub-
tilty of the fallen angels shall not be able
to destroy that feeble man whom God is
pleased to number among his children, let
their legions be ever so numerous: more is
that one God that is with us, than all those
that are against as.

3. His children have a place of refuge
when poverty and necessity press them.
It may very probably happen: for so it is
that God has chosen the poor of this world,
rich in faith ; and when they are richest in
faith, their poverty in this world continues.
Through all ages Christ is hungry, and

VOL. III. H

IV.

9B THE REFUGE OF

SERM. thirsty^ and naked., and a stranger, and s^ick,
and in prison. Some of them are originally
poor, and never know any thing but a
laborious and necessitous life : others of
them are made poor by Providence, that
strips them of their plentiful subsistence in
more advanced life, when they- have other
burthens enough, and more than enough.
Yet here is their place of refuge. Though
sometimes (and that is a very shameful
thing) their brethren may neglect them,
and while they drink their wine in bowls,
and stretch themselves on couches of ease
and of luxury, may forget the affliction of
Joseph, the God of Israel, their heavenly
Father, will not forget them; and he can
never be at a loss for methods of supply.
They may go to him, and boldly and cheer-
fully ask from him their daily bread. All
the beasts of the forest ore his ; the earth
and the fulness thereof And they may go
and say. Lord, hast not thou said, that
though the young lions lack and suffer hunger,
they that fear thee shall not want any good
thing? I ask not great and delicate things;
but I ask the necessary supports of life,
for myself and those whom thou hast given

god's children. 99

to me, from thee who feedest the young ravens serm.
when they cry ; from thee to whom the young ^^.-.^..i^y
lions roar and seek their meat. Exert thine
arm, O Lord, and having brought me to
the wilderness, do thou here furnish out a table
for me. Let faith say it, and Providence
will do it, and do it in a manner that
shall appear marvellous, and, in proportion
to the degree in v/hich it is so, delightful: a
suitableness of supply, arising the Christian
knows hardly from whence, but perhaps
from a quarter from whence he had least
expectation; the earth opening, as it were,
not to swallow up but to help him. Believe
the Lord, and you shall be established ;
believe his prophet, and you shall prosper.
It is one word (let faith receive and apply
it). Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt
thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt
befed^. If ye, being evil, know how to give 'Fs.xxxvH
good gifts unto your children, how much more
shall your heavenly Father give good things
to them that ask him^? ^ '^Mati.vii.

4. God's children have a place of refuge
when pain and disease seize them. Methinks
that there is a sense in which a man's enemies
are, in the most terrible sense, those of

H 2

100 THE REFUGE OF

SERM. his own house. When he is attacked with
K^^^^J^^^ distempers, which not only make a short
incursion upon him, but come, as it were,
and fix their garrison within; distempers
of such a nature that, humanly speaking,
they admit no cure but death, and phy-
sicians are, in respect to them, of no value.
Even here the consolation shall take place
if they seek to the Lord. He can cure
if he pleases. Speak thou the word, and tliy
fiervant shall he healed. He can abate the
violence of the evil : he can, even while it
continues, support under it. How powerful
and how sweet are those words ! and I
hope you will remember that they contain a
promise made to charitable and compas-
sionate persons. The Lord shall strengthen
ips.xVus.hhn on a bed of languishing^ : thou shah make
all his bed in his sickness. Child of God !
have you not found that place of refuge ?
Have you not felt your soul calm about
you in the midst of all your agonies, when
you have thought, " Well, but this is the
hand of my Father, and his correction is
wise and gracious correction; for zchoni the
Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every
^\\vh.\\\.son whom lie receives^. And have you not

god's children. 101

known by experience the blessedness of that serm.
man whom, while he chastens, he teaches v,,^-^^
out of his law, and feeds, as it were, with
his promise ? Have you never known the
time when you might not be allowed to
speak to a friend for fear of increasing your
disorder? and the windows have been shut,
and the curtains have been drawn around
you, to keep out, as it were, every beam
of light ? And to you there has arisen
light in that darkness, and God has made
you to hear his voice, to hear joy and glad-
ness. Heavenly Father ! we bless thee in
the remembrance of thy goodness : we have
found shelter in it, and if we prefer health
to a sickness thus supported, it is chiefly on
account of the opportunities it may give us
of paying our vows to thee, and exerting the
vigour of nature in thy pleasant services.

5. God's children have a place of' refuge
when death seems most entirely to triumph
over them. IVhen I am weak, says the
apostle, then am I strong^. When weakests^Cur.xii.
is the believer strongest of all. Whatever
supports God's children may have under
the disorders of nature, they seem at least
to sink amidst them all. Death hunts, as

102 THE REFUGE OF

SERM. it were, for the precious life: it pursues it

IV. . ,

^-^^ from one retreat to another, till at length

it drives it out from the last. The labouring

heart ceases its struggling motion, and the

soul flies out in a dying groan. But AviU

you say that this child of God who lies

expiring, who lies breathless before you,

has no place of refuge ? How grievously

would you then offend against the generation

of God's people, and against their great

Father? Have you then never heard of

any of them that said. My fiesh and my

heart fails, &c. though I walk through the

dark valley. O death, where is thy sting ? &c.

And when did they say this? Did they say

it only when they were in full health and

ease, and death seemed so far that he

appeared like a puny enemy, hardly to be

discerned ? Have you never heard of those

who said it in the last hours of life and

on their dying bed ? If you have not heard

of it, I have seen it, and to many of you I

have declared it with joy. When the victory

of death and the grave have seemed to

have been complete over our dear brethren

and sisters that sleep in Jesus, they found

a refuge when they were dying, and rejoiced

god's children. 103

in it with a magnanimity which would have serm.
made us envy them their death, if we could v^!^
have envied them any thing. And does
this refuge fail them now they are dead ?
What say you, sirs, what think you of the
God of Abraham^ the God of Isaac, the
God of Jacob ? is he the God of the dead ?
a God that has suffered them for ever to
perish, and blanked with final and ever-
lasting disappointment the heart that in
its last labouring moments was full of con-
fidence in him, and launched boldly and
joyfully into an unknown eternity, as trusting
in his omnipotent arm ? Has that arm
deserted him? Is this grave, in which their
bodies are mouldering down to undistin-
guished dust, their only place of refuge?
Is that a question for a Christian ? Witness
the contrary, ye angels of God! that have
Avaited, as it were, with a kind impatience
the last languor of slow dissolving nature,
that you might bear them upward on your
friendly pinions. Witness, thou heavenly
Jerusalem ! thou city of our God above !
thou palace of our heavenly Father! in
which there are so many mansions replen-
ished with millions. Testify thou that his

21.

104 THE REFUGE OF

SEiiM. children, his deceased children have found

IV

.^^^^ a place of refuge. May not the phrase,
expressive as it is, seem injurious? a place
of joy, a place of triumph. Where the
Lord God appointed sahation itself /or walls
and for hdwarks ; that quiet habitation
where the glorious Lord himself is with his

' ha. xxui people'^ ; a place of broad rivers and streams;
not only to guard against every invasion,
but to deluge their souls with everlasting-
delight: and where from the day of their
entrance, through all the endless ages of
eternity, they will be witness only to one
scene of terror; and, amidst all that is in
itself dreadful in it, shall lift up their heads
with joy on the completion of their redemp-
tion: even that day when he will lead forth
all his children in one triumph, that is well
clothed widi new robes, to grace the final
triumph of him who is the first-born among
numy brethren^ and through whom he gives
them the victory over the last of enemies
that shall then be destroyed,

III. In the improvement of these things
let us,

1. Learn with all grateful humility to

god's children. ' 105

adore the grace of him who condescends serm.
to set us among his children. For, blessed v^^,!^/
be his name, such privileges are ours if we
are truly believers, as it is expressly said
we are all the children of God through faith
in Christ Jesus. Let us never forget that
it is by him we have received the adoption;
that by him we are admitted to this place
of refuge. As the apostle, who thought
so justly on this head cries out, n'e joy in
God through Jesus Christ^; by whom also ^ Rom. iv.
we have received the reconciliation. Never
otherwise had we been reconciled to God,
and oh! if we had not been reconciled,
where had been our place of refuge ? God
indeed can shelter us from every enemy
and danger : but what on earth or in heaven
could have screened us from an unreconciled
God?

2. Let me solemnly call on you all this day
to seek this place of refuge. Have you all
sought it ? Do your consciences bear witness
for you that you have, and that you are
indeed entered into it ? It is well if it l)e
so ; but if not, O ! consider what need you
w ill have of it. Ye feeble children of men !

106 THE REFUGE OF

SERM. hearken to the invitation of coming to put
.^-v-^ your trust under the shadow of God's zcings.
Seek, I beseech you, his paternal love. O
think of the terrible storm which is rising.
Whither, whither will you fly ? To have your
hearts sink under the loss of friends, under
the severity of enemies, under worldly trou-
bles and disappointments, under broken con-
stitutions, under pained limbs; all these things
are comparatively little, and I now call them
to your mind only to say that they are so.
But the dying hour, that pressing assault
of the last of enemies, what will you do if
you have then no place of refuge ? Methinks
I see your wild astonishment and affright.
And what shall I say ? I fear lest then that
you should have no comforter Alas ! I fear
even your comforters themselves. I fear
lest the desire of giving you some immediate
relief should lead surviving friends to an
ill judged compassion, to speak a peace
which God does not speak. I fear lest you
should then take it for granted, though in
express contradiction to his Mord, that it
is impossible you should call and he should
not answer^ that you should seek him and not

god's children. 107

find Mm. I fear lest you should die with an serm.
ill grounded hope, and wake in an everlasting v^,^^^
despair. But, oh ! remember that they called^
and there was none to save, even to the Lord,
and he answered them not. In that day when
God will spare his people as a man spares
his son that serves him, there will he wrath
that shall hum like an oven: and all the proud,
and all that do wickedly, shall he as stubble:
the day that comes shall burn them up, says the
Lord, and shall leave them neither root nor
branch^. ^Mai.iv.i.

3. Let me entreat the children of God that
they would trust in this refuge, and not shame
it by dishonourable fears and suspicions. The
Lord, says Isaiah, is my salvation; I will trust,

and will not be afraid^. Enlarge your faith : ^isa. xii.
guard against those unbelieving fears which
the enemy may suggest; and, oh ! weigh
those remarkable words, I, the Lord thy God,
will hold thy right hand^. Sec. Oh ! may you * isa. xii.
so know God's name as to put your trust in
him, for he has not forsaken, and he will not
forsake them that seek him.

4. Let this engage religious parents to take
the greatest care to secure the Divine protec-
tion to their children as well as to themselves.

108 THE REFUGE OF

Nature leaches us to be solicitous for tliem,
and I have known some parents who \vd\e
been hardly able to support their solicitude,
under the ignorance of what their children
would do when tliei/ were dead. It has
sometimes been felt, when God has ap-
pointed that the children should go first, and
so proved the vanity of their care. But in
one connexion it is to be commended. Now
common prudence will teach us to wish to
secure the friendship of persons who, when
we are dead, may show kindness to those
whom we leave behind us. How much more
is it our wisdom to endeavour to secure to
our children this place of refuge, in the know-
ledge of the Lord God of dieir fathers! Hear,
therefore, ye parents ! hear and consider.
Amidst all your cares to feed and clothe your
children, and to lay up something for their
future subsistence, oh ! bring them to God :
instruct them in the knowledge of him ; en-
deavour to convince them of their concern in
him : urge them to seek his favour ; and j)re-
sent them daily before him for his blessing.
Communicate freely to them your own ex-
perience : tell them where you have found
rest for your souls amidst all the tossing of

JV.

GODS CHILDREN. 109

this frail vessel in which you are embarked, serm.
Testify to them the goodness of God to you ;
express your cheerful confidence in him ; and
let them see that the tenderest wish of your
love for them is that they may be the objects
of his. To conclude, be often addressino;
them, as I now desire to address all the young-
ones who hear me this day, in the words ot
David : Come^ ye children, hearken wito ?ne,
and I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who
is there of yon that desires life, Sec. The eyes
of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his
ears are open to their cry ; but the face of the
Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the
remembrance of them from the earth^: and, ''Ps.xxxiv
therefore, the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom ; and a good understanding have
they, and only they, who keep his command-
ments^, and through Christ seek his salvation. ' Psa

11— ir.

CM.

Amen.

10.

110 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERMON V.

OF THE rOLLY OF LAYING UP EARTHLY
TREASURE IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD.

Luke, xii. 21.

So is he who laycth up treasure for himself, and is not rich
towards God.

SERM. The Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven to
v^^,!^ earth, to raise us from earth to heaven ; and
it is the first part of that salvation to raise
our souls thither, while our bodies dwell here
below : to engage us to set our affections on
tilings above, and not on those which are here
'Coi.iii.2. on earth^; and to that purpose our Lord gives
a great many very admirable lessons, several
of which I shall have occasion to quote in
the progress of my discourse. The period of
w hich my text is a part contains a remarkable
instance to this purpose. The blessed Jesus
was called upon to decide a controversy which
arose betwixt two brothers, on the di\ ision of
their paternal estate (for it was then, as it too

IN THE NEGLECT OF COD. Ill

frequently now is, that the dearest relations serm.
were ready to quarrel with each other when ^^^X^
their secular interests seemed opposite) ; the
Lord prudently avoids interposing in the affair :
but he would not omit so fair an opportunity
of cautioning them against that excessive
love to the present world, which was the occa-
sion of those quarrels betwixt brethren. He
said unto them, Take heed, and beware of cove-
tousness : and he gives this very solid reason
for it, Because a mans life (i. e. the comfort
and happiness of it) does not consist in the
ahundance of the things that he possesseth.
He further enforces the caution by a remark-
able parable of a rich man, whose ground
brought forth after the most abundant man-
ner, so that he was in great care how to be-
stow his substance, and firmly concluded that
he had a stock enough for his support all the
remainder of life, and had nothing to do but
to consult his own ease and pleasure, and
give himself up to sensual indulgence : but
God surprised him in an awful manner, by
calling him out of the world a few moments
after, and in effect said. Thou fool, this night
thy soul shall be required of thee. Now such
(i. e. such a fool as I have been now describing)
is every man that lays up to himself treasure on

112 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. earth, and is not rich towards God. For the
,^,-.^,!^^ full explication and improvement of the
words, I will endeavour to show,

I. What it is to be rich towards God.

II. What is the opposite character of lay-
ing up treasures for ourselves when we are not
rich towards him; and,

III. I will endeavour to display the shame-
ful folly of such a conduct, and to show how
well it deserves so severe a censure. After
which,

IV. I will conclude with some serious ap-
plication.

And as I hope I can truly say, that God is
my witness, I choose this subject with the
most real compassion for those who forget
God in the midst of their worldly cares, and
with a hearty desire to do my utmost to re-
cover them out of the snare of the devil, so I
would humbly look up to God for his assist-
ance and blessing, that I may find my way to
your hearts, and that what I am now to say
may be as a nail Jiied in a sure place.

I. I am to show you very briefly what it is
to be rich towards God. Now I apprehend
that it takes in these four particulars.

1. To be rich towards God may signifv

IN THE NEGLECT OF CiOD. 113

being rich in his account or esteem, i. e. when serm.
he looks upon us as indeed so. We are sure v^^J^^/
that his judgment is according to truth : but
it is often extremely different from that of
men; and indeed for that very reason it is so,
because the minds of men are often trans-
ported with vain appearances, while the all-
penetrating eye of God alw ays sees things as
they really are. In this respect, what things
are highli/ esteemed amongst men are an aho-
mination to the eyes of the Lord^ ; for ?na n 'Uikcwi
looks at the outward appearance^ hut the Lord
knows the heart^. On this account, as he M Samuel
judges many foolish^ whom the world think
extremely wise, he judges some poor, who
seem to themselves and others to be rich.
So says the Incarnate Wisdom of God to the
church of Laodicea, Thou sayest I am ricJi,
and knowest not thou art poor a)id miserable*,* Rev. iii,

17.

Sec. : and, on the other hand, to the angel of
the church of Smyrna he says, I know thy
poverty (i. e. thy humility, thy sufferings, thy
abasement), ?/e^ thoti art rich^ (i. e. spiritually 'Rev. ii. 9.
and therefore truly so), rich in my eye, and
esteem, how poor soever thou mayest seem
to thyself, and to others about thee. Now
he may properly be said to be rich towards

YOL. III. I

114 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. God, whom God esteems and looks upon as

V J^ a rich and a happy creature ; and of such a

one we may add,

2. To be rich towards God may signify
being rich in an interest in the Divine fa^ our.
Critics observe that the particle sig sometimes
sio-nifies the same with sv, so to be rich towards
God may be the same as to be rich //? hwi ;
and this, undoubtedly, must be the highest
and noblest riches : those whom he blesses
are blessed indeed. Nor can we imagine any
thing greater and nobler than to be, as it
were, possessed of Him who is the Most High

^ Gen. \\v. God, and the Creator of heat'e7i and earth*^.
And, indeed, every soul that is made thus
happy is, by Divine grace, brought to a sense
of this, that the Divine favour is infinitely
desirable.- It is the very language of his
soul which the Psalmist uses : There he many
who say, JJ ho will show tis any good ? Lord,
lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon

' Ps. \v. 6. us'^. Whom have I in heaven hut thee? and
there is none upon earth whom I desire besides

"Ps.ixxiii. thee^. He seeks the face and favour of God
with the greatest earnestness : he attends with
the most dutiful reo^ards to those instructions
by M'hich he may be brought to an acquaint-

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 115

ance with him ; and he can truly say, with serm.
David, The law of thy mouth is better to me ^^^C^^
than thousands of gold and silver^ : and it is ' Psa. cxix.
of the highest importance to observe that he
seeks God's favour after his own appointed
way. When the gospel tells him that Christ
is the way, tlie truth, and the life, and that no
man comes to the father hut by him^, he con- 'John xiv.
siders him in this view : he looks upon Christ
as the pearl of great price ; and, like a wise
merchant, would be willing to sell all that
he has to buy it. He comes to God by him ;
comes as a poor, weak, indigent, guilty crea-
ture, not to purchase, but to beg the most
valuable favours : and when he is brought,
by Divine grace, to such a temper, there is
an everlasting covenant betwixt God and his
soul ; and the tenour of it is, I will be unto
thee a God, and thou shalt be unto me for one
of ?ny people. Such a person may be said to
be rich towards God, or nc/i m him.

3. To be rich towards God must include
to be rich in faith, and in all the fruits of
holiness. You know that each of these are
scripture phrases : God has chosen the poor of
this world, rich in faith^ : and those in more 'James ii.
plentiful circumstances are advised and

116 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. charged that they he rich in good works^ ;

v^^ j^^y for faith and good w^orks are indeed an in-

^^^'"'•^'* valuable treasure. Nor can any man be rich
in the sight of God, and rich in his favour,
when he continues destitute of thetn : for, as
the apostle expressly assures us, without faith
(i. e. a faith which works by love) it is impos-

-» Heb. xi. sible to phase God'^. On this account faith is
spoken of as more precious than gold, as
better than rubies. The man who in this
respect is rich towards God has, as the scrip-
ture elsewhere expresses it, a good treasure
within. A good man, out of the good treasure

^Man.xi\. of his heart, brings fo7'th good things^, not
only good words, but good actions ; and this
he does with a kind of actual freedom and
delight. He would be steadfast and iuiniove-
able, alzimjs abounding in the work of the

^ iCor. w.Lord^. I cannot forbear observing on this
occasion, that a readiness to acts of mercy
and charity is no inconsiderable part of the
temper before us. God is said to be ricli in
inercy ; and the good man, according to his
capacity, desires to imitate him ; to be merci-

"> Luke \\.fnl, as his Father in lieaven is mercifuV ; to
forgive those mIio have injured him ; to sup-
ply those who are in want : to comfort and

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 11?

animate those who are in sorrow. These are serm.
sacrifices idtli which God is well pleased ; and ,^'. — .
of the soul that is sohcitous with a holy
freedom and liberality to abide in these, it
may be added,

4. That he is rich in the glories of the
heavenly world, which are prepared for him;
and on this account he may be said to be
lich towards God. It is most certain that
there is no merit and • excellency in works
which we do for the sake of them : in them-
selves considered, they are not worthy of a
reward : whatever is bestowed is 7iot of debt,
but of grace. Nevertheless, we need not be
backward to use that manner of speaking
which we often find in scripture on this head,
where the sacred writer represents the hea-
venly world as a state and place in which
treasures are laid up for the children and
people of God, in proportion to their diligence
and zeal in his pursuit of God's service on
earth; so that Timothy is urged to charge
the rich to lay up for themselves in store a
good foundation for the time to come^ ; and^Tim.vi.
others, by Christ, to lay up treasures in hea-
ven^; to provide for themselves bags that wa iV ^ M^tt. xi.
not old ; or, as it is elsewhere expressed by

20.

118 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. being a treasure in heaven that fades not
\^^^^ ci^fiy^- Now a person entitled to this may
' Luke XII. })g said to be rich towards God^ i. e. to have
riches laid up with God in Christ ; as we
read, Ye are dead, and your life is hid with
'Coiuu 3. Christ in God^. And the Christian has this
in view : he prefers these riches to all others;
refers all actions in life to them : he consi-
ders himself as an immortal creature ; he is
concerned to secure immortal happiness; nay,
he is concerned to increase it day by day,
and to be continually doing something which
may, through grace, augment this stock.
Thus it is to he rich towards God, Will 3^ou
seriously examine your own souls, to judge
whether this be the case with you or not.
By the explication which I have given of
this, you will easily see what it is,

II. To lay up riches for ourselves, in the
neglect of these. And here I must premise
that the two clauses of the text are to be
taken in conjunction ; and that the thing
here forbidden carries in it a neglect of the
former ; otherwise laying up for our own use,
and laying up for the subsistence of a family,
is far from being a sin. If it be done in a

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 119

prudent, just, and moderate manner, it is serm.
rallier a necessary duty. We owe it to our- v^^^,^
selves ; we owe it to others ; w^e owe it to
society; we owe it to God: and we tempt
Providence if there be no concern about it.
The parents^ says the apostle, ought to lay up
for their children^: and he elsewhere observes, 'iCor. x.
that if any 7nan provide not for his own, especi-
ally those of his own house, he has denied the
faith, and is zmrse than an infidel'^ : he brings ^ 2 Cor.xii.
a greater dishonour upon Christianity, and so
he does more injury to it, than he could have
done, had he continued by profession a hea-
then. Keeping this thought in view, it will
be obvious to see what we are to understand
by laying up treasure for ourselves. It may
signify our referring our possessions entirely
to ourselves, and making worldly enjoyments
our great ahd governing care. These two do
always concur ; though they are such that
each of them deserves our notice.

1. They lay up treasures to themselves, who
refer their worldly possessions entirely to
themselves ; persons of a narrow and selfish
spirit, who have no higher end than their
own advantage, and their own satisfaction,
in what they do in the several relations and

120 OF LAYING UP PLARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. offices of life. I have observed how diffii-
.^^.,^^^ sively good the Christian is ; how readif to
iT\m. V. distribute, how wilUug to communicate^: and
it is a sign of a very degenerate, and indeed
a wicked mind, to be only concerned about
self ; and very provoking to God when we
look on those things as so ours, as if they
ought to be used without any regard to
others. Most justly is this reproved by the
prophet Hosea : Israel is an empty vine ; he
'Hos. X. 1. brings forth fruits to hunself^ : and therefore,
whatever their fruits are, they are hereby
tainted and spoiled. It is much the same if
there be nothing but a regard to xh^n families,
their children being a part of themselves. If
there be such a care to make them rich and
great as renders us insensible of the calamities
and afflictions of our neighbours, and unwill-
ing to relieve them : if it swall6\\ s up our
regard to God (whose glory we ought ulti-
mately to seek even in all those \'iews and
schemes which immediately relate to our-
selves), undoubtedly such fall under the
censure of the text, in its most plain and
direct form.

2. They lay up treasures to themselves, who
make it their main care to secure world Iv

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 121

enjovments. The Christian is indeed careful serm.
about these things; but, so far as he acts ac- ^^.-.^-^^
cording to his own principles, he keeps them
in their place. He seeks first the kingdojn of
God, and his righteousness^ , as of the greatest ^ Matt. vi.

33

importance ; and is solicitous to look to the
things unseen and eternal, rather than to
those which are seen ; so that, upon the
whole, his treasure is in heaven, and his heart
is there also. But the worldly man is one of
those wdiose portion is in this life, and who, in
the language of the apostle, minds earthlif
things^. He relishes and pursues these above "Phii. iii.
any thing else ; and this character is draw n
in the preceding w^ords, where the rich
man had been described as rejoicing in his
worldly possessions, and employing all his
thoughts about them, and using them in
sensual gratifications. So that you see, upon
the whole, that many fall under the censure
of the text who are not by any means per-
sons of infamous character in life. It is not
only the rich, who zoill go beyond and defraud
his brother, or the merchant, who has the
balance of deceit in his hands ; it is not only
the tradesman who will commend his com-
modities by known and deliberate lies, in

122 OF LAVING UP EARTHLY TRE.VSURE

SERM. order to rob his chapman within the protec-

V. .

_^-^I^_/ tion of the law ; it is not only the man who

grinds and oppresses the poor, and borrows
what he knows he cannot repay, or will not,
when he has it in the power of his hands ;
but the fair tradesman, the good neighbour,
that man who lives in the neglect of God and
the Lord Jesus Christ ; who sets his affections
merely on present enjoyments, who is uncon-
cerned about usefulness in this life, and hap-
piness in the next : he is the man who lays
up treasure to hitnself, and who is not rich
towards God. I now proceed,

III. To consider the great folly of persons
of such a character : and here I consider it
in comparison with the character of those
who are rich tow^ards God, even though we
should put them in the poorest circumstances
of life; and it will evidently appear that
I hey are much wiser, and much happier
than the most artful and sagacious of the
children of this world. The folly of the man
who lays up treasures to himself alone, in the
manner which I have now described, will
appear, if we consider that he cannot have
entire satisfaction in them while he possesses

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 123

them. He is surrounded with accidents, serm.
which may take them aw ay ; he will surely v^^-^X^
and speedily be removed from them ; and
he will have nothing in the other world but
treasures of wrath. Would to God that you
would seriously consider these things while I
dwell upon each for a few moments in my
discourse.

1. If you lay up treasures only to your-
selves, you can have no entire satisfaction in
them while you possess them. Solomon as-
serts it in the most express words : He who
loves silver shall not be satisfied zmth silver^ and
he who loves abundance^ with increase^. And'Eccies.v.
let me apply to your own experience, whe-
ther that does not confirm it. If you are
satisfied, why are you so eager and solicitous
to increase your store ? The rich man in the
text, indeed, seems to expect a great deal :
Sold, take thine ease, eat, drijik, and he merry.
Why, it is true that he might do all this.
But will eating, and drinking, and mirth,
and laughter satisfy a rational and immortal
spirit ? Are you, any of you, so sunk in flesh
and blood as to think of nothing higher than
these things? and if you do think of any
thing that is higher, can you think that riches

124 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

will obtain it? Justly does Job say of the
wicked man, In the fulness of his sufficiency

'Job XX. he shall be in straits^: and it is indeed so.
There is such an unsuitableness betwixt the
nature of a rational and immortal soul, and
the enjoyments of the present life, that a man
might as well satisfy his appetite with the
picture of food or the sound of music, as fill
his soul with such enjoyments as these. But
a Christian, who is rich towards God, finds a
delightful acquiescence of soul in him, and
says, in that beautiful manner which David
does, Jxeturn unto thy rest, O my soul! for

'Fa.cxxi.the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee^.

Having an interest in God, he knows that he

may open his mouth wide, and God will fill it;

that he may enlarge the desires of his soul to

-" Ps. ixxxi. Me iitmost^, and find more than enough in
10. . .

God to satLsfy them all. His rock is not as

your rock, we may venture to say, even now,
yourselves being to judge. But we will give
up this ; we will suppose your taste so much
degenerated, the nobler appetites and facul-
ties of the soul so laid asleep, that you could
take up with these things. Consider,

2. If you only lay up treasures for your-
selves, you are surroumled m itli ten thousand

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 125

accidents that may take them away. You serm.
know this better in many of its circumstances ^-^,Z^^
than I can particularly inform you. All of
you who are arrived to years of understanding
have lived long enough to see the justice
of Solomon^s remark, that riches make them-
sehes zi)ings and fly away^ as an eagle towards
heaven'*'. And do you not then see the justice '^Prov.
of his expostulation? TJ hy do you set your
eyes upon that which is not; upon that which
has so precarious an existence that it hardly
deserves to be called a being ? Our Lord
observes, that moth and rust corrupt these
treasures, and that thieves break through and
steal them^. You know that a robber, a few 'Matr. vi.
bad debts, a storm at sea, unseasonable wea-
ther, and especially a raging fire, may in a
very few days reduce the rich man so low as
to leave him hardly the necessary supports
of life. Most justly, therefore, are they by
the apostle called uncertain riches^, and by our ^i Tim. vi.

..17.

Lord the deceitful mammon^ : but the Christian ^Luke wi.
is possessed of true riches ; as his peace, so ^'
his wealth no man takes away. He is as
liable as others are to be stripped of all his
external possessions ; but God his chief trea-
sure dwells in his soul, and he must be sepa-

126 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. rated from himself before he can be separated

V.

v^^.^^ from his God. Were he to be reduced to
the circumstances of those glorious confes-
sors M'ho endured the spoiling of their goods.
he might be full of joy in this thought, that
he had in heaven a better and a more enduring

«Heb. X. substance^. Were he with them to wander in
sheepskins and goatskins, in dens and caves of
the earth, though he had iwthing, he would
he possessing all things; while he could add,
as the apostle there does, what shall separate
me from the love of God in Christ Jesus? But
once more, suppose any new method should
ever be found out of ensuring estates and
possessions, so that they should entirely be
out of danger, can life be ensured too? Which
leads me to observe,

3. That if these thinps should still be con-
tinned to you, you must surely and speedily
be removed from them by death. 1) hat man
is there who liveth and shall not see it? And
the Psalmist particularly observes, that those
who place the greatest confidence in these

'Ps.xiix. riches cannot deliver their brethren^, and
consequently they cannot deliver themselves
from the grave : the ransom of the life is pre-
cious and for ever ceases. Those who irain

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 12?

riches by unrighteous courses have pecuhar serm.
reason to expect and fear that God should v^-^^^^
cut them off by a speedy stroke, even in the
midst of their days ; as the prophet intimates,
He who gets riches, mid not hy light, shall
leave them in the midst of his days^ ; and then, ' jer. xvii,
to be sure, at his end he will appear a fool.
But if a man has gained them ever so ho-
nestly, as the rich man in the gospel did, it
is certain that he cannot hold them with any
security. If life in general be precarious, if
it be a vapour that appears for a little while
and then vanishes away, surely there cannot
be any security in those things which are
peculiar to it. Now it is most evident that
these worldly possessions must be left behind
us. We brought nothing into the world with us,
and we can carry nothing away^. And when 'i Tim. vi.
our soul is required, then, as the Jewish writer
expresses it, the life which was only lent shall
he demanded^". What are these thine-s then?'wisd.x«.
What can they do for their possessor in his
dying hour, but render his separation from
life so much the more painful? When with life
all these things are to be taken away, when
his pomp is to be brought to the grave, and the
sound of his viol, <^c. To erect a splendid tomb

128 OF LAYING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. is only to perpetuate the memory of the vanity
^^^^!^ of riches, and to tell the people, as long as
brick and marble can bear the impression,
that they left their helpless owner rotting
near such a place; and that, notwithstanding
all his distinguished circumstances, he zaas
^job brought dozen to desolation as in a momenf^.
Now, is there no conviction in this? It is
not so with him m ho is rich towards God, as
his treasures lie in the soul, and are deposited
in the invisible world. It is not in the power
of that stroke which robs him of the body,
and strips him of his external enjoyments, to
deprive him of this interior and intrinsic
wealth. But this will further be illustrated,
by adding,

4. If you lai/ up treasures onlif on earth,
nothing is to be expected in the other world
but treasures of wrath. You will be stripped,
as I observed under the former head, of your
worldly enjoyments, and so will the Christian :
but xihen these fail, he xcill he received into
everlasting habitations. If this tabernacle be
dissolved, he has a building of God, a house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
But what have you!* alas! you will then be
left naked and desolate: and justlv niav I

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 129

say, what will you do in the day of visita- serm.
tion, &c.? How melancholy for a soul to have k^^S-.^^
outlived all its happiness! But how much
more melancholy to be thrown into a state
of perpetual misery! For this is what you
must expect. God will make you know
another day, though you might lay up trea-
sures for yourselves, that they were not your
own. He will call j^ou to account for your
stewardship ; and oh ! M'hat account will you
give? Then it will be found that all, with which
you are entrusted, you have abused; and that
for all that you have abused God will visit your
souls ; and when you are condemned by him
for your sins, you will find your future suf-
ferings aggravated by past plenty. Oh ! that
thought will cut you to the soul. Sinner!
remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst
^ood things^ ; and in that respect the i^ust of'Lui.exvi,
t/oi/r silver and your gold will eat your flesh
with fire; and it shall be found that you have
nourished yourselves only to a day of slaughter^ . * james v.
Will you not then call with envy and rage
on the poorest and meanest Christian who
shall enter on his everlasting inheritance, and
be found possessed of an eternal kingdom ; a
treasure in the heavens that fadeth not away^

VOL. III. Iv

130 OF LAYING IP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. but will last as long as an immortal soul ?
^^J,^^ Give me leave to conclude with a few words
by way of reflection.

IV. For the application of these things.

1. How wretched is the condition of many
who think themselves the happiest in the
world. You see that the incarnate wisdom
of the world calls them fools. Judge of the
reason, judge not according to outward appear-
ance, hut judge rigliteous judgment. If they
are set in such slippery places, see, if there be
reason to envy them; see, if there be reason
to murmur and repine, because we want their
abundance. How would the Christian start
back from the thoughts of an exchange with
them.

2. How earnestly should sinners plead with
God for an interest in these better blessings.
May not some of you, upon a short recollec-
tion, see that you are in the number of these
unhappy creatures. Let me apply myself to
you. Oh that you would attend upon what
I say ! You have seen the fate of the wretched
creature in my text. Let me ask, what if it
should be your own? What if God should
this night take away your soul? Who would
transact yoiii' business, who would share your

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 131

possessions to-morrow? That's a little ques- serm.
tion — where would your souls be ? Whe7i the v^ . "-^_
spirit returns to God who gave it, when God
comes to call back that noble treasure which
he lodged in your breasts, and which you so
basely abused ! Go to thy gods, says Jehovah
to Israel, and let the?n save you. Go to your
riches, to your darling possessions, may God
say then, and let them save you. How could
you reach them? How could they help you?
Oh, sinner, rather go to God ! consider your
need of his favour : seek it through Christ.
You have other business : but let me tell you,
this is of all the most needful. That may be
neglected without ruin, this cannot. May
God give you grace to attend to it. Go
and plead with him as Jabez, Oh that thou
woiddest bless me indeed^ ! ' i chr.

3. How thankful should the Christian be
for those better riches. You see in some
measure how valuable they are. And to
what do you owe it? To your own superior
wisdom ? Surely you may see some destitute
of them, who for this world are, at least, as
wise as yourselves. If we cannot get wealth
even in temporal things, as Moses expressly
asserts, how much less here? What reason

IV. 10.

139 OF LAVING UP EARTHLY TREASURE

SERM. then is there to bless God w ho has driven you

V r \

K^^^S-'^ counsel ! You who are poor how thankful
should you be if you are rich in faith, seeing
that you are heirs of the kingdom, that God
has promised a little while and the scene will
change. Want and hardship will be turned
into everlasting pleasure and joy, and this
poor cottage into a shining throne. Are you
rich? What an instance of distino-uishins:
grace is it that you should be so for both
worlds ! Our Lord has said, that it is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom
of God; but he adds, it is not impossible with
» Matt. God^. Blessed be his name that you are, in

Mark x. this iustancc, miracles of his grace. Take

^ '^^' ... heed and beware of suffering; those worldly
i25. possessions to engross too much of your
thoughts and care, so as that you should
forget your celestial, your eternal birth.

4. How solicitous should we all be to in-
crease this better treasure, to lay up more
and more in heaven? Have we not all reason
for lamenting here? If we are the children
of light, must we not own that many of the
children of this workl are in their generation

M^iikexvi. wiser than we^? Let us humble ourselves

a.

IN THE NEGLECT OF GOD. 133

before God ; let us endeavour to quicken serm.
our pace. Permit me particularly to address .^-^.J^
the exhortation to you whom God has fa-
voured with abundance : make to yourselves
friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness:
use your worldly possessions so as that they
may in some measure promote your ever-
lasting inheritance. Timothy is in a pecu-
liar manner required to charge this on the
consciences of such persons; and permit me
to do it in his words, Charge them that are
rich in this world., that they he not hightninded,
nor trust in uncertain riches, but iw the living
God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy ^. ' i Tim.
May God, by the influences of his grace and
Spirit, make us all wise to salvation. May God
teach us to live above the world while we are
in it, and then, when we are to leave it, it w ill
be no unwelcome remove; but if this night
our souls should be required at our hands, we
may joyfully say. Welcome, death, welcome,
glory ! Amen.

134 OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERMON VI.

OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN FAITH AND
UNBELIEF IN THE GRACIOUS SOUL.

Mark, ix. 24.
Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

SERM. The words are part of a very moving slo'ry,
.^^^ which I doubt not that you well know. A poor
affectionate father brought to the disciples of
Christ a child possessed with a devil exceed-
ingly fierce. The disciples had been used to
work cures of this kind : but to humble them,
to exercise the faith of the parent, and to
display the superior power of Christ, God
permitted this evil spirit to oppose them, and
to maintain its ground against them ; a dread-
ful stroke, no doubt, to the poor father to
see, that when others were cured, his dear
child was still under the power of the enemy,
who, perhaps, raged more fiercely for this in-
effectual opposition ; till, at length, Christ ap-

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 135

pears, and finds the child in actual conv ulsions, serm.
tearing and foaming, the father weeping and .^^-^^
trembling. He represented the sad case of
his son, who had even from his very infancy
been thus tormented ; and then he adds. If
thou canst do any things have compassion upon
tis and help us ; if this be not a case beyond
thy power, oh ! employ thy power here. He
probably conceived of Christ only as a great
prophet, and did not know but that there
might be some case which exceeded even this
extraordinary power which God had commu-
nicated to him. Our Lord answers, If thou
canst believe, all things are possible to him
that believeth: if thy son be not cured, the
reason will not be any incapacity in me,
but some remainder of unbelief in thee.
This struck the parent to the heart to think
it was possible that his own fault might pre-
vent the cure of his child: notwithstanding
this, the text tells us that the father of the
child cried out with tears in his eyes and
great earnestness in his countenance. Lord,
my soul is in a strange hurry and confusion
while I think who thou art, and what thou
hast done in former instances, and what thou

136 OF THE STKUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. now tellest me, I do believe; and yet I can

VI

.J^^ hardly tell thee so, before a cloud comes over

my mind: agam I look upon this poor spec-
tacle of horror and misery, and I begin to
doubt again. " Help thou, therefore, mij un-
belief', either by controlling the evil spirit,
or by thy secret and powerful operation on
m^^ heart to strengthen this little spark of
faith, which may else be put out by these
floods of sorrow, and suspicion, and tempta-
tion."

Christians ! I cannot but think that this is
a natural representation of what is sometimes
our case when we would be acting faith upon
the promises of the gospel, and casting our
brethren upon the Lord. I will, therefore,
in discoursing upon this subject,

I. Endeavour to enumerate some cases
when the Christian may particularly find
reason to cry out for help against unbelief.

II. I will show you what encouragement
he has to apply to Christ for this purpose :

III. Show you in ^^hat ways we may
humbly hope to have our prayers answered
and our unbelief helped : may this be one of
those ways, our diligent attendance to what

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 137

shall now be spoken, that we may every one serm.
of us find our faith confirmed, and the re- ^.^^J^
mainder of our unbelief subdued.

I. I am to enumerate some cases in which
the Christian may particularly find reason to
cry out for the remainder of his unbelief. I
need not now explain faith in the sense in
which we use it at present. It is a firm per-
suasion of the truth of the divine promises:
it is a resting upon them and embracing
them. It is such a conviction that the pro-
mises are the word of God, and shall be per-
formed, as puts a reality into them, and
encourages and strengthens the soul in the
midst of danger, and fears, and sorrows.
But it is too plain that there may be an ap-
prehension of the divine authority in the
promises, and a general sense of the divine
veracit}^ too, and yet no lively acts of faith.
There is a strange inconsistency in the human
mind; it is one thing to believe with the
understanding, and another to believe with
the heart. Faith is sometimes in the soul,
as Christ in the ship, asleep; and then the -
storm rages, and the soul expects to be
swallowed up ; and sometimes it rises, as it

VI.

138 or THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM, were, with an uir of divine majesty, and
rehukes the wind and the sea, and then there is
a great calm. I am to mention only a few
instances in which the Christian often finds
his faith ready to fail him. I shall take
them from experience and observation on
others, and on my own heart. To the most
they may be such as these. When the
Christian views the number, and guilt, and
aggravation of his sins, he may find it diffi-
cult to believe the promises of pardon ;
when he sees the prospect of approaching
calamity, he may find it difficult to believe
the promises of support and deliverance ;
when he feels the pressure of outward or
inward distress, or perhaps of both, he may
find it difficult to believe such dispensa-
tions consistent with God's covenant love,
or capable of being improved for his greater
advantage ; and when he surveys the glories
of the heavenly world, as described in the
word of God, he may lind it \'ery difficult
to believe that such a promise will ever be
fulfilled to him.

1. When the Christian views the number,
guilt, and aggravation of his sins, he may
find it difficult to believe the promises of

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 139

pardon. This is the great promise of his serm.
covenant, that he will be merciful to our un- -^^-J^^
rigliteousnenSy and our sins and our iniquities
he will remember no more^. He has, therefore, ' Heb. viii.
spoken it in the strongest terms, and declared
that though our sins be as scarlet, he will make
them as white as snow, and though they be as
red as crimson, he will make them like as wooP. ^isa.i. i8.
And sometimes, perhaps, the soul is ready to
say, " Lord, I can believe that thou wilt for-
give any sins but mine, but surely I am the
chief of sinners. I have relapsed into sin so
often, I have sinned against so many mercies,
against so many vows, that surely the honour
of thy law will require thee to punish me.
Surely did I belong to thy people, had I
received thy pardon and thy sanctifying
grace, there would not remain so much pol-
lution in my nature, so many irregularities
in my life. Lord, I do believe that there
is mercy enough in thy nature, and merit
enough in the blood of Christ, to pardon
even these; but my fears return, and I must
cry out in this respect, Lord, help mine un-
belief."

2. In the prospect of approaching calamity
the Christian finds it difficult to believe the

xxxiu. 9.

140 OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. promises of support and deliverance. They

v^^ ' . are preat. He shall cover thee with his fea-
theirs, and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and thy buckler,
and thou shalt not be afraid of the arrow that

^F^d.xcijlieth in darkness, Sj-c^. JFhen thou walkest

^ isa. xiiii. through the fire I will be with thee"^. Trust in

^ the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in

' Isaiah the land, and verily thou shalt be fed^. Thy
place shall be the munition of rocks; bread
also shall be given thee, and thy water shall be

«Deut. sure^ ; and, on the whole, whatever thy ex-
ercises are, as thy day is, so shall thy strength
be. These are precious declarations, one
would think that they would make the fearful
soul as bold as a lion: but Mhen the cloud
gathers, and the storm rises, how many are
the fears and distresses of the Christian's
mind! " I shall not have patience to bear
this affliction: I shall not have resignation
and submission of mind to give up these
dear enjoyments: when God takes away this
dear amiable friend, I shall mourn and
droop : and shall hardly know how to enjoy
God, or myself, or to pursue the duties of life
with any vigour and cheerfulness: it God
calls me to such a iiery trial, I shall make

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 141

sJiipwreck of faith and of a good conscience ; serm.

and if he calls me out to such a laborious , .^

duty, I shall not have the courage to under-
take it, or the resolution to got hrough it."
Thus does the Christian often disquiet him-
self, and feel more distress in the distant
prospect of a trial than he does when actually
called out to encounter it.

3. The Christian, under the pressure of
temporal and spiritual distress, finds it diffi-
cult to believe that it shall work for his good.
It is a known promise of the covenant of
grace, than which none is more frequently
mentioned, that all things shall work together
for good. Sec. : and, " Lord,'' does the Chris-
tian say, " I can believe it in the general. I
can in the general believe that chastisements,
which are not for the present joy ous hut griev-
ous, shall yield the peaceable fruits of righ-
teousness to them who are exercised therewith;
and that light afflictions, which are but for a
moment, shall work out a far more exceeding
and an eternal weight of glory. But, Lord,
when 1 come to particular instances, Lord,
help thou my own unbelief. Can it be a token
of thy love to me, and can it be good for me,
that I should be disappointed in such an

VI.

142 OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. affair ; on which, perhaps, the substance of
, my family so much depends ? that I should
be emptied from one vessel to another, and
tossed from one place and from one employ-
ment to another? Can it be for my good that
I should meet with unkindness, it may be,
from those relatives who ought to be my
refuge from all the unkindness of others ; or
lose those pious friends that were my daily
joy, that quickened me in thy way, with whom
I have taken the sweetest counsel together, and
walked to the house of God in company ? Can
it he for my good that my gourd should
wither, even when the sun is beating hottest
upon my aching head, or that my staff should
be wrested out of my hands before half my
journey is dispatched ? Can it be good for
me that I should be cut off from the privi-
leges of thine house, and from the services of
my own, and, it may be, confined for weeks
or months together to my chamber or to a
bed, a useless encumbrance on a family where
I have, perhaps, been a blessing?" And,
" oh," will the Christian say, " oh that this
were all ! Yes, Lord, with the light of thy
countenance, with the sense of thy love, I
could bear this, and more. But can it be

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 143

good for my soul that thou sliouldest hide serm.
thy face from ?ne, and hold me for thine v^^ ^^
enemy ? that I should go backward and for-
ward from one ordinance and opportunity to
another, seeking thee in vain ? that I should
go to secret duty, and there be dumb and
straitened in my spirit before thee, and that I
rise from my knees more discomposed and
more troubled than when I attempted to pray ?
Can it be good for me that I should come up
to the congregation of thy saints, as it seems
to me, only to profane thine ordinances, that
I should hear and read thy word only to fur-
nish out matter for accusation, and complaint,
and terror ; and should sit down to thy table
sometimes with a secret apprehension that I
am a Judas at thy board, and am making
myself guilty of the body mid blood of the
Lord ; whilst eating of his bread, 1 1 ft up my
heels against him. Can these gloomy appre-
hensions be for my advantage ? Canst thou
be the God of Israel, and Saviour to me,
when thou art thus hiding thyself from me,
or writing bitter things against me ? Are
these the corrections of a father? Are they
not rather the strokes of an enemy ? Loi'd,
help mine unbelief!"

144 OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. 4. The Christian may find it difficult to
K^^-^^^ beheve the promises of future glory as his
own, when he considers the excellency of it,
and his own utter unworthiness. Christ
speaks very graciously to his people, as if it
were on purpose to obviate this suspicion.
Fear not, says he, little flock, weak as 3'ou
are, unworthy as you take yourselves to be,
it is your Father s good pleasure to give you
^ Luke xW. the kingdom'^. "True,'' will the Christian

32

say, " It was thy good pleasure to give it to
thine apostjes and thy servants in those days ;
and thou hast thousands in our own whom I
can call, and say, Yes, these are intended for
a kingdom, they look like the heirs of it;
but, Lord, dost thou intend it for me ?
Were it merely a promise of being laid in
the grave during God's indignation, I could
perhaps believe that, were it merely the en-
joyment of such a world as this, or the tem-
porary enjoyment of heaven itself, it might
seem less incredible : but to be completely and
eternally happy, to have the crown publicly
set on my head, and this not to be worn for
one triumphant day, but to be worn for ever.
Surely this is not for me : with what face
can I expect it, that such a sinful worm as I

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 145

am should be taken to be a companion with serm.
angels in the joy and glory of thy heavenly ^^.^-^J^y
presence, and to sit down with Christ on his
throne ? Nay, thou man of God" am I some-
times ready to say to ministers and saints,
when they tell me of these things, " do not
lie unto thy servant^ : do not raise a vain and ^ 2 Kings
flattering hope to sink me so much the deeper
in disappointment and sorrow. Lor^d, what
shall I say^? It is thou who hast raised these MSam.iv.
hopes; and dost thou delude me? Far be that
impious suspicion from my soul. When I
look on thy word, when I look on the merits
and righteousness of thy Son, I think that
there is room for the expectation : but, Lord,
when I look on myself, it seems almost in-
credible. The promise appears too great
and too good to be true : on the whole, I
cry out with tears. Lord, I believe ; help thou
mine unbelief!"

II. Let me now show wlvdt encouragements
the Christian has to address to Christ in this
manner to help his unbelief. Now I shall
mention only these two ; that the Lord Jesus
Christ is able to do it, and that he is under
strong engagements to do it. ^

VOL. III. L

146

OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. 1. The Lord Jesus Christ is able to do it ;

VI.

s^,^-A^ as able to cure the infirmities of the mmd as
he was to heal the disorders of the body. It
is he who first works faith in us by his free
Spirit, and the residue of the Spirit is with
him, and of his fulness do we all receive even
grace for grace. We may, therefore, go to
him, and say, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst do
this. If thou wilt, mountains of oppositions
and discouragements and difficulties shall
spread themselves, as it were, into a plain
before the meanest of thy serv^ants.

2. Christ is under strong engagements to
do it. He is engaged by the tenderness of
his own nature. He can have compassion on
the ignorant and on the weak: having him-
self suffered, being tempted, he knows our
frame ; he knows the force of sensible objects
to impress, and sometimes to discourage the
spirits. You know how he cared for Peter,
and prayed for him : I have prayed for thee
that thy faith fail not. He is likewise engaged
by his ofTice as the Shepherd of his people;
as the Saviour of his body; and he is in some
measure engaged by his honour too, as he
has begun this good work of faith in the soul,
not to forsake the work of his own hands : and

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 14?

the more our faith is strengthened and in- serm.

. VI

creased, the more he will be glorified by us. ^^^

These are all considerations which might

bear a much larger discourse ; but I hasten

to the conclusion.

III. Let me briefly show you how we may
Immbly hope to have these prayers heard,
and our unbelief helped and removed. And
here I would offer to you such advices as
these. Converse much with the promises of
Christ, and his invariable grace and fidelity.
Reflect on the accomplishment of them as
illustrated by your own experience, and that
of others : pray earnestly for the strengthen-
ing and quickening Spirit, and attend those
ordinances which he has appointed for this
purpose.

1. If you desire that your unbelief may be
helped, converse much with the promises.
The New Testament abounds with them ; and,
through the Divine goodness to the ancient
church, many a bright and sparkling ray
breaks through the shades of the Old. Adore
God for these promises, and study them with
care. Labour to understand them : consider

L 2

148 OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. which are essential and absolute ; which are
.^^..J,,^ only conditional, and, as it were,circumstantial.
That you may not be expecting too much,
and, being disappointed, bring a doubt upon
your souls Math regard to others which are
not liable to such uncertainty, remember that
the degree of temporal enjoyments and of
present comforts is not expressl}^ determined.
Remember that a very great degree of dark-
ness and of present distress is very consistent
with all that God engaged in his word ; but
that the promises of pardon and peace, of
strength and salvation, of a glorious resur-
rection, and a blessed immortality, are the
glad tidings of the gospel ; and remember
that there is proper provision made for a va-
riety of cases and emergencies in life. Read
the promises, therefore, with an attentive
eye ; collect them ; meditate upon them ;
endeavour to see what strength and spirit
there is in them ; plead them with your own
unbelieving heart, and plead them with God
in prayer, ffhi/ art thou cast down, O mi/
'Ps..\]u5,soiil^ ? What exceeding rich and precious
promises are here ! Has God spoken, and
shall he not do it ? Couldst thou trust a frail,

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 149

deceitful, mortal worm, and wilt thou not serm.
trust God ? Wilt thou not trust the Lord v^^^^
Jesus Christ ? Canst thou think so meanly of
him as to imagine that he will delude thee,
and intended to raise thy hopes in vain ? O
my soul ! it is not, it cannot be so. His
grace moved him to make these promises, and
his fidelity will engage him to make them
good. Heaven and earth shall pass away, hut
his words shall never pass away^. Which ^ Matt. v.
leads me to add,

2. Think much of the invariable grace and
fidelity of Christ. Remember that they are
made and established in him : In him all the
promises of God are yea, and in him they are
Amen^. And is not He the same yesterday, ^sCor.'i.
to-day, and for ever ? Could I have trusted
Christ upon earth, if he had given me a pro-
mise ? Lord ! I could, no doubt, have trusted
thee ; I could have ventured over lands and
seas upon thy word, and have gone helpless
and friendless to the ends of the earth, on the
security of thy promise that I should be safe
and prosperous : and shall I not trust thee
now ? Art thou less able, less faithful ? Is the
Lord whom I serve so forgetful as sometimes

'20.

150 OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. to overlook his promise, or so busy as not to

VI. . .

v,^.^,.^ be able to attend to the particular exigences

of his people, so that one might say of him,
as Elijah did of Baal, Perhaps he is on a jour-
ney, or he talketh with others, or, perhaps, he
sleeps, and must he awakened. Dishonourable,
impious thoughts ! Wouldst thou, O my un-
believing heart, suggest them ? and if not,
what wouldst thou suggest? When Christ
has called himself the good Shepherd, and
declared that he will give to his sheep eternal
life, and that nothing shall separate them
from his love, dost thou suspect that he will
not make his word good ?

3. If you desire that Christ may confirm
your faith, then be frequently thinking of
your own experiences and of those of 3^Qur
fellow Christians. My friends ! the dealings
of God^s providence and his grace are a
beautiful comment upon the promises of his
word. Think what you have been, and
what you have felt. Remember the years of
"Psalm the right hand of the Most High*. Remem-
ber all his wonders of old : must you not
own that you had fainted unless you had
believed ? Has not God pardoned many of

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 151

jour former sins, and given you a delightful serm.
sense of pardon ? Has he not supplied you in v^-^^
your wants, and comforted you in your sor-
rows, and supported you in difficulties under
which you would have imagined that you
must necessarily have fallen ? Indeed, Chris-
tians ! it becomes you to consider the pro-
mises sealed by this experience : and it must
argue great ingratitude if you forget your
tried and constant friend. And pray, think
likewise on the experience of others : think
how God has sometimes appeared, even for
the most despised of his people, in so eminent
and remarkable a manner, that those who
knew all the circumstances must say, this is
the finger of God. When you consider how
he has delivered, and does deliver, you will
trust in him that he will still deliver.

4. If you expect that Christ should help
your unbelief, you must pray earnestly for
the Spirit. It is the work and office of the
Spirit to produce faith in the soul, and to
purchase it ; and the Christian vanquishes
his spiritual enemies on his knees. How
often do we find David's faith apparently
strengthened while he has been penning a

152 OF THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN

SERM. psalm, so that he begins with the bitterest
v^^^Ji^y complaints, and ends with praise ! and how
often have we found the comforting Saviour
in this duty ourselves ! Cry, therefq^re, to him
with great earnestness and importunity, and
cry out with tears, jLorJ, help mine unbeUef.

5. You have reason to hope that Christ
will help your unbelief in attending ordi-
nances. The preaching of the word brings
the promises together, and I do not doubt
but you have, many of you, found that in
» Rom. X. this respect faith comes hy hearing^. In the
Lord's Supper the covenant comprehends all
these promises as sealed, and there very fre-
quently God lets in a word of comfort and a
\ ray of light upon the humble expecting soul.
. Attend then, therefore, my brethren, with
a cheerful expectation that God will meet
you, and bless you in them ; and if there be
a struggle raised within or without, to pre-
vent your attendance on such ordinances,
turn the difficulties and objections into an
argument, and assure yourselves that your
spiritual enemies oppose them, because they
fear that the consequences of them should be
too happy to your souls.

FAITH AND UNBELIEF. 153

1 conclude all with my hearty prayer to serm.
God for you, that this good work of his grace v^-^,^
upon your soul may be carried on in a more
successful manner daily : that you may find
the house of David growing stronger and
stronger, and that of Saul weaker and weaker
in your heart ; that faith may get ground on
unbelievers, as the rising morning does on
the darkness of the night, till at length every
intermingled shade is dispersed, and the
whole face of heaven and of earth is beauti-
fied and cheered by the victorious sun shining
in his strength.

154

CHRIST S COMING

SERMON VII.

Christ's coming in the clouds.

Revelations, i. 7.

Behold, he comes tvith clouds, and every eye shall see him,
and they also that pierced him ; and all the kindreds of the
earth shall moiirri because of him. Even so, Ameti.

SERM. Before I enter on the particular discussion of
\^,^~^^ these words, I must observe that they are in-
troduced in a remarkable manner indeed, as
a kind of note to this prophetic, mysterious,
but most instructive book ; concerning which,
dark as many parts of it are, there was reason
to say. Blessed is he that readeth, and they
that hear the words of this prophecy, provided
they observe and keep those things that are
' Rev. i. 3. zcritteji thei^ein^.

The apostle salutes the seven churches of
Asia, to each of whom he had a distinct mes-
sage ; and, therefore, inscribes the book to
them all ; and he salutes them in a very ex-
traordinary manner : Grace be to you, and

IN THE CLOUDS. 155

peace from him which is, and which was, and serm.

. • • » VII

which is to come, i. e. from the eternal and ^^-^.-^
ever blessed God, the immutable and all
glorious Jehovah : and, he adds, from the
seven spirits that are before the throne, which
some interpret as a wish of grace and peace
from the Holy Spirit. Supposing that the
variety of its gifts and graces were repre-
sented by seven lamps of fire^, which seemed Micv. iv.

5.

in this prophetic vision to shine before the
throne of God, as the seven lamps of the
sacred candlestick did in the tabernacle, to
which there is here a continual allusion^ : ^ Rev. v. e.
though others understand them of seven
angels of distinguished dignity, whom they
suppose elsewhere to be represented by the
seven horns and eyes of the lamb, who are
said to be the seven spirits of God, sent out
into all the earth, i. e. the instruments which
he makes use of in his providential govern-
ment, who from time to time bring their
report to him; and receive his commission to
exert the power, which he gave them, to such
purposes as his wisdom shall see best. In
further allusion to those words in which we
read of the seven eyes of the Lord, which run
to and fro throughout the earth'^, as a little '' Zech. iv.

^ ^ 10.

156 Christ's coming

SERM. after we read of four spirits of the heavens,
v,^-^^ which go forth from standing before the Lord
^Zech. vuof all the earth^. But I must beg leave here
to observe, bj the way, that if we do suppose
the spirits of God here in this context to sig-
nify the same with the spirits of the heavens
in Zechariah, (i. e. great and celestial) it will
not follow that there are just seven of them,
since we see, in another place, that they are
four. The number seven in the one seems
only to signify that they are many, as four,
answering to the four quarters of the earth,
that they are everywhere employed ; north
and south, east and west, being representa-
tions of a hierogly phical and figurative, rather
than of a literal and historical kind. I shall
only add here, that if the seven spirits before
the throne do indeed signify angels (concern-
ing which I can assert nothing absolutely) all
that we can infer from it is, that John wished
that these celestial spirits might be made the
instruments of God's gracious providence in
the protection and happiness of these seven
churches. He then wishes that grace and
peace from a person, on this interpretation,
infinitely greater than those mentioned be-
fore (of whom, having so much to say, he

IN THE CLOUDS. 157

mentions him in the last place), and from serm.
Jesus, who is the faithful witJiess, and the first ^^-^
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the
kings of the earth ; who, therefore, can over-
rule all the affairs of all kingdoms and nations
as he pleases, and give such prosperity to his
gospel, and deal such destruction to the ene-
mies of it as he, in his infinite wisdom, shall
see fit. Waked, as it were, into a rapture
with this sacred and beloved name, he breaks
out into a sublime doxology, in which he
anticipates those songs of heaven, which, be-
fore he wrote this, he had learned from the
multitude that surround the throne. And,
oh ! let us join in it with all the powers of
our souls : U?ito him that loved us, and zmshed
us from our sins in his own blood; and to
him who has made us kings and priests to God,
even his Father, to him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen.

When the apostle had thus ascribed glory
and dominion to him, he takes up, as it were,
his own words again, and declares the assured
persuasion that he had of the universal domi-
nion which his great Lord possessed, and of
the final display which he would make of it.
Touched with so glorious a view, he speaks

158 CHRIST S COMING

SERM. as if he saw the ensigns of his final triumph
.^-.-^ ah'eady displayed before his eyes. Behold!
says this holy and sublime secretary of the
prince of heaven, this distinguished favourite
of the Lord of glory, behold ! he comes in the
clouds. Lift up your eyes, and observe the
splendid pomp, the bright procession : hearken
to the trumpet of the archangel, that pro-
claims the approach of this more than impe-
rial judge. Everij eye shall see liim. Who-
ever you are that hear and read the words of
this prophecy, and they also that pierced him,
even all the kindreds of the earth, who have
been his enemies, shall wail because of him.
They whose hearts have been hardened against
him, and who would not hearken to the calls
of his grace and the solicitations of his gos-
pel, they shall begin their loud lamentations,
which shall never end. Even so, Amen.
Which words may be considered either as a
confirmation of the certain truth of what
has been said, or as a cordial assent to it :
" Blessed Jesus, thou knowest the loyalty of
my heart to thee, and the inward persuasion
that I have of my interest in thy favour ; and
therefore I can cordially subscribe to this ;
and, animated by love to thee, as well as out

IN THE CLOUDS. 159

of regard to my own happiness, I can say, serm.
Amen, so let it be/' There are several re- v^I^l,
marks which will naturally arise from these
words, which I shall but briefly touch upon,
as they so frequently occur, yet I judge it
proper to remind you of them at this time.

I. That the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ to a universal judgment is a most
certain thing.

II. That it is nearly approaching.

III. That it shall be exceedingly pompous
and majestic.

IV. That it is a matter of universal concern,
as every one shall behold him, and appear
before him.

V. That it will be a most mournful and
dreadful day to all who have continued his
enemies.

VI. That the true Christian may cheerfully
welcome it, and think of it with courage and
delight, even so, Amen.

I chiefly intend a few devout reflections
under these heads. May the spirit of God
guide my heart and yours while we pursue
them. To waken our attention I beg of you
to take some notice of the introductory word,
beJiold, which you know is a word of excita-

160

CHRIST S COMING

SERM. tion, and mark of admiration in the person
^^^ speaking. Let me, therefore, invite your
most solemn regard to this great subject,
and call off your thoughts from every thing-
else. Let the busy man turn aside his
thoughts from his farm or his merchandise,
to think of that great and awful day when the
trades and professions most necessary to hu-
man life shall all come to an end; when the
very soil which has been cultivated shall be
consumed, and the earth itself shall be no
more. Let the gay sensualist dismiss the
views of his flattering pleasures, which must
then be so severely accounted for, and so
dreadfully repaid, on all who have been
lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.
Let the man of science and stud}^ cease to
speculate upon those nice amusements of a
vain curiosity, which take up so much of his
time; that he may employ all his thoughts
on this great care, how he shall stand this
last trial, and secure a place among the phi-
losophers of heaven, who shall see light in
the light of God, and draw truth from its
eternal fountain. Turn away your eyes from
the weightiest cares of human life, and turn
them from the dearest and most pleasing, as

IN THE CLOUDS. l6l

well as most painful and mournful objects, serm.

VII.

to fix them upon Jesus, the descending Sa- v^-^^-^^
viour, whom you shall see ; before whom you
shall appear; with whom you shall transact
business of infinite importance ; for behold he
comes in the clouds, and every eye shall see
him, <^c.

I. We observe that the coming of Christ
to judgment is a most certain thing. I
apply these words to the universal judgment,
and make that application the subject of my
discourse; though I am sensible some of the
phrases of them have been used in another
sense. For when our Lord Jesus Christ is
speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem,
borrowing images from that last great day,
he says. They shall see the Son of man coming
in the clouds of heaven, with power and great
glory^. You shall then see an appearance ^iMatf.
which will be a lively type and image of my
second coming to universal judgment. But
the coming here spoken of is represented as
what shall strike every eye, and shall afflict
with mourning all the kingdoms of the earth
that have pierced Christ; and it is imme-

VOL. III. M

XXIV. 3,

162

CHRIST S COMING

SERM. diately addressed, not to the churches of
^^-^^ Judea, but to those of Asia ; and, which I
think puts the matter out of all doubt, the
words themselves were written subsequently
to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Ro-
mans; or, as it is generally thought, about
the year 96, twenty-six years after the capital
of Judea had ceased to exist. As to the
certainty of Christ^s glorious advent we need
not insist upon the evidence which the light
of nature affords, that there shall be a state
of future retribution, or a judgment of par-
ticular persons at least, because we have a
much more convincing evidence of what im-
plies a great deal more. I mean the appear-
ance of the Son of God, as the great judge of
all mankind. Of this we are as sure as we are
that he has appeared already. For we have a
large discourse of his upon the subject, in
which he describes the process and the sen-
tence, when the Son of man shall come in his
glory ^ SfC. ; his apostles, therefore, had a com-
mission to declare it, as they everywhere do,
not only that God had appointed a daij, in
which he will judge the world in righteousness ;
but that he M'ill do it hi/ that man wlioni lie

VII.

IN THE CLOUDS. l63

has appointed, whereof he has given assurance serm.
unto all men, ^-c'^. O let it be seriously con-
sidered, not merely as what is possible, or
what is probable, but as what is certain!
Heaven and earth shall pass away, hut his
word shall not pass away. A thousand con-
tingencies may prevent the most probable
future events which the children of men
are considering here ; for their breath is
in their nostrils. Earthly judges have been
sometimes prevented from going their cir-
cuits by death; prisoners have sometimes
escaped from their confinement before their
day of trial came; or death has removed
them beyond the reach of human justice.
But this judge lives for ever; no contin-
gencies can prevent or retard his appearance
for a moment; and death shall give up all
its captives to hear the sound of his trumpet,
and to answer the summons to his bar.

II. This awful assize is nearly approaching.
John, therefore, almost seventeen hundred
years ago, spoke of it as if it were already
come. Behold! says he, he comes in the
clouds, i. e. he is now coming; as the proper
import of that word is: as it is elsewhere

M 2

1()'4 Christ's coming

SERM. said, the judge is near, evefi at the door. Be-
.^-.^^ hold! says he, I come quickly. So it becomes
him to speak who has all eternity in view;
and who knows all the scenes which will arise
through its unmeasurable ages. To him a
thousand years are hut as one day, as Peter
with great propriety expresses it, when he
speaks of the scoffer as saying, where is the

\ViX.\\\. promise of his coming^? And as it became
Christ to speak thus, it becomes us also to
think that the remainder of life, and the
remaining duration of this earth, is but a
little while to eternity. We must live, how
many thousands of years shall we say? Ten
thousand, one hundred thousand, a duration
to which one thousand shall be but as one
to ten millions; if that were all it would jus-
tify this expression. But how far is it from
being all? So far that when these ten mil-
lions, not of years only, but of ages, are
come and gone a ten millions of times, the
reign of Christ, and his saints in glory, will
seem as it were but begun; and the ven-
geance which he executed upon his enemies
will be but begun too. O boundless unfa-
thomable gulf ! O tremendous thought! Who
does not feel his head, as it Mere, turning

IN THE CLOUDS. l65

round when he looks up or down into it? serm.
Who is not swallowed up in its height, and v^-v-Ly
length, and depth? The little period between
now and judgment is annihilating. He is
coming ! He is come ! Behold the heavens
open and disclose him! You and I, and all
the world, are standing in his presence ! Time
has, if I may so speak, laid down its hoary
head and expired, is, as it were, already
extinct and dead. Only eternity lives, and
we are, as at this moment, going to live in
it. But as this coming of Christ is so nearly
approaching, so,

III. It shall be exceedingly pompous and
majestic. Behold! he comes in the clouds : xh^
expression is often used to denote the majesty
of the divine appearance. It is said, that he
came out of Sinai, with clouds and thick dark-
ness^. And when he appeared for David's ' Dent. iv.
deliverance he had about him thick clouds of
theskies^, as elsewhere his strength is in the -2 Sam.
clouds^. And I doubt not that, in all those ^^^^pJaK*
passages of the New Testament, like those in ^*^"'- ^^•
the text, there is an allusion to that passage
in Daniel, I saw one like the Son of man coming
with the clouds of heaven ^ ; which words are used i Dan. vii.

13

166 Christ's coming

SERM. four times concerning our Lord in the evan-
v^,^^^^ geiists : and M'hen we consider the awful
form of some clouds, and the bright orna-
ments and beautiful variety of others, we
may assure ourselves that it is a very con-
ceivable thing that God should constitute,
in a literal sense, of clouds, a throne of glory
suitable to the pomp of that day. And I
doubt not but it will be so; for as a cloud
received Christ out of the sight of his apostles
at the ascension, so it is expressly said, he
should come again, as they had seen him go
■^Acis'i.ii. into heaven^. And besides all these orna-
ments, we well know that there are many other
illustrious circumstances, which shall add
splendour and grandeur to this appearance.
The Son of man shall come, it is said, in his
5 Matt, glory, and all his holy angels with hirn^. Who
can tell how many? For the chariots of God
are one thousand times ten thousand. Who
can imagine in what bright and illustrious
forms ? They appeared in white robes to the
messengers to proclaim his resurrection, and
to speak to his apostles at his ascension.
But surely this robe shall be brighter on
this grand triumphant day, and all the most
splendid cavalcade attending I he coronation

IN THE CLOUDS. l67

of earthly monarchs shall be infinitely infe- serm.
rior to this. The sublime sound of the v^^-^-^
trumpet of the archangel shall fill the whole
arch of heaven ; the dead shall immediately
awake; and the glorious robes which shall
then be given to all the faithful, when they
shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the
air, shall add a further lustre, which will
still be conspicuous amidst all that flood of
brightness which was before poured out on
every side. For when Christ shall appear,
we also shall appear with him in glory. In a
word, the pomp shall be worthy of the ma-
jesty of God and of his Son. It shall itself
be the means as well as the time of accom-
plishing that divine oracle ; As I live, says the
Lord, unto me shall every knee how, and every
tongue confess. Accordingly,

IV. We are further to observe that this
appearance shall be matter of universal con-
cern. Every eye shall see him. Every eye;
the eye of every living man, whoever he is.
None will be able to prevent it. The voice
of the trumpet, the brightness of the flame,
shall direct all eyes to it, shall fix all eyes
upon it. Be it ever so busy an eye, or ever

168 Christ's coming

SEiiM. so vain a, one ; whatever employment, what-

VII. .

..^s^^^ ever amusement it had the moment hetore,
will then no longer be able to employ it or to
amuse. The eye will be lifted up to Christ,
and will no more look down upon money,
upon books, upon land, upon houses, upon
gardens. Alas, these things will then all
pass away in a moment! And not the eyes
of the living alone, but also all the eyes that
have ever beheld the sun, though but for a
moment: the eyes of all the sleeping dead
will be awakened and opened. The eyes of
saints and sinners of former generations.
The eyes of Job, according to those rapturous
words of his, which had so deep and so sub-
lime a sense, I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that he shall stand in the last day on the
earth: in my flesh I shall see God, zdiom my
eyes shall behold and not another's. The eyes
of Balaam, of which he seems to have had
an awful foreknowledge when he said, / shall
see him, hut not now; I shall behold him, but

«Numb. not nigh^. Your eyes and mine. O awful
thought! Blessed Jesus! May we not then
see thee as through tears; may we not then
tremble at the sight. It shall be the case of
many ; for we observe,

IN THE CLOUDS. l69

V. That it will be a mournful and dreadful serm.
daj' to those who have continued his enemies. ^.^.^^
All who have pierced him, even of all nations
of the earth shall mourn because of him. It is
an awful thing to reflect upon that Christ
was pierced; pierced by his cruel murderers,
when he was nailed to the cross, and when
he hung upon it. Oh how did the iron enter
into his soul! Blessed Jesus, are we some-
times ready to say, how could we have borne
the sight! A pointed dart, said Simeon to
Mary, shall pierce through thine own soul;
and surely it was so to the blessed virgin.
She mourned ; and methinks her sorrow in
that hour is a kind of emblem of what every
soul that truly loves his Redeemer feels amidst
those insults which are daily offered to him.
For it is most certain, that though Christ be
now on his throne, there are those who are
piercing him : many who are insulting and
blaspheming his name, who are throwing the
most open and avowed contempt upon his
religion and his cause. And this is, so far
as in them lies, to crucify the Son of God
afresh, and to put him to an open shame. It
is justifying the Jews in piercing him: for
if any person had appeared among them,

170 Christ's coming

SEiiM. mIio falsely pretended even to be a common
v^-^^ prophet, they had a di\'ine commission for
putting him to death ; much more then
would he have been worthy of death, what-
ever the outward regularity of his life had
been, who should falsely have professed him-
self the Son of God, and the Saviour of the
world. Others are piercing Christ by in-
juring his members. Saul, Satil, did he cry
from the clouds of heaven, in which he ap-
peared to that chosen vessel, whi/ peraeciitest
■> Acit'is. i. thoK. 7ne^ ? I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least of
"" Matt, these my hretJien, ye did it unto me^. Now we
know that there are vast tracts of land, in
which for any one to become a Christian is
certain and inevitable death. Not to mention
the many Christian countries in which it is
so to profess the faith of Jesus in its original
purity, and to bear testimony against those
superstitions and idolatries which are most
antichristian, here among ourselves, among
protestants of all denominations, Christ is
pierced, not only when anything is spoken
to the dishonour of his person and offices,
but when by those who pretend most to
honour him he is practically disobeyed. The

IN THE CLOUDS. l?!

drunkenness of one; the lewdness of another; serm.

VI r.
the dishonesty of a third; the covetousness v,^-v-^

of a fourth ; the idleness and uselessness of a
fifth ; the uncharitableness of a sixth ; and
the practical unbelief of all, is a thorn, a
nail, a spear, to pierce this gracious Saviour,
O blessed Lord, how often then art thou
wounded in the house of those who call
themselves thy friends; but how vain is that
name when this is their character ! Now it
is here said with relation to such, that they
shall mourn because of him: even all that
have pierced him, of all nations of the earth.
The true penitent mourns now, the impeni-
tent shall mourn then, even the proudest
sinner. To this day our Lord refers his most
insolent enemies, when they solemnly con-
demned him for blasphemy, for avowing
that which it had been blasphemy to have
denied, that he was the So?i and Christ of
God; and when with hypocritic grimace, as
if they had been the most conscientious of
mankind, they rent their clothes: he said,
Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting at
theright hand of power, and coming m the clouds
of heaven^. " I appeal to that day to wipe 'Matt.
off the infamy of this. Look to it, how you

172 Christ's coming

SERM. ^^y]\\ answer at my bar the injurious treat-
-'-v^^ ment which I this day receive at yours.
Nor shall Caiaphas and Annas, Pilate and
Herod, mourn alone in that day. For he
shall say of all his enemies that would not
he should reign over them, and of all in this
place who are practically renouncing him
among the rest, As for those mine enemies^
bring them forth., and slay them before me:
and well may they mourn that are to be
slain ; especially when it is considered what
this destruction is to be. Not a sudden
stroke which sometimes prevents a cry before
it can be uttered by putting an end to life
before it is even felt. No, but a long, an
eternal death, to which the enemies of Christ
shall be doomed; depart accursed. For if
his sentence shall be pronounced on those
that have not fed Christ when he was hungry,
and on those that have not given him drink
when thirsty,. &c. what shall be inflicted
upon those who have pierced him? O dread-
ful day! O deep and incurable wound! O
vengeance justly, yet in vain, shunned, though
at the expense of being crushed by a moun-
tain, of being overwhelmed by a rock! It
shall be mourning and crying indeed, to

IN THE CLOUDS. 173

which those words of the prophet may with serm.
much more propriety than terror to their .^IJi^
original barely be apphed. Alas for the day,
for it comes! a day of trouble and of treading
down, a day of perplexity before the Lord
God of hosts, a day of crying to the moun-
tains. Yet amidst all the terror let us re-
member,

VI. That the faithful disciples of our Lord
may cheerfully welcome it, and think of it
at a distance, with courage and delight,
eve?i so, Amen.

I observed before, as these words may ex-
press the certainty of it, so likewise John's
cordial consent to it. And I rather prefer
this last interpretation, as it is so very agree-
able to the concluding words of this book,
Behold Icojne quickly; Amen. Even so, cojne.
Lord Jesus^. I will not now enter into the 'Rev.xxii.
detail of those reasons at large why a be- ^*^'
liever may welcome it, on which I have
insisted elsewhere. Let that reason stand
for all which is given by St. Paul, that
he shall come to be admired in his saints,
and glorified in all them that believe^. In 'aTi.ess.
what view would not the Christian desire to '' ^^'

174- CHRIST*S COMING

SERM. see Jesus? To view him by faith is the
v^^.^.^ greatest comfort which he has in all this
dark and distant world. He loves to \ie\v
him in his ordinances, loves to contemplate
even his death, though sorrow mingles itself
Avith that delight: loves to eat this passover,
how bitter soever those herbs are with which
it is eaten. He longs to go into the interme-
diate state, and to enjoy such views of Jesus
as that may afford. Views how much better
than we here enjoy! Let us in thought con-
gratulate those of our dear departed friends
that enjoy them, and long for the hour that
shall join us to that better society. But
when we are so joined, we and they shall
still be looking for that blessed hope, the glo-
rious appearance of the great God, and our
Saviour Jesus Christ. Oh, who can express
the joy of that bright morning, when those
mysterious but emphatical words shall be
fulfilled, thi/ dead men shall live, my dead
bodies (i. e. the bodies of my dear deceased
ones) shall arise: awake and sing, ye that
dwell in the dust ; for thy dew is as the dew
of herbs, a still dew with vivifying influences
is fallen upon you, and the earth shall cast out
'isa. xxvi. ///c dcad^. O yes, my brethren, we shall

19.

IN THE CLOUDS. 175

awake, and sing such a song as heaven itself serm.
had not before taught us. A song of wel- v^^ ^
come and victory to our divine Master; a
song of congratulation to each other; a song
of everlasting praise to God. Having been
by divine grace taught now to look upon him,
whom we likewise had pierced, with tears of
penitential sorrow, God shall then wipe away all
tears from our eyes : sorrow and sighing shall
Jiee away, and nothing shall remain but joy,
everlasting joy. Thanks he to God that gives
us this victory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This is our God, and we will wait for him; we
will wait for him, and he will save us : and
we will not only on that day, but throughout
eternal ages, ascribe our salvation to him,
who not only delivers us from those insup-
portable terrors, with which a guilty and un-
believing world shall then be overwhelmed,
but will raise us to behold and share the glory
of him who has loved us, and has washed us from
our sins in that blood which those sins had
shed, and which are so wonderfully and gra-
ciously washed away by it.

176 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERMON VIII.

OF HABITUAL AND OF ACTUAL PREPARA-
TION FOR THE lord's SUPPER, AND
MORE PARTICULARLY OF SELF-EXAMI-
NATION.

1 Corinthians, xi. 28.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of this
bread, and drink of this evp.

SERM. It is the design of the apostle St. Paul, in
.^.^^ the latter part of this epistle from Avhcnce
the text is taken, to reform some irregulari-
ties and abuses which had crept into the
Corinthian church. In the 18th verse of
this chapter he begins with those relating to
the Lord's Supper : and having condemned
that rapacious and disorderly manner in
which they used to celebrate that sacred
ordinance, and the feasts of charity which
were joined with it, that he may correct
those enormities, he has recourse to the ori-
ginal institution. He shows them, in th(^

VIII.

THE lord's supper. 177

23d and 24th verses, that Jesus Christ in- serm.
tended this ordinance to remind his disciples
of his death and sufferings, and that, accord-
ingly, the bread represented his body, and
the wine his blood ; so that, consequently,
when they eat the bread or drank the wine
in so irreverent and profane a manner, they
were guilty of the body and blood of the
Lord, i. e. of profaning and abusing those
sacred elements which were the symbols of
his body and blood, as well as of the inde-
cency of disturbing a feast which was in-
tended for a pledge of mutual friendship. It
is apparent that this must be a horrid crime;
and therefore, says this venerable apostle,
you would not incur so great a guilt, and
expose yourselves to a punishment conse-
quent upon it. Let a man first seriously
examine himself: i. e. let him consider the
design of the ordinance, and then look into
the frame and temper of his own mind, and
see how far that is conformable to it ; and
then, if the matter be brought to a good
issue, let him eat of that bread, and drink of
that wine ; for then he may hope to do it with
acceptance, and to receive from it consider-
able advantages. From these words of the

VOL. III. N

17B OF PREPARATION FOIJ

SERM. text I propose by the Divine assistance to dis-
viir. 1 r 1

.^--v-^^ course at large or sacramental preparation.

It is of very great importance that we should

observe that there are two distinct kinds of

sacramental preparation, habitual and actual.

I will explain the nature and the necessity of

each.

I. There is an habitual preparation neces-
sarily required in all those that would wor-
thily partake of the Lord's Supper. This
consists in two things ; in giving up ourselves
in covenant to God through Christ, and in
walking suitably to such an engagement.

1. We are all naturally at a distance from
God. There is a mutual enmity betwixt us
and God; and, as the consequence of this, we
are exposed to all the dreadful effects of his
everlasting displeasure and indignation. So
the apostle tells the converted Ephesians that
they were bij nature children of wroth, even as
others: but God, who is rich and infinite in
mercy, has in the gospel published the offers
of peace, and pardon, and eternal salvation
to apostate creatures ; and he is, in and
through a Redeemer, reconciling the world
nnto himself, and not imputing their trespasses
j<). ' u)it() thvm\ Now all that is required of us is

' 2 Cor

THE LORDS SUPPER. 179

that we should repent of our sins, and with serm.
all our hearts believe in the Lord Jesus ^^.^^
Christ, hoping for acceptance and salvation
through him ; and resolving, with the assist-
ance of the grace of God, to abandon every
known sin, and to persevere in the practice
of every branch of our duty as discovered to
us by the dictates of a natural conscience or
the revelation of sacred scripture. When a
man is once brought to such an unfeigned
and prevailing resolution, he receives Christ
upon the terms proposed in the gospel, and
by this mean he has a right to all those
ordinances which Christ has appointed for
the edification and comfort of his own people;
and particularly to this of the Lord's Supper.
But that no one, who is destitute of these
qualifications can worthily partake of the
Lord's Supper, is undeniably plain from the
very nature of the ordinance, inasmuch as it
is represented in scripture as the seal of the
covenant of grace. In this view Christ him-
self has put it : This is the blood of the 7iew
testament, or, as it might be rendered, of the
new covenant, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins^ : i. e. this is the representa- 'Matihrw
tion of my blood, by which the new covenant

180 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. is established, and which I give to you as the
,^-^^ pledge and token for the remission of your
sins, or a seal of your interest in it. The
bread which we break, is it not the communion
of the body of Christ ? i.e. does it not signify
our receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
benefits which he has purchased upon the
terms which he has so plainly proposed ?
Is it not a mutual seal of the new covenant ?
Now if a man does not design to enter into
this new covenant, and to give up himself to
God through Christ, which is the first branch
of this habitual preparation, it must be a very
profane and presumptuous thing thus to set
his seal to it ; for by this mean he must be
guilty of an abuse of the sacred elements;
and so, as the apostle expresses it, must eat
and drink judgment to himself: i. e. not indeed
certainly seal his own damnation, for that is
extremely contrary to the whole tenour of
scripture, but expose himself to the Divine
displeasure ; and thus, unless repentance
should prevent such a dreadful result, subject
himself to eternal damnation, as well as in all
probability to some present temporary punish-
ment. Thus you see that entering into the
covenant of grace, and giving up ourselves to

THE LORDS SUl'PEK. 181

God through a Redeemer, is absolutely ne- serm.
cessary in order to our approach to this ordi- v^„.^v-L
nance in a worthy and in an acceptable
manner. And this is the first branch of
habitual preparation.

2. Habitual preparation further consists in
walking suitably to such a resolution and
engagement. Every good man is by the
grace of God enabled in the main to stand
to the terms of this covenant : but yet, even
the best of us are too ready at particular
times to revolt from it ; to yield to the force
of temptation, forsake God, and pollute
our consciences : and when this happens, a
sincere Christian is for that time unfit for
the Lord^s table. We should, therefore, be
upon our guard against every temptation ;
and, if at any time we are seized and over-
powered by it, we should immediately hum-
ble ourselves, as in dust and ashes, before
God; and never give ourselves any rest till we
obtain some comfortable hope of a pardon.
We should be very careful to practise the
whole extent of our duty, to promote the in-
terest of God in the world to the very utmost
of our ability, and to be cheerfully laying
out our talents and opportunities of service

182 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. for the carrying on of this important end.

v^^^ We should make it our business to maintain
a life of continual communion with God, and
of an uninterrupted regard to the unseen and
eternal world. Laying aside all Jilthiness of
the fiesh and of the spirit, and perfecting holi-

'uCor.vn. ness in the fear of God^. Now, though we
are all too defective in many of these respects,
yet some degree of these two branches of
habitual preparation is absolutely necessary
in order to our worthy attendance on the
table of the Lord : and, as an evidence of the
sincerity of our giving up ourselves to God,
St. James tells us, with all the reason in the
world, chap. ii. 18 — 26, that we must show
our faith by our works, ajid that without works
our faith is dead. If, therefore, we are negli-
gent of this practical holiness, it is undeniably
plain that we are not in a state of grace and
salvation. The resolutions which we formerly
took up, and which, perhaps, we call our con-
version, were plainly the effects of some tran-
sient impressions, and dreadfully short of a
saving change; and, consequently, having
never yet entered into covenant with God, we
can have no right to the seals of it, as we ob-
served in the former argument. And again.

THE LORDS 81 i'l'EU. 183

the habitual preparation of a spiritual and a serm.
Divine life has a most happy tendency to fit v.^-^^
us to receive the visits of the Divine grace
and the communications of his love ; for the
Psalmist tells us that with the merciful man
God zdll show hif?iself merciful, and with the
upright he will show himself upright ; with the
pure he will show himself pure, but with the
froward he will show himself froward"^ : and ♦ P;,. xviii.
in another place we are told that to the wicked
God says, Jlhat hast thou to do to declare my
statutes, or that thou shouldst take my covenant
into thy mouth^? This is what I thought proper ' i'^^. i. le.
to offer to your consideration relating to the
nature and the necessity of habitual prepara-
tion. I now proceed,

II. To consider wherein actual preparation
consists, and to show the expediency of the
several branches of it, I mean spending some
time in the secret exercises of devotion in
order to beget our hearts into a proper frame
for that awful solemnity, and to get ready for
the business which we are then to transact.
Now before I come to particulars, I shall beg
leave to premise two things :

1. That actual preparation is not always

184 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. necessary for the worthy communicating of
^^.^y the Lord's Supper. The providence of God
may sometimes bring a man into a congre-
gation where the Lord's Supper is to be ad-
ministered, and which he was not aware of
before, and in such a case, if he be at peace
with God, and do not he under the guilt of
any unrepented sin, I know not why he should
defraud his soul of that comfort and advan-
tage which he might reap from the present
attendance. And, indeed, if we were more
careful in our habitual preparation, there
never would be so much occasion for actual ;
(though in some degree it would then be very
proper), particularly the most disagreeable
part of it would thus be happily superseded.
We should not have so much need to wash our
garments, when we make it our constant care
to keep them clean and undefiled : the lively
actings of repentance, and faith, and humility,
and love, and joy, and self-dedication would
be more easily excited when we did- not
suffer these graces to sleep in our breast, but
were always endeavouring to exercise them
as a proper occasion was presented. How-
ever, that this caution may not be abused, I
must further observe that, generally speaking.

THE lord's supper. 185

considering the inconstancy of our obedience, serm.
the coldness of our affections, and the irregu- ^s^^>,^
larity of our hves, it is very proper that we
should practise this actual preparation as the
providence of God indulges us with an oppor-
tunity ; and this is more than ordinarily need-
ful when we cannot attend the Lord^s Supper
so often as we could wish.

2. That when the providence of God gives
to you an opportunity of being pretty large in
your actual preparation, I cannot say that it
is absolutely necessary that you should adhere
to the model which I shall lay down, provided
that you could remember all the particulars
of it. For as our cases, tempers, and circum-
stances vary, it would not be proper always
to confine ourselves to one method of pro-
ceeding. I shall offer nothing but what I
think may be useful in the general ; but I
submit it to the examination and the discre-
tion of each particular person to judge how
far it may be convenient for him. I speak
as unto wise men; judge you what I say.
Having premised these 4;wo observations, I
now proceed to the several branches of actual
preparation, or briefly, how a Christian may
profitably employ himself in his retirement

186 OF PREPARATIOIS FOR

SERM. before he attends upon the table of the Lord.

..J!^^ Now I think that it may be very proper for
him to spend his time in some or in all of these
four devotional exercises ; prayer, self-exa-
mination, meditation, and self-dedication, or
solemnly renewing his covenant with God.
I design to discourse pretty largely of each of
these; and all that I can expect to do at pre-
sent is to dispatch the first of them, namely,
1. Self-examination is a very useful part
of actual preparation for the Lord's Supper.
You see that the apostle most expressly re-
commends it in the words of the text : Let
a man exaynine himself, and so let him eat of
that bread, and drink of that cup. This self-
examination may properly be considered in
two branches ; either an examination into
our state in general, as it respects our right
to this ordinance; or a review of our present
circumstances with reference to the immedi-
ate business which we have to transact at it.
1. Self-examination may regard the right
which we have to this ordinance, founded upon
the safety of our state in general : and here
the grand question is that which it is well
worth our while to inquire into, whether we
be sincere Christians or no. Now it is abso-

THE LOKDS BUPPER. 18?

lutely necessary that we should put this ques- serm.
tion to ourselves before our first coming to v^,-^
the sacrament, that so we may be satisfied
in our own minds that we are no intruders,
that the Master of the feast has invited us
thither, and that we shall not he guilty of the
body and blood of the Lord : and, supposing
that we have brought the matter to a fair ex-
amination, and, upon the whole, to a very
comfortable issue at our first partaking of the
holy communion, yet it will be very proper
to be often repeating this exercise, because
the strong persuasion which we at first had
of the sincerity of our grace and the safety
of our state will gradually wear off if the
impressions be not frequently renewed ; and
consequently doubt and fear will break in
upon us, and deprive us of that comfort and
satisfaction which we might otherwise expect
in this ordinance. Now as this branch of
self-examination relates to a matter of the
utmost importance, and, as a mistake on
either side might be very pernicious, we
should take care to choose the most proper
seasons to enter upon it at a time when we
are not hurried with the cares of the world,
solicitous about an important event that is

188 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. depending, or discomposed by indisposition
v^^v^^ of body, especially by a melancholy temper
of mind. Let us engage in this work as fully
convinced of the awful importance of it, and
of the absolute necessity of bringing it to an
issue ; and, I add, heartily willing to know
the very worst of our case, because, blessed
be God ! it is not too late to remedy it. And,
with an humble sense of the darkness of our
own minds, and the deceitfulness of our own
hearts, let us sincerely apply to God, and beg,
as David does, that he would lead us into
a knowledge of ourselves : Search me, O God,
and hioz0 my heart : try me, and know my
thoughts ; and see if there he any evil way in

« Psalm me, and lead me in the zmy everlasting^.
^ ^24. ' I^eing thus prepared when we enter upon the
work itself, it may not be improper to make
use of the assistance of pious and judicious
human writers. But let us take care to make
scripture our main rule, that so we may not
be misled by any fallacious and unwritten
marks : and it might be very convenient if in
our daily reading of the scriptures or hearing
the word preached, we took notice of such
texts as might be of use upon this occasion,
and some way or other marked them down.

THE lord's supper. 189

that so we might not have this kind of direc- serm.
tions to seek when we should have them to v^^-^^
use. Let me remind you in the general, that
the question is not at what particular time
the work of conversion was begun, or by
what remarkable steps it was carried on in
your hearts, or how strongly your passions
are engaged, or to what degrees you are
transported in devotional exercises. Here
the plain question is, whether our wills
are prevailingly fixed on God and holiness ;
and whether we have chosen God through
Christ for our portion and happiness : and let
me add that when we use scripture marks
(which are of all others the most certain,
and, generally speaking, to a sincere Christian
the most comfortable) we should carefully dis-
tinguish between those which are laid down
as the very essentials of religion, without
which no man can possibly be in a state of
salvation, and those which are only the signs
and characters of more eminent attainments
in piety; which, though every good man ought
to labour after, yet are not absolutely neces-
sary in order to give him a right to come to
the table of the Lord.

2. Self-examination may be considered as

190 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. a review of our present circumstances, parti-
v^^„^^^,^ cularly of the sins which we are to confess,
the mercies which we are to acknowledge,
the further petitions which we are to offer,
and the resolutions which we are solemnly to
confirm at the holy table.

1. Before we come to the table of the
Lord, it is very proper that we should ex-
amine ourselves with relation to the sins
of which we have been guilty. In this ordi-
nance we commemorate the sufferings of a
dying Redeemer ; and, as the apostle ex-
presses it, show forth the Lord's death until he
u Cur. XI. come^ . Now it is highly proper that we
should come in a penitent frame, with an
humble, sorrowful sense of the share which
we had in his death and sufferings ; that so, in
the words of the prophet, we may look upon
"Zcch.xn. him whom we have pierced^, and mourn over
him as one that mourns for an only son, and
be in bitterness as one that is in bitterness
for a first-born. Now this godly sorrow is
most likely to be promoted, when we cannot
only say in the general, Lord, I have been a
very sinful creature ; but in such an instance
I Imve violated thy law, and broken my vows,
and stained my conscience ; and that, per-

THE lord's supper. ]Q\

haps, since the very last sacramental engage- serm.
ment. Besides we here come to receive a ^^-^^
confirmed pardon for all our sins ; and upon
that account it is proper that our repentance
should be deep and serious ; and, for that
end, as particular as may be; and certainly
it will be a very great confirmation of our
faith and comfort to apply the blood of
Christ to that particular sin which lies heavi-
est upon our consciences ; and, if our con-
sciences charge us with any gross offences of
a considerable standing either in our unrege-
nerate state, or since our conversion, it may
not be improper to humble ourselves before
God on the account of them, and to renew our
application to the blood of Jesus : but this
examination should particularly regard the
sins of which we have been guilty since our
last attendance at the Lord's Supper. And
here we may particularly inquire. Has not
the blessed God been in a great measure for-
gotten when creatures have been thought of
with fondness and complacency ? Have not
my thoughts been swallowed up with my
worldly affairs, what I should eat, and what I
should drink, wherewithal I should be clothed,
and how I might lai/ up to myself treasures on

192 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. earthy when the greater and more important
v.^,^^^^ interests of the eternal world have been neg-
lected and despised ? Have I considered my
thoughts as under the inspection of an omni-
scient God ; or have I been acting over scenes
of guilt in my secret imagination which I would
not have brought upon the stage of the world?
If so, I have been contracting great pollution.
Oh that such a thought of my heart may be
forgiven me ! Again, my Redeemer has told
me that hy my worlds I shall be judged, and
sMM.xu.by my words I shall be condemned^. Let

37.

me mquu'e whether my speech has been
always mth grace seasoned with salt ; or mIic-
ther I have not been saying that my tongue
is my own, and there is no Lord over it?
Have not my discourses frequently been vain
and impertinent? nay, have they not often
been dangerous and mischievous ? Have they
not sometimes oftended against truth or
modesty, religion or charity? Have I not
sometimes been saying spiteful, ill natured
things to provoke my brother when present,
or to injure his reputation in his absence ?
or, at least, have I not neglected to improve
that noble faculty of speech so much as I
might have done to the glory of God and

THE lord's supper. 193

the advantage of my fellow-creatures ? And serm.

rr • T 1 1 1 VIII.

as to my airections, 1 know that the great v^^^^
and the blessed God ought to have been the
supreme object of my love and of my desire.
But let me inquire whether, on the contrary,
they have not been fondly placed upon some
darling creature that may afflict and torment
me, but can never make me happy? Have
I not tormented myself with foolish fears of
some future evil that might possibly befall
me, without considering that I was in the
hands of a powerful and a gracious God, and
trusting in him with composure and cheerful-
ness ? I know that God has given to me my
corn, and my wine, and my oil ; have I not
rejoiced too much at the receipt of them, and
fixed too much of my confidence upon them
without considering how easily they might be
taken away, and that it is only the name of the
Lord that is a strong tower^, which can protect ' Proverbs

1 • O 1171 1 • ^V"'- 10-

us agamst every calamity : When the provi-
dence of God has visited me with affliction,
have I not been ready to sorrow like those
that have no hope, to repine under the chasten-
ing of my Heavenly Father, or to rage against
those who were the instruments of my cala-
mity ? Has not my anger sometimes broken

VOL. III. o

VIII.

194 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. out to an immoderate degree upon trifling and
inconsiderable provocations ? and have I not
sometimes been so foolish as to suffer it to rest
in my bosom till it has produced sentiments
of malice and revenge ? Have I not been too
ready to envy others their worldly prosperity
without acquiescing, as I ought to have done,
in God my supreme portion and happiness,
and in such a share of temporal enjoyments
as his wisdom and his goodness have seen fit
to allot to me ? And lastly, as to my actions,
have I not neglected some opportunity either
of doing or of receiving good ? Have I not
trifled away the time of health, and strength,
and the capacities of service, which God in-
trusted into my hands for a better purpose, and
for which he will certainly bring me to an
account ? Have I not withheld good from him
to zcliom it was due, when it was in the power
of my hands to give it ? Have I not been an
easy prey to temptation, especially to the sin
that does most easily beset me? Have I not
offended against the rules of righteousness,
of sobriety, or of godliness, and acted con-
trary to my duty, not only in my personal,
but in my relative capacities ? Now if, upon
inquiry, we find ourselves guilty in any of

THE LORD S SUPPER. \Q5

those particulars, as which of us shall not, serm.
then let us take notice of it and humble our- ^^-^^.^
selves before God upon that especial ac-
count, earnestly begging the pardon of it.
And though it be an offence which we have
already confessed, and which we hope that
God has already pardoned, let us pray that
he will graciously confirm the pardon in that
solemn ordinance for which we are now pre-
paring.

2. We ought particularly to inquire into
the mercies which we have received, that we
may then return thanks for them. When
the children of Israel came before the Lord
in their solemn assemblies, he commanded
them to rejoice in the Lord their God: and
again, thou shah rejoice in thy feasts''^. And 'Deutxvi.
this is so plainly a feast of joy, that in the
primitive church it was called Eucharist,
i. e. the rejoicing or thanksgiving; and, in
order to excite this holy joy, we should
reflect upon the mercies of God to us. Tem-
poral mercies should not be forgotten. That
he has given to us our being, that he has be-
stowed upon us so many of his good creatures,
that he has given to us food to eat, and raiment

o 2

196

OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. to put on; and, perhaps, not barely the neces-

VIII.

v,^-,^^ saries, but the conveniencies and the orna-
ments of hfe : that he has preserved our hfe
and our heahh ; or, at least, has so far restored
and raised us up, that we are capable of at-
tending upon the solemn assemblies. We
should bless God for the success which he has
given to us in business ; for any remarkable
deliverance which he has wrought out for us;
for the mercies which we enjoy in our families
and in our friends, that their lives are preserved
and made comfortable to them and to us ; for
the mercies which we receive as a people ; for
the benefits of civil government, the posses-
sion of our religion and liberties; for health-
ful, and peaceful and perhaps fruitful seasons :
but especially we should be enlarged in our
thanksgivings for spiritual mercies, for send-
ing a Redeemer into an apostate and miserable
world; that the glad tidings of the gospel
have reached, and the victorious influences
of his grace have inclined our hearts to
accept of him; that he continues to us the
opportunity of attending upon gospel ordi-
nances, and particularly of coming again to
the holy communion, thus to oiler our sacrifice

THE LORDS SUPPER. 197

of praise and thanksgiving. These things serm.
He very open to our observation, and we v.,,^,^
need not bestow much thought in searching
them out: but we should be more dihgent
in inquiring what particular temptations we
have been enabled to resist, what duties we
have performed, what opportunities God has
given to us of doing or receiving good, and
what improvements we have been making in
holiness since the last sacramental attendance.
And here the particulars which I mentioned
under the former head may be of consider-
able use. For if we have not fallen into the
commission of any wilful sins to make work
for confession, then that preservation is new
matter of thanksgiving to him who has up-
held us by the influence of his grace, and
by communicating those supplies of strength
by which we continue unto this day.

3. We are further to examine what mercies
we want, and which we should seek at the
table of the Lord. In general, we should pray,
if it be the will of God, for the continuance of
all those mercies for which we come to return
thanks, whether for our bodies, our souls, our
friends, or the public. Now it is plain that

198 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. this is a proper part of sacramental prepara-
^^.^^tion: because when we are brought to the
sacred banquet to partake of his love, and
to devote ourselves to his service, we may
offer our petitions with peculiar advantage:
and, therefore, it is necessary, that, by such
previous inquiry, we may know what we are
to ask when the king holds forth his golden
sceptre.

4. We are further to examine what reso-
lutions we are to make in this ordinance.
We do in general bind ourselves with an
oath to a course of universal holiness; and,
perhaps, it may sometimes be proper to enter
into some particular engagements. But let
us remember the advice of the wise man
with relation to vows. Be not rash with thy
mouth, and let not thine heart he hasty to utter
'Etdts.wam/ thing before GocP. It is prudent to
avoid all unnecessary obligations, to which
the warmth of our zeal might sometimes
transport us, and seriously to consider what
it is we shall promise before God. Thus, my
friends, let us employ ourselves in prepara-
tion for the ordinance which is now before us,
in inquiring into the present state and con-

THE LORD^S SUPPER. 199

dition of our souls, what sins we are to serm.
lament, what mercies we are to acknow- v,^,^^^
ledge, what favours we are to receive, and
what vows we are to record ; and let all this
be done with a suitable affection. Do not
let us think that it is enough to entertain a
few transient thoughts upon these subjects ;
but let us endeavour to impress them upon
our minds. Let us think of our sins in all their
aggravating circumstances, against whom
they have been committed, the great and
blessed God, infinitely the most venerable
and the most amiable of beings : and be-
fore whom, before our Creator, before our
benefactor, before his redeemed servants and
devoted people ; and then let us reflect what
the consequences might be : the eternal loss
of all our abused enjoyments, the severest
calamities of a mortal life, and the insup-
portable strokes of everlasting vengeance ;
and, upon such reflections as these, let us
with our whole souls abhor our sins and
mourn over them, and throw ourselves at the
feet of a compassionate Redeemer, entreating
him in the most earnest and importunate
manner, by the compassion of his heart, and

200 OF PREPARATION FOR

SERM. by the blood of his cross, that he would take
viir. - . - , ,

- ^^ away our transgressions, and wash our hearts

from wickedness, that we may be saved.
Let us consider the number, and the variety,
and the value of those mercies which we have
received, and what infinite condescension it
is in the great and blessed God to bestow
them upon such unworthy, such provoking
creatures; and then let our hearts be in-
flamed with love and gratitude, and let all
that is within us bless his holy name. Let us
reflect upon the importance of the blessings
which we ask, and the goodness of that God
at whose hands we seek them; and then let
us draw near with strong desires and with
raised expectations, that so far as those
things are for our real advantage, our hope
shall not make us ashamed^ and God will
not send us away from his presence disap-
pointed and abashed. And lastly, let us
willingly bind ourselves to the Lord with an
oath. Do not let us start at the solemnity
of the obligation, but let us heartily rejoice
if any method can be found out that may
retain these fickle inconstant hearts which are
so ready to forsake the guide of their youth.

THE lord's supper. 201

and to for get the covenant of their God. But in serm.
all let us remember that we are not to depend v^-^^
upon the depth of our repentance for the
pardon of our sins, nor upon the sincerity of
our prayers, nor the ardour of our praises
for their acceptance with the Father, but
upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
which must sprinkle both our persons and
our services; and that it is not the strength
of our own resolutions, but the communica-
tions of the divine grace which can enable us
to conquer all opposition to persevere in a
course of holiness, and can bring us safely to
everlasting glory.

202 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERMON IX.

JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS COVENANT EN-
GAGEMENTS TO GOD.

2 Chron. XV. 15.

And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sioorn ivith
all their heart, and sovyht him with tJvcir tchole desire;
and he was found of them : and the Lord gave them rest
round about.

SERM. To hear of a whole people joining to seek the
v^.^^ Lord with their whole desire, and to enter into
covenant with him with their whole heart, is
surely as happy a piece of news as the his-
tory of most ages can furnish out. We may
truly say of whomsoever it is spoken, happy
are the people that are in such a case, yea, happy
is that people whose God is the Lord. Oh
that it might be the happiness of our own
country and of our own age ! then would our
peace soon he as a river, and our salvation as
the waves of the sea. This remarkable occur-
•2Ciiajii, rence, to which the words of the text refer \
'happened in the reign of Asa, who, in the
beginning and at the meridian of his reign,

IX.

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 203

was one of the bravest and most religious, serm.
as well as most successful princes which
ever sat upon the throne of David, and suc-
ceeded him in the government of Judah.
As God blessed him with ten years of peace
in the beginning of his reign, he employed
them in reforming the many abuses which had
crept into Judah, and into Jerusalem itself,
during the reign of the preceding princes;
the sad consequence of that revolt of Solo-
mon, which his intermediate successors, Reho-
boam, the grandfather of Asa, and Abijah
his father, wanted spirit and resolution to
suppress and controll. After this, God suf-
fered them to fall into an extreme danger,
for Zerah the Ethiopian invaded them with
a million of foot, besides a considerable force
of chariots and horsemen. But God exerted
his almighty power in the defence of his
suffering people; and it is very observable
that the sacred historian tells us that the
Ethiopians were destroyed before the Lord:
after which the army of Judah fell upon the
Philistines, who seem to have assisted the
invader ; and as God struck them with a
panic expressed by the remarkable phrase
of the fear of the Lord falling upon them, so

IX.

204 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. that those hostile cities became an easy spoil,
it is natural to suppose that their hearts were
deeply impressed with so sudden a transition
from that extremity of danger, in which
they acknowledged before the Lord that
they had no power, but rested entirely upon
his almighty arm. To this joy of complete
victory, with which they were then crowned,
was added exceeding much spoil, with which
they were then returning to Jerusalem. Upon
that it is said, Zariah, the son of Oded, went
out to meet them under the inspiration of the
Divine Spirit; and solemnly remonstrated with
them on the necessity of a further reforma-
tion, not only in Judah and Jerusalem, but
in those cities of the ten tribes which had
lately fallen away to Asa, and where it
might seem of greater importance to indulge
their new subjects in their own ways, if carnal
politics had been consulted on such an occa-
sion. The remonstrance had its success:
they solemnly assembled in the house of the
Lord, and offered of the spoil seven hundred
bullocks and seventy sheep; (which, whether
they were all sacrificed on one da} , or on
succeeding days, we cannot certainly deter-
mine) and they added another sacrifice far

xn. 1.

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 205

more valuable in the divine sight; for thej serm.
were prevailed upon by the mercies of God, v.^,^^^
to present their bodies living sacrifices^ holy
and acceptable to God, as their most rea-
sonable service^. For it is said, that they *Rom
entered into a covenant to seek Jehovah, the
God of their fathers, with all their heart, and
with all their soul, and swore unto the Lord
with a loud voice, and with shouts, and with
trumpets, and with cornets. After which
follow the words of my text, which in this
connexion you will hear with increasing
regard. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath
which they had sworn with all their heart, and
sought him with their whole desire, and he
wasfomid of them: and the Lord gave them
rest round about. I might touch upon a
great variety of particulars suggested in
these words, which might afford matter of
ample discourse if I had time to pursue
them all. I might show you particularly,

1. How they had been awakened by the
prophet to seek the Lord with humble and
earnest prayer; to supplicate and entreat his
favour with all their desire (i. e. with the
greatest importunity), as those who plainly
saw that it was the most desirable object in

206 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. the whole compass of nature ; as those that

v.^,^.^^ deeply felt it upon their hearts, that in his

favour is life, and that his lovingkindness is

better than life. And, indeed, this is the

source of all true religion, seeking the Lord,

not in that cold and indifferent manner in

which men frequently pretend to if, but with

all'Our desire. O may such desires after the

Lord, after God in Christ, as our covenant

God and Father, be excited in the breast of

every one who hears me this day ! Then will

he he found of you, as he was of Israel. For

still does he say, If ye seek after me, ye shall

find me, if ye seek me with all your heart. I

might also consider,

2. That circumstance in the story, that
they had found God, which may probably
refer to that great victory they had obtained,
evidently hy a divine interposition, when
they had so solemnly cried unto the Lord,
and said. Lord, it is nothing to thee to help,
whether \mth many, or zdth them that have
no power: help us, O Lord our God! For we
rest upon thee, and in thy name we go out
against this great multitude! O Lord our
God, let not man, mortal man, prevail against
^ 2 Chxon. thee^ ! or, perhaps, this refers to the temper

xiv. 11,

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 20?

of mind which thej had experienced in the serm*
solemn transaction which had just been re- v^^'
counted, and may signify how acceptable
their prayers were to God. And blessed be
his name that such prayers, through the
intercession of the great Redeemer, will ever
be so. Yes, my brethren, you may seek
other things in vain; but if you seek God
with all your desire, you shall not be disap-
pointed, till his Son has lost all his interest
with him, or forgotten that he ever said, Ask^
and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall Jind;
knock, and it shall he opened unto you.

3. Their solemn oath, by which they had
bound their souls to the Lord, would also
suggest matter of very profitable discourse r
which might lead me to consider how proper
it is that such treacherous and inconstant
hearts as ours should sometimes be bound
with peculiar solemnity to the divine service ;
and consider it likewise as the transaction
of the nation and people. I might consider
how far public associations may sometimes
be added to private engagements in the
services of religion : but this would lead me
farther from what I now peculiarly intend,

208 JUDAH REJOICING IN I'l'S

SERM. than the limits of this discourse will allow.

IX

^,.,^,^ But the greater part of what I have further
to say will turn,

4. Upon the circumstances of their re-
flecting upon this solemn engagement. Far
from repenting, they rejoiced at the oath.
They entered into it with circumstances of
high festivity : they swore with a loud voice ;
a?id with shouting, mid with trumpets, and with
cornets. When their pious sovereign pro-
posed it, they did not only bow down their
heads in token of approbation, or lift up their
hands to the Lord, which yet they probably
. did : but they broke out into peals of shout-
ing; and probably made it their request to
those who had the direction of the temple
music (to which it is more than possible the
military might also be joined on this occa-
sion) that there should be some extraordinary
symphony played to add new gladness to
their hearts, new vigour and spirit to their
resolution; and to speak their joyful assent
so loudly, that not only all the mountains
about Jerusalem, but even the heavens them-
selves should ring, and the angelic army
should, as it Mere, be invited to join in

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 209

bearing their part in this mighty chorus; serm.
rejoicing ox'e?" Judah, and rejoicing with them : ^^^-^.^
and then follows,

5. That agreeable circumstance with which
my text concludes, that the Lo7'd gave them
rest round about. He defended them from
the vexations of future invasion : neither the
Ethiopians, nor the Philistines, nor any of
the neighbouring nations, who might have
taken umbrage at their late success, gave
them any molestation ; for God secretly in-
fluenced their hearts, either on principles of
friendship or of fear, to lie still and be quiet.
And thus Judah had leisure to perform its
vow, and to accomplish the reformation which
it had undertaken ; and it enjoyed the happy
consequences of its right conduct, sitting every
one under his own vine and fig-tree^ having none
to make them afraid ; and, at the return of
their solemn feasts, going up to the house
of the Lord, there to renew their vows and
their joy. And, oh! that there ever had been
such a heart in them to fear the Lord, and to
serve him, and to keep his covenant. Then
had we never heard the sad story of the
Assyrian, the Chaldean, and the Roman
triumphs. All, who had confederated them-

VOL. III. p

210 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. selves together, had been broken to pieces,

TV

K^^-^^^^for God had still been with them"^ : and when
Msaiah ^j^^ Lord, whoTJi theii sought, had come into

xxxui. 21. ' »/ o '

his temple, even the messenger of that better
covenant, he had been owned and received.
The gracious Lord had ever been unto them
as a place of broad rivers and streams; nor
would the most distant generations have
heard of the overspreading of abominations
to make the destruction of the city and the
sanctuary, and the end thereof with a food.
But, blessed be God ! though the scene be so
sadly changed, though this covenant was
broken, and God made them to know the
breach of it; though the flames kindled by
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and the
temple, now the scene of so holy and joyful
a solemnity ; though Judah was carried cap-
tive to Babylon ; and, when restored again,
sinned more grievously than before, till wrath
came upon them to the uttermost, when they
had rejected and cut off their own Messiah;
yet he confrmed the covenant with many, not
only of the Jews, but of the Gentile nations.
For God gave him to be a covenant to the
people, a leader and commander to the people ;
and this covenant is still proclaimed among

IX.

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 211

us; and to tliis day we hear him saying, serm.
Incline your ears and come unto me^ &c. ; nor
have we all heard it in vain. There are
those who have joined in it; and whose cause
of rejoicing is, as I might easily show you by
running the parallel, not inferior to that of
Judah here spoken of; yea, rather infinitely
superior to it : and this is the agreeable part
of the subject which is to employ the remain-
der of my discourse. And they who liave sought
the Lord with all their heart, and have found
him, have reason to rejoice in the oath, with
which they have bound their souls to him;
have reason to reflect upon former engage-
ments with pleasure, and to renew them
with delight. A proposition, indeed, so ob-
vious that, were nothing needed but the con-
viction of the understanding, it might almost
be left to speak for itself, as a self-evident
truth : for what can be more evident to all
those who know what we mean by that im-
portant word God, and by the covenant to
which we here refer; the covenant which so
many of us this day came up to the house of
the Lord to seal? But that I may, if possible,
invite others to join with us in such engage-
ments ; and that I may tune your hearts and

p 2

212 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. my own, under the influence of Divine grace,

IX

v^^^^!^^ to that sacred joy which becomes us on so
happy an occasion, give me leave a httle
more particularly to illustrate this matter,
and to show you what cause of joy those
have who have sworn to the Lord with all
their heart. And now I would observe that
they are freed from the misery of those who
neglect religion, and the perplexity of those
who are undetermined about it. They may
look back upon it with pleasure as the gra-
cious interposition of God : they may be
encouraged to hope that they shall be kept
in a faithful adherence to him, notwithstand-
ing all the opposition which may lie in their
way. They may comfort themselves with
the thoughts of a friend and a helper in every
future circumstance of life ; and they may
extend their prospect wide into eternity, and
find nothing to fear, but every thing to hope.
And really, if such considerations be not
matter of joy, no thought is so which can
enter into the human heart.

1. It is matter of joy that Me are freed
from the misery of those who neglect religion,
and from the perplexity of those who are un-
determined about it. Thcjj that are far from

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 213

God shall perish ; and those who continue at serm.

IX

a distance from him can, I beheve, seldom v^^A^
avoid some agony of heart in the demonstra-
tion of his being, which everywhere surrounds
them ; and in the sad forebodings of his dis-
pleasure,which the gospel so audibly proclaims.
And while the soul is, as the scripture expresses
it, halting between two opinions, irresolute in
its determination for God or idols, it is pain-
fully dragged, as it were, different ways at
the same time ; and can neither enjoy the
pleasures of religion, to which it has not cor-
dially consented, nor the delights of sense,
to which it dares not wholly surrender itself.
It may be that the impressions of one sab-
bath wear off before the middle of the week;
and gay company, and a variety of fleeting
trifles, bear away the mind into a flattering
delirium : but the sabbath returns, and the
alarm is renewed, and the voice of God and
of conscience will be heard, and will make
the soul tremble again : and in this divided
state it fears either to reject or to obey the
call. But wdien this struggle is over, and
the choice is determined, there is a secret
peace, a calm and a serenity that diffuses
itself over the soul, only to be known by ex-

IX.

214 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. perience. " Lord ! I yield : thou hast over-
come me ; overcome me not by thy power
alone, but by thy love. I will, by thy grace,
be entirely thine. I will give to thee all
my heart : too little, indeed, and too mean to
receive such a guest ; but thou w ilt conde-
scend to enter into it, and I hope that thou
wilt make it fitter for thyself. At least, on
this I am determined ; I will continue to pur-
s^ue thee with my humble entreaties that thou
wilt take up thy residence in my soul, and
wilt confirm my resolution of being entirely
and eternally thine."^

2. The soul, having bound itself wdth
this oath to the Lord, may look back with
pleasure on God's gracious interposition, as
David did : The Lord is my portion ; I will
bless the Loi^d, who has given me counsel,
" Lord ! I do now feel this happy resolution
springing up in my mind. I feel the efficacy
of that persuasion, which I have, concerning
thine infinite perfections and excellences, de-
termining my soul to prefer thee to every
thing else. And why is this but because
thou the God of glory hast appeared to me ?
Thou hast turned away my eyes from be-
holding vanity : thou hast called, and I have

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 215

obeyed. Thou hast caused me to feel and to serm.
confess the energy of thine own Divine voice, v^^^^
else the most eloquent of thy servants had
pleaded in vain. And, oh ! how happy is it,
how delightful to reflect, that God should
make, as it were, a business of it; should
project a scheme ; should take a long series
of gracious and condescending steps to sub-
due this heart of mine ; to call me off from
vanity, and sin, and ruin, to himself. My
soul ! who, and what art thou, that thou
shouldst thus be the care of heaven ; and that
God should follow me with one gracious call
and expostulation after another, and when
my folly and perverseness rose so high, should
never rest till he had carried the cause, almost
as it were, in spite of myself? Rejoice, O my
soul ! in this condescending goodness, while
thou art grieved and humbled in the dust '
that thou hast exercised it so long, that thou
hast abused it so much. I will not insist on
the pleasure which the pious soul, in these
circumstances, may have in looking inward
upon particular interpositions of Providence
which have been subservient to such blessed
purposes : the place in which we were born,
the friends among whom we were fixed, the

216

JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. ordinances which we have attended ; perhaps

IX

K^'^^'^ the violent afflictions which we have borne,
by which our hearts were indeed cut and
torn, yet thereby opened, as the furrows of
the field, to admit the seeds of immortal life
and joy.

3. The soul, when thus binding itself to
the Lord, may reflect with pleasure on its
encouragement to hope that it shall be kept
in a faithful adherence to him, notwithstand-
ing all the obstruction which may lie in its
way. Being coiifident, says the apostle, of
this very tiling, that he that has begun a good
work in us rmll carry it on until the day of the

' Fhill 6. Lor d\ "O my God!" will the Christian
sometimes say, in such a circumstance as
this, " w^ere I to confine all my views to my
difficulties and my enemies, in comparison
with my own weakness, I should presently
despair. I should wish that I had never
known this bond, pleasant as the engage-
ment has been, as it would surely be better
never to have known the way of truth than,
having known it, to turn aside from the holy
commandment. But thy grace is sufficient
for me. Thou hast not surely, O my God !
thou hast not brought me thus far to leave

IX.

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 217

nie finally to perish. Nor wouldest thou serm.
have shown me such things, hadst thou been
determined to destroy me. O my God ! thou
hast brought me near by the blood of thy
Son, even me who was once so far off. And
wilt thou lose the purchase of that blood ?
Hast thou not pointed out him as the Shep-
herd of my soul, and given it in charge to
him to say, and he has said it, I will give
unto my sheep eternal life, &c. Blessed Jesus !
which way should I be in thine hand if not
in that which I have taken ? Thou knowest
that I have solemnly consigned over my soul
to thee : I have done it again and again : I
am doing it daily. My Lord ! thou knowest
that it is in my heart to die rather than deny
thee; to pour out my blood rather than let
go my hold on thee. Thou knowest that thy
love, thy word, is sacred to my soul, and that
I long to bear thine image. Thou knowest
that there is not a blessing in thy covenant
which I would not embrace, not a bond of it
into which I would not joyfully enter my
soul : yea, I have done it. Thou hast then
surely taken the care of me, and in that care
I am secure. Thy grace will keep my soul
fixed on thee as its centre, so that I shall not

IX.

218 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. rove to my destruction ; shall not so wander
from thee, as to lose sight of thee entirely,
and to overtake thee no more : and, oh ! that
I might never wander from thee ! Thy grace
will perform what it has begun ; thou wilt
strengthen me for duties and difficulties; and,
if any temptations arise which seem beyond
human strength, thou wilt make a way for my
escape^ that I may be able to bear them : yea,
may I not presume to hope that thou wilt
send forth more and more of thy light and of
thy truth ? May I not presume to hope that
thou wilt make my path like the shining light,
which shines more and more unto the perfect
clay ?"

4. The soul may rejoice as comforting itself
in the thoughts of a friend and a helper in
every imaginable circumstance of life. The
bonds of human friendship are very uncer-
tain. Absence may loosen them : distastes,
sometimes unaccountably taken, may quite
untie them ; or the stroke of death may cut
them asunder at once; and growing years may
teach what unexperienced youth is so unwill-
ing to believe, with regard to the vanity of
those dearest enjo3^ments of earth, and of all
our other sublunary expectations. " What

IX.

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 219

a pleasure then to think that though father serm.
and mother may forsake me, lovers andfiiends .
may be put far from me, and my acquaintance
may be thrown into darkness ; or may stand
afar off, by an unkindness, perhaps, worse
than their death, or than my own ; but thou,
my God, wilt never be afar off. In every
unknown contingency of life thy counsel
shall guide me, thy smiles shall cheer me,
thy hand shall support me. In trouble thou
wilt be near : in worldly disappointments
thy liberal hand shall provide me with all
necessary good. In sickness thou shalt hold
my fainting head, and whisper sweet peace
and consolation to my soul ; thou shalt cheer
me even by the death of my dearest friends,
while, thou lettest more of thy own sweetness
into my heart through the wound made in
it by rooting them out. Oh ! how do I re-
joice that nothing can separate me from thee !
In all my removes from place to place, in all
my uncertainties ; in hours of solitude, and
in hours of distress, varied as that distress
may be, what canst thou do, yea, what canst
thou not do, for my soul ? To thee none can
misrepresent me ; from thee none can divide
me. Thou wilt visit my soul ; thou wilt say

220 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. unto it, I am thy salvation. Were all the
.^^-^^ world set upon stripping me, how little could
they take away ! Were all the world set upon
afflicting, and tormenting me, how impotent
would the attempt be! how little awhile could
its effects last ! Yea, amidst all its seeming
triumph, how little could it do if thou, O my
Father and my God ! wert determined to
support me, determined to delight me.

5. Those that have sworn to the Lord zcith
all their heart may extend their prospect
widely into eternity, and find nothing to fear,
but every thing to hope. This is the great
comfort of comforts : With thee, O Lord, is the
fountain of life ; in thy light we shall see light.
The soul, seeing the hour of dissolution near
at hand, yet conscious to itself of immortal
duration, does often, as it were, cry out. Give
me a support in death ; give me a happiness
adequate to my nature, a happiness that will
run through millions of ages unimpaired, and
will, like my own existence, seem to be but
begun. My soul ! it is here. Shall I say
that thou hast it safely lodged in thine arm ?
No, thou art th^'self lodged, safely lodged,
in his everlasting arms, and underneath thee
is the eternal God lor thy refuge. Dost thou

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 221

not know that word, I will be a God unto serm.

TV

them, and they shall he my people ? This is the ^^^^
covenant which thou hast sealed : the latter
is a language of thine own, and the former
the counterpart of it, I will he thy God, i. e.
I will be thy eternal portion ; else, as the
apostle argues, he would he ashamed to he
called thy God ; for he is not the God of the
dead, hut of the living : not the God of any
who shall be left to die and perish at last.
He is thy God. Let death come, and take
away every thing else, it cannot take away
thy God : he will not then be afar off. Know
then that thou dost argue his immediate
presence with thee, and his agency upon thee,
as much as that thou livest. It is an act by
which he bears thee away from this vain
world, and takes thee to himself. As if his
love could no longer endure that thou
shouldest, as it w ere, seem to thyself ever to
be at a distance from him. Can he fail of
any angelic guide through the unknown re-
gions of the invisible world, who has the
Lord of angels for his God and Father ? Be
not anxious about it, O my soul ! He shall
show me in his own method ; shall show me
the path of life, and conduct me to his pre-

IX.

222 JUDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. sence, where there is fulness of joy ; and to his
, right hand, where there are pleasures for ever-
more. There is a judgment day approaching,
and it will be a day of unutterable terror ;
a day of calling to the mountains, of crying
to the hills ; but it shall not terrify me : for
he will say. Gather my saijits unto me, even
they that have made a covenant with me by
sacrifice. Then will he remember that solemn
engagement which I this day seal with the
great, the worthy, the eternal Judge ; will
remember how I have this day fled to his
cross ; how I have this day put myself under
the protection of his blood, and entered my-
self into the bonds of his covenant. Welcome
then, ye dear pledges of this everlasting cove-
nant, of this covenant engagement ! O Lord !
I have sought thee with my whole desire,
and thou art found of me ; and I rejoice that
I can swear unto thee with all my heart.
And now for the improvement of all. Will
not what I have already been saying be
sufficient to induce us to seek the Lord,
and to enter into his covenant? Consider
this, you who forget God. Behold the secret
workings of the sanctified heart, as I have
this day been laying them open ; and let

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 223

your consciences witness whether they must serm.
not be attended with Divine pleasure. Oh ! ^^-^^
how much better to have this anchor of the
soul, both sure and steadfast, than to be tossed
amidst so many vanities as those which agi-
tate you from day to day. What shall I say ?
Let the word of God, Oh ! may the Spirit of
God, speak it in one word. Seek the Lord
while he may he found, and call upon him while
he is near. Oh ! that, as all Judah entered
into the oath, every soul that hears me this
day might be engaged to humble obedience.
And, to conclude, let me invite all those of
you, who seek the Lord, to enter into his
covenant solemnly, and to lay a foundation
for the joy which I have been describing, by
submitting to him with all your heart. I
wish every soul in this assembly to know by
experience the satisfaction which I have
described ; to know more of it than I can
describe ; yea, more of it than I have ever
felt, though I hope that I have spoken from
the inward experience of my heart. I wish
you to know it on such days as these, to know
it on every day of your lives, and to know
it on your dying bed ; to know the sweet

IX.

224 JIJDAH REJOICING IN ITS

SERM. support which a soul, upon the borders of
eternity, has in reflecting, " Well, I shall go
to the table of the Lord no more ; but I
have been there ; I have been there in ear-
nest ; my vows are recorded in heaven, and
they have been written on my heart. And
now, O my God ! thou wilt remember thy
covenant, wilt remember the soul which has
been so solemnly lodged with thee, as the
purchase of the blood of Jesus." In the
mean time let us go to the table ; and may
we be prepared there by songs for our joy.
God only knows whether I may ever have an
opportunity of renewing the occasion to some
who hear me on this day : but, however that
may be, I affectionately entreat you, and I
solemnly charge you, as you desire to know
what true joy and happiness are, that you
make your choice of God as determinate as
possible, and that you take the first oppor-
tunity which his providence gives to you of
sealing your vows and oath at his table, when
you can once feel in your own heart that you
seek God \\ ith all your desire, and that you
are willing to swear allegiance to him with
all your heart. And, to conclude all, let as

COVENANT ENGAGEMENTS TO GOD. 225

many of us as are going this day to the table serm.
of the Lord endeavour to make our approach v^,^^^
with that hearty gratitude which becomes
such a solemnity ; and, as a hymn attended
the first institution of the ordinance, as was
suited to so high and sacred a festival, let us
now sing unto the Lord, let us sing praise.
Let us endeavour to shake off every gloomy
and uncomfortable thought ; every solicitous
painful care. While we rest our souls, let us
praise God ; and, while we pour them forth
before him in the language of the most
cheerful thanksgivings. Oh! may he inspire
our hearts with devout affections, that he
may rejoice over us while our souls are thus
rejoicing in him.

VOL. III. Q

226 god's resentments of the slights

SERMON X.

god's JUST RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS
PUT UPON HIM BY A PROFESSING
PEOPLE.

X.

Zech. xi. 12, 13.

And I said unto them, if ye think good, give me my price;
and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty
pieces of silver : and the Lord said unto me, cast if tinto the
potter: a goodly price that I teas prized at of them. And
1 took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the
potter in the house of the Lord.

SERM. As the sense of this context is very difficult,
and very important; and as the propriety of
that improvement, which I shall make of the
verses which I have been reading, w ill depend
upon fixing their meaning aright, I hope that
you will excuse me, if I am something larger
than ordinary in opening it to you, and in
endeavouring to illustrate it perspicuously to
your minds. You w ill observe therefore, that
as the prophet Zechariah, who wrote after
the children of Israel were returned from the
Babylonish captivity, was one of the last in-

PUT UPON HIM BY I'ROFESSORS. 227

spired penmen of the Old Testament, the serm.
blessed God was pleased to exhibit to him ^^^^^i^^
some visionary representation of the then
present state of Israel, and of the manner in
which he intended to deal with his people,
whether in the way of mercy, or of judgment:
and I apprehend that the portion of the pro-
phecy, before us, is an account, not of a real
fact, but merely of a phantasm presented to
the prophet^s mental eye. Such, as I might
show you at large, were several other sections
of the prophetic books; and particularly, that
where Jeremiah hid his girdle beside the Eu-
phrates; and that, in which Isaiah^ walked 'isaiaU
naked for several days; and that, in which
Hosea took to himself a wife of whoredom,
and had children by her. It is generally
allowed a very good rule of interpretation,
that where we read of any thing done by
the prophet, which seems in the nature of
things morally impracticable, we should sup-
pose that it passed in vision only, and not in
reality; and I believe, that when you have
looked over this paragraph, you will see that
it is most easy and natural, though it may
not be absolutely necessary, to interpret it

Q 2

XX. 2.

228 god's resentments of the slights

SERM. thus. In the fourth verse God commanded
^^^l^^ Zechariah that he should feed the flock of
the slaughter; that is, a flock which should
represent a people that had suffered great
slaughters and desolation already, and that
was to expect yet more and greater ; a flock
concerning which God declares, that as they
had been sold and slain by their owner,
which may either refer to what they had
suffered hy their own prince before the cap-
tivity, whose w^ickedness had been so great
a snare and plague to the people; or, as the
past is often used in scripture to express the
future, may refer to the destructive wars which
were afterwards excited by the ambition of
some of their princes; and particularly those
of the Asmonean family, who so evidently
aimed at enriching and aggrandizing them-
selves, though at the expense of the public;
which suffered exceedingly in their civil
broils, as they introduced among them the
Roman power, into whose hands the whole
country was afterwards delivered; as it is
expressed in those remarkable words, verses
5, 6 : Yet for the sake of a little remnant
among them of a better temper and character,

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 229

called here the poor of the flock, God de- serm.
clared his purpose of continuing to take a ^^^^^^
pastoral care of them. Verse 7? And I feed,
or as I would rather render it, nevertheless I
will feed the flock of the slaughter, &c. Ac-
cordingly, says the prophet, / took unto me
two staves, i. e. two shepherd staves or crooks;
for you well know that the staff was a pas-
toral instrument : as in that beautiful pas-
toral, Ps. xxiii. David says, thy rod and thy
staff comfort me: and such, by the way, the
rod of Moses seems to have been; a sort of
a long pole, which he carried in his hand
when feeding his sheep. And perhaps in
allusion to this, and to express their office
as shepherds of the people, sceptres or staves
of the same form, were borne by the heads
of tribes and other magistrates. Of these
staves he called one beauty, and the other
hands, to signify that beautiful order, and that
firm union ; and consequently, that strength,
in which they would be kept, if they sub-
mitted themselves to the divine government,
and behaved as became the sheep of God's
pasture. Thus the servant, and in this respect
the representative of the blessed God, seemed
to feed the flock for awhile; and in a little

230 GODS RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS

SERM. space, i. e. the term of one month, he dis-
^^,^~J-^^ carded three under shepherds, which sigmhes
the change that should happen in their go-
vernment during the period while God con-
tinued their God; i. e. between the present
time and that of Christ's appearance, in
which, as it is well known, their civil policy
was much changed, and many strange revo-
lutions happened in their state. But the
consequence of all was a mutual alienation
of affection between them and their shepherd:
My soul loathed than, and their soul abhorred
me; we grew weary of one another. They
were uneasy under mj government when I
presided over them; and I am growing weary
of the care and administration of so ungrate-
ful a people. And upon that, says the pro-
phet, I broke o?ie of my rods or staves, even
beauty ; as a token that God would withdraw
his care in a great measure from them, and
leave their beauty and their glory to be very
much impaired. It was broken in that day ;
a?id the poor of the flock that waited upon nie
kneti) that it was the word of the Lord: i. e.
the remnant of good men, observing the
providence that thus disjointed and weak-
ened them, thcv took notice of the hand of

X.

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 231

God in it, and of its correspondence to pro- serm,
phetic declarations : and then come in the
words of the text: A?id I said unto them,
i. e. to the people, if you think good, give me
my price, and if not, forbear. I seemed to
myself in this prophetic vision, to ask of the
people, i. e. probably their governors and
representatives, what they thought I deserved
for this good office which I did them as their
shepherd; and they weighed out, i. e. they
paid (for when money among the Jews was
paid, it was usual to weigh it), they weighed
out, or delivered to me for my price, thirty
pieces of silver. Now you know that this was
but a very small price. Supposing the pieces
to be, as probably they were, shekels, and
each shekel to be about two shillings and
sixpence, they amounted to but three pounds
fifteen shillings of our money, which was just
the price which was to be paid as a fine, if a
slave had been killed by an ox that had
been used to gore'"^; and this was the price 'Exod.
which thev seemed in vision to set on the
worth of the prophet's pastoral care. And
these pieces of silver seemed to have been paid
in the house of the Lord, where their senate
met, consisting partly of the leading priests.

xxi. 32.

X

232 god's resentments of the slights

SERM. and partly of the most considerable of their
nobles of other families. This God is repre-
sented as very justly resenting as an aftront
to himself; that his servant, who, as we
shall afterwards observe, was there in a re-
markable type of his son and of himself,
should be estimated at the price of a poor
slave; and therefore he says, cast it to the
potter, throw it to the first poor working man
whom you fmd, the potter at work at the
temple gate; a fitter reward for him than for
me, this goodly price that I was prized at of
them; this worthy return which they make to
my servant, my under shepherd : and accord-
ingly, says the prophet, I took my other staff,
even bands, and cut the?n asunder, that I
might break the brotherhood between Judah
and Israel; i. e. I then destroyed all their
mutual union, and gave them up to quarrels
and dissensions ; which, as you know, at
last, proved their utter ruin by the Romans,
when they fell under the administration of
those who were infatuated by God to their
destruction ; and to represent w hom the pro-
phet was directed to take the instruments of
a foolish shepherd, i. e. instruments ill made,
imfit for use, and such as none but an idiot

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 233

would think of taking. And the chapter serm.
ends with a demonstration of divine judgments ^^-^^
against these shepherds and their flock; judg-
ments which were accordingly executed in the
utter destruction of their princes, priests, and
people, by the Romans; when their city
was taken, their government utterly broken
in pieces, their temple burnt, and several of
the priests, who survived it, put to the sword
by the express command of Titus, though
one of the most merciful princes in the world.
This, surely, was a most sensible accom-
plishment of the concluding words; Woe to
the idol shepherd, the wretch that is no more
than the image of a shepherd ; while he pre-
tends to bear the office, he deserts the flock,
and throws off the care of them. The sword
shall he upon his right arm and his right eye:
his arm shall he clean dried up, and his eyes
shall he utter darkness. God shall smite the
arm which had been folded, while it should
have been stretched out in guiding the flock;
and the eye, which has been sealed in sleep,
or roving, when it should have been watching
over them ; or rather which has been upon the
flock for evil, as had been represented in the
preceding verses.

234 fiOD S RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS

This seems to be the general sense of this re-
markable context; that God would for awhile
continue to be the shepherd of Israel ; but
that, for the repeated affronts and contempt
which he saw that thej would cast upon him,
he would in righteous displeasure, at length,
give them up to the conduct of wicked men,
both in church and state, till governors and
governed should be destroyed. With this ge-
neral interpretation of it, you will see how re-
markably this prediction was fulfilled, in the
base treatment which our Lord Jesus Christ
experienced from them ; to which these words
of Zechariah (though our copy reads Jere-
miah) are applied by the evangelist Matthew :
And they took, or as I would rather render
sKocf-iov, I took the thirty pieces of silver, the
price of one who was sold ; of one whom the
children of Israel sold, as it is w^ell known
the word rz/^aw also signifies; and they were
given for the potter's f eld, as the Lord com-
manded me. I have elsewhere endeavoured
to account for the little variation occurring in
the manner of quoting them, which is accord-
ing to the general sense, rather than exactly
according to the words, either of the He-
brew, or of the LXX. But the general reason

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 235

of the application of them was very evident, serm.
When the Lord Jesus Christ, the great s^S-^^
shepherd of Israel, was bought at the price
of a common slave, even for this very price
of thirty pieces of silver, there was the most
literal accomplishment of this prophecy that
could be imagined. Any attempt put upon
Christ in this view would have been some
degree of accomplishment of it, had the
price they paid for his head been three hun-
dred or three thousand shekels, but much
more remarkable when it was exactly thirty :
and it was further a circumstance worth
remarking, that as the prophet had by divine
direction thrown this money to the potter's
gate, so that very money, being returned by
the traitor who had received it, should be
given to purchase that which was called the
potter's field ; probably because it used to be
the place where that potter worked, to whom
Zechariah thought in vision that he gave
this money ; or possibly, because it might
have been the property of a potter. Having
thus endeavoured to illustrate the true mean-
ing of this text, and to show you with how
much justice it is applied by the evangelist
to that great event in which it was most ex-

236 GODS RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS

SERM. pressly accomplished, I shall now come to
^^.-^l,^ consider it in that practical view in which
it first occurred to my thoughts. You see,
that the blessed God here represents the
slights which should be put upon him by his
professing people, and then speaks of it with
a just indignation, as that which highly pro-
voked him, and on account of which he would
withdraw his protection from them, and give
them up to dissension and ruin. The Lord
said, cast it, ^"c: and accordingly I would
remark, that the blessed God observes, with
just displeasure, the slights which are put
upon him by his professing people, and by
those for whom he is performing the office
of a watchful and a kind shepherd. And
here I will,

I. Consider some of the remarkable in-
stances in which the blessed God is slighted
by a professing people. I will,

II. Show you how certain it is that he
must take notice of it with just resentment.
I will demonstrate,

III. What we may reasonably expect as
the effect of that displeasure ; and then I
will conclude with hinting at a reflection or
two. But having been so large in opening

X.

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 237

the context, you will easily perceive that I serm.
have left myself very little time for the dis-
cussion of these more obvious, yet very im-
portant particulars.

I. I will consider some of the most remark-
able instances, in which the blessed God is
slighted by a professing people. Now he is
plainly slighted and despised by all the con-
tempt that is thrown on his ordinances, his
servants, his laws, and his Son.

1. The blessed God is despised and af-
fronted in all the contempt which is cast upon
his ordinances. It is a very high favour which
he does to us in establishing ordinances; and
our souls might be humbled in the dust,
that he should have appointed solemn sea-
sons and solemn meetings, in which such
poor sinners, as we know ourselves to be,
should come to him, and present our peti-
tions, and hear the instructions of his word.
A prince that would receive a petition from
the hands of the poorest of the people, how
condescending would he seem ! How glad
would the poor, necessitous, oppressed crea-
tures be to have such a privilege. We have
an infinitely greater privilege on every day,
and especially on every sabbath; and shall

238 GOD S RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS

we slight it? Shall we neither speak to the
blessed God, nor come to hear from him?
What is that but virtually declaring that we
have nothing to say to him, and that we do
not desire to know what he has to say to us:
and is not this an insolent affront? Thou
hast not called upon me, O Jacob ; thou hast

Msaiah been weanj of me, O IsraeP. It is in effect,
saying to God, depart from us, for we desire
not the knowledge of thy ways : and you
know that is spoken of as a most audacious
affront, and given as the character of some
of the worst of men. A conduct on which
Job makes this lively reflection, Lo, their
good is not in their hands: the counsel of the

+ jobxxi. wicked is far from me"^; far be it from me to
be guilty of such madness, when it is certain
that the proudest sinner has no good in his
hand which he can call his own, and is likely
every moment to be stripped of what he
seemeth to have by that God whom he thus
despises and neglects.

2. The blessed God is affronted by his
professing people when his ministers are de-
spised, and set light by. This was particu-
larly the case as represented in this pro-
phetic vision ; and, therefore, is very proper
to mrntioii here. You kno\\ tliat lliev are

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 239

spoken of as men of God, as embassadors from serm.
him ; and, therefore, it might very reasonably v^^^^A^
be expected that, amidst all their acknow-
ledged and lamented imperfection, yet, for
his sake whose name they bear, whose person
they represent, to whose service they are
especially devoted, they should be kindly
regarded ; yea, that they should be esteemed
in love for their work's sake: and so they are
by those who are indeed of the flock of God.
When they are injured, the insult rises much
higher than its immediate objects; He that
despises you, says Christ, despises me : and
upon that the apostle ventures to say. He
that despises, despises not men, but God. It isy
therefore, an argument of very great pro-
faneness, when ministers, as ministers, are
treated with contempt. A wicked minister
indeed is w^orthy of contempt, as being a
wicked man, and that under peculiar advan-
tages of goodness, and peculiar obligations
to it ; and therefore we find the prophet who
spoke lies is represented as the meanest of
all sinful wretches in a very sinful people :
The prophet that speaks lies, he is the tale.
But if some deceive themselves, and make
themselves vile, others who behave worthy

240 god's resentments of the slights

of their office and character are so much the
more valuable, in proportion to the degree
in which they break through the snares of
bad examples, and dare oppose themselves
to an adulterous and sinfid generation. And
it is very observable that when God is de-
scribing the sins which filled up the measure
of Israel's iniquity, and brought wrath upon
them to the utmost, this is mentioned as one
of the chief : They mocked the messengers of
God, and misused his prophets, till the wrath

^2 chron. of the Lord arose, and thei^e was no remedy^.

xxxM. 5, ^ rpj^^ blessed God is affronted when his

laws are violated. What can be a greater
affront than to trample upon the authority
of the Supreme Legislator? When he has
not only intimated his will, but declared it,
every instance of wilful transgression is, as it
were, treason against his crown and dignity.
And so it is interpreted, Wherefore do the
<Ps.x. a. wicked contemn God^? Every act of sin is a
practical blasphemy, either of his infinite
knowledge, as if he did not see what was
done, or of his unspotted holiness, as if he
were not displeased, though he sees it ; or of
his almighty power, as if he were not able to
make his creatures to see and to feel any sad

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 241

consequences of his displeasure. And all this serm.
being under a revelation, in which his wrath v^^J^^y
is declared from heaven against all imrighteous-
ness and ungodliness of men., it is an additional
affront to his veracity, and to his wisdom too,
as if he would not execute his threatenings,
and had intended them only to give a vain
alarm ; yea, and left them in the power of
those, to whom he addresses them, by tJieir sa-
gacity and penetration, to find that there was
nothing dreadful in them. Now is not this
audacious conduct, especially, as I said, in a
professing people ; in a people who pretend
to believe in him, and to do him homage ?
He speaks of that homage with a just con-
tempt, when obedience and a holy life did
not witness its reality : This people draw near
to me with their mouth. Sec. hut they have re-
moved their heart far from me ; surely in vain
do they worship me^ : intimating that he who 'Isaiah
turns away his ear from hearing the law, even Matt. xv.
his prayer shall be an abo?nination^,inste2id of „ „ ^' •

1 .J 7 8 Proverbs

an acceptable homage. And, to complete all, xxviii. 9.

4. The blessed God is affronted by a pro-
fessing people, when his Son is neglected and
rejected : and this is the affront which, if
persevered in, he will never forgive ; but he

VOL. III. R

X.

242 god's resentments of the slights

SERM. seals up the offender in wrath and vengeance
irrecoverable and everlasting. You know
that it is spoken of in the parable as the last
effort of the injured goodness of the husband-
man, that last of all he sent his own son :
and he said, they will reverejice rny son ; espe-
cially such a son, sent in such a manner, and
for such purposes ! one would think that it
should at once awe and melt every heart.
Lord ! didst thou send thy only begotten
and beloved Son, the brightness of thy glory,
to come into this world, to live, and to die,
for such poor sinners as I am : by his autho-
rity to bind, by his love to constrain me to
obey ; and shall I reject him ? It is, as you
know, called trampling under foot the blood
of the So?i of God ; and will that be a little
thing? Of how much sorer vengeance, says
the apostle, do you suppose such shall be
thought woi'thy ? Think of the vengeance
due to the violation of Moses's law, and com-
pare it with this, and you w ill find no pro-
portion : I appeal to your own consciences.
He that despises me, says our Lord, despises
him who sent me ; and take heed that ye despise
not him that spoke from heaven. For a sinner
practically to say, I will not have the righte-

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 243

ousness of Christ to justify me ; I will appear serm.
before God in my own righteousness : I will v^.^^^
not have the grace of Christ to renew and
sanctify me ; I will go on as I am : I will
not have the Son of God to rule over me ; I
will do my own pleasure ! I leave it to you
to think if it be not a most daring affront,
if it be not worthy of the severest displeasure.
But I proceed very briefly to show you,

II. How certain it is that the blessed God
will take notice of all these affronts with just
resentment : and here I would only observe
that God cannot but see every instance of
this kind ; and that he has a full view of all
its aggravations.

1. He cannot but see every instance of
this kind. For you well know that his eyes
are in every place, beholding the evil and the
good; that all' the ways of a man are before
the eyes of the Lord, and he jjondereth all his
goings ; that he takes as exact a view of
every man's conduct, of his temper, of his
words, and of his thoughts, as if that one
creature were all that he had to observe.
The eye of a minister is soon lost in a large
congregation : this and that person may neg-

R 2

244 god's resentments of the slights

SEiiM. lect Divine worship, and he not so much as
.^..J.^ know it ; or, if he observe, he may not be
able to judge of the reason of it : but God
sees and knows all ; marks the absence, and
the cause of the absence. His eye likewise
penetrates our secret retirement, and sees the
slight which we there put upon him by
a neglect of duty ; or by the trifling and
irreverent performance of it. He hears every
disrespectful word spoken of his servants,
though ever so secretly ; as he elsewhere ex-
presses it, before the wall and in the doors
of the house. He is witness to all the viola-
tion of his laws, in thought and word, as well
as in deed : and he knows the secret con-
tempt of Christ which is rising in the heart
of the sinner, though he dare not vent it in
words ; sees the secret disgust, it may be, to
the very name of a Saviour, though that
name be as ointment poured out. Thus
God sees in every instance, and knows how
long these things have continued. And I
must add too,

2. He has a full view of all the aggravating
circumstances which attend the slights that
we have put upon him. You know that any
affront offered to a superior is to be estimated
by the dignity of the person, and the oppor-

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 245

tunity whit:h we have had of knowing him. serm.
Now God, and indeed God alone, sees and v^;^
knows his own infinite dignity and majesty,
perfection and glory. He alone, likewise,
sees and knows all the opportunities which
we have had of being acquainted with this
glory, and of fixing it upon our own minds.
He not only sees what we do know of him,
but what we might have known. He knows
all the messengers whom he has sent to us,
and every message that each of them deli-
vered through succeeding sabbaths and suc-
ceeding years : and I must further observe,
that he also most distinctly knows for what
trifle it is that he is slighted; he knows how
much less the consideration often is than
thirty pieces of silver, for which his worship
is neglected, his laws violated, and his gospel
despised. And it is observable that he men-
tions this with just resentment and indigna-
tion, that he had been offended on such tri-
flmg considerations: My people have forsaken
me, the fountain of living waters, for broken
cisterns, &c. : and thei/ moved 7ne to jealousy
with that which is not good; they have pro-
voked me with their vanity^. No words can M>Mt.
express, no thoughts can imagine, the mean ''''''' ^^'
and contemptible view in which such con-

246 god's resentmExNts of the slights

SERM. duct as this must appear in the eyes of the

.^^ I , blessed God ; even ilm goodly price at which

lie is valued, when in a hundred and a thou-
sand instances his professing people sacrifice
his favour for that for which they would
hardly displease a stranger, and much less
any valuable friend ; as if his friendship were
of all things in the world least to be valued,
his displeasure least to be apprehended. And
he knows that sometimes the apprehension
which they have of his great goodness, which
ought to engage the greatest reverence, and
the tenderest care to avoid every thing offen-
sive, is made the consideration to embolden
them to al!Vont him. Of all this he has a
distinct view ; and, therefore, he must be
highly displeased with it. Let me briefly
remind you,

III. Of what may reasonably be expected
as the effect of this righteous displeasure.
And what indeed may we not expect, when
we consider his almighty power, in connexion
with that perfect view of the case which we
have already represented, and with that strict
holiness which nmst render all these offenders
abominable to him ; what are such to expect
but that he should withdraw the tokens of

X.

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 247

his despised care, and leave us to utter re- serm.
jection and reprobation ?

1. Sinners may expect that he should
withdraw the abused tokens of his despised
care. Where this is the case with any con-
siderable number of men, he may disown the
pastoral relation in which he has stood to
them : he may say unto them, Loammi^ you
are not my people^ neither am I your God : I
will take no further notice of you. You have
neglected my ordinances, and my ordinances
shall be withdrawn from you. You have
despised my ministers, and your teachers
shall be driven into corners. You have
trampled on my law, and you shall hear no
more of it. You have slighted the grace
of my Son, and you shall be importuned
no longer with it. How much reason have
we to fear that it should come to this, with a
nation that has so evidently made light of
God as we have done ! that the gospel should
be lost, or all its power and purity ; so that
nothing but a dead disguised carcass of Chris-
tianity should be left, hardly to be distin-
guished from heathen superstition ! for that
is apparently the case in the papal church ;
and it might justly be our case. God might
send us to see what he did to Shiloh, the

248 GODS RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS

SERM. place which was called by his name, and de-
.^^■C^^ clare that he would do so with us. The Lord
Jesus Christ might send us to see what he
did to Ephesus, when he removed the candle-
stick out of its place ; to Pergamos, when he
fought against them with the sword of his
mouth; to Laodicea, whom he threw up with
loathing, after he had long been standing at
the door, and knocking for admission. He
might break the pastoral rods, beauti/ and
hands, destroy all the comely order of his
sanctuary, all the bonds that join us together,
whether civil or sacred, and give us up to a
discord that should end in ruin, and the dis-
solution of the house and kingdom divided
against itself. Yea, it is assuredly to be ex-
pected by every one that goes on to despise
him,

2. That he will finally leave such in a state
of rejection and reprobation. It is undeniably
certain that zcithout holiness no man shall see
the Loi'd ; and it is as certain that a supreme
love to God, founded on the highest esteem
for him, and a most earnest desire of his
favour, is an essential principle of holiness.
And if, after all that you have heard of your
obligations to God, and all the tokens of his
care which you have enjoyed here, you go on

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. '249

finally to slight and to despise him, the wrath serm.
of the Lord will arise, and there will be no ^^-^^^
remedy. He will disown you, and will have
no more to do with you. You will be left
on your dying beds without any support ;
either terrified, as many are, with the view
of approaching damnation ; or hardened,
even whilst you stand on the very brink of
ruin. When death has done its dreadful
work, the blessed God will take no favourable
notice of such souls ; will not command his
angels to receive and to guard them ; but
will leave them to be seized by the malignant
spirits of hell, as helpless sheep assailed by so
many devouring lions, and looking in vain
towards the fold from which they have wan-
dered, and wishing in vain for the shepherd
which they have forsaken. In the great day,
when before him shall be gathered all nations,
such wretches will be separated from the flock
of God, and placed among the goats on the
left hand. In vain will it be to plead the
privileges which they have once enjoyed,
though they could say. Lord, have we not
prophesied in thy name, as well as heard thee
teaching in our streets? he will declare, 1
knozi) not nhence yon are ; depart from me.

250 god's resentments of the slights
SERM. ?/e workers of iniquity. And tliat will be the
...^^S-^^ final end of them. God sometimes returns
again to a nation and a church, which
he has for awhile cast off and abhorred;
though it is generally after a long interval :
and seventeen hundred years are now elapsed
since he gave up Israel, that was once his
chosen people. But, oh ! to the soul, that
finally slights and despises him, he will never,
never return. What were seventeen millions
of ages, compared with the miserable eternity
to which such soul shall be condemned ! Oh !
consider' this, ye tliat forget God ; consider it,
all ye that are going on to neglect him.

To conclude with only hinting at the im-
provement which I have not time further to
pursue, let us bless God that this is not al-
ready our case ; that, after having so long
slighted God, and undervalued his favour
and care, we are not yet given up as a people
and a nation ; though God only knows how
soon it may be our case. And let us adore
him, especially, that we are not abandoned
to the final despair and misery of those who
know that he has cast them off for ever, and
will be favourable to them no more. Let us,
this day, and every day, humble ourselves

PUT UPON HIM BY PROFESSORS. 2ol

deeply in his presence, acknowledging our serm.
offences, and deprecatmg his deserved dis- v_„^X^
pleasure. Let us, with a more attentive view,
survey the many benefits which we have
enjoyed by his care, and the blessed conse-
quences, both for time and eternity, which
we may expect from his favour ; especially
when all the happy purposes of this pastoral
office shall be answered. And, to conclude
all, let us take great care that we do not
strengthen each other's hands in slighting
God and religion. It is a very contagious
evil : poor foolish creatures are ready to em-
bolden one another. But let it be remem-
bered that there is no association which will
signify any thing against the blessed God :
though hand join in hand, the zmcked shall not
he unpunished. All that they will gain by
their confederacy is to be associates in punish-
ment, and perhaps mutual instruments of the
Divine justice in punishing one another. If,
therefore, we would express a real and solid
friendship to each other, let it be by doing
what we can to promote a sense, a deep,
powerful, serious sense of practical religion.
Associations for this purpose are very desir-
able. Ministers especially strengthen each

X.

232 GODS RESENTMENTS OF THE SLIGHTS, ETC".

SEiiM. Other's hands in God. And I would particu-
larly recommend them to young people ; and
especially to those who are designed for the
ministTy ; and this, not only as a matter of
private, but of public importance ; for though
the most faithful prophets of the Lord are
sometimes slighted, yet I believe, and it is
generally to be seen, that as those who desire
to honour him in their office are themselves
personally most honoured, so God is also
most valued and reverenced in those societies
over which such preside, and in those nations
where such ministers abound; as, on the other
hand, the ministrations of an idle shepherd
are the sad forebodings of the sword of the
Divine vengeance.

253

SERMON XI.

PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH
THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS CHRIS-
TIAN FIMENDS.

Philemon, verse 22.
/ trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you.

As God has been pleased by his afflictive serm.
hand for some time to interrupt the usual ^.^A^
services of my life, which I number among
its greatest comforts, you will not wonder
that I do upon this occasion further interrupt
my discourses upon that excellent subject in
Titus, which has been so long before us; and
which may afford us so much more matter of
useful meditation. It is the duty of all to
consider the dealings of Divine Providence
towards them, and to acknowledge all its
gracious interpositions in their favour. Pri-
vate Christians, when they have been for suc-
cessive sabbaths confined from the house of
God, owe, on their restoration to it, a public

254 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. song of praise to God their deliverer. But
v.^AAw> they who bear a pubhc character, when
similarly restored, do still more owe the
psalm of thanksgiving : and it becomes
them not only to praise God themselves,
but to invite others to do it. As David,
when God had saved his life from immi-
nent danger, not only says, / will praise the
Lord at all times, and his jwaises shall conti-
mially he in my mouth ; but adds, the humble
shall hear thereof, and be glad. Oh ! magnify
the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name
'Ps.x-axiv. together'^. And in the 118th Psalm, 18 — 20,
when he had said, The Lord has chastened me
sore, but has not delrvered me over to death,
adds, Open to me the gates of lighteousness,
I will go into them, and praise the Lord:
even into this gate of the Lord, into which all
the righteous shall enter ; there will I praise
thee, for thou hast heard me, and art also become
my salvation. I have formerly, as I remem-
ber, discoursed to you from these words on
an occasion like this ; otherwise I should
have judged none more suitable at this time.
Yet there are some circumstances which ren-
der these words of Paul so peculiar to this

XI.

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OP HIS FRIENDS. 255

conjuncture, that I have no reason to regret seiim.
any circumstance which prevented my making v
choice of the other. When the apostle had
dispatched the affair of Onesimus, about
which he wrote; and in M'hich, considering
the person pleading, the cause pleaded, and
the manner in which it was managed, we
have great reason to believe that he suc-
ceeded ; he adds a few circumstances, and
among the rest this: he hoped Philemon
would endeavour to get him a lodging;
probably he meant in his own house; be-
cause he trusted, that though he were now,
as he says, a prisoner' of Jesus Christ, yet that
he should, through the prayers of Philemon,
and his other Christian friends, be ere long
given unto them. Concerning which you will
observe four things, which may at present
be matter of useful meditation :

I. That the apostle was deeply apprehen-
sive of the interposition of Divine Providence,
as interesting itself in his confinement or en-
largement:

II. That he looked upon it as a desirable
thing, that, if it were the will of God, he
might enjoy continued life and liberty:

III. That he considered the prayers of his

256

PAITL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. Christian friends, as of great efiicacv for this

XI. ' to J

.^^..^^^ purpose:

IV. That he speaks of himself, upon the
supposition of his being thus enlarged and
restored, as the property of the church, as
given to them.

We observe then,

L That the apostle was deeply apprehen-
sive of the interposition of Divine Providence,
as interesting itself in his confinement or en-
largement. I trusty says he, i. e. I trust in
God, that I shall be given unto you; that he
will be pleased to stretch out his hand, and to
break my fetters, and give me the opportu-
nity which I have so long desired of con-
versing with my Christian friends again, and
of ministering to them in the public offices
of my function. Paul had indeed particular
reason to acknowledge this, not only as the
importance of his station in life might seem
to render him in some peculiar manner the
object of a Redeemer's care, whose special
messenger he was; but likewise as there had
been extraordinary predictions referring to
this very event. When he \vas going up to
Jerusalem, and was addressing himself lo

XXIll, 11.

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 257

the elders at Ephesus, he observed that the serm.

Holy Ghost testified in every city, that bonds v J^^^

and AFFLICTIONS awaited him^ ; and Agabus^, ^Actsxx.
while they were at Csesarea, had not only 3 acTs xxi.
uttered a prediction of these coming evils, ^^*
but had given a prophetic sign of them:
and when the great apostle was seized at
Jerusalem'*, a further vision of Christ as- ■♦Acts
sured him, that he must go to Rome, there
to repeat the testimony which he had borne
elsewhere. But Paul was so well instructed
in the doctrine of his Divine Master, that
he knew not only that his affairs, and those
of his fellow-christians, were under the dis-
posal and administration of a Divine Provi-
dence ; but that God's government extended
itself even to the irrational, and to the inani-
mate world; and that not a sparrow fell to
the ground, or a drop of rain descended from
heaven, without our Heavenly Father. We
know, and believe this too. Let us bring the
thought to every circumstance of life, and par-
ticularly to those which are the most afflictive.
" Am I, like Paul, interrupted in a course
of active services? Am I shut up in circum-
stances of confinement, of one kind or another?
Are my capacities for service brought within

VOL. III. s

XI.

258 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. a ver}^ narrow sphere, perhaps for the present
entirely cut oft? It is a dark dispensation;
but it is a dispensation of providence/' Paul
knew that God could easily have influenced
the minds of the Jews, so that they should not
have desired his imprisonment; or those of the
Romans, that they should not have granted
it; or his own, so that he should not have ap-
pealed to Caesar; which if he had not done,
he would have been set at liberty : yea, that
had the Almighty so pleased, he could have
delivered him, as he did Peter, from his con-
finement, by sending an angel to strike oft" his
chains, and to unbar the gates of his prison.
But he was wisely persuaded, that God had
good reasons for not doing any of these things,
and he acquiesced in them. Some of these
reasons he could trace, as he observed that
the things which had happened to him, hap-
pened for the furtherance of the gospel : and
in other respects he believed that all was
right, and was quite satisfied in ^hat God
had done, and was doing concerning him:
that if ever deliverance came, as one way
or another he knew that it would ; he
was sensible, that it must be a providen-
tial deliverance: that he who had cast him
down must raise him up: that he who had

xr.

14, 15.

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 259

given him to the rage of his enemies for serm.
awhile, (yet still under a powerful restraint,
so that upon his life they had no power) must
give him to the prayers and embraces of his
friends, if he ever were to enjoy the liberty
of conversing with them again. " O Lord,
my expectation is from thee. I have said,
thou art my God, my times are in thy hands^, 'Ps. xxx.
And how does it revive my soul, to think
that they are so ! If I am imprisoned in my
chamber, and in my bed, thou fulfillest the
thing which thou hast appointed for me.
Thou fixest the days and the hours for which
I am to be confined ; and in thine appointed
time thou openest the doors of my own house,
that I may go out of it ; the doors of thine,
that I may enter into it ; that I may join
my praises with those of thy people, and that
I may speak thy word in the great congre-
gation."

II. It further intimates that he looked upon
it as a very desirable thing, if it were the will of
God, that he might enjoy continued life and
hberty. He speaks of this consummation as
the object of his trust, and therefore no doubt
of his hope, and of his desire, that he should

s 2

260 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. be given to the church again. We well
^^^.^^ know that this was not owing to a fond at-
tachment to the world, or to any unwilling-
ness to have done with the things of time
and sense, and to enter upon the invisible
state. Paul was, through the divine grace
working upon his heart, dead to the world: it
appeared a very little matter to him : he had
said before his imprisonment, 7W?ic of these
things move me, neither count I my life dear
'Acts XX. unto me^ that I may finish my course with joy ^ :
and he had said under his imprisonment,
God forbid, that I should glory in any thing,
save in the cross of Christ, whereby the world
» Gal. vi. is crucified to me, and I to the world^. The

14.

believing view I have had of my crucified
master has made me quite like a dead man
to the world, and has quite blasted its charms
in mine eyes; as all the natural comeliness
of a man is gone w^ien he is dying in
the agonies of crucifixion. And as for the
other world, that wore a most comfortable
aspect; insomuch that, as he had formerly
said, while the outward man perished, the inner
was renewed, in consequence of looking at
things unseen ; so he also, under this very
imprisonment, speaking of his views, says, I

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 26 1

have a desire to depart ; and to be with Christy serm.

XT

which is far better^, incomparably better, be- v^~^J^
yond any thing which I can express : to be ^'^J • '*
dissolved, to be loosened, to be allowed to
weigh anchor, and set sail for this pleasant
land, where my Redeemer dwells, and where
he reigns ! Oh ! a moment there is better than
one thousand years here, if personal enjoy-
ment alone were to be considered. And
when martyrdom came in a nearer view, his
soul was not at all terrified : I am ready to
be offei^ed, and the time of my departure is at
harid^. Sec. Yet notwithstanding all this, as 93 Tim.
he believed, he did not make haste. He *^' ~ *
considered that Christ had an interest upon
earth, as well as in heaven, and though he
had very low and humble thoughts of him-
self, as in some respects the least of the
apostles, and not worthy to be called an apostle,
yea, as less than the least of all saints; yet still
he knew, that through grace he was a chosen
vessel; that God had fitted him for some
peculiar services ; and that as he had already
preached Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum,
so there were still large scenes of labour be-
fore him. Spain and Britain, it seems, M^ere
still to be visited by him; and the eastern

262 PAUL GIVEN RACK TO THE CHURCfl

SERM. countries to be revisited, new churches to be

vr

K^^J^^ planted, and those already planted to be
watered, and other epistles to be written by
him, for the comfort and edification of the
church in the present age, and in all those
which were to succeed; and this made him
willing to bear a delay of glory, and to sustain
the evils and sorrows of life for future days and
years. And thus he expressly states the case
for me, to abide in the flesh is more needful for
you ; and having this confidence, I know that

■ j^hii.i. I shall abide^. I in this view desire to con-
tinue in life. A soul of so active a disposi-
tion as PauFs must desire freedom, not merely
or chiefly for his own sake, that he might go
whither he pleased, and do what he would ;
but that he might be capable of acting for the
service of Christ, and the good of souls, with-
out that restraint he was now under. This
indeed had been moderated : he had not been
all the while in a dungeon, though he had
been in chains ; but he had dwelt in a hired
house of his own, where he received all who
'Acts came unto him^. Yet one cannot suppose
any large assemblies were held there; and
some think, that after these two years were
expired, he Mas brought under a strait

xxviii. 30.

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 263

confinement. But he longed to be able to serm.
go from city to city, and from land to land, ^.^^
preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching
those things which concerned the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the salvation of immortal souls
by him. It M^as this which made light, and
liberty, and life sweet; which sanctified his
natural enjoyments, and his natural desires.
We are to add, that,

III. He considers the prayers of his Chris-
tian friends, as of great efficacy for this pur-
pose of his deliverance. Paul was himself
much in prayer, and improved the opportunity
that his confinement gave him for this purpose,
and bowed his knees before God, often and
much for the several churches which he had
planted, and in which he had laboured. And
it evidently appears, that he set a great value
upon their prayers to God for him. Therefore
he bespeaks them in the most pressing man-
ner. Brethren, prat/ for us; prat/ for all saints;
and for me also, that utterance may be given
me, Sic^ : and no where more solemnly and 3Eph. vi.
earnestly than, I beseech you, brethren, for ^^'
the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the love of the
Spirit, that ye strive together in prayers to God

26"4 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. for me, &c *. And so here, I trust I shall he

XI. .

v^A,-^ given to your prayers. " My dear friends,

^^g'^'^'^'as I hope God will deliver me; and as, in
humble submission to his will, I pray for that
deliverance; so I assure you that I have no
such arrogant opinion of myself, as to imagine
that it is merely or chiefly out of regard to
my own prayers it will be granted. No, I
esteem yours, I desire the prayers of every one
of you, the least and the meanest, and the
united prayers of all; and I read the answer
to your prayers, in the support God has
given to me in my confinement, and in the
enlargement from it which I now speedily
expect. And if I am so delivered, I will as
it were inscribe it upon the mercy, in legible
characters, this is an answer to the prayers of
my Christian friends and hretliren. How^ se-
cretly soever they have been offered by day
or by night; how distant soever my praying
friends have been from me, some in Judea,
some in Asia, some in Greece, while I have
been here shut up in Rome, they have reached
the ears of God, and, with humble submission
and thankfulness be it said, they have set
the hand of divine omnipotence at work on
this happy occasion." And no wonder that

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 265

Paul had such apprehensions of the matter, serm.
considering what he had read in the Old v^j^
Testament, and what he had seen in his own
experience, and that of his Christian friends,
under the New. Often had he read, that the
eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous^ and
that his ears are open to their cry ; that the
righteous call, and the Lord hears them^.'Ps.xTixiv.
Call upon me in the day of trouble, I ziill
deliver thee; and thou shalt glorify me^. He Ts. xci.

15

knew, that the prayers of the church had
brought out Peter to full liberty on the very
night before he was to be brought out to
execution ; and that the answer was returned
before the assembly for prayer was broken
up. He knew likewise that it was when he
and Silas w^ere praying, and singing praises
to God, that the foundations of the prison
were shaken, and that every maris bonds were
loosened: and he well knew that the hand
of God might work as really for his deliver-
ance in answer to prayers, now, by second
causes, which seemed to operate according
to the course of nature, as if the pomp of
each of those miracles had been renewed,
or as if both of them had been united in
one. And, oh ! let it always be remembered.

266

PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

XI.

SERM. that the effectual fervent prayer of the righte-
, ous man avails much : and let it be the care
of each of us to be daily praying for our-
selves, that we may have the greater encou-
ragement to pray for our Christian friends
under their afflictions ; and that we may have
the greater interest at the throne of grace
for the whole church of Christ.

IV. Paul speaks of himself, upon the sup-
position of his being thus enlarged and re-
stored, as the property of the church, as given
to the?)!. Indeed, he had long, and that very
justly, been used to consider himself, and
other Christian ministers, in this view. He
knew, that as magistrates are not ordained
for themselves, but for the good of those
whom they preside over, that societies may
be maintained in the peaceful possession of
their natural rights; so likewise ministers
were constituted, that they might be, as
their very name imports, seixants of the
churches. So in the epistle to the Ephesians,
iv. 11, 12, he tells us that our ascended Lord
gave apostles, and prophets, and evangelists,
and pastors, and teachers, for the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and

I

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. '267

for the edifying the body of Christ. And serm.

XI

this he testifies in very strong and expressive v^^^^

terms to the Corinthians, when too ready to

contend about this or that particular minister:

All things are yours, whether Paid or Apollos,

or Cephas^. Therefore, savs he elsewhere, we '' iCor.iii.

,21,22.

preach ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake ;
and in that which seems to be the last of his
epistles, and written long after this to the Co-
rinthians, I endure all things for the elect's sake,
that they may also obtain the salvation which
is in Christ with eternal glory^. And as this ' 2 Tim. ii.
feeling animated him in his bonds, so when he
thought of approaching liberty, still he con-
sidered it as a liberty to be employed for
Christ, his master, and for his dear brethren
in him. None of us, says this good man, lives
to hirnselP. God forbid that we should think ' Hom.
so erroneously. 1 e are not your own, ye are
bought with a price^ ; and as Christ loved me, ■ 1 cor. vi.
and gave himself for me, I am not my own.
When free, he knew that he was Christ^s ser-
vant, and therefore the servant of the church.

I trust I shall be given to you. " If I am re-
stored, as I am persuaded that I shall be, I
shall in a great measure owe it to 3>our prayers;
and I shall consider that now you have an

19.

268 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. additional right to the best services which I can
.^^-J^^ do for you ; because you have been the means,
through the fervour of your intercessions at
the throne of grace, of prolonging my life,
which otherwise perhaps had been taken off;
and of procuring my liberty; whereas, per-
haps, if I had not been happy in such kind,
and praying friends, I might have languished
much longer in confinement. And I wish,
from my whole heart, that you may find your
account in my release: I wish that it may
please God to make my labours, when I am
restored to you, of any real benefit. However,
as God shall enable* me, I will attempt to do
good; and will consider my time and my
strength as yours, and my gifts and Christian
experiences as yours, so far as I may be able
' 2 Cor. i. to use them for your advantage^. I doubt
not but these were sentiments quite agreeable
to the very heart of St. Paul ; and I bless
God that I can say in his presence that they
are the sentiments of my heart too. And I
have brought in so much of the workings of
my own soul in his person, and for the illus-
tration of his words, that I have left myself
little to say, when, in the last place.

XI.

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 269

V. I am to apply these things a Uttle more serm.
particularly to the circmnstances in which
Divine Providence has lately been pleased to
bring us, and those in which we now are.

And here, I am sensible, that it becomes me
publicly to acknowledge your kind and en-
dearing concern for me, expressed in the most
agreeable manner, not only by affectionate
inquiry after me, for which I think myself
much obliged, but also, and above all, by your
earnest importunity with God on my account.
I thank you for the prayers which you were
offering together on that day of solemn prayer,
when it was my inexpressible grief to be sepa-
rated from you ; and which day I would gladly
have redeemed at the expense of several days
of pain and illness, had it been in my choice.
I thank you for those prayers which you have
since repeated, whether in your retirements
and your families, where I am sure that you
have not forgotten me, or in those little social
meetings, where I have particularly heard of
the earnest and affectionate manner in which
you sought my life and health from the great
Lord of both. I greatly rejoice that God
has cast my lot amongst a praying people.
I believe that I have frequently owed my re-

XI.

270 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. covery from former distempers, under God,
. to your prayers ; and it is with great plea-
sure that I trace a remarkable answer to
them now. And, as I am particularly sen-
sible of the kindness of several of mv young
friends, in spending a considerable part of
the night upon my account in prayer, in
which they continued instant, as I am told,
even to the tenth prayer ; so I think it my
duty publicly to observe, that it was on that
very night, and, so far as I can learn, at that
very hour when they were so engaged, that
my distemper took so favourable a turn ; and
that the fever left me, after having continued
upon me between three and four days, rising
at last to a violent height, which gave my
friends about me, who were most capable of
judging of my case, a very painful alarm. I
do, therefore, beseech you that, having ob-
tained this mercy of God in prayer, you join
with me in acknowledging the remarkable
answer which God has given, and in return-
ing our humble and united thanks to him for
that great goodness which he has caused to
pass before me, both in supporting me, under
the illness, in such calmness, composure, and
joy, that I have ne^er known more ; and, at

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 271

length, after having made a sick bed not only serm.
tolerable, but very comfortable to me, in .^^.^^
raising me up from it, and restoring me, after
so short an interruption as two sabbaths, to
my beloved work amongst a people so justly
dear to me. And I earnestly desire the fur-
ther continuance of your prayers, that it may
appear indeed that I am given to you ; that
I may remember that my life is not my own,
but yours ; and that it is to be employed for
your service. It was a very great comfort to
me, upon a bed of sickness, to reflect that I
had endeavoured to serve you, in the main,
with all good fidelity, though amidst many
imperfections ; that I had faithfully declared
to you the zi)hole counsel of God ; and that, if
every one of you had been near my dying bed,
if God had appointed that it should have been-
so, I could have borne my joyful testimony
to the truths which I had always taught you,
could have appealed to God with my last
breath that I had built on the foundation to
which I had directed you, and could have
witnessed that I found the consolations of
that gospel which I have so constantly and
so earnestly recommended to you as the
foundation of your hope, and as the rule of

XI.

272 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SEiiM. your life. Unite your prayers with mine,
that I may go on testifying with great seri-
ousness, and overflowing affection, the great
and important truths of it, repentance towards
God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Pray that I may abound in every good word
and work. When I reviewed the course of
my ministry under confinement, there were
two things which chiefly lay upon my mind,
that I might be more careful to take conve-
nient opportunities of instructing and exhort-
ing you in your own houses ; and that I might
revive the work of catechising, as soon as
possible, and carry it on to the best purposes
I can, either by myself or others, both in
town and country. And that I might more
effectually address to those serious Christians
who are not yet entered into our communion,
to prevail upon them to comply with that
gracious call, by which Christ says, Come,
and his Spirit sai/s. Come, and his church
says, Come. To these three things, if God is
pleased to restore my health, so that I may
without restraint pursue them, I propose im-
mediately to apply ; and I earnestly desire
your prayers that my efforts may be effec-
tual. In the mean time it was some small

07C>

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 'Z(lj

comfort to me that God bad been pleased to serm.
spare mj bfe to finish that work on the Rise ^^^
and Progress of ReHgion, which I thought
would have been my legacy to you : but as
Providence has ordered it otherwise, I beg
your prayers that I may live to see it the
means of doing good, and that it may, in
some remarkable manner, be owned of God,
to subserve the purposes of conversion and of
edification. And I beseech your further
prayers for me, that God would keep alive
upon my mind those experiences which he
has been pleased to give me during the course
of this affliction, and that, in consequence of
them, I may be enabled to speak in a more ^
serious and useful manner concerning what I
have now seen and known. Give me leave
to conclude the discourse with a few touches
of this kind with all imaginable plainness
and simplicity. Learn, I beseech you, from
what has happened to me, how uncertain our
lives are. Reflect on the uncertainty of mine,
and of your own.

Reflect on the uncertainty of my life : that
if you really do enjoy any advantages by it,
you may improve them ; the consciousness
of which will be a great comfort to me, when

VOL. III. T

274 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. God shall take me away. No congregation
,^^I^^ can be more careful not to grieve a minister
by any personal unkindness: on the contrary,
I bear witness for you all, that you are, as a
congregation, remarkable for your care to
make me easy, comfortable, and happy ; and
that my satisfaction in my situation among
you is such that I desire, if it be the will of
God, heaven may be my next remove. But
let me have joy of you that you are your own
friends, that 3'OU love and value your own
souls, and take effectual methods for their
happiness. Let me have joy of you that you
walk with a holy circumspection, as becomes
the gospel, and in such a manner as to adorn
it, and to cut off all occasion of reflection
and reproach from those who would gladly
seek it ; for be assured that every thing which
wounds you in this respect must wound me.
And I must add, let this be an engagement
to you to give yourselves up to the church,
while it has a pastor ; lest, if you trifle, you
should lose the opportunity, remain perhaps
for some time unsettled, or, not being able
at first to use that freedom with a stranp-er
which you may with me, after so many years
intimate acquaintance as I have had with

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 275

several ; on whom, nevertheless, to my great serm.
grief, I have not yet been able to prevail in -.^^Ji^
my exhortations to them on this head.

Let me beseech you also to consider the
uncertainty of your own lives. This year
we may die, as I told you, in the beginning
of it ; and my death had like to have at-
tested the truth of what I spoke : perhaps
yours may attest it. Let me remind you,
on this occasion, that to find yourselves on
a sudden, in the midst of life and health,
business and schemes, seized by a distem-
per which shall be likely to carry you on a
sudden into eternity, will be a very awful
circumstance. You will need to have strong
supports when you come to death ; perhaps
two or three days may be the period of life
to you. You will need then to have the testi-
mony of your conscience that you have de-
voted yourselves to God in his covenant; that
you have taken hold of Christ by faith ; that
the service of God has been your business,
and this world has not been your portion ;
that you have been daily conversant with God,
and have made it your business to lay up a
treasure in heaven. You will need, I am sure
that you will need, all the comfort of these

T 2

XI.

276 PAUL GIVEN BACK TO THE CHURCH

SERM. internal witnesses. See you to it that there
be a just foundation for them. And, to add
no more to a discourse, already too long, give
me leave to observe that the serious Christian
may learn, by what has passed with regard
to me, not to be slavishly afraid of affliction,
or of death itself. We see, in abundance of
instances, that God can make a sick and a
dying bed abundantly easy. We see that he
can chain up the great enemy of souls, so
that even when the blood and the animal
spirits are in the greatest hurry, he shall not
be able to terrify the soul with one moment's
fear. We see that God can make his pro-
mises unutterably sweet, and can entertain
the mind with a continual succession of them,
so that it shall need neither books nor prayers
nor ordinances ; and that even when the kind-
ness of friends obliges them to spare their
own words, and to lay an embargo upon
others too, that God can speak to us, and
enable us to speak to him with unutterable
delight ; that he can unite, as it were, all the
promises in one, and send them into our
hearts, as in a stream of glory ; so that every
solicitude about sickness or health, about re-
covery or death, shall be quite suspended in

THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF HIS FRIENDS. 277

a joyful sense that we and all our concerns serm.
are in the hands of a Heavenly Father, who v^.^^
will deal well with us according to his word.
This (I praise his name) he has done for me,
and I hope for many others that hear me on
this day ; and therefore let us thank God, and
take courage, and, casting all our care upon
him, be heartily willing to be prosperous or
afflicted, well or ill, to live or to die, as he
pleases, faithfully attending our duty to-day,
and leaving it to God to determine whether
we shall honour him on to-morrow, by acting
or by suffering ; and whether we shall spend
the third day without or within the veil.

278 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERMON XII.

THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,
AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD.

ECCLESIASTES, xii. 7.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; and the
spirit shall return to God tcho gave it.

SERM. Solomon, the greatest of princes, and the
.^J^,^ wisest of men, was here in pursuit of a design,
at once the most important and the most
difficult that can be imagined. Sohcitous
to inculcate true religion on a thoughtless
world ; to teach men this as the conclusion
of the whole matter, as the result of all his
observations and all his experiences, various
and advantageous as they were, to fear God,
and keep his commandments, which is, indeed,
the whole of man, his whole duty and his
whole interest : and this he was especially
solicitous to inculcate on young men, to
whom it was, in some respects, particularly
difficult, and particularly important to teach
it. And behold the methods which he takes

XII.

AND THE SPIKtT TO GOD. 279

for that purpose ! He leads them, as it were, serm.
into the situation into which we have lately
been led, to the brink of the grave ; and
points out to them the end of all living.
After having most eloquently described the
infirmities of broken age, he warns them
likewise of the possibility that, before those
reached them, the curious machine of the
human body might be fatally disordered ;
and then, in my text, he mentions the awful
consequence of this with regard to both the
parts of our natures, our mortal bodies and
our immortal souls. Then^ says he, shall the
dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit
shall return to God who gave it. And surely
if this consideration will not affect men^s
hearts ; if this will not draw them off from
the chase of vanity, even when the youthful
blood is boiling in their veins, and all the
fallacious prospects of this precarious life are
rising in their brightest charms, nothing will
do it. If they will eagerly pursue the grati-
fications of the body, which must so soon
moulder in the dust ; if they will neglect the
interests of a deathless spirit, which so soon
must return to God, its author, there is no
hope that Solomon, or a greater than Solomon^

280 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. the Lord Jesus Christ himself, can open more

Xil •

.^^ ^y awful prospects upon the mind, or urge a

consideration of greater importance than that
the body must soon be put off, and the naked
spirit go to receive from God its final doom :
if this will not engage us to fly for i^efuge to
lay hold of the hope zchich is set befoi'e us ; if
this will not teach us to seek true riches,
when we are so shortly to be stripped of our
earthly all ; yea, if this will not excite in us
an earnest desire to be found clothed with
his righteousness, and washed with his blood,
that we may appear before God with courage,
men must even be left to spend their days in
vanity, till, in a moment, they go down into
the pit; till the records of their folly be
written in the dust, and the sight of the
Divine tribunal teach them what they -will
not now believe of its insupportable terrors
to all who have neglected a due preparation
for it.

But we will hope better things than these:
we M'ill hope that, by the blessing of God
upon this awful representation, so well suited
to the solemn occasion of our present assem-
bly, that you will be wise, that you will
understand this, that you will consider your

XII.

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 281

latter end. May the Divine grace secure serm.
this happy event ! Teach ics, O Lord, to know v^
our end, arid the measure of our days, what it
is, that we may know how frail we are ! So
teach us to number our days that we may apply
our hearts unto wisdom.

With the most affectionate desire to pro-
mote your true happiness for time and eter-
nity, and of being an instrument in the hand
of God, of leading you into the only way of
finding mercy of the Lord in that day, give
me leave to assist your meditations on these
two awful and obvious consequences of death ;
the retur?i of the body to the dust, and the re-
turn of the soul to God who gave it ; and then
to conclude with some application of both.

I. Let us for a little while survey the
return of the body to the dust : The dust
shall return to the earth as it was.

This reminds us of the original of this cor-
poreal part of our natures ; that it was formed
from the dust. All the strength and all the
beauty of human nature are but a certain
modification of animated dust : that man in
his best estate might be kept humble, God
reared the goodly frame of his body from

282 THE DUST KETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. these weak and mean materials ; according
<^-~^,^ to the sacred historian, Aiid the hord God
' Gen. ii. made man out of the dust of the ground^ : but
a spirit of nobler original waked the well
proportioned statue into life, sensation, and
action : God breathed mto his nostrils the
breath of life, and so he became a living soul ;
and had man continued in that state of inno-
cence and holiness in which he was created,
he had, notwithstanding the low original of
his corporeal part, been immortal as the
angels, immortal as the saints shall be when
inhabiting that glorious body into which this
tenement of clay shall be refined and trans-
formed. But sin, having entered into our
world, brought death in its train ; and
this is one sad consequence of death, not
only that the soul must be separated from
the body, but that the body must moulder
into its original dust. Such is the efficacy
of that sentence pronounced on the very day
of the first fatal apostacy, Dust thou art, and
unto dust thou shalt return. It is an awful and
a mortifying, but it is a wise appointment.
Let us for a few moments contemplate it in
each of these views.

It is an awful and a mortifying appoint-

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 283

ment that the dust should return to its serm.

V FT

earth ; that all its strength and all its beauty v^-.^
should be dishonoured and consumed. All
the goodlhiess of the flesh, says the prophet, is
as thejlower of the field: like that, indeed, for
frailty, but, how unlike it in another respect !
The flowers of the field are often fragrant in
their decay, and the last remainders of them
have something grateful to the sense : but
the fairest human flower, through what horrid
forms of putrefaction does it pass in its return
to its original dust, so as to become intoler-
able to those who most fondly admired it,
perhaps almost to adoration ; and to extort
from the most affectionate surviving relations
the words of Abraham with regard to the
once beautiful Sarah ; who, in the decline of
life, had captivated princes, Bury my dead
out of my sight^. Thus does God show his'Gen.xxv.
righteous indignation against sin ; and what
can be more awful than that, pursuing, as it
were, even the dead corpse of the criminal,
and executing his judgment upon it, as a kind
of emblem of that more dreadful judgment
which would pursue the soul in a future and
invisible state for this treason against the
King of heaven, did not infinite mercy in-

4.

xir.

284 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. terpose for its rescue : and, oh ! who would
, be proud of that form which must so soon
become odious and insupportable ; or who
would pamper that flesh, which must so soon
be covered by earth, and be devoured by
worms ?

But this hint of improvement leads me
further to add, that it is on the whole a wise
appointment of Providence that the body
should return to dust : and this, not only as
it is an act of wise justice, which tends also,
as you have seen, to inculcate some profitable
lessons, both of humility and mortification,
but in some other views likewise. I mean
not here so much the usefulness of the dust
to other purposes, when it becomes, as it
at length does, clean mould ; though one
of the finest of the ancient writers, I mean
Xenophon, represents a dying hero rejoicing
in that, that even the dust of which his
body had been composed should be useful
among other earth to future generations of
mankind : but what I principally have in my
view is this, that the tendency of the corpse to
dissolution obliges, as I just now hinted, the
fondest relatives to part with it, and to lay
it out of their sight ; which is a circumstance

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 285

of no small importance for healing the sorrow serm.
which their death would otherwise have occa- v^^-,^^
sioned. You that have known what it is to
look with streaming eyes and a bleeding heart
upon the deserted clay of a much loved wife
or a darling child, when stretched upon the
bed of death, you can testify what an addi-
tional sorrow it was to you to part with the
corpse, and how glad you would have been
to have preserved it, pale and blasted as it
was, and to have visited it for succeeding
days, and have fed your meditations and your
sorrows with it, perhaps, till you yourselves
had become corpses too, and been laid by
your dead, to perpetuate the distress of your
surviving friends. But the invincible and
salutary laws of fermentation and putrefac-
tion forbid this flattering kind of self-murder:
the same fluids, which once gave the fair
fabric its beauty and vivacity, which rendered
it so charming, now under a different kind of
agitation, turn it into rottenness, and tear it
in pieces : and were all the art of Egypt and
all the spices of Arabia employed to embalm
it, it must be covered in order to its being
preserved, and almost as effectually taken
from the eyes of the living, as if it had been

286 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. dissolved to atoms, and scattered by all the
^,Ji^ winds at their pleasure. And thus the deep
wound in the friendly heart gradually heals,
being thus, as it were, bound up from exter-
nal injury ; and time does that by insensible
degrees which the aids of philosophy and
the infinitely more powerful succours of re-
lio-ion effect at first, alas ! with so much
difficulty.

And, to conclude this head, the wisdom of
the appointment further appears, as hereby
God trlorifies at once all the wonders of his
power, his faithfulness, and his mercy, in
raising the body from the dust to which it
has been reduced ; in recovering it from this
variety of new forms which it has assumed ;
in bringing bone to its bone, and muscle to
its muscle ; in changing dust and rottenness
into a form of glory, exceeding even that of
the sun, in that day when God will say to his
church, Thy dead men shall live ; thy corpses
shall arise : awake, and sing, ye that dwell in
the dust ; for a dew shall fall upon you like
the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth
her dead. Then, if we are Christians indeed,
shall the power and grace of Christ be illus-
trated in changing these vile bodies, that they

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 287

may be fashioned like unto his own glorious serm.

... . . XII

hocly^. And in this view methinks the dis- k^,.,^^^
solution and abasement of the grave is matter ^ Phil. iii.
of triumph rather than of horror ; and the
Christian may say, though in a sense quite
different from what the words originally had,
with regard to this humbling and mortifying
event, gladly will I glory in my infirmity, that
the power of Christ may rest upon me. But
enough; perhaps more than enough, of the
dissolution of the body in the grave. Let us
now,

II. Trace the soul in its flight; and con-
template for awhile that important subject,
the return of the soul to God who gave it.
Two thoughts are indeed suggested, that
God gave the soul, and that at death it is to
return to him.

1. We are reminded that God gave our
souls: they are of a divine original; they
were so, as j^ou have already heard : in the
first formation of human nature God breathed
into mans nostrils the breath of life, and he
became a living soul. And it is so with re-
gard to every particular son and daughter
of Adam; and therefore God is spoken of
as forming the spirit of man within hinr\ "Zech.xii.

Xll.

288 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SEHM. Consider him, my Christian friends, as the
, former of your spirits, who created them and
sent them into these bodies, which they now
inhabit, to lodge in them for a few ^^ears:
but observe, I say not for a few years more ;
no, perhaps they are just ready to be dis-
lodged. But whether their stay be for a
longer or shorter time, he placed them in
that abode. He sent them into this world;
and sent them, to be sure, on some important
errand. There was a cause for which, as our
Lord says, we were born ; a cause for which
we came into the world; and when we con-
sider what these spirits of ours are ; when we
consider how much of the natural image of
God they still bear, even in this fallen state ;
and how much of his moral image they are
capable of bearing, we must be sure that
we were sent into existence upon some
great and important occasion. Yes, sirs,
the errand was great : but oh, how little
do we consider it! that we might glorify
God, that \ve might do good, that we might
minister in our respective spheres to God's
great and gracious design of making his
creatures happy; that, having conversed with
our heavenly Father upon earth, through

xir.

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 289

the dear Redeemer, by whom alone in this serm.
fallen state we can attain to the knowledge
of him, we might be found fit to dwell with
God above, in the assembly of wise and
holy, benevolent, devout, and happy spirits.
Behold and remember the purpose for which
God formed our spirits, and for which he
lodged them in these frail bodies. He is
yet waiting to see how these purposes will
be answered: but oh! remember that we
are further reminded,

2. That at death this spirit, this heaven-
born spirit, is to return to God.

The spirit shall return to God who gave it.
Return to be judged by him, to be examined,
so that it may be ordered to its long, to its
everlasting abode in heaven, or in hell.
This is the obvious, but important truth
which this expression suggests : a truth
which we all know; but which, because we
are so apt to forget it, I must illustrate a
little further.

Our spirits shall return to be examined by
God: they are now observed by him in all
their actions, in all their secret operations,
and frames, and dispositions; and this is
a most awful thought. Thou, Lord, hast

VOL. III. u

290 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. searched me out and known me, thou knowest

v^^^-^,-1^ 7ny down sitting, Scc^. The Lord has esta-

5Psai. ifiiffjjcd Jiis throne in heaven, and his eyes

cxxxix. ' ^

i>2. behold the nations: his eyes behold, and his
'Psai. xi. eyelids try, the children of men^. And he is
represented as keeping a book of remem-
brance. Yes, sirs! while, we Uve in this
careless manner; while we take no account
of our time, but the days and months of the
years begin and end unnoticed and unre-
garded: amidst this crowd of vanity, our
actions, our words, and even our thoughts
are observed and noted down: O how im-
partial and exact a history of our lives! how
might we tremble even to read one page of
it ! But it is all complete thus far. The follies
of our childhood ; the sins, may I not say
with regard to some? the enormities of our
youth ; and the, in many respects, more ag-.
gravated transgressions of our riper years,
are all there; and the books shall be open-
ed. So says the wise man in this very
chapter, and leaves that as the concluding
word. God will bring every work into
judgment, and every secret thing, whether
it be good, or whether it be evil. And
though the solemnity of the general judg-

XII.

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 291

ment may lie at a very considerable distance, serm.
yet, as you perfectly know, the case of every ^
particular soul will be determined at death,
invariably determined; and, upon this return
of the spirit to God, it will be either ap-
plauded or condemned; and it will have an
abode immediately assigned to it among
blessed or cursed spirits, among angels or
devils, in the paradise of God, or in an infer-
nal prison. Believest thou this? that it will
certainly be? And what is more, dost thou
believe that thou art surely and speedily
to have this interview with the great Father
of thy spirit; and to be treated as an obe-
dient or a rebellious child? Lord, we believe;
help thou our unbelief! Help our forgetful-
ness, our inconsideration ; arid oh ! teach us
the practical, the saving application of this
obvious, this incontestable, but forgotten
truth; certain as the return of the body to
the dust; written in the dust of all preceding
generations; yet, alas! too much like cha-
racters traced in dust, in the power of every
breath of air to efface.

III. It is what we are in the third and last
place to attempt, the practical improvement

u 2

XII.

292 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. of what you have been hearing. 'And, oh !
, to what purpose has it been heard, if it be
not practically improved? If the heai*t be not
impressed with it, to what purpose would the
ear, or the imagination have been amused?
If this be as an empty tale, what can be
worthy of serious regard ? Let it teach us,

1. To realize this to ourselves, as our own
certain doom and end. As Job, / know that
thou wilt bring me to deaths and to the house
appointed for all the living. My body must
return to dust; my soul must return to God
who gave it. Think of this as a certain, as
a nearly approaching event. Is it not in-
deed certain? Is this a matter of doubtful
disputation, whether it be appointed to men
once to die, and after death the jtidgment?
Bring if then home to yourselves; look upon
this well built bodj^, and say, let the fairest,
let the most vigorous, let the most temperate,
(whose life might seem more secure than
any vigour could otherwise make it) say,
" My body must return to dust, my parents,
my children, my companions, my friends
are in the grave; and I shall probably ere
long lie by some of them, or, at least, lie as
cold and as insensible as they. Vain world.

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 293

thou art vanishing from mine eyes! I have serm.
very httle more to do with thee. My spirit, v^.1^^
thou must return to God: thou must deal
with him in another character than thou
hast ever done. He will not meet thee as a
man : the examination will not be slight ;
and such as a little artifice, or a few bold
falsehoods may evade. No ; O my soul ! his
eyes are piercing as lightning, and infinitely
more penetrating; they reach to the secret
recesses of the soul. Artifice and fraud sub-
sist not before him ; but to be detected, to
be exposed, to be punished. O my soul!
thou hast entered on an existence which
must end in heaven or in hell; must end,
did I say? let me correct the expression,
must continue there without end. And thou
art liable every week, every day, every hour,
to be called into this tremendous presence.
Thou wast not made to be an unaccountable
creature. Thou art sure that human souls
were formed to be judged by God; and if
other human souls, then thine also. O my
soul ! for what am I that I should be exempted
from what is so reasonable, so necessary, the
lot of all?" Think of it with this self-applica-
tion, and it will probably impress your mind

Xll.

294 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. much more forcibly than if it were to be con-
sidered only as a general doom : and then,

2. Consider in what posture your spirits
are for their return to God, by whom they
are continually liable to be reclaimed.

I would hope the best of those to whom I
am now speaking; but would it be a wise
charity to imagine that, in such an audience,
every soul were in a due posture for this
solemn transaction? Alas! what is this world
wherein we live? You know what Solomon
thouo:ht of it when he wrote this book: The
heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and
madness is in their heart while they live, and
after that they go down to the dead. As soon
as their fit of lunacy is over, they drop down
and die: and it is reasonable to suppose with
regard to most of them, that had they lived
longer, their madness would have continued ;
and that so before they thought of it, they
would find themselves at once in the presence
of God ; and would grow serious for ever,
when seriousness can only introduce everlast-
ing despair and everlasting lamentation ; such
lamentation, and such despair, that, next to
annihilation, and the long sleep of eternal
oblivion, a perpetual lunacy were even to be

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 295

desired, that rational thought might not work serm.

• • XII

in that terrible degree in which it must then v.^^-^
exert itself in looking backward and forward.
Do I aggravate the matter in this representa-
tion? Look around you, sirs, you that are wise
and knowing men, you that are acquainted
with the world ; look round about you and see
what many are ; and how they are employed,
and take this thought with you, that they
are quickly to return to God. Why, some
of us are disputing and quarrelling about re-
ligion instead of practising it: one is judging
his brother, and another is setting at nought
his brother, forgetful of the judgment seat at
which we are both to appear: some of us,
perhaps, are serving divers lusts and plea-
sures; pursuing the road of sensual amuse-
ments, as if we had no spirit at all, but were
merely a system of animated flesh, furnished
with such and such organs of sensation in
common with the brutes; and others of us,
who are wiser than the rest, are laying
schemes for being rich, and, perhaps, great
in the world ; as if we were never to leave the
world ; or as if God had sent one generation
of men into it merely that they might heap up
treasure for the rest, who are to succeed them

XII.

29^) THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. in their respective families. And is this pre-
paring for our return to God ? or do these men
seriously^Jjehe ve that they are to return to their
Creator ? Do they beheve that they are to
return to a holy God, while they neglect,
and, perhaps, deride holiness ? to a righteous
God, who will vindicate the honours of his
broken law, while they are breaking that law
every day ? Do they believe that they are to
return to a God, who is the Father of our
LiOrd Jesus Christ; and who sent him into
the world to reconcile sinners to himself;
while they are continually neglecting and
despising him, and entertaining an aversion
to his very name ? Surely, had Solomon be-
held this scene, he would have been as ready
as ever to cry out of rjiadness in the heart of
man : yea, he would have been more strongly
struck with the view, when he saw the pre-
scriptions even of the great Physician, of one
much greater than Solomon, so ineffectual
to bring them to the sound exercise of their
reason.

But you will say that you all intend, some
time or another, to attend to these things;
and to get your souls in readiness for your
return to God. You will do it! but not now;

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 297

there is an aversion, horrible thought ! there serm.
is an aversion in our degenerate and depraved ^.^J^^,^^
minds from the great Father of our spirits ;
and if we think of returning to him, it is only
upon force, not that we love him, not that
we desire to converse with him, but that
we fear his vengeance, the rod of his anger;
and therefore look on our return to him as
a disagreeable thing, to be'^ avoided if possible.
We put it off as long as we can, till at last
it is never done; and we are snatched away
in this wretched temper and state. And, oh !
that you would seriously consider what it
must be for such souls to return to God.
Oh ! how can they stand before him ! how
can they escape ! how can they endure his
anger !

Be entreated, my friends ! not to make this
your own case. Indeed, I fear for you. I
fear lest death should come upon you in an
evil hour, while you are trifling and sinning
away the day of life and of grace ; and,
therefore, I would persuade and exhort you,
to what ? to this or that religious profession ?
as if a whole congregation of men were to be
saved or condemned as they had worshipped
God in this place or in that? Blessed be God !

29^ THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. we have not so learned Christ. No, I ha\'c
^^^^ something infinitely greater and more impor-
tant in my view ! Let me entreat and exhort
you, in the words of the inspired writer, since
you are so soon to return to God, to acquaint
yourselves with him, and to be at peace. And
how can this be but by the Lord Jesus Christ ?
for he is in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, and not imputing unto us our trespasses.
No man comes to the Father hut by him. See
to it, therefore, that since you are so soon to
go and appear before God, you secure the
kind offices of his Son to take vou under his
protection, to apply his blood for the pardon
of your sins, and his righteousness for the
justification of your souls in the Divine pre-
sence. We testify no other things than Paul
and his brethren testified ; and would to God
that we might do it with the like energy and
success, even repentance towards God, and
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and bringing
forth works meet for repentance. Attend, and
attend without delay. Presume not that you
are already safe. Alas, sirs ! do not your
hearts misgive you ? Why do you fear to die
suddenly, when the last day of life is so
grievous ; medicine so nauseous ; the dying

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 299

bed so restless ; the last adieu so piercing ; serm.
the agonies so violent ? and yet you pray ..^^.^
that you may not die suddenly : why ? but
because you are secretly conscious to your-
selves that you are not ready. Oh ! remem-
ber that God may reject the prayer : he may
snatch you away at once, or may leave you
even on your dying bed, quite incapable of
any further reparation. Be entreated, then,
to have compassion on yourselves, upon your
precious, but endangered, though immortal
souls, to-day, while it is called to-day. How
happily then will the case be changed ; what
security, what serenity will succeed ! and this
leads me to add,

III. Let those who, through Divine grace,
are prepared, not be averse from passing
through this solemnity, whenever God shall
appoint it. What? though a part of the
prospect be inevitably disagreeable ; what ?
though flesh be naturally unwilling to return
to dust ; balance that with the glorious coun-
terpart. The spirit shall return to God who
gave it : and, oh ! how comfortable is it to
the spirit of a good man, having returned to
God by humble penitence and faith, to think

300 THE DUST RETURNING TO THE EARTH,

SERM. of returnins: to him in that other sense in

XII. .

,.^1-.^..-^ which my text speaks ; how does it gladden

the heart amidst all the infirmities of flesh,
and sorrows of death ! " I shall return to
God ; I shall go to that glorious Being ; to
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and in him my God and Father ; the guide
of my youth ; the comfort of my riper years :
and, oh ! how shall I rejoice when I am in
his presence ; rejoice to prostrate myself at
his feet, and say, Holy Father, I am come
unto thee ; through thy grace I have escaped
from that world of imprisonment, of darkness,
of temptation, and guilt, and sorrows ; and
now I am come, at thy call, to dwell with
thee, according to thy gracious promises,
which I have trusted, according to the pur-
pose of thy grace, in sending Christ into the
world, and in sending his gospel and grace
into my heart, to purify it, and to fit it for
thyself."

Do not some of you, my friends ! feel the
hope reviving? What! is the short abode of the
flesh in the grave, and its dissolution to dust,
to be set against such a prospect? I hope and
believe that it was with these views our de-
parted brother saw the gradual approach of

AND THE SPIRIT TO GOD. 301

death, and met it after so long a warning, serm.

XII

I shall say nothing more of him than this, v^.^-^^
that I believe that all, who intimately knew
him, can attest that his religion did not con-
sist in mere notion or form ; but that he was
an upright as well as an inoffensive man ; yet
when I was with him in some of the last
hours of his life, when reason in a great
measure failed him, he recovered it so far
as to declare, with his dying breath, that
he saw nothing in himself to trust, but fixed
his confidence in Christ alone. There let us
fix ours ; and let us take care that we do
nothing to disgrace that confidence, or dis-
honour him in whom we repose it ; and he
will approve himself the faithful Shepherd of
our souls, will extend his care to the latest
moments of our lives, till he takes the charge
of our departing spirits to bring them to
God, that they may be presented to him
with acceptance, and fixed in that presence
of his, where there is fulness of joy, even at
his light hand, where there are pleasures for
eveimoi'e. Amen.

302 THE BELIEVEH COMMITTING HIS

SERMON XIII.

THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS DEPART
ING SPIRIT TO JESUS,

Acts, vii. 59.
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

SERM. Death, in whatever view it is considered, will
,^_^^ appear most awful and important : but most
awful, and most important, when considered
as the separation of an immortal soul from a
mortal body ; as launching out into an invi-
sible and unfathomable ocean, from whence
we can return no more ; as being fixed in an
unknown world, where we are to have an
abode, not for a few years or centuries, not
merely for as many ages as we have passed
moments upon earth, but for eternit}^ The
soul, conscious of its deathless existence, feels
its infinite value, and demands a suitable
support : and, oh ! to whom shall it then be
consigned ? We may commit our possessions,
when we are ourselves dying, to those who

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 303

may improve them : we may commit our serm
children to those who will be their faithful ^.^^.^
friends ; and will, perhaps, take a yet more
prudent and effectual care of them than we
could ourselves have done : we may commit
our unfinished works to those who may com-
plete them with advantage ; but to whom
shall we commit the soul ? to whom, indeed,
but to a faithful Creator, to a merciful Re-
deemer ?

This, in the general, we know ; therefore
it is grown into a form among us. When we
are making our last will and testament, first
of all, as indeed it is the greatest care, we com-
mit our souls into the hands of God through
Christ; but God forbid that we should do this
merely as an empty form ; as if, when we are
distributing what little substance we have to
survivors, our legacy to our Creator were to
be an unmeaning compliment; or as if it were
to be taken for granted that he must receive
the soul of course, whatever it were, however
disposed, if it were but in words consigned
to him. To be able, with true faith and
upon good grounds, to consign a departing
spirit into the hands of Christ is a glorious
privilege, and it requires serious preparation ;

304 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. and we may think ourselves happy in every
...^.^-^ opportunity of being instructed how we may
do it aright. The instructions now to be
offered on a subject, at all times so import-
ant, will, I hope, be attended with particular
regard, as they came so lately from the lips
of a dying friend, who, taught by Divine
grace to use them herself in her last moments,
does, as it were, yet speak to us, and recom-
mend them to us, to be now seriously weighed,
that they may be in our last conflict cou-
rageously and cheerfully used. They have
their weight as coming from a dying Christian :
they will have some additional weight too,
when we consider them as the words of a
dying martyr ; for you know, that they are
the words of Stephen ; when the barbarous
Jews were stoning him for the testimon^^^ of
Christ, which he had so faithfully delivered.
It is remarkable that, as the first death
which we meet with in the Old Testament is
that of righteous Abel, so the first which we
read of in the New, after the plantation of
the church by the effusion of the Spirit, is a
violent one too ; that of Stephen. He had
been pleading the cause of his Master under
the evident tokens of his miraculous presence;

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 305

for it is expressly said that all the members serm.

• XT 11

of the Jewish sanhedrim, who were present as .^^-^^
his judges, looking steadfastly upon him, saw
his face as if' it had been the face of an angel;
which, I presume, refers not merely to the
sweetness, cheerfulness, and benevolence of
his aspect, but to some extraordinary radiancy
on his face, like that on the face of Moses,
when he came down from the mount of God;
so that, perhaps, he in some measure re-
sembled what he shall be in his glorified
state, after the resurrection : and yet these
wretches, who, perhaps, would not have spared
even his glorified Master, had he been acces-
sible to their power, vented their rage in its
last excesses on his faithful servant. Perhaps,
indeed, this lustre was transient, and might
vanish, when for a few moments it had, in
a kind of lambent flame, played around his
features. But if the visible glory of an angel
was momentary, a zeal and courage worthy
of the celestial spirits breathed to the last of
his defence ; and, when he had from their
own history alleged a number of most perti-
nent facts for their instruction and his own
vindication, he concludes in these memorable
words, and with this pkin and pungent re-

VOL. III. X

306

THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. monstrance : Ye stiffnecked, and uncirxiimcised
^^.^^ in heart and in ear, ye do always resist the
Holy Ghost ; as did your fathers, so also do
ye: which of the prophets have not your fathers
persecuted? and they have slain them who
showed before of the coming of the Just One,
of whom ye have been the betrayers and mur-
derers. They could endure no longer ; but
were even cut to the heart, and enraged to
such a degree that, as so many savage beasts,
they gnashed upon him with their teeth, as if
they could have devoured him alive ; and
just in that moment, when the purposes of
murder were in their hearts, and they were
going to take up the instruments of effecting
it^ the Lord Jesus Christ, by the vision of
himself, was pleased to encourage his servant
to meet death, as became the soldier of such
a general. For though he was now under the
covert of a roof, and, had the heavens really
been opened, he could not have seen them
without a miracle, he looked up steadfastly
toward them, probably lifting his soul to his
Lord in prayer, and, being full of the Holy
Ghost, he saw in vision the glory of God, and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God, rising,
as it were, out of his seat to succour and to

XIJI.

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 30?

receive him ; and, in the raptures of sacred serm.
joy which he felt on that occasion, he could
not forbear proclaiming it in their ears : but
scarcely would they hear him out ; and, as
soon as they perceived the tenour of what he
was saying, some of them stopped their ears,
and others of them set up a loud cry, with
which to drown his voice, while their hands
were employed in dragging him out of the
city, through the gate which lay nearest to
the temple : and as soon as they had got him
thither, they proceeded to execution ; and,
that the murder might be committed in the
name of the Lord, the witnesses, according
to the precept of the law, began it ; and then
he was the happiest who could have his hand
most deeply engaged in it. In the mean time,
while they were stoning him, he invoked the
blessed Saviour, thereby with his dying breath
doing an homage to his Divine perfections
and glory; and saying, Lord Jesus, receive
my spirit : my enemies cannot kill that ; as
my greatest treasure I consign that to thy
faithful care : and then, with a prayer for his
murderers, that this sin might not he laid to
their charge, he fell asleep, calmly and plea-
santly : amidst this shower of stones he dis-

X 2

XIII.

308 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SEKM. missed his spirit, and lost the terror and bitter-
ness of such a death in the presence and care
of such a Saviour. Let me die the death of
the righteous ; and let my last end be like his I
hke his in its peace and security, though it
were to be hke his in every external circum-
stance most horrible to nature.

But the grand circumstance on which I
am to endeavour to fix your attention and
my own is that of Stephen committing his
departing spirit to Christ. He said. Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit, i. e. in the general,
take it under thy patronage and care. May
it be the language of our dying lips ! and
may our hearts say it, even a\ hen the power
of language shall cease !

Dismissing every inquiry of less import-
ance, it shall be my business here to consider,

I. With what temper the departing spirit
of a believer is to be committed to the Lord
Jesus Christ.

II. What encouragement there is to con-
sign it to him : and,

III. What blessed consequences will attend
our doing it aright : after which I shall,

IV. Conclude with a brief application.
Frail mortals ! hear it with attention ; for

XIII.

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 309

there is not a soul of you unconcerned in it. serm.
Oh ! may I speak it in the view of my own
dying bed ; and may you hear it in the view
of yours ! Yes, sirs ! let me charge you, by
the remembrance of that solemn moment,
that you set your hearts to the instruction :
and may we then feel the efficacy of consi-
derations like these, when all the joys of life
shall have lost their relish, and the dearest
of our human friends will be but miserable
comforters.

I. I am to consider with what temper the
departing spirit of a believer is to be com-
mitted into the hands of Christ.

You will not fail all along to retain in your
mind that I am speaking of a believer. I
am not speaking of one who is then begin-
ning to form an acquaintance with Christ, or
to inquire after him. No, sirs ! I will not
encourage any of you to suppose that this
may be a case susceptible of any comfort.
If a minister of Christ be called to attend
any of you in that dreadful situation, let him
search for something which may prevent
your distressed spirits from sinking into abso-
lute despeiir : but I will here say nothing of a

XIII.

310 THE BELIEVER COMiMmiNG HIS

SERM. case like this. I speak of those who, hke holy
Stephen, have sought the friendship of Christ
in hfe, and have committed their souls unto
him in well doing, by an humble faith, which,
while it renounces all righteousness of its
own, desires at the same time to fulfill it ;
and to make Christ the end of life as sincerely
as the hope of death. Now^ such believers,
and such I assuredly believe our deceased
friend was, and such I pray that you may all
be ; such believers, I say, should commit
their departing spirits to Christ with the
humblest sense of that need which they have
of his patronage and favour ; wdth the most
cheerful confidence in his power and grace ;
and with the most grateful and sincere pur-
pose of devoting for ever to his service that
immortal life which they hope to receive from
his mercy.

1. Believers should commit their depart-
ing spirits to Christ with an humble sense of
the need which they have of his patronage
and favour.

Humility should surely run through the
Christian's life ; and peculiarly does it be-
come his death. For death, as death, brings
sin to remembrance ; and the nearest pros-

XIII.

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 311

pect of the tribunal of a righteous God will serm.
naturally represent us as exceedingly sinful ;
and will give an awful weight to many of
those sore blemishes and imperfections of
life, of which at other times we are ready to
think lightly. This, therefore, should surely
be the expiring Christianas language : " Blessed
Jesus ! now my heart is overwhelmed within
me ; now my heart and my flesh fail. I fly
to thee as my refuge and my hope. It is a
poor, weak, sinful soul which I am now com-
mitting into thy hands; unfit, indeed, to
appear before thy Father's presence ; unfit
to find a place among the spirits of just men
made pei'fect : but, oh ! do thou receive and
make it fitter to be introduced into such a
presence and assembly ! Now, O my Lord !
do I fly to thy righteousness, to thy blood, to
thy grace, with as much solicitude, after these
years of service, if such have passed, alas !
hardly worthy to be called service, as when I
first sought and received the tokens of thy
opening mercy : yea, my Lord ! I have still
greater reason to be humble, as the sins and
follies of these succeeding years have been
so many : but, oh ! let thy righteousness
cover, let thy blood cleanse them all. I

312 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. renounce every other dependence, and hope,
,,^^^^ and cast myself wholly upon thee. Lord !
I am distressed at the thought of what I
have been; but do thou undertake for me.

** A guilty, weak, and helpless worm

On thy kind arms I fall;
Be thou ray strength and righteousness,

My Jesus, and my all !"

Words which you well know have been used
by some of the most eminent saints and
ministers, with which this part of the church
of Christ has ever been blessed, in their dying
moments ; and words than which I know
none that I should rather wish to be my
own.

2. The departing spirit is to be committed
to the Redeemer with a most cheerful confi-
dence in his power and grace.

It is a kind of homage to be paid to him
after the homage and service of life is over.
" Blessed Jesus ! though thou art invisible,
I believe that thou art, and that thou art
near me, though thou seemest to be forsaking
me to the last triumph of my last enemy.
I believe that thou canst make that triumph
subservient to thine own. Lord, I believe

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 313

that thou Kvest, and reignest over all worlds ; serm.
I see in thy almighty hand the keys of death, ^^-^-L
and the invisible state : thou openest, and
no man shutteth. I go not out of thy em-
pire and dominion, O Lord! when I leave
these mortal scenes. I adore thee as the
appointed guardian of departing spirits; as
able to save to the uttermost all that come unto
God by thee. All the legions of angels, O
Lord, are under thy command ; nor will the
noblest spirit around thy throne disdain to
convey a creature so inconsiderable as I am,
if he may by it testify his obedience to thee.
I ask no blessings, but what are in thy hand;
and desire no salvation, but such a one as is
thine to bestow.''

And with this confidence in a Redeemer's
power is to be joined a cheerful persuasion
of his readiness to employ it to the most
gracious purposes. " Lord! I confess my .
unworthiness ; thou mightest abandon me;
thou mightest deliver me over to mine ene-
mies ; thou mightest banish me to an eternal
distance from thee: but I will confide in thy
tender mercy, for / have once heard, I have
twice been told, this, that unto the Lord belongs
power, and to him belong mercies too. Com-

314 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. passionate Saviour! thou hast given thy hfe

s .^.^ to redeem me, and thou wilt not disdain me:

thou hast led me through life, and thou wilt
not abandon me in death. With pleasure
do I lay down my dying head in so compas-
sionate a bosom, and feel the sweetness of
thine embrace diffusing a sacred delight
over my soul, which the icy hand of death
cannot chill."

3. The departing spirit is to be committed
into the hand of Christ, with the most grate-
ful and sincere purpose of devoting for ever
to his service that immortal life which we
hope to receive from his mercy.

" O my Lord! thy grace has taught me
to say, that to me to lite is Christ; and I
could hardly pronounce it gain to die, how
happy soever the change might in every
other circumstance be, if I did not hope that
I should be honoured as the instrument of
doing thee some homage. My Lord ! if I
long for a crown and palm, it is that I may
lay them at thy feet: if I wish to receive a
golden harp, it is that I may sound forth thy
l)eloved name ; and sing to it the so?}g of
Moses and the Lamb. Poorly and weakly
have I attempted thy service here; with

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 315

such imperfection, with such interruptions, serm.

VTTT

that nothing which I have done is worthy of ..^^^^
the name of service; but I hope. Lord, with
those elevated capacities to which thou
mayest hereafter raise me, to be able to do
much better. I am not curious. Lord, to
know how or where thou wilt employ me;
be it how or where thou pleasest: if all my
intercourse with earth be cut off, thy grace
has taught me to say that wherever thou
hast an interest, I have an interest too.
There is not an unknown region in universal
nature to which my spirit shall not rejoice to
dart itself at the signal of thy sacred will ; nor
an office so low, that I shall not esteem it my
honour, though placed among the princes of
heaven, when it is to be performed for thee.
Nor shall this be my sentiment only when
I am new born into that world of lustre and
glory; but as long as this immortal soul of
mine has a being; and thou knowest that I
rejoice in its immortality chiefly, as thereby
it may be qualified to render thee an immor-
tal tribute of praise, of love, and of obe-
• dience.^'

And now who would not wish, with such
sentiments as these, to commit his departing

316 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. spirit to Christ? But who shall presume to

^^..^^ do it? Rather, M'hat true believer should

hesitate concerning his right to do it? It is

necessary, and will, I hope, be pleasant in

this view,

II. To consider the great encouragement
which every believer has thus to commit his
spirit into Christ's hands, in cheerful hope
that he will receive it.

Now here, waving many comfortable
thoughts that might naturally be suggested,
I will only touch a little upon these three.
He is constituted, by the Father, the Re-
deemer and Saviour of souls, that he might
thus receive them; he has himself experienced
the pains and solemnity of dying, and, there-
fore, is better qualified to have compassion on
his people in such a circumstance ; and others
have experienced his assistance, in such a
season of extremity, to be so powerful, and so
sweet, as abundantly to encourage our humble
confidence, if, m hich is here you remember
supposed, we be Christians indeed.

1. He is constituted the Redeemer and
Saviour of souls, that he might receive them
when dislodged from these bodies.

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 317

For this cause zms lie born, and for this serm.
cause came he into the zmrld, that he might v,^-^^
do the will of his Father; and this, says he,
is the will of my Father that sent me, that I
should give unto my sheep eternal life. Chris-
tians! the end and purpose of the blessed
Saviour^s appearance will never be answered
till that hour comes, which alas, our feeble
faith often looks upon with a secret kind of
dread. He left the regions of glory, he dwelt
here on earth, he laboured, he bled, he died;
for what? that immortal souls, when un-
clothed of flesh and blood, might not fall
into the hands of the infernal spirits; might
not wander helpless and wretched in that
unknown world ; but that they might have
a friend near them, and be conveyed to
regions of light and glory. And if, while
enemies we wej'c reconciled to God by the death
of his Son; how much more, being reconciled,
shall we be saved by his life? How natural to say.
Lord I into thy hands I commit my spirit, when
we can add, for thou hast redeemed it, O Lord
God of truth! All that the blessed Saviour
has done by his Spirit to sanctify, to reform,
to refine, and to renew the soul, speaks also
his readiness to receive it. The end of his

318 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. grace imparted to us was not merely to raise
J.^^^ us to this beginning of divine life and enjoy-
ment, which it experiences here ; but to
dress it for the courts of heaven ; to make it
fit to be conducted thither, and to be fixed
there in a final abode. So that to refuse the
patronage and care of it in this last extre-
mity, would be to frustrate the grand pur-
pose of his mission, of his love, and even of
his death : which leads me to add, that

2. He has himself known the solemnity
and pain of dying ; which may be a further
encouragement to this blessed hope.

It is said in general, that he suffered being
tried,' that he might know how to succour those
that are tried ; and this was the great trial.
He once hung upon the cross: he once felt
the pain of dissolving nature ; and, when he
was in all the vigour of manhood and prime of
life, his soul was, as it were, racked out of
his body by the bitterest agony ; and, in the
hour of darkness and desertion, he committed
it into his Father's hand, crying out with a
loud voice in those memorable words, bear-
ing so near a resemblance to those before
me, " Father, into tluj hand I commend my
spirit:" nor has he forgotten the aw^ful scene,

Xlll.

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 319

and all the smart, and sorrow, and natural serm.
horror of it. Methinks, when the Christian v
suspects his compassion in such a moment,
we may consider him as showing his hands
and his feet, and saying, " be not faithless,
hut believe: scruple not to consign a depart-
ing spirit to a Saviour, who himself was once
dying and dead ; to consign it into hands
once nailed to the cross, to make them fitter
for an office like this." Nor should I forget
to plead,

3. The experience of multitudes, who have
been favoured with his powerful and gracious
assistance in this season of extremity and
distress.

The heavenly world is peopled with an in-
numerable army of witnesses to this. There
are millions who have been carried safely,
and vast multitudes of them calmly, joyfully,
I might say triumphantly, through every
stage of this dark valley of the shadow of
death. Nor might I upon this occasion ap-
peal only to the history of former ages;
though many of them are extremely memo-
rable, especially where, as in the instance of
Stephen in my text, martyrdom in its most
terrible forms has been disarmed by the sen-

320 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. sible presence of Jesus, and the soul borne
J^^!^ above every painful sensation by his miracu-
lous interposition ; but every age has pro-
duced its illustrations of this truth, that
Christ is near to his dying servants, to over-
come, as it were, with his imperial presence,
the king of terrors. We have heard it, and we
have seen it; and though none of us have as
yet felt it, yet I persuade myself that we have
felt something nearly approaching to it. I
doubt not in the least but in such an assem-
bly many of us have imagined ourselves on
the very verge of eternity; and, perhaps,
have then been favoured with such consola-
tions, such hvely views of approaching glory,
so sweet a sense of our interest in Christ and
all the blessings of his everlasting gospel, ex-
tending far into that unchangeable world,
that we have known no hours in life so sweet
as those in which we thought ourselves in
' the neighbourhood of death; and lest any
should object, that, after all, there are in
this gloomy vale shades of horror to any of
the living unknown, I must remind you of
what many have discovered when really
dying; and, not to mention the case of most
advanced and experienced Christians, I can-

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 321

not forbear savinp; that in this respect lie serm.

. XIII.

has out of the mouths of babes and sucklings v^-^^
ordained strength. Yes, my friends, I cannot
forbear testifying that I have seen httle chil-
dren transformed, as it were, by the presence
of Christ into heroes on their dying beds. I
have seen some, who had not arrived at the
twelfth year of their age, deliberately meeting
death in its gradual advances with so much
serenity, with so much dignity, with so much
elevation of soul under a declared sense of
the supporting presence of Christ, that I can
deliberately say that I shall esteem myself
highly honoured if the close of my life may
be like theirs : and who does not feel the
encouragement of an experience like this? I
doubt not but that it has been intended, not
merely for the comfort of these dear lambs
of the flock, but for the relief and encourage-
ment of others, not excepting even the shep-
herds of it. It is pleasant to view such
deaths as these ; but, oh ! how much more
pleasant still to trace the ascending spirit ;
and to pursue, in oilr meditations,

III. The blessed consequences which at-
tend the committing of the soul aright into

VOL. III. Y

322 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. the hands of Christ, and crown a death in

^^.^^ itself so happy.

But who shall treat on this subject in a
worthy manner? Who but a glorified saint?
and surely, were God to send down to our
assembly the least in that number ; were he
to send down a spirit that has been entered
on the heavenly world but for a single hour,
or since I began this discourse (for while it
proceeds, no doubt, in one place or another,
many are entering upon it) we might hear
from such a soul ten thousand times more
than the ablest divine can tell, by all that
he can discover, from the reason of things,
or from the word of God. But when we
endeavour to trace the ascending soul in its
wondrous way, there are two thoughts which
naturally present themselves; and, obvious as
they are, and frequently as they occur in our
discourses, I cannot be entirely silent with
relation to them. Christ will immediately
admit the soul to dwell with him in a per-
fectly holy and happy state, till he bring it
with him in the great day, and dress it aixew,
that it may grace his final triumph, and
reign with him in eternal glory.

1. Christ will imniediatolv admit the soul

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 323

to dwell with him in a perfectly holy and serm.
happy state. v-^^-^

The soul, as a great treasure, is committed
to him by the believer, who has been taught
to prize it in some proportion to its w^orth,
and who rejoices in having been taught that
knowledge, as, in conjunction with that of
the only true God and Jesus Christ, a sum-
mary of all wisdom; and, accordingly, the
regards of Christ are fixed upon that. The
body he suffers to fall, not unnoticed indeed,
but without any present marks and tokens
of his intention, that it may dissolve in the
grave, as other animal bodies do, whether
they be human or brutal ; but the soul is
immediately received by a detachment of
angels; who, in their master's name, and,
in obedience to his express command, and
not merely as their own act of kindness, take
the charge of it ; cheer it in the first moments
of dissolution, probably by the amiable forms
in which they appear; and so, by the first
appearance, dissipate for ever every remain-
ing apprehension of danger, if there was any
such remaining ; and immediately undertake
the guidance of it in those trackless paths.
They guard it from surrounding dangers, if

y2

XFII.

324 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM such there be in the region through which
it ascends : thc}^ open the gate of paradise,
no longer forbidden by the flaming sword :
they present it before Jesus, the great Lord
of the place: he owns it; he embraces it,
in token of the most cordial and joyful wel-
come: he assigns to it a dwelling, and an
employment; a dwelling, perhaps, in that
colony of happy spirits, where its kindred
and acquaintance dwell; an employment,
perhaps peculiarly suited to the rank and
office in which it has been placed below.
At least of this we are sure, that believers
shall, when absent from the body, be present
with the Lord; with that beloved Saviour,
to whom our souls have so long aspired, and
whose presence and converse, even here in
this imperfect form and degree, have been
their joy, and even their life. We are sure
that they shall be transformed into his image,
far more completely than now in their high-
est attainments. The cure of their souls,
so happily begun and advanced here, shall
be perfected : they shall he anointed with
the full effusion of the oil of gladness: a
table of eternal blessings shall be prepared
for ihem, and their cup shall run over: and.

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 325

amidst these delights of the paradise of God, serm.
shall every soul that he has received wait, v^-^-L
till,

2. He will bring it with him in the great
day to dress it anew, that it may grace his
final triumph, and reign with him in eternal
glory.

That illustrious day, for which even now
every true Christian is looking, and toward
which he is hastening, will, amidst all the •
joys of the intermediate state, be still the
object, not of impatient, but of ardent ex-
pectation: for it is chiefly to that that this
solemn transaction, the committing the soul
to Christ, refers ; as Paul expresses it, / am
pej'suaded he is able to keep that which I have
committed to him until that day, that well
known, that long expected day. And it
shall dawn; it shall spring up with a lustre
distinguishable, even in those realms of per-
petual and celestial light. Christ shall give
the signal, and all the millions of the re-
deemed shall flow, as it were at once, to
his standard, and range themselves m beau-
tiful order to attend their once more descend-
ing Lord. Nor will he, when he calls over
the list of apostles and prophets, of martyrs

326 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING IllS

SERM. and confessors, forget the least and weakest
^^^ of those souls that have humbly committed
themselves to him. No, if he died and rose
for its redemption, he cannot forget it when
that redemption is to be completed. If we
believe that Jesus died and rose again in
such a view, as the apostle argues, them also
zd'ho sleep in Jesus shall God bring with hiiJi.
He shall speak the word, and the new glo-
rious body shall be formed and rise from the
dust; far more beautiful and splendid than
Adam^s in that day in which he was created :
and the souls, before a part of his joyful
train, shall by an unknown and inconceivable
operation and change find themselves newly
dressed in robes of splendour, and, upon the
whole, capable of new delights, suitable to
the perfection of the world and the state in
which they are for ever to dwell. Then
shall he be glorified in each of his saints,
and admired in all them that believe. Then
shall the fidelity of their great Lord appear,
though the performance of the promise has
been during so many thousands of years sus-
pended with regard to many of them, those
found alive, and those who slept, shall he
caught up together to meet the Lord in the air,

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 327

to appear conspicuous as the monuments of serm.
his power, his faithfulness, and his grace; v^,^^^.^
being openly acquitted themselves, they
shall join with him in the sentence of his
righteous vengeance upon apostate angels
and impenitent sinners. This honour have
all the saints: praise ye the Lord! This is
the great hope that the gospel sets before
us, and this, I must not say the happy end,
that were improper indeed ; but this the
happy lot of every soul, whom Christ has
redeemed: and he will maintain their lot;
will for ever guard them inviolable by his
almighty power, and will be an inexhaustible
spring of life, holiness, and happiness to
them, through eternal ages. Let the glo-
rious hope be attested as often as our sor^
rows arise, and transmitted down to every
succeeding generation of Christians, while
they stand around the graves of those that
sleep in Jesus.

And now I have hardly reserved to myself
time so much as to hint at the improvement
of this excellent subject, which would furnish
us with abundance of matter, both by way
of instruction and of consolation ; and this

328 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. in both views, with respect to ourselves and
XIII. ^ ,

,^,^^^-^^ to others.

1. The instruction is that we should imme-
diately commit our souls into the hands of
Christ, and endeavour to engage those who
iare dearest to us to do it likewise.

To this all that I have now^ been saying
most evidently tends ; to engage us to com-
mit our souls into the hands of Christ.
Adored be his name ! he has not yet re-
ceived all the number of his people, so that
there should be room for no more. I am
persuaded that it is most agreeable to his
will that proclamation should from time to
time be made in the full assembly of profess-
ing Christians, to engage them to this devotion
of their souls. Accordingly I now entreat you
by the love and grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, by all the solemnity of a dying hour
which is approaching, by all the worth of an
immortal soul, that you do not omit it. Yes,
you say, we hope that we shall not ; but
when ? and how shall it be done ? when our
souls are trembling on our lips, and just
ready to take their flight. Yes, if we have
the exercise of reason, we shall then surely

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 329

do it anew : but what madness will it be to serm.
defer it till such an hour, amidst so many well ..J^-v^
known uncertainties, so often represented in
such a connexion as this. I call you, sirs, to
do it now. Oh ! that God may give grace
to those of you who have never yet done it,
to do it now for the first time. Oh ! that he
may incline you all, even while I speak, to
do it anew. Wherever you are, Christ is not
far from any of you ; for he is the life of the
whole creation : but especially is he present
where not only two or three, but so large
an assembly, are met together in his name.
Look to him while I speak, and pour out your
hearts before him. " Blessed Jesus ! I have
heard of thy power and thy love ; and I be-
lieve what I have heard of them. Conscious
that I have in my breast an immortal spirit,
and trembling in a survey of its infinite im-
portance, I humbly beg leave to consign it to
thy faithful care. Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit ! I would now call upon thee with all
the earnestness of a dying creature : from
this hour, from this moment, receive it ! Oh !
take it under thy care ; wash it in thy blood ;
adorn it with thy righteousness : form it, O

XIII.

330 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. Lord ! by thy Spirit, to every branch of the
Christian character ; to every hneament of
thy blessed image ; to a full conformity to
that employment and happiness for which
the spirits of thy people are intended. And,
oh ! watch over it, while I travel through this
dangerous wilderness ; and when it breaks
loose from the flesh, fold it in thine embrace.
Remember, O Lord ! if I should not be able
to repeat it, remember the humble petition
which I have now uttered. Hememher thy
word unto thy servajit, on which thou hast
caused me to hope ; and be surety unto me
for good against all the terrors of death and
hell; against all the frailties of this degenerate
nature, in the mean time yet more to be
feared.'' I hope and trust that your souls say
amen to such language as this : but I testify
to you, in the name and presence of God,
that if they do not, I have no hope to admi-
nister to you ; and that souls not thus secured
will infallibly be lost: that they will assuredly
be the prey of fiends, and dragged by them
to the seats of perpetual despair and miscrv.
And let this case atfect our minds with
regard to those who are dear to us. You

XIII.

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 331

who are parents, look upon your children on serm.
this day ; look upon them, and lift up your ,
hearts to God for them : " Oh ! that they
might live before thee : Oh ! that these souls
which thou hast put into bodies which pro-
ceed from us may be lodged by thee, may
be received by thee. Oh ! plead with them
as for their lives : oh ! show them that it is
their great interest to do it ; and plead ear-
nestly with God for those supplies of his
grace which may enable them to do it aright.
And carry this solicitude through life with
you for all to whom you profess friendship ;
yea, for all with whom you have intercourse,
that their immortal souls may be safe, being
committed to Christ in his appointed way ;
that they may escape the shipwreck, the
eternal ruin, with which they are threatened ;
and may arrive happily on the shore of im-
mortality.

2. And let it be improved for our consola-
tion too, where we have reason to believe that
the soul has been thus committed to Christ.
Let it comfort us even in the view of our
own dissolution ; and let it cheer our hearts
with regard to those once dearest to us, con-
cerning whom we have reason to entertain

b32 THE BELIEVER COMMITTIiNG HIS

SEUM. this blessed hope, that the Lord Jesus Christ
^^,^~^^ has received their spirits.

For ourselves, it is surely the most reviv-
ing thought which can enter into our hearts.
" Whatever becomes of me in this mortal
life, my immortal interest is safe. My soul !
thou art going ; thou art going from all this
painful scene ; far, far advanced on thy jour-
ney : thou art dropping mortality, and its
cares, and its sorrows ; and Christ \\i\\ re-
ceive thee. Peace, be still : let nothing in
life discompose thee ; let nothing in death
terrify thee : but study to maintain that
sweet tranquillity for which there is so good
a foundation, that thou mayest pass smiling
into the hands of thy Lord, and meet him, as
it were, with a song."

And as for the pious dead, what a noble
subject of consolation and of congratulation
with respect to them ! They have committed
their spirits into the hand of Christ, and he
has received them : they are in his hand,
from whence nothing can pluck them ; in
which nothing can molest them. How ought
we to congratulate them in our thoughts !
and how to admire and adore the conde-
scension and grace ot that Jesus, who has

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS." OOO

added this to all his other favours to us, that serm.
he has received those who were most dear to ^.J^^^-L
us to so holy and happy a state. "Yes, Lord!
we believe thy love, and their felicity in it ;
and, while they are praising thee for it above,
we will praise thee below, and will consider
thy love to them, thy care of them, as an
additional engagement to animate us in every
tribute of duty and gratitude to thee, as well
as a sovereign balm for that grief which the
loss of them could not but impart to us.

This balm, I doubt not, may most properly
be applied to the wound which we this day
lament. Our deceased friend, though not free
from some mixture of doubt, which her own
humility, joined to the sense of the infinite
importance of her eternal interest, suggested,
yet found prevailing hope and peace in her
death. She reflected upon it, in the nearest
views of eternity, with delight, that she loved
Christ ; that she had sought him early : and
those who knew most of her reflected with
pleasure that she had, from her childhood,
walked closely with God ; and had, by a
truly Christian behaviour, answered those
obligations which she had brought upon her

334 THE BELIEVER COMMITTING HIS

SERM. own soul betimes, in the opening of youth,

.^^^^ by a solemn dedication of her soul to God,

often renewed with pleasure, and, through

the Divine grace, productive of the happiest

effects.

Neither the limits of my time, nor my
judgment in these matters, allow me to en-
large ; but I mention it with peculiar plea-
sure that she was enabled to make the words
on which I have been discoursino^ some of
the last, if not the very last, which she ut-
tered : and, while I bless God for that abun-
dant fund of consolation which this must
open upon my mourning friends in this view,
I conclude with recommending her example
in so early an application to Christ, in so
early a commending of her spirit into his
hand, to you, my dear young friends, of
whom I see so large a number around me
this day. Let me beseech and entr.'^at you
to follow the example ; to imitate it imme-
diately, by the assistance of the Divine grace,
which will not fail you if you humbly seek
it. Nothmg, I am sure, can be a greati?r
joy to your faithful minister, to your pious
parents, to your Christian friends : but youi'

DEPARTING SPIRIT TO JESUS. 335

own souls will, above all, have the delight serm.
as they will the benefit. So will you be ^^^^
safe and happy, though death should sur-
prise you ever so soon ; and if, which I
heartily pray may rather be the case, Provi-
dence shall see fit to lengthen your lives, you
will grow up dear to God and to man, the
blessings of the rising age, the ornaments
and support of the church in years to come ;
and I am well persuaded that it will be a
sweet alleviation of the sorrow s of those who
are mourning, on this day, under so awful a
breach, if what has been now delivered may
be the happy occasion of so great, so infinite
a good.

3S6 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERMON XIV.

THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH THE
SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN.

[A Funeral Sermon.]

Psalm xxiii. 4.

Yea, though l walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort me.

SERM. There is not in the whole frame of our nalui'e
..^v-L> a more tumultuous passion than fear : there
is not in the whole compass of the objects of
that passion any thing more dreadful than
death ; in the view in which it must appear
to one who has nothing more than nature
for his support. But it is the glory of our
religion to l)ear the soul above this object of
our natural apprehension, and to provide us
with an antidote against those terrors which
would otherwise have been most overwhelm-
ing. It is the prerogative of the Prince of
glory alone that he disarms the king of ter-

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 33?

rors : He hath abolished death, and brought serm.

• • • • • XIV

life and immortality to light, and thereby de- ^..^-.^^
livered those who, through fear of death, were
all their lifetime subject to bondage.

And, as before the sun arises above our
horizon, his beams are reflected to us, and
make a pleasant twilight, which, especially
in the advance of it, unveils a thousand
beauties in this visible world, which were be-
fore covered by the curtains of the night ; so,
before the gospel appeared, saints under the
Mosaic dispensation had some faint reflected
rays of the Sun of righteousness ; and were
encouraged to rejoice in those consolations
which are now more plainly exhibited, and
are more copiously communicated to be-
lievers.

Few books of the Old Testament discover
more of this happy temper than that of the
Psalms : few of the Psalms of David do, in
this respect, exceed that which is now before
us ; so that the Christian, in his most pleasing
and delightful moments, when he comes to
the house of the Lord, and even when he sits
down at his table, can hardly find any w ords
more expressive of his present joy, or of his
future triumphant hopes, than those which

VOL. III. Z

338 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERiNi. the sweet Psalmist of Israel here suggests to
XIV. , . . 1 1

,,^^.-^„^^ him, m language as sweet, and yet as nervous

and expressive as poetry could dictate, or
devotion could wish. The Lord is my shep-
herd, I shall not want, &c. And such joy
and confidence had David in his pastoral
care that there was no path through which
he could not venture, when supported by his
staff", and guarded by his rod. Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy
rod and thy staff comfort me.

I need not be large in explaining these
words. You see that they intimate two dis-
tinct things ; the gloomy scene, in which the
Psalmist supposes himself to be ; and the
comfort which he promises himself that he
should find even there. The gloomy scene is
the valley of the shadow of death. The phrase
is an evident allusion to what might often
happen in the wilderness, where the shepherd
might drive his flock through some valley,
where rocks and mountains hung over a nar-
row way in such a manner as to darken the
passage, and make the sheep afraid to enter
into it. Thus the expression, the valley of the
shadow of death, may properly express any

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 339

danger ; yet would there have been no foun- serm.
dation to have used it here, unless the case of v>,>^-v-^
dying had been included : and then the Psalm-
ist adds, that in this circumstance he would
fear no evil ; not because he had a natural bra-
very of soul, accustomed in general to despise
danger, which he had faced a thousand times
in all its most dreadful forms, in the bloody
field ; and least of all, because he was entirely
careless of all that lay beyond the grave :
but because he promised himself that he
should have the Divine presence, and that
God would there treat him in the character
of a shepherd ; that he would stretch forth
his rod and staff, instruments of his pastoral
care, both to guide and to direct him ; as
by the rod the shepherd leads his flock, and
by his staff drives away dogs, and sometimes
fiercer beasts, who might be ready to fall
upon the feeble, and, in themselves, helpless
sheep.

The words naturally present us with three
remarks, which, together with the improve-
ment of them, will be the entire subject of
my discourse on this solemn and affecting
occasion ; a subject which those who know
the circumstances in which our deceased

z,2

340 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. friend finished her course will see to be pecu-
^,^^ liarly adapted to them.

I. The best of men cannot but discern
something gloomy and uncomfortable in the
prospect of death.

II. The good man has, nevertheless, reason
to conclude that he shall then have the favour-
able presence of God : and,

III. There is something so comfortable in
the prospect of such a support as to disarm
death of its terrors.

Hearken, my brethren and friends, to what
is now to be spoken ! Hearken, as dying
creatures ; and lift up your souls to God in
earnest prayer, that each of you may share
these consolations ; and that each of you may
have a comfortable evidence of his own title
to them ; for better w^ould it have been for
us not to have been born, than that we should
see ourselves reduced to the wretched neces-
sity of passing through this valley without
this support.

I. The best of men cannot but discern
something gloomy and uncomfortable in the
prospect of dying.

I will not here argue from those apprehen-

XIV.

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 341

sions of death which some of the most emi- serm.
nent Christians, whose names are recorded
in scripture, have there expressed ; nor even
from that reluctance which the blessed Jesus
himself felt, when going forth to encounter
with it. I will only touch on some obvious
particulars, in which we are all concerned,
which make the matter so plain as not to
require any further confirmation : to bid a
final adieu to all the pleasures and entertain-
ments of life ; to feel the agonies of dissolving
nature ; to drop this body to moulder in the
grave ; and to go with the soul into the pre-
sence of God as our Judge, to be immediately
fixed by him in an unalterable eternity : these
are objects of terror and distress, which may
in some measure affect even the best of men.

1. To bid a final adieu to all the pleasures
and enjoyments of life cannot, to any human
being, be an object of indifferency.

As barren a wilderness as earth may appear
to a soul that hath been acquainted with the
prospect of heaven, yet we must acknowledge
that there are some pleasant spots to be found
in it ; sojne palm trees, and fountains of
water, which the heavenly pilgrim himself
may be in some degree unwilling to leave.
Truly light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing

342 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SEiiM. to behold the sun. So is this world enriched
J,^-.^^ and adorned by the Divine goodness, that
imagination labours when it would paint out
a more delightful scene ; and we plant para-
dise itself with the productions of our native
soil.

In many circumstances we cannot forbear
to be entertained with the company of our
fellow travellers ; and when we see a road so
narrow that it will admit but one single pas-
senger at a time, we are grieved at the sepa-
ration, and are ready to take, perhaps, too
fond a farewell of our former companions on
the way. I shall no more behold man, even
the inhabitant of the earth, was the reflection
and complaint of a very eminent saint, when
he apprehended the residue of his days to be
cut off in the midst; and we cannot wonder
that it was the occasion of some lamentation.
Again,

2. The apprehended agony of dissolving
nature makes the view of death painful even
to a good man.

Christians ! those of us who have borne
extreme pain know how much it tries not
only the strength of nature, but of grace too.
How does it naturally throw the mind off its
bias, and how extremely diflicult is it to com-

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 343

pose our thoughts, when the body is, as it serm.
were, upon the rack ! How tedious do the mo- ^J^-^^^
ments then seem to pass : how natural then
is it, in the morning, to say, Would God it
we7'e evening! and, in the evening, Would
God it were morning ! How dreadful would
the repetition of some of our former sufferings
feel, if we knew that we were to go through
all the same smarting pains again ? and pains
untried, perhaps, seem more formidable than
they, from a secret apprehension that there
is something in them unknown, which may,
perhaps, exceed all that we have felt. If a
man knows that a leg or an arm is to be
taken off, how many terrifying ideas has he
of the operation ? I say not that it is certain,
nor do I apprehend that it is by any means
probable, that death is more painful ; yet it
is evident that the generality of men are
w illing to avoid it even at this dreadful rate,
which on some accounts it is our duty to do ;
and in scripture the pains of death are pro-
verbially used to express the extremest which
nature can endure ; or rather those under
which it must sink. Innocent nature must,
therefore, shrink back from them : how much
more nature enfeebled by the fall, and taught

344 THE DIVINE PRESEN'CE IN DEATH

SERM. to look upon sickness and pain as parts of
^^^ the curse consequent on sin ! I may add,

3. The prospect of a separation from the
body, and the dissolution of this animal part
in the grave, is another circumstance which
exasperates the views of death, even to the
best of men.

No man ever yet hated his own fleshy hut
nourishes and cherishes it. Whatever philo-
sophical views we may sometimes have of
its being a burthen and confinement to us ;
yet, being designed by God to be the inha-
bitants of these bodies, we have a natural and
a necessary love for them ; and it would be
a trouble to us to drop them if they were to
be annihilated, or all the particles which be-
longed to them were to be dispersed and pass
away in such a manner as no longer to be
capable of being traced. But a righteous
God, in further token of his displeasure
against sin, has appointed such an end to
these mortal bodies as carries in it something
very humbling and very mortifying. They
nmst putrify in the grave ; they must be de-
voured by most contemptible reptiles : and,
though this is a much wiser and more gra-
cious constitution than if they had continued

XIV.

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 345

durable, as so many statues of marble, to serm.
feed the fond sorrows of surviving friends,
and to make the transports of their grief pro-
portionably lasting ; and, though it may give
a benevolent man some pleasure to think
that the very atoms of which his body is
composed may be in some measure useful to
succeeding generations ; yet it must be ac-
knowledged that, with respect to the imme-
diate prospect, it is no little triumph of faith
to claim kindred with the grave, and to say,
with an easy and a cheerful heart, to corritp-
tion, thou art my father, and to the worm, thou
art my mother and iny sister. It nmst be
allowed that these things have their weight ;
yet, in some respects, and, I fear, in many
cases, it may be said that all these things are
only the beginning of sorrows : for,

4. It is much more tremendous to think of
passing by death into the immediate presence
of God, and being fixed in an unalterable
eternity.

In many things we offend all; and those
offences which, weighed in the balances of
men, may appear light, will seem heavier
than lead in God's balances. What shall I
io when God rises up ; and i^hen he judges.

346 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. tvhat shall I answer' ? If now, while my state

XIV. ^ . . .

^^^^^^^ of probation continues ; if now, while there is

room to apply to God for pardon, my soul

shrinks with an inward horror ; what will it

do when this decisive moment comes ? when

all my eternal interests are to be unalterably

determined ? when prayers and tears must

have no farther room, and the tree is falling

as it must lie for ever ? If there be so much

as a doubt what the event may be ; and,

much more, if fears should prevail, there will

be something more awful in this part of the

prospect than in any other : for those terrors

of death, which are see?!, are temporal; but

those which are unseen are eternal.

Yet this is the valley through which we

are all to pass ; so dark that sun, moon, and

stars will be lost there, and not one earthly

object seen which can give us any delight.

We must tread this solitary, this thorny path,

till one part of our nature be torn from the

other ; and, when we come to the end of the

passage, we must see the unfathomable ocean

of eternity before us ; and, as soon as we see

it, we must launch into it. Whose heart would

not fail him in such a prospect, if he had no

friend to support him ; or if that friend were

XIV.

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 347

Other than almighty ? It is, therefore, with serm.
great pleasure that I add,

V

II. That the good man has reason to con-
clude that he shall have the favourable pre-
sence of God with him in this solemn and
important hour.

David has said, JVhen I go through this
dark valley^ I will fear no evil ; for thou art
with me : and, in this sense, he that is feeble
amongst us shall be as David. For, blessed
be God ! it is not so difficult to find argu-
ments to prove that God will then be with
his people, to succour and deliver them ; as
it is to avoid enlarging on a topic where such
a variety of matter will arise beyond the room
which we must allow for this part of our sub-
ject. I might otherwise argue this matter at
large from the relation which the blessed God
bears to his people as their Father ; and what
parent is there that stands unaffected by the
dying bed of a dear child, or that can desert
it in circumstances of such peculiar distress ?
I might argue from the rich provision which
God has made for the happiness of his people
beyond the grave, which must imply a corre-
spondent care in guarding them through it ;

348 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. Otherwise this provision would be in vain. I

XIV •

._^.^,^ might also plead all the promises which God
has made to this purpose, all the engagements
which he has laid himself under of being with
them in six troubles and in seven, and when
thei) pass through the fire and the water ; and
if it be said, as it truly may, that many of
these refer to less considerable dangers, I
readily acknowledge it ; but from hence we
may strongly infer that if he be with them in
these, how much more will he be with them
in those which are so much greater and more
extreme. And, once more, I might send you
to the experience of many Christians, whom
he has caused to be joyful in glory ; and, if
I may allude to the Mords of the Psalmist
originally bearing a very different sense, to
he joyful in glory, and sing aloud on their
beds. But I forbid myself to enlarge on these
things, having had such frequent occasion to
touch upon them, and being desirous to leave
myself some room for what may remain to
be offered under the third general ; where I
am to observe,

III. That the gracious presence of God
with us may disarm death of its terrors.

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 349

Christians ! you shall die, even the best of serm.
you ; you who have lived nearest to God ; ^^.^.^
you who have enjoyed the sweetest foretastes
of an immortal life. The graves are ready
for you, and the strong hand of death is
stretching itself out to seize you. You shall
die, as was hinted above, uncheered by hu-
man society, unsupported by human aid ; for
who can deliver his brother fi'oni going down
to the pit, or boast a friendship that shall
follow him beyond it ? But then you are not
entirely alone ; oh, blessed be God, far from
it ! The Lord of hosts is with you ; the God of
Jacob is your refuge, selah. The eternal God
is your refuge, and underneath are his ever-
lasting arms. And now let us take courage ;
let us challenge this haughty conqueror to
draw forth, as it were, all his battalions, and
to set all his terrors in array before us : surely
we may say to them all as Isaiah, in the spirit
of faith, to the enemies of Israel : Associate
yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces;
gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in
pieces ; for God is with us : and if he be with
us, he can moderate our agony ; can silence
our fears ; can restrain our enemies ; and
even delight our souls, in the greatest extre-

350 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. mities of nature, with joyful prospects and
,^..^,^ triumphant hopes.

1. The presence of God with us in our
dying moments can soften the agonies of
nature.

He is the great God of nature, and there-
fore has all its operations and all its sensa-
tions under his direction and controll. What
is pain but an idea which he raises in the
mind ? and therefore it has no degree of
strength but what he is pleased to give to it;
and he often shows that he can abate its
keenness under circumstances which have na-
turally the greatest tendency to produce it.
He who, in favour of the Hebrew worthies,
quenched the violence of fire, and brought
them forth out of the flames of a seven times
heated furnace, unconsumed, unhurt, un-
singed, has sometimes in an extraordinary
manner rendered his people insensible even
of their dying agonies ; sometimes, and espe-
cially in martyrdom, by filling their minds
w ith such strong consolations as have seemed
to raise them above the body, even while
they have been united to it ; and, in other
instances, we have, no doubt, observed that
tender and timorous spirits have been gi^'en

XIV.

THE SUPPORT OF THE CxOOD MAN. 351

up, during the most violent stages of a mortal Seiim.
distemper, to a kind of delirium, in which ^
they have been quite insensible of their dis-
ease : the important moment of dissolution has
passed while they knew not that they were
near to it ; and they have probably been as
much surprised on their entrance into eternity,
as if they had died by some sudden accident,
or in the sleep of health. Now, when we
seriously reflect upon this, we shall find it an
astonishing fact, though the commonness of
it may make it little regarded ; and, though
it may be infinitely more dreadful than any
pain or terror which a dying sinner could
suffer, it may be ordered as a dispensation
of singular love towards those of God's dear
children, whose hearts might otherwise be
ready to fail them ; and who, without extra-
ordinary support, might be discomposed in
the immediate view of eternity, though they
had no just foundation for fear. But I am
to add,

2. That the presence of God in our dying
moments can hush the tumult of our fears.

They may then be very busy : they may
form phantoms of horror, which, as but half
seen through the darkness of the valley, may

OOiJ THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. on that very account become so much the
,^.^,^ more grisly, while imagination supplies what
is concealed. But God has a voice which
can reach them all ; can silence and can
dispel them in a moment ; while, instead of
all their clamour and their din, it only hears
its Father saying, Fear not, for I am mth
thee : be not dismayed, for I am thy God, Sic.
This will give sufficient strength to the feeble,
and increase power to those who have no
might. So have we heard ; and, blessed be
God ! so have we seen. I can say, with de-
light, that many are gone into eternity from
my ministerial care ; and others, through the
Divine goodness, are still continued under it,
who have stood upon the very borders of the
grave with all possible calmness and serenity ;
and who have actually obeyed, or prepared
themselves to obey, a sudden summons into
the other world, with as much composure as
if they had only been called to go up to the
house of God ; and, after the worship of an
hour, had been to return to their houses
again. And this is a noble display of what
we are next to mention :

3. The power which God has to restrain
Satan.

THE SUPPORT OP THE GOOD MAN. 353

That malignant spirit would delight to serm.
terrify and torment, where he cannot destroy, v^-.^
Fain would he exclude the soul from heaven ;
but if he cannot do that, fain would he pre-
vent those anticipations of heaven, which it
may enjoy here upon earth ; fain would he
aggravate all natural apprehensions, and per-
haps suggest supernatural terrors, that he
might rob the dying Christian of his triumph;
that he mio;ht rob survivors of that edification
and comfort which the joyful saint adminis-
ters ; and that, if possible, he may discourage
them by what of an opposite nature they
may observe, perhaps, in some instances
where they least expected it. For this pur-
pose he often cotties down with great rage, he-
cause lie knows he hath but a short time. But
remember that this wretched malignant spirit
is a condemned rebel, whom God holds in
his chain. He could not without permission
touch the body of Job, nor so much as a
swine of the Gadarenes. God can either
order him away, or he can make his presence,
if he be present, near the dying bed of a
believer, to be a scene of torture to him, as I
doubt not that it often is. Yes, my brethren !
Christ can, by the death of his saints as well

VOL. III. ' A A

354 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. as by their resurrection, renew the triumphs
XIV. . ....

..^^.^^ of his own, by which he spoiled principaUties

and powers^ and made a show of them opeidj].
And if he suffers him for a moment to afflict
his servants, it will soon be over, and over
for ever. " O thou enemy ^' shall the celestial
victor quickly say, in an anthem of melody
unknown to any but those blissful regions,
"O thou enemy I destruction and terror are
now come to a perpetual end." Yea, he is often
enabled by faith to say it even in the lan-
guage of mortals, and while lying among
them in what seems his most helpless state ;
which leads me to add,

4. That God can strengthen our faith in
approaching glory and a happy resurrection;
and thereby not only disarm death of its
terror, but turn it into joy.

What can do it more effectually than such
faith in lively exercise ? It was in the full view
of this that Paul cried out, O death ! zchere
is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory? Nor
let us object that Paul had his peculiar reasons
to say it, because he had been caught up
into the third heaven, and had heard its sonos,
and had seen its unutterable glory : God
can let in a Divine ray upon the departing

XIV.

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 355

Spirit, and show it how great, and how sure, serm.
and how near is its approaching happiness, v
The great Father of spirits can by his secret
influences separate the soul of a dying Chris-
tian from all attachment to sense, ere yet it
is separated from the body ; and elevate his
thoughts to a holy fervour, even while the
icy hand of death is chilling the blood in his
sinking veins, and stopping his feeble, labour-
ing pulse ; and can give him to say, I see
heaven opened, and Jesus standing at the light
hand of God ; Jesus, my Saviour, my Inter-
cessor, and my Forerunner, to whose dying-
love all these delightful prospects are owing.
I see his smiling face, and I see heaven there ;
I see the general assembly and church of the
Hrst-born, drinking in from the view of him
immortal pleasure, and my thirsty soul shall
drink its fill among them. He that thirsted,
and, when the agonies of death were upon
him, condescended to taste the vinegar for
me, is now putting into my hand the cup of
salvation, and unsealing for me the sources
of immortal life. I shall drink, and forget
my poverty here below, and remember my
misery no more, if that may, upon the whole,
be called misery, which has been tempered

356 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. with such hopes. I bid adieu to my friends
.^^-^^ on earth for a httle while, for I am going to
the best of friends, to a whole assembly, each
of whom is, with respect to what is most de-
sirable, better than all with whom I have
here conversed. And there is Jesus, the best
of friends, holding out the crown to bind my
immortal brow, and opening his gracious arms
to embrace me, and by that embrace to dif-
fuse all heaven at once over my soul. These
glories are mine. Death, instead of separat-
ing me from my God, shall convey me to
him ; and though, in its immediate conse-
quences) it renders this vile body yet far
viler than it has even hitherto been, yet shall
it prove the happy occasion of refining and
transforming it : ,it shall break it in pieces,
that it may be cast, as it were, into a new
mould, and come forth a resplendent immor-
tal image of my Saviour's most glorious body.
Let death, therefore, come with all its ter-
rors, and hurt me if it can, while my Lord is
so near, and thus sheds his secret and vital
presence over my heart. Let animal nature
feel the shock, and sink under it, the more it
feels, the sooner it will sink, and set at liberty
a superior spirit, which, having so often en-

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 357

snared, it is fit that it should for a while serm.

XIV

afflict. Welcome the gentle blow which at kJ->^^
once strikes off mj fetters, and wakes my soul
to quit its prison ! And, O my God ! if what
I now suffer may illustrate the strength of
faith, and thereby the glory of him who is
the great author and support of it, L will
greet these sufferings, and rejoice, not only
though I die, but because I die, and say that
death be mine, if by my death any the least
additional tribute of honour may be thine.

And here I must observe that, through the
Divine goodness, what I have been now say-
ing was remarkably illustrated in the death
of our dear friend. Concerning her charac-
ter I am allowed to hint some particulars, of
the truth of which I am fully assured, in part
from my own observation, and, in other re-
spects, from the testimony of those who are
persons of undoubted credit, and who were
most intimately acquainted with her. She was,
as many of you well know, a very amiable
woman ; her temper was singularly happy,
her turn in conversation remarkably agree-
able, and her heart formed to the tenderest
sentiments of generous and endearing friend-
ship. In the relation of a wife she was affec-
tionate and obliging ; she had all the tender-

XIV.

358 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. ness of a mother, under the chrection of an
ardent love for the souls of her children,
which dictated daily and fervent prayers for
their happiness. She was a Christian of the
considerate and substantial sort; a warm
lover of God and of divine things ; a sincere
and affectionate believer in Christ and his
grace, which, living and dying, was unspeak-
ably precious to her soul. She delighted in
the sabbath, and in the ordinances and
people of God ; was a great lover of reading
and religious retirement ; and wa^ close and
exact in walking with God in the daily duties
of the closet.

As to the dealings of God with her in her
last sickness, it is very remarkable that, some
weeks before it seized her, she was powerfully
impressed with God^s message to Hezekiah,
Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and
not live. She was soon carried above the
alarm, and was patient and submissive under
the hand of God. She was much in ejacula-
tory prayer during her composed intervals,
committing her soul with ardent and lively
faith into the hand of Jesus her Mediator
and Redeemer, and rejoicing in the views of
his righteousness, as what gave her confidence
in her appearance before God. She took

XIV.

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 359

various opportunities, by day and by night, serm.
of exhorting her friends, that were around ^^
her, to keep the way of the Lor'd. She took a
solemn, composed, and yet very affectionate
leave of the companion of her life and of her
children, whom she committed to a covenant
with God and his grace. In this frame and
posture of soul death did its office upon her ;
and, while passing through the dark valley,
she feared no evil, as it so evidently appeared
that God was with he?-, and his rod and his
staff gave her so much comfort, as spectators
could not but behold with wonder and de-
light. Adored be Divine grace for such
favours to her ! May surviving friends re-
member her virtues, and imitate them ; re-
member her consolations, and' rejoice in
them !

I could have said a great deal more, but
am willing to leave myself a little room for
those reflections with which I am to conclude
the discourse ; in which I shall address my-
self, first, to sinners; then, to saints who have
conquered the fears of death ; and, lastly, to
such as are still combating with them.

1. I would address myself to sinners, even

to all such that are neglecters of true religion.

Let me ask you, sirs, is it not appointed

360 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. fo7' all men once to die? and appointed for

XIV.

>^^^^ you among the rest ? If you have a warrant
of exemption, produce it ; but if ^^ou have
not, be persuaded to look towards the grave,
where you must soon he ; to think of that
which 3'OU must soon feeL Say, my friends,
what support have you in death ? Is there
any secret thing with you, any spring of
consolation as yet unknown ? From the world
it cannot spring ; its sweetest enjoyments will
only add bitterness to the everlasting divorce.
From God it cannot arise ; for we now sup-
pose that you have no interest in him. What
then is your hope ? what is your confidence ?
Unhappy creature ! you have no confidence,
no hope. You must pass the valley alone,
amidst all its horrors; without God for your
friend, yea, what is infinitely more terrible,
with God for an enemy. In vain might
you wish to find the path of paradise ; were
you arrived at the very gates of it, you
would there meet cherubim and a flaming
sword, to drive you to an everlasting dis-
tance, not as our first parents were driven,
into a world like this, which, thouirh in
comparison of Eden, a desert, yet would be
more than an Eden compared with those
seats of horror which Divine justice hus pre-

XIV.

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 36 1

pared for wretches like you, and which are serm.
represented by a lake that burns, not only .
with fire, but with brimstone. Think, there-
fore, of your present miserable case ; miser-
able enough, one would imagine, to destroy
any pleasure which you can take in any other
thought; and, as you desire the support of
God in your death, seek his favour now, even
now. Seek it in the method in which alone
it can be found ; by an humble return to him
through Christ, and by a believing applica-
tion to the blood and righteousness of the
great Redeemer, whose office and glory it is
to deliver from the wrath to come.

2. I would apply to those who have con-
quered the fear of death.

And you, my brethren ! I would solemnly
call this day, and every day, to admire from
your very hearts that Divine grace which
has prepared these consolations, and has
handed them out unto you ; that has laid in
such cordials as these, and applied them to
your souls, to keep them from sinking under
what to nature is most terrible. Assume a
becoming courage in the strength of such
supports. View death with a steady com-
posure, in whatever form he may appear;

VOL. III. B B

362 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH

SERM. though it should be by the hand of violence,
,^^^ or some sudden accident, or by some furious
distemper, generally much more terrible and
painful, by which the soul should, as it were,
be torn out of the body by slow degrees ; or
though it should come upon you in a moment,
in the midst of your youth, of 3'our comforts,
of your designs : be the valley ever so long
and ever so gloomy, God will be seen, as it
were, in the light of his own glory ; and if
the passage be instantaneous, what can be
more desirable than at once to close our eyes
and see our God ? When he has secured our
eternal hopes upon the basis of such a pro-
mise, it is beneath the dignity and magna-
nimity of a Christian to make himself uneasy
about those precarious circumstances which
God himself did not judge important enough
to insert into the engagement of the covenant.
Far be it from us to be anxious about them ;
as if we could not be content to die in the
embrace of God, and to be raised in this
embrace to his heavenly kingdom, unless it
be in this or that circumstance of time and
place.

3. Let me address myself to those who,
though it has been their sincere desire to lay
hold of the covenant of God in a Redeemer,

THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOD MAN. 363

are nevertheless still pressed with anxious serm.
fears of dying. These fears, though they v_,^^^
arise from various causes, may all be resolved
into the want of faith, the lively exercise of
which would banish them all. Now that a
foundation may be laid for exerting it with
greater vigour and advantage, let me conclude
with such exhortations as these. Solemnly
record, as it were, in the presence of God the
surrender of yourselves to him. Be as ex-
press as possible in committing your souls
into his hands, and laying hold of his cove-
nant in the Lord Jesus Christ his Son. Do
it expressly in your secret retirements ; do it
with public solemnity at his table. Be dili-
gently on your guard against sin, which
tends to terrify and affright the mind in the
view of the Divine Being, and makes it start
back from its only support. Let me add, do
not content yourselves merely with guarding
against sin, but labour to exert yourselves in
the service of God ; that, conversing more
and more with him in the discharge of every
duty, you may form a more intimate and
endearing acquaintance, and with greater
pleasure think of retiring, with him, from all
that you esteem and love here upon earth,
secure of nobler entertainments. Your graces

X!V.

364 THE DIVINE PRESENCE IN DEATH, ETC.

SRRiM. will grow with exercise, and your assurance
will advance with your graces. And, to
conclude, be every day laying up a stock of
prayers against a dying hour, that if then
you should be incapable of repeating your
addresses, God may, as it were, look over
those which are already upon record, and
answer you in that moment of distress.

This is the way to which I would direct
you; and I bless God that I can say it is
the way in which I have myself found rest
and peace, hope and joy. Daily act on such
motives as these, and you may comfortably
hope that the God, whom you have loved,
and whom you have served, with whom you
have Avalked, and whom you have sought,
will smile upon your souls when every other
object disappears from your eyes, and will
enable you to say when, perhaps, your lips
are too feeble to utter the words. Into thy
hands I comme7id my spirit', for thou hast
redeemed me, O Lord God of truth ! Amen.

END OF VOL. HI.

<.'. aud C. Wliilliiigli.iii), Cdlleje llfiise, (liiswick.

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